Prior knowledge is the key to a treasure chest of greater comprehension if it is stocked properly and maintained regularly. If you don’t believe me, try reading a passage from a journal about a subject that you know NOTHING about. Watch what happens to your comprehension, fluency, motivation, and recall. Now, try writing about that same subject…difficult! Without prior knowledge, we are lost in an unknown sea, searching for a way to reach a familiar shore. In other words, everything we experience in life goes into a treasure chest of prior knowledge that is stored in the brain.
Prior knowledge acts as a key to many doorways of understanding. Build a storehouse of knowledge and engage students in daily actions that help their brains activate this knowledge. Then watch how reading and writing skills improve!