Building Background Knowledge and Preventing the Summer Slide

Building background knowledge is the third and final strategy that I will share for helping children prevent the summer slide!  What kinds of experiences can you have with your child this summer to build his/her background knowledge?

If you missed the first two posts on preventing the summer slide, you can grab them here and here.

Well, before we decide what these important experiences are, we need to understand why activating background knowledge is important!

Background knowledge in reading, is deepening what student already knows about a topic so that he/she can apply it to a text. According to APS, the Association for Psychological Science, a lack of background knowledge can hinder reading comprehension.

So, how can we ensure even the youngest children have the necessary background knowledge that they need?  Let’s explore some building background knowledge strategies that we can take advantage of during the summer months.

Build Background Knowledge by Exploring Interests

Do you have children that love dogs?  Design some experiences around that.  Take them to the library and check out some non-fiction books about dogs.  It is important for them to read a wide variety of books to get exposure to different related ideas.  For example, one book about dogs may focus on how to care for a puppy while one book may focus on where different dog breeds originated.  

Learning about puppies might lead to a conversation or more reading about animal life cycles.  You could compare the life cycle of a dog to the life cycle of a chicken. Or, if your children are interested in huskies, pull out a globe, and locate Siberia.  Talk about the climate of the Arctic region and how it impacts life for the animals and people that live there.  Creating connections from topic to topic will help children enrich their background knowledge.

You could also consider hosting a fundraiser with your child for a local animal shelter.  This could lead to a conversation about economics: needs, wants, supply, and more. Bonus! You get to help those lovable fur babies!

Volunteer together

Not only could you raise money for an animal shelter, but you could also volunteer at one.  Volunteering together is a great way to see a different view of your community and to work on building background knowledge.  

Some places or ways to volunteer with a child are:

• Food pantry
• Do a book drive to donate to a youth program
• Participate in a community clean-up
• Do a 5K that benefits a charity
• Visit a nursing home
• Participate in outreach through your church

The website, We Are Teachers, has over 50 ways for families to find volunteer opportunities.  You can try these with your own family and direct your students’ families to this resource as well. 

Cook together

One year on our state testing, there was a question about a grapefruit.  Many of my students missed the question because they hadn’t ever seen, touched, or tasted a grapefruit.  Take your child to the grocery and point out or purchase unique foods. 

A friend of mine likes to have “Tasty Tuesday” in the summertime and cooks a meal from a different country every Tuesday night with her children.  It is a great way to expand their knowledge of countries around the world and their palates!

You may find a new food that the whole family loves, and I don’t know about you but having new ideas for dinner is always a win in my book!

Kid Minds has a fun seven-day challenge all about cooking around the world.  Click here to check it out!

Take a Trip

It is so important for children to get outside of their homes to see and experience new things.  

It does not have to be expensive!  When my children were little, we were living paycheck to paycheck, but we always found ways to get out of the house and have some fun.  For example, many museums have certain days that are free to the public.  Sit down and brainstorm a list, check-in with your local mom friends, and I bet you will be able to plan some ways to get out and build background knowledge with your children.

Here are some ideas of places to go and conversations that the trips could lead to:

• A baseball game-talk about the value of teamwork, the math involved in calculating the score, build vocabulary: bases, mound, pitcher, batter, etc.
• A play-theater etiquette, using expression (important for reading aloud), build vocabulary: stage, curtain, scenes, props, backdrop etc.
• A park-identify living and non-living things, predator and prey, needs of plants and animals
• A bakery-the chemistry of cooking, jobs in the community, owning your own business, advertising
• A beach-animal habitats, tides, erosion, protecting the environment by not littering
• A museum-read the daily schedule, engage in hands-on explorations

Engage in conversation

This is such a meaningful strategy because it can happen anywhere and at any time!  As adults, we tend to rush around and get very focused on our priorities, but simply taking time to stop and include children in our conversations about work, life, and current events can be very powerful.  

Some great times to chat with your children are:

• At the dinner table
• Driving in the car
• On a walk
• During errands
• During bath time
• At bedtime

Want to know a major pet peeve of mine?  I get very frustrated when I hear people “Talking down” to their children.  Kids have brilliant, inquisitive minds that are capable of learning rich vocabulary words and pondering challenging concepts.  Just talk to them and see!

Kelly of Happy You Happy Family wrote a great post about family dinner conversations.  Check out the 150 prompts she created!

I hope you have been inspired over the last three weeks and came away with actionable strategies for preventing the summer slide.  Best wishes for a summer of love, laughter, and learning!

P.S. If you enjoyed these posts, sign up for my emails!  I will send you a free guide: 7 Essential Steps to Preparing for Your Teaching Observation.  It includes a printable checklist to keep you on track!