What Happened at Clinic This Week!

It’s the end of another month and what a treat – we get an extra day! While I am not doing anything too exciting this year, I do love having the extra day and time. It’s fun to hear about what some people plan to do for the leap day. One of my students told me that she was invited to a wedding today! My whole class thought that was a very fun plan for a leap year!

Anyways, after the February break, we were back with the Literacy Clinic this week. There was a common theme in my students’ literacy lessons. They were connecting to the children’s prior knowledge and this required a lot of conversation and discussion – which was great to see in action. Background knowledge is so important because the more we know about something, the better we can understand what we are reading.

So, what’s the difference between prior knowledge and background knowledge?

Prior knowledge is the knowledge that children come to school with and it comes from all of their experiences. All children come to school with prior knowledge. As teachers, we try to learn about their prior knowledge so that we can help students connect it to the texts that they are reading. When readers apply their prior knowledge to what they are reading, it becomes background knowledge. Therefore, when readers begin a text that they do not have the knowledge necessary to understand the text, teachers (and, parents!) can provide support by sharing information, facts, or ideas that can help with their prior knowledge.

I saw this in action last night. One of my students is working with a second grader and they were reading a book where the main character was getting into some trouble for causing mischief at home. In order to support her understanding of the text, my student was asking questions about any mischief this second grader has ever seen caused or caused herself and what the consequences were for that behavior. She was able to share a story about her cousin coming into the house with very muddy shoes and dragging dirt around the house. Teaching the student to stop and think about her own experiences helped her understand the text and the character better.

Another student of mine is working with a middle school student who does not like to write and has shared that he has trouble sitting down to write. He can only write a few sentences because he does not know what to write about. After speaking with her about how to support this writer, she decided to tap into his prior experiences with sports and is planning a writing unit where he can research and write about a professional athlete. She is planning lessons on how his prior knowledge about the sport and athlete can support him as he is writing.

After observing the kids last night, I’m not sure how much they realize and understand that they are bringing their knowledge, experiences, and interests with them when they are reading and writing. This is something that I am working on with my students and they will then work on with their students!