Which strategy helps readers relate new information to what they already know before reading?

Which strategy helps readers relate new information to what they already know before reading?

• A. Predict what is going to happen
• B. Relate to the experience of the characters
• C. Look at illustrations
• D. Connect to background knowledge

Answer: (D)

Activating prior knowledge before reading helps readers make sense of new information by linking it to what they already know. When you connect new ideas to your own experiences, facts, and concepts, you create a framework—your background knowledge or schema—that makes unfamiliar details easier to understand and remember. Coming into a text with that connection in mind you can anticipate content, set a purpose for reading, and more easily integrate new information as you read. The process primes your brain to notice where the text fits with what you already know and where it expands your understanding. Looking at illustrations helps with understanding visuals, but it doesn’t specifically describe linking new material to what you already know. Predicting what will happen is a useful pre-reading and during-reading strategy for forecasting content, not necessarily about tying new information to prior knowledge. Relating to the experience of the characters is a form of connection localized to the narrative, rather than a general strategy for pre-reading comprehension. So, connecting to background knowledge best captures the idea of relating new information to what you already know before you read.

Activating prior knowledge before reading helps readers make sense of new information by linking it to what they already know. When you connect new ideas to your own experiences, facts, and concepts, you create a framework—your background knowledge or schema—that makes unfamiliar details easier to understand and remember. Coming into a text with that connection in mind you can anticipate content, set a purpose for reading, and more easily integrate new information as you read. The process primes your brain to notice where the text fits with what you already know and where it expands your understanding.

Looking at illustrations helps with understanding visuals, but it doesn’t specifically describe linking new material to what you already know. Predicting what will happen is a useful pre-reading and during-reading strategy for forecasting content, not necessarily about tying new information to prior knowledge. Relating to the experience of the characters is a form of connection localized to the narrative, rather than a general strategy for pre-reading comprehension. So, connecting to background knowledge best captures the idea of relating new information to what you already know before you read.