MID-WORKSHOP TEACHING Read a Start-Here Book to Gain Knowledge “Botanists, eyes up here. Your concept maps are filling up with all the things you already know about your topics. It’s time to start reading! “In your research group’s text set, I’ve flagged two texts with purple sticky notes that say, ‘start here!’ You might remember from last year that it’s helpful to begin reading on a topic by reading a text that is easier to read and that gives an overview of the important things about the topic. For now, I’ve flagged some start-here texts, but in life you have to find them for yourselves. “Read one of your start-here texts with a partner. As you read, think about how the infor- mation you’re learning fits with what you already know about plants!” Add this point to the “Nonfiction Readers Research New Topics” anchor chart. SHARE Research Group Talk: How Does Your Prior Knowledge Fit with Your Reading? Ask research groups to talk about how what they already knew about the topic fits with what they’ve learned today. “Botanists, today as you read, I bet you thought, ‘Woah, this fits with what I already know!’ or ‘Cool—this is a little different from what I learned before.’ You’re thinking about how what you already know fits with the new information you’re reading. I did that today too. For me, I thought I already knew that plants can’t talk. But today I learned that, yes, true, plants don’t talk out loud the way people talk out loud , but plants actually can communicate! I definitely revised my thinking as I read and it made me look at all the plants out our window and think—what are they communicating right now? I had never thought that way before! “To wrap up reading today, spend five minutes with your research group. Talk about what you learned today from your start-here books, and tell how the new information you’re learn- ing connects with what you already know about your topic. You can touch your concept map to show how and where the new information you’re learning connects. Get started!”
Nonfiction Readers Research New Topics
Knowledge sticks best when it connects to something that we already know (Willingham, 2006). Because of this, when we have more prior knowledge, there are many more places for the new knowledge we are gaining to stick. This creates a “snowball effect,” where stu- dents are able to accumulate knowledge about a given topic more quickly (Bier & Ackerman, 2006; Brod et al., 2016). Formative Assessment Opportunity You might collect students’ concept maps today and study them to determine students’ current understandings and misunderstandings about their topics.
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Session 1 • Access Prior Knowledge About Your Topic Before Reading
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