It ain't over til It's over - Activating Prior Knowledge - Part 3 After Reading

photo © 2008 Chris connelly | more info (via: Wylio) 


“It ain’t over til it’s over” was the phrase coined by Yogi Berra.  Spoken like a true sportsman or classroom teacher!  

We all know that even when the kids have finished reading a story they’re “not really done”.  We read. We discuss. We assess.  There are all kinds of other activities that we can initiate to make sure the students have made connections to their reading.  This is Part 3 in the "Activating Prior Knowledge" series. 

In the Before reading post, it was suggested to use an Anticipation Guide.  If used, it would be a great (quick) assessment to see if the kids can answer those questions correctly now.  (They love getting them all right too!!).  Also, in the Before post as an alternative to the KWL chart - a Word Cloud was suggested.  How about make a new word cloud to share what was learned.  (The kids love comparing them!) 

The During reading post suggested to use a Wallwisher.  Students could add new thoughts to the Wallwisher.  (The kids will have fun revisiting the Wall!).


Other activities  to institute when the students have finished reading could include creating a retelling of the story.  Why not try have the students create a comic at ToonDoo.  It is free, fun and quite simple to use.  See my sample below.

By Ncarroll | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

Another activity along the lines of a summary, is to create a talking picture at Blabberize.  Blabberize is a free site where you can upload a picture and record a narration.  In the sample below, a picture was created at Sketchfu then uploaded to make a Blabber. 






For something a little more open-ended, have students create a poem.  With the help of ReadWriteThink students are guided through the writing process.  See the sample below of an Acrostic poem. 

Guiding our students and having them complete activities AFTER reading will help them make connections and therefore, have a deeper understanding of the concepts.  

Hopefully, students will come to the realization themselves that "It ain't over till it's over!"

They're Reading-Now What? Activating Prior Knowledge-Part 2

They're Reading - Now What? What are the strategies that you employ while your students are reading? Is there a way to incorporate technology as a way to help students with their comprehension?

Focusing on making connections and activating prior knowledge DURING reading is just as important as tapping into the prior knowledge BEFORE reading. Check out these 'during reading' ideas at All America Reads. You probably already utilize many of these tactics.

Using graphic organizers helps our students solidify their understanding through pictorial or structural designs. They aid our student's comprehension. One way to add a new twist to graphic organizers is to pair these time-tested tools with technology.

Excel Spreadsheet: An Excel spreadsheet, for example could be created and filled in while reading. The example I have created below is about the characters in our reading story. Students can complete the charts individually, with a partner or whole group. (Brush up on your Excel basics at Internet4Classrooms).


Digital Post it Notes: I LOVE sticky notes....I have my students use Sticky notes while they are reading to record any thoughts or questions relating to the story. Why not have the students post their sticky notes on a free site like Wallwisher. Students will enjoy reading each other's stickies . Check out our Marven Wallwisher. (The picture at the top of this post was created in Wallwisher).

Another site where you can create and post stickies (and then embed them into your website) is Classtools.net. Students can create a word splash that show an understanding of the story or as a class create a Post-it.

TIMELINES: Sequencing activities also strengthen comprehension while students are reading. Using a timeline will help children make connections and put them in a logical, sequential order.

There are many sites that offer free timelines. Some are more involved than others. For elementary students I suggest using the ReadWriteThink timeline. These timelines can be organized by date, time, event, or other and can be printed vertically or horizontally. Another timeline suitable for elementary students is from TeAch-nology. It's simple and easy to use (although you are limited in your description of events.)

These activities during reading can be paper and pencil tasks, but what if we were able to create these organizers digitally? Would our students be more engaged and therefore more motivated? Would it effect their comprehension in a positive way? I think the answer is yes. Why not find out for yourself!

(Part 3 of the series will deal with Activating Prior Knowledge AFTER reading).

Activating Prior Knowledge Part 1

Do you remember “Back to the Future?” with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd? The unusual time machine Doc Brown rigged up was a Delorean car! It was just on T.V. last week.

Why didn’t I think to use a clip from that movie as a way to activate my students' prior knowledge about time traveling? Or use a clip with Phineas and Ferb? Or share a clip from the Magic School Bus Goes Back in Time? These clips would have certainly engaged my students and had them really thinking about our next reading story instead of me asking them: “Do you know anything about time machines?”

Activating Prior-Knowledge or Building Background Knowledge is a ‘must’ and just good teaching practice for building comprehension. It can be done before, during and after reading in any content area. According to Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann “It has been known for some time that one of the most effective ways to improve comprehension is to "activate mental files" before reading. (from Mosaic of Thought, 1997, p.51)

Using Digital Media and online resources allows more students access while actively engaging them in these activities. Try the following strategies as BEFORE reading activators.

ANTICIPATION GUIDES: Use an Anticipation Guide to peak students’ curiosity about a topic. Visit this site for more information and templates: Reading Rockets. A technology twist on this technique could be to create your Anticipation guide using a free online survey tool such as Survey Monkey or Polldaddy. Students love ‘guessing’ before reading and using technology will totally grab their attention. Once the survey is complete you can share the results with the students. Take the survey again AFTER reading and compare the results as a quick assessment.

KWL CHARTS: The KWL chart has long been used as an effective strategy to find out what students KNOW about a topic, WANT to know or what they have LEARNED. Typically, we use 3 columns and write down the information. Why not have students create (either individually, with a partner or even as a whole class) a Word Cloud, which is a fun way to show words that go beyond listing, as a way to generate their K-W-L. Free online sites like ABCya and Wordle provide kids with a way to visually represent their ideas in an attractive and unique way.

VIDEOS & IMAGES: Using videos and other images can really help students relate to topics and ideas. Often they help activate knowledge to those students who do not have first-hand experience with a subject. Many schools subscribe to Discovery Education, which has videos and stills for every area of the curriculum. One free online video resource can be found at: Teachers’Domain, which has libraries featuring media from NOVA, Frontline, American Experience and other PBS sources. There are many sites that allow teachers and others to use photos without worry of violating copyright. Public domain photos can be found at PD Photo and Public Domain Pictures.

Good teachers are constantly activating prior knowledge to help their students learn. Modeling the above strategies and accessing the knowledge before students begin their reading will build their comprehension.

(Part 2 of this series will deal with the strategies to use During Reading!)

Top Photo:
photo credit: JD Hancock via photo pin cc