Chapter 3: Post #2

CHAPTER THREE

This chapter details techniques to help prepare students to begin learning.  According the chapter 27, percent of twelfth graders read below the basic level.  As an aspiring secondary social studies teacher this is alarming to me.  The statistic is way too high.  Not only should reading skills be taught in elementary skills, but it should be continued all throughout the rest of a child's’ schooling career.  Just because a teacher tells the students to read does mean that the students will have the motivation to read.  It is the teachers responsibility to motivate the students to read.  To motivate students to read, teachers must build upon students prior knowledge.  To do this teachers must determine what knowledge students already have.  I completely agree with the author that teachers are similar to sport coaches.  I believe teachers should be there to help and improve students skill and be there to encourage students with their work. 

The Importance of Determining Prior Knowledge

Students who have prior knowledge about a subject can focus on what is their learning task, but when students do not have this knowledge they cannot decipher between material that is important and material that is not. This is why it is so important to determine prior knowledge.  “Reading is more than extracting meaning from text and that the reader’s perspective shapes what is understood (Richardson, Morgan, and Fleener, 2012, pg.54).”  This quote expresses what teachers must express to their students about reading.  Reading is more than memorizing what is on the page. Teachers have to make sure that they are teaching from their students’ point of view.  This is to make sure that students are building on the knowledge they have.  

The Problem of Matching Reader with Text

A very important thing that good readers do is sizing up the material before reading it.  This is important to get an idea what the material is about before reading.  Another critical thing that good readers do is to chart a course before starting the book and to see if there is any prior knowledge.  Not every student is capable of doing this.  Because of this a teacher must plan out each lesson and give enough time to introduce the subject to determine the prior knowledge of the students and build upon it. 

Schema Theory and Prior Knowledge

Students come to class with their schema and a teacher must present information in a way for students to understand and have it fit into their own schema. The schema theory is a good way for teachers to understand students and how students think to better prepare them to read an assignment.  Teachers must make connections with prior knowledge that students have for students to understand and learn the information.

The Role Prior Knowledge plays in Heightening Interest

When students have a lack of schema it can create a lack of interest. When teachers realize that students have a lack of interest he or she can create lesson plans around creating interest. Teachers must show that what the class is learning is important and relevant in the real world.  Creating relevance is one of the most important things a teacher can do for their subjects.

Prelearning Concept Check

Give a list of vocabulary in the reading to the students and have them rate the vocabulary words based on the amount of information each knows about the material.  Then as the students are reading the material have them focus on the words. This would be great for major historical events or people in social studies classes.

Written Preview

Teachers write a preview of the material about to be taught including information that the students need as background knowledge.  The teacher also writes the preview in a way that the students would understand.  I would use this technique in my classroom as a way to introduce the lesson.  It is a great way to introduce the beginning of a lesson with background knowledge.  

Chapter Three gave a lot of useful information about techniques to use in the classroom to give students the background knowledge before they begin to read their assignments.  I will use some of these techniques in my classroom. 

Source

  Richardson, Judy S., Raymong F. Morgan, and Charlene E. Fleener (2012). Reading to Learn in the content areas. United States: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.