Strategies for Calling Up Background Information
Calling up background information helps students grasp the meaning of a text. The following strategies not only encourage recall but also help set a purpose for reading:
- Know-Want to Know-Learned (KWL) charts are a very simple strategy that students may use independently.
- Reflection activities that encourage recall of background information, i.e., think about a time when....
- Preview a text by looking at its illustrations and then discussing what the students already know about what they've seen. This technique is a quick and different way to call up background information.
Strategies for Building Necessary Background Information
If there is a gap in your students' knowledge, you will need to build the necessary background information before moving forward with the text. Some strategies that you can use to build background information are:
- experimentation
- field trips
- watching a DVD or video
- reading aloud to the class
- class discussion