Into The Book: Prior Knowledge: Look Inside Your Head

Activating your prior knowledge means using what you already know to help you understand something new. It's like putting on your thinking cap and pulling out thoughts that can help you understand what you're reading.

You know more than you realize!
Try reading one of the texts here and find out!

First, read the text. Can you tell what kind of text it is? That's called the GENRE. Every kind of text has some common things that show which genre it belongs to.

Click on the text to underline words that help you figure out the genre. Click again to remove the underline.

Look inside Maya's head. How will her prior knowledge help her understand the story? Drag the prior knowledge from her head to the yellow sentence until it turns purple.

Look inside Devon's head. How will his prior knowledge help him understand the story? Drag the prior knowledge from his head to the yellow sentence until it turns purple.

Even some fourth graders do. It depends on your body weight, he said. Kids who weigh eighty pounds or less, no matter how old they are, need a car seat or a booster seat.

He wanted to come closer...: The prince always marries the girl and lives happily ever after.

They are carried up to the surface in ancient rock called kimberlite (kim'br-lit'): The elevator in our building can take us all the way up to the roof.

In Hans' old Mill his three black cats: A mill is where they grind grain to make flour.

Out come his cats all grey with meal --: When you mix black and white you get gray.

Response Text Goes Here

You've earned your Prior Knowledge hat! Remember to activate your prior knowledge whenever you read.

Help

First, read the story to figure out what kind of text it is.

Click "Play" to listen to the text.
Use the pencil to underline all the clues that tell you what kind of text it is.
You can underline words, sentences, titles, captions, pictures, or blank spaces.
Think about what you know about fairy tales, or newspaper stories, or non-fiction books, or poems:
- How does it start or end?
- What is the subject, or plot?
- Who are the characters?
- What does the text look like on the page?
- What about titles, or subtitles, or pictures, or captions?
- What kind of language does the author use?
- How does it sound when you read it?
Use the eraser if you want to change what you underlined.
You have to click the button for which genre it is before you can continue. Then click "Continue."

Next, look inside Maya's or Devon's head to see their prior knowledge.

Read the part of the text that is highlighted in yellow.
Choose the prior knowledge that helps to understand the yellow sentence.
Drag it onto the yellow sentence until it turns purple.
If the prior knowledge pops back into their head, try another one.
Choose your prior knowledge carefully, don't just guess! You lose one point for each guess that is wrong!
You will be able to print all the stories, with the clues you underlined, at the end.

Done

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