Background Knowledge	Introduction	-
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Readers do not come to the task of reading as blank slates ready to be filled with information that they glean from written material. They come with information they already know from a variety of sources. This prior information, or background knowledge as it is called, serves as a kind of filter through which new information passes. Readers interact with new material, trying to match what they read to what they already know in order to construct meaning. In order for this endeavor to be fruitful they must have sufficient information in their knowledge base to access for a wide variety of reading materials. Unfortunately some students, especially those with reading disabilities, don't have the background knowledge they need for reading comprehension. Unless teachers employ instructional practices that support the solid construction of background knowledge, other reading comprehension efforts will be ineffective. This module, Building Background Knowledge for Reading Comprehension, addresses this important area...helping students develop the knowledge base they need to be successful readers. In this module we will explain the importance of background knowledge, its effects on reading comprehension, and ways to facilitate its development with students with reading disabilities. Although we recognize that activation of background knowledge is a fundamental aspect of reading comprehension, we will take up that process in another module. Here we will focus on the actual construction of the knowledge base by attending to three areas: (1) strengthening students' knowledge about the world around them; (2) learning word meaning; and (3) learning ideas and relationships among ideas. Lesson 1, Constructing World Knowledge Schemata, will teach you about an important aspect of background knowledge called world knowledge and the framework of that knowledge, known as schemata. We'll explain how world knowledge schemata are used in reading comprehension and why students with learning disabilities typically have a weak world knowledge base. We will introduce you to the role of teaching devices and routines in enhancing understanding, organization, and recall of world knowledge for students with learning disabilities with specific emphasis on enhancing memory. These memory enhancement techniques will help you with the other lessons in the module as well. The lesson will also provide you with a list of actions to take in building world knowledge schemata with students. As an aid to your memory we will supply a memory-enhancing device to help you remember the list of actions we recommend. Lesson 2, Vocabulary Development, focuses on helping students acquire word meanings so that they have a sufficient number and variety of words in their background knowledge to construct meaning when they read. In particular, you will learn techniques that work for students with learning disabilities. This is particularly important since these students often have large vocabulary deficits that increase as they get older and helping them learn word meanings is essential to their becoming successful readers. In the lesson we'll explain important aspects of vocabulary knowledge and different factors in learning new words. You will also be introduced to the relationship between vocabulary and concept learning, which we will continue to develop in the third lesson in the module. We'll clarify the issue of vocabulary selection; that is, deciding what words to target in teaching. We'll explain some effective techniques for vocabulary development, including those involving direct teaching and independent word learning. We will also give you other research-validated approaches to investigate further. The third lesson, Concept Development, will help you teach concepts effectively so that students will have a sufficient number of them in their background knowledge to activate when reading. You will learn how concepts develop in students and how to make learning of concepts easier for struggling students. This lesson will make it clear to you what a concept is and what it takes to understand a concept. We'll discuss concept characteristics, relationships, and connections with language development. An important part of this lesson is the use of visual depictions, also known as visual or graphic organizers. Using these devices will help students in many ways to develop background knowledge, including concepts. An important part of the lesson, as with the other lessons in the module is selection of the critical information to teach. Although there are three separate lessons in this module, it is important to study them all and integrate the information you learn since they are intertwined. For example, it is impossible to construct world knowledge schemata without attending to vocabulary and concept development. Keep in mind that this is the second module in the Online Academy reading comprehension series. If you haven't studied the first module, Basic Principles in Reading Comprehension, we suggest that doing so will provide you with the background knowledge you need to process these and other lessons on reading comprehension.