Page 65 - PET 101 EBOOK

ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Know-Wonder-Learn

Charts

Make K-W-L Charts

Pass out the accompanying handout to students. Alternatively, you can distribute a blank sheet of paper and

ask students to create their own chart.

Complete Column 1

Have students respond to the first prompt in column 1: What do you Know about this topic? Students can do

this individually or in small groups. Often, teachers create a master list of all students’ responses. One

question that frequently emerges for teachers is how to address misconceptions students share. Sometimes it

is appropriate to correct false information at this point in the process. Other times, you might want to leave

the misconceptions so that students can correct them on their own as they learn new material.

Complete Column 2

Have students respond to the prompt in column 2: What do you Want to know about this topic? Some

students may not know where to begin if they don't have much background knowledge on the topic.

Therefore, it can be helpful to put the six questions of journalism on the board as prompts (Who? What?

Where? When? Why? How?). We suggest that students’ responses and questions be used to direct the course of

study. As students share what they want to learn, this step provides an opportunity for teachers to present

what they hope students will learn in the unit.

Complete Column 3 and Review Columns 1 and 2

Throughout the unit, students can review their K-W-L charts by adding to column 3: What did you Learn? Some

teachers have students add to their charts at the end of each lesson, while others have students add to their

charts at the end of the week or the end of the unit. As students record what they have learned, they can

review the questions in column 2, checking off any questions that they can now answer. They can also add

new questions. Students should also review Column 1 so they can identify any misconceptions they may have

held before beginning the unit.

Brainstorming

1 ) T e a c h e r p r o v i d e s a b a s i c i n t r o d u c t i o n t o o r r e v i e w o f t h e t e x t o r t o p i c .
Prepare a template organized with the 26 letters of the alphabet and for the first time usage, display a

model of a completed template about a different topic.

2 ) T e a c h e r d i s t r i b u t e s t e m p l a t e , a n d s t u d e n t s w r i t e t h e n a m e o f t h e t o p i c , o r t h e t i t l e o f t h e b o o k , a t

t h e t o p o f t h e t e m p l a t e .

You can model this on a sample template to help guide students.

3 ) W o r k i n g a l o n e o r i n s m a l l g r o u p s , s t u d e n t s t h i n k o f a t l e a s t o n e w o r d , s e n t e n c e , o r i d e a r e l a t e d t o

t h e t e x t o r t o p i c t h a t b e g i n s w i t h e a c h l e t t e r o f t h e a l p h a b e t . T h e y w r i t e t h e m o n t h e t e m p l a t e .

Encourage students to try to think of at least one idea for each letter, and to think of more than one for a

letter if they are able to.

4 ) S t u d e n t s g e t t o g e t h e r i n a l a r g e r g r o u p , a n d s h a r e w h a t t h e y b r a i n s t o r m e d f o r e a c h l e t t e r . S t u d e n t s

c o m p a r e a n d c o n t r a s t t h e i r i d e a s .
This stage can be completed as a whole class or in small groups.

5 ) A l o n e o r i n g r o u p s , i n c o n v e r s a t i o n o r i n w r i t i n g , s t u d e n t s r e f l e c t o n t h e i r l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s .
Students respond to questions including:How is brainstorming different from other types of thought? How can it

help you to learn a topic or text?How does the structure of this activity help you to come up with ideas you might

not otherwise think of?How might you use this activity independently?In what other context might this activity be
useful?