This document provides strategies for activating prior knowledge and building background information for students. It discusses brainstorming, photography studies, previews and predictions, literary maps, and word squares as techniques. The strategies aim to stimulate students' thinking about topics and help them make connections and inferences about characters and events. Activating background knowledge helps students better understand and engage with new information.

2. •Risk taker
•Flexible
•Energetic
•Compassionate
•Develop highly effective instructional repertoire
•Scaffold frequently and support learners on their first
attempt to learn new concepts
•Maintain high expectations
•Provide clear purpose and directions
•Believe that all can achieve
•Know how and when to combine
methods/approaches/strategies that result in highly
effective literary growth

3. Activating prior knowledge and Building Background
Information ( anything that stimulates thinking)
•Brainstorming
Purpose : Brainstorming is primarily a
group of activities in which everyone
shares ideas as quickly and freely as
possible, making no judgments about
which ones are good or bad, sensible or
silly. This is to come up with as many
ideas as possible, not to judge them as
serious or trivial question.
“What would the universe be like if I perceived it from a
streetcar going at the speed of light?”

4. Example 1. (Process Approach to Writing)
Procedure :
1.Read the job wanted specifications in the advertisement below.
2.Pair off with your seatmate, then, brainstorm on how you are
going to answer the advertisement . What will you state under each
of the following sections in your letter?
* Reason for writing * Personal Data
* Experience * References
* Education * Closing

5. •Photography Study
Purpose : This is usually done by showing a number of
photographs to the students to help them create a mental picture of
the main character of a story.
Procedure :
1.Students are asked to observe the facial expression, physical
features, manner of dressing, even the posture of the person in the
photographs.
2.Students can be asked also to make inferences or judgments
about the character’s thoughts, motives, or desires.

6. Use visual images to study the
mood of characters
How can we tell what kind of mood someone is in?
* Facial expressions
* Body Language
* What they are saying; vocabulary
* Behaviors

7. List as many moods as you
can think of about these
pictures.

9. •Preview and Predict –
have students browse through
the selection to get a sense of its
format.
Procedure :
1. Invite students to preview the title
and illustrations to help them get
ready for the story by thinking what it
might be about.
• Ask :
• What do you think of the title
“Roxanboxen”?
•What are the children on the cover
doing?
2. Have students discuss in groups
what they see and make predictions.
“ I think the story is about playing
games in the desert”

10. •Literary Map
Purpose : This is a
fictional map
constructed based on
a literary text which
features the setting as
a significant element
in the text. This is
used as a means to
represent :
•the fictional setting of
a literary text
• a real map using the
legend
• a trail or path with
important people
•Street map

11. is a language teaching strategy which introduces new language through
a series of commands to physically enact an event. Research on this
strategy shows that more efficient learning with student involvement
occurs when students actually move than when they do not. (McCloskey,
1988).
Procedure :
1.Setting up. The teacher sets up a situation in which student follow a set
of commands using actions, generally with props, to act out a series of
events.
Suggestions for K-5 (building something with blocks or legos)
Suggestions for 6-8 (Baking a pie)
Suggestions for 9-12 (Shopping for groceries, Ordering food in
a restaurant)
2.Demonstration. The teacher or a student demonstrates the series of
actions.
(Setting the context & Learning Activity Sequence)

12. Procedure :
3. Group live action/Student Demonstration. The group acts out the series as
the teacher or a group leader gives command. This step is repeated several
times so that students internalize the series thoroughly before they produce it
orally. Students may also work in pairs.
4. Written copy. Students will write on a chart the series of actions.
5. Oral repetition and questions. After the students have made a written copy,
they read each line or points out some questions which will help them
understand better the concepts/series of commands.
Example :
Watching Television
1.It’s time to watch your favorite show. Turn on the television.
2.This is a wrong show. You hate this show. Make a terrible face. Change the
channel.
3.This show is great! Smile! Sit down in your favorite chair.
4.This part is very funny. Laugh.
5.Now there’s a commercial. Get up and get a snack and drink. Sit down again.
6.The ending is very sad. Cry.
7.The show is over. Turn off the television.
8.Go to bed.

13. Dyad Activities
Purpose : Dyad activities help students practice some aspect of English
structure. The students work in pairs. Each student has the answers for the other
student, and can provide immediate correction. The teacher can prepare the
exercises ahead of time, or the students can write exercises in pairs and
exchange them. The teacher should check them for accuracy.
Procedure :
1.The exercises for student A and Student B are cut apart so that Student A sees
only the first four sentences and Student B sees only the last four sentence.
2.They sit facing each other. Student A reads sentence 1, filling in the blank with
the correct form of the word in parentheses.
3.Student B checks the answer and tells Student A whether the answer was
right or wrong.
4.Then Student B reads sentence 2, filling in the blanks, and Student A checks
the answer.
5.They continue until they have done all the sentences.

14. Student A
1. My car is ______ than yours. (fast)
2. My car is the same size as his.
3. His car is ___ _______color
___mine (different)
4. His car is more expensive than hers.
1. My car is faster than yours.
2. My car is ___ _____ size ____ his.
3. His car has a different color from
mine.
4. His car is _____ ________ than hers
(expensive)
Student B

15. Purpose : This is to deepen the understanding of the details about an
article or a particular genre. (Dybdhal & Black)
Procedure :
1.After reading a selection or a literary piece, students will write their
interaction /impression about the topic.
RAIN
Looks like Feels like Sounds like Tastes like
Shiny Cold Music Cold
Crystals Soft Nothing Water
Falling
sparkles
Wet Sloshing
with my
boots
Ice Cream
Tiny Droplets Drips or
plops
Popsicles
Rain
Shiny crystals
Softly falling
So wet
Sloshing, sloshing
Sparkling water
Waiting quietly

16. Purpose: The Word Square graphic
organizer (McCloskey & Stack, 1996) is
a tool for multidimensional vocabulary
development. The learners use a
variety of ways to study a new term,
including writing a personal definition,
writing a dictionary (or glossary)
definition, and drawing picture of the
word or action.
Procedure :
1.Draw a four square on the board.
Label each of the squares : Definition
(or meaning), Characteristics,
Examples (or picture), Non- examples
Check for Understanding a Topic/ Skill

17. Tre
e
Tre
e
Definition Characteristics
Examples Non- examples
•A tree is something that
grows outdoors.
•It has leaves and branches.
•It has roots that get nutrients
and water from the soil to live.
• has bark made of wood.
• has wooden branches.
• grows leaves.
• gives shade.
• provides a home to birds and
some animals.
•Acacia
•Mahogany
•Palm
•Cedar
•Rose
•Horse
•Dog
•Ant
2. Demonstrate by doing a Word Square with the whole class. Select a new word from
a reading selection. Complete the square with the help of the class.
3. If this strategy will be used to unlock difficult word in a selection, students may work
in a group or by pairs on each assigned square.
4. If this graphic organizer following the lesson, in the next chapter, words can be self
selected or assigned and students can create their own squares independently or
in pairs. Circulate the squares and let other class members offer feedback and
suggestions.
5. Remind students that they can use this tool on their own with words that challenge

19. Brace Map is used to teach students how to visually
represent the thought process of the whole to part
relationship

21. The Frame of Reference (metacognitive frame)
can be used with ANY map.

22. The Bubble Map is very effective for vocabulary development.
The process of describing is closely linked to how we value and
evaluate things.

23. Multi-flow Map
* This is used for identifying the causes and effects
of an event, adding consequences, and predict
changes..

24. One-sided
Multi-flow Map
•This is to
focus on just
the causes or
just the effects
of an event.
•Ask students :
- Does
brushing your
teeth daily
cause them to
be healthy?

25. Flow Map is used to teach students how to visually
represent the thought process of sequencing.

26. •Reader’s Theater
Purpose: Learners read literature aloud dramatically in the form of a
play / dialogue
Procedure :
1.Introduce Reader’s Theater with a prepared script.
2.Have the learners read the script aloud, taking the parts of various
characters.
3.Adjust the assignment of characters to match student reading levels.
4.Later, involve students in creating scripts from text – be sure to choose
text with lots of dialogue.
5.Help learners revise and perfect script.
6.Students perform the skit by reading it aloud and acting it out as
appropriate.
(Practice and Application)

27. • Jazz Chants
Purpose :
This is simply bringing
rhythm into the
classroom and the
brain loves rhythm.
Students can work with
clapping, stamping, and
simple body
movements. (Carolyn
Graham ,
carolyngraham@hotmail
.com)

28. •Choose a topic – for example sports
Football
Basketball
Golf
•Say each word and notice how many sounds you hear
•Turn the simple vocabulary chant into a Grammarchant by adding
He, She, They plus a verb that would make sense such as play. The
sample is using the Simple Present Tense .
He plays football.
She plays basketball.
They play golf.
•Next practice may be the Yes/No questions and short response.
Does he play football?
Yes, he does.
Does she play basketball?
Yes, she does.
Do they play golf?
Yes, they do.

29. •Inside / Outside Circles
Purpose : To provide authentic opportunities
For students to give and get information
Procedure :
1.Students prepare questions and answers. These might be about a
content area they have studied.
2.Students stand in two circles, one inside the other. The students in
the inside circle face out and the students in the outside circle face in.
3.Students in the inside circle ask the students in the outside circle a
question. Then the students in the outside circle answer the question.
4.After asking and answering a question the students on the outside
circle move to the right. They face a new partner and ask and answer
questions again. Students rotate after each question.
5.Have each pair swap cards before moving around the circle.

30. Strategies are
f l e x i b l e.

31. Students learn
meaningfully.

32. Students
become
active
participants
in the
learning
process –
where they
think, create
and construct
knowledge.