One of the ways we can prepare ourselves to read complicated information is to build our background knowledge of the subject before-hand. This is called "Activating our Schema." We understand new information best when we can combine it with other information to create a new idea (synthesize) and when we make connections to old information. |
Activate Your Schema!
What do I already know about Basketball that might help me better understand this story?
| What do I already know about Michael Jordan that might help me better understand this story?
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Reflection Questions:
- If you were about to read a book about about an astronaut who went to Venus, what are three or more things you might think about before reading that would activate your schema?
- If the book said, "The astronaut's helmet began to melt..." what would you imagine the cause was? Why would his or her helmet be melting? Use your schema to answer this question.