Making Connections
If students cannot make any connection between what they already know and what we are teaching (through accessing prior knowledge, predicting and asking questions), they are unlikely to learn!
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Prior knowledge acts as a lens through which we view and absorb new information. It is a composite of who we are, based on what we have learned from both our academic and everyday experiences. (Kujawa and Huske, 1995)
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Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom. Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understanding that their students bring with them. (Donovan, Bransford & Pelligrino, 1999)
Prior knowledge has a large influence on student performance, explaining up to 81% of the variance in posttest scores (Dochy, Segers, & Buehl, 1999). And there is a well established correlation between prior knowledge and reading comprehension (Langer, 1984; Long, Winograd, & Bridget, 1989; Stevens, 1980). Irrespective of students’ reading ability, high prior knowledge of a subject area or key vocabulary for a text often means higher scores on reading comprehension measures (Langer, 1984; Long et al., 1989; Stevens, 1980). In addition, high correlations have been found between prior knowledge and speed and accuracy of study behavior (reviewed in (Dochy et al., 1999) as well as student interest in a topic (Tobias, 1994). Thus, prior knowledge is associated with beneficial academic behaviors and higher academic performance.
Tools for Connecting:
Click on here 
TOOLS for CONNECTING.doc to find word documents of tools you can use and share with your staff. Please note the space for "new ideas, questions, connections."
ABC Brainstorm: ABC Brainstorming.doc
File Folder Schema: File Folder Schema.doc This is an excellent strategy to eliminate misconceptions as students think about what they already know.
Lesson for Prediction (elementary): A Promise is a Promise - Robert Munsch. Lesson created by Brenda Boreham. 
Feel free to edit to add variations and also to include more tools. If you find it easier, you can also just email sbeleznay@sd68.bc.ca and have the edits done for you :)
Comments (2)
Ms. Edwards said
at 11:55 pm on Jul 14, 2009
Have you shared your wiki with PBworks Summer Camp? Wowser! I appreciate all your research and work! Very nicely presented also! Sheri Edwards (grammasheri)
lcarter@sd68.bc.ca said
at 8:02 pm on Jan 31, 2010
I've discovered with young children that when doing a KWL kind of chart for connecting to prior knowledge, it's best to start with "what they THINK they know" and then you can go back after your study and confirm it as actual knowledge or cross it off. I think this is a Tony Stead suggestion.
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