This week I was able to take a lot away from the readings. I have always wondered best techniques to build background knowledge. How do you know how much background knowledge each student comes into your classroom with? Where should I begin instruction? How much background knowledge is necessary for success within the topic?
Chapter 2 in our text book was interesting because it gave me quite a few techniques to use in my classroom to help students build background knowledge. The tea party strategy seemed as though it would be the most interesting to students. Most anything that gets kids up and moving is a great idea in my eyes. This strategy forces children to discuss different ideas or aspects as it pertains to a particular topic, then analyze what they discussed to make predictions and activate background knowledge.
My question with this, though, is how will I incorporate this into my social studies block? The text suggests using a few minutes for this activity and then discussion, but will I have time in my day to allow this type of interactive activity? The social studies block is so short compared to math and language arts. I would hate to take valuable instruction time away. Also, what ages would this activity be most effective? I know my procedures must be in place and effective for this activity to work without turning into chaos in the classroom.
In my opinion, this would be a great activity to get students excited about what they will be learning next!