12 Scaffolding Strategies for Building Background Knowledge

Techniques for Building Background Knowledge and Activating Prior Knowledge

Students bring a diverse and valuable range of experiences with them to the classroom. The more experience a student has with a specific topic, the easier it may be for them to read and understand complex texts about that topic. Conversely, it may be more challenging for students to read complex texts about unfamiliar topics.

When educators use scaffolding strategies to activate students’ prior knowledge and build new background knowledge prior to reading, they can help ensure all learners have the context needed to read and understand complex texts. Equipping all students with a common foundation of knowledge can also help build more equitable classrooms where all students can actively participate in reading, writing, discussion, and learning across the content areas.

Below are two examples of effective scaffolding strategies for background knowledge: one for activating prior knowledge and one for building new background knowledge.

Complete the form on this page to download your free copy of 12 Scaffolding Strategies for Building Background Knowledge.

How to Activate Prior Knowledge: Example Scaffolding Strategy

Anticipation Guide

One powerful technique for activating prior knowledge is creating and using an anticipation guide prior to reading a complex, grade-level text.

To create an anticipation guide, make a handout that has multiple statements about key ideas in the text — some true and some false. Next to each statement, provide “Agree” and “Disagree” options that students can circle or highlight to indicate how they feel about the statement.

Prior to reading the text, provide each student with the handout. Read each statement aloud one by one, and then have students discuss whether they agree or disagree. Encourage students to explain their reasoning or justifications for their opinion. Focus the discussion not on the “right answer,” but rather on having students share what they know and have personally experienced.

After students have read the text, have them revisit their anticipation guide. Ask students if their opinions have changed. Ask them to identify passages in the text that either supported their original opinions or caused their opinions to change.

Tip: Consider providing multilingual learners with sentence frames to support their participation in these discussions.

Download the full guide for additional strategies for activating prior knowledge, such as establishing text-to-world connections, guiding class or small-group discussions, and using visuals such as photographs, illustrations, and diagrams.

How to Build Background Knowledge: Example Scaffolding Strategy

Build New Experiences

Sometimes, the best way to learn is by doing! Giving students new experiences can be a powerful way to build background knowledge, especially for science and social studies topics.

Here’s an example of how to use learning experiences as scaffolding strategies within a science context:

Before reading a science text about waterways and wetlands, have students construct different types of waterways in large plastic bins: a deep and straight river with a smooth bottom, a shallow and winding stream with a sandy bottom, a marsh filled with dense vegetation, and more. Use rocks, sand, sticks, and sponges (to represent aquatic plants). Once constructed, pour water into one corner of each bin and have students observe how the water moves through each model.

Then, have students discuss what they have observed:

• How quickly does the water move through each bin?
• Did it move at different speeds through different environments?
• How might that affect flooding in nearby areas?
• What have students learned that they should keep in mind as they read?

Tip: To help your multilingual learners participate in the discussion, provide sentence frames they can use to articulate their observations and opinions. In addition, it may be helpful to review key vocabulary related to the activity, such as slow down, speed up, quickly, and slowly.

Download the full guide for additional strategies for building new background knowledge, such as using “hooks,” pre-reading an anchor text, and using read-alouds.

More Ways to Support Student Success with Complex, Grade-Level Texts

By itself, background knowledge cannot guarantee success with complex, grade-level text. Students also need strong reading skills, a rich academic vocabulary, and the ability to apply targeted comprehension strategies.

Accelerate Reading Growth with Adaptive Personalized Learning

Ready to strengthen students’ essential reading skills such as phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension — plus key skills such as spelling and grammar?

Designed to supplement your core ELA instruction, SuccessMaker® Reading provides continuously adaptive, personalized reading instruction for all K-8 students. Explicit, systematic instruction — tailored to each student’s unique needs with built-in scaffolding, differentiation, and intervention supports — targets the skills necessary for learning to read and reading to learn, helping to ensure all students are ready to tackle complex, grade-level text.

Provide Students with Intensive, Teacher-Led Intervention

For striving adolescent readers who are two or more years below grade level, iLit45™ is an intensive, teacher-led digital reading intervention program that uses a research-proven instructional model to accelerate learning. In fact, iLit45 is proven to accelerate reading growth by two years in a single school year!

Designed specifically for students in Grades 6-12, iLit45 centers instruction around rigorous and relevant grade-level texts, giving students the opportunity to actively engage with authentic literature such as novels, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and more. Explicit instruction, guided and independent practice, and robust scaffolds help strengthen students’ reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and foundational reading skills, building up the strong literacy and writing skills that all students need to succeed in secondary content-area classes and beyond.

Back to top of page