Shelby Fitzpatrick & Katie Gipe

EDR 320
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Name of the Strategy: Prime Yourself with Prior Knowledge
Anticipatory Set:
Hold up a poster that says Its TIME to read! on a clock to attract students attention.
A picture of the poster is attached. Ask students what they notice about the clock on the poster.
Instead of telling a time, the clock says the word time. Draw students attention to the flaps
under each letter in the word time. Explain that the letters in the word for TIME stand for
something. Introduce acronyms. An acronym is a word that is an abbreviation formed from the
initial letters of other words. Give some examples of acronyms, such as RIP, LOL, or BRB. Ask
students if they can think of any other examples.
Explain that the poster TIME is an acronym as well. To find out what it stands for,
have students come up, flip up each flap, and read what it says to the class. As students read
what each letter stands for, write the acronym and its meaning on the board. Pass out bookmarks
for students to write the meaning of TIME on. The bookmark template is attached. Time
stands for:
Think about topic
Identify genre
Make connections
Express predictions
Description of Procedures for the Strategy:
After introducing the acronym, discuss what it is used for when its TIME to read!
Lead a brief discussion about the importance of activating prior knowledge before we start
reading a book. Example questions to foster this discussion might include: How do you prepare
yourself to read a book? If you know the genre of a book, what does that tell you? Just by
glancing through a book, what kinds of things can you notice? Explain that when students think
about what the book might be about, they are activating their prior knowledge. Activating prior
knowledge prepares students to better understand a book. Students might wonder how to
activate prior knowledge. Explain that TIME offers four important steps we can take to activate
our prior knowledge. These steps are: Think about the topic the book is about, Identify the genre
of the book, Make connections about things we already know about the topic or genre and
Express predictions we have based on our connections.
Model for students how to apply this strategy to a book.

We used The Other Side by

Jacqueline Woodson as identifying the books genre is very relevant to understanding the text
and the book has great pictures for students to look at while thinking about the steps in TIME.
Our students were also already familiar with the text as we had previously discussed the
importance of setting in the story. To begin modeling, put the book under the document camera
and go through each of the four steps in TIME.
Start with Think about the topic in the book. Display the front and back covers,
the inside covers, and flip through the pages. Vocalize your thoughts about what
the book might be about by saying
It looks like the book is about
This title leads me to think that the book will talk about
The pictures show

Shelby Fitzpatrick & Katie Gipe

EDR 320
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Then Identify the genre and vocalize your thoughts about what can be noticed
about the books genre by saying:
It looks like the book is
Because the book is (name specific genre), I know that the information in
this book is
The way the book is set up shows
Next Make connections about what you already know about the topic and genre
of the book. Some ways to vocalize your thoughts while making these
connections are:
I already know
I read a book about this topic before and it
I remember learning about
Finally Express predictions. Now that you are thinking about what you already
know about the books topic and genre, vocalize your predictions about the book
by saying:
I predict that this book will be about
Because I already know _____, I think this book will
After demonstrating how to model the four steps of TIME, get students involved with
the strategy by presenting a new book to go through the steps of TIME with together. We used
Jump! From the Life of Michael Jordan because many of our students are extremely interested in
basketball and have a particular love for Michael Jordan. The genre and pictures in the book are
also conducive to enhancing this strategy. To start, put the book under the document camera and
display the front and back covers, the inside covers, and do a picture walk of the book. Prompt
each step in TIME and ask students to turn and talk to their desk partner about that step. After
5 minutes of talking, ask students to share their thoughts on the step with the group. As students
share their ideas about each step, draw a chart with four columns for each letter of TIME on
the board and have students write their ideas on the whiteboard. Continue through all the steps,
allowing students to turn and talk for each step before sharing their ideas with the group.
To wrap up the lesson, emphasize to students the importance of activating their prior
knowledge before starting a new book. Review what TIME stands for one more time so that
students remember the four steps they should do before its TIME to read! Collect and
laminate their bookmarks as well for them to use in the future.
Involvement Strategy:
After modeling how to apply TIME, we will go through the steps of TIME again
with a new book to engage the students in the strategy. When going through the steps of TIME
for a second time we will have students turn and talk about each step. The teacher will flip
through important parts of the book under the document camera to showcase the book while
students are discussing. The teacher will then have students share their thoughts on each step
with the group as well as write their ideas on the TIME graphic organizer on the board.
Modeling:
When modeling the TIME strategy, I would go through each step with the book, The
Other Side, as follows:

Shelby Fitzpatrick & Katie Gipe

EDR 320
Professor Page
Topic: On the cover I see two girls looking at each other from across a fence. They are a
long ways apart, yet they are still looking at each other. This makes me think they are very
curious about each other. The title The Other Side leads me to think the girls want to find out
what life on the other side of the fence is like.
Genre: The Other Side is historical fiction, thus it is based on something that took place
in the past. The cover illustrates the separation of races because there is an African American girl
on a swing looking over at a Caucasian girl behind a fence. The book likely took place in a time
when racism kept people of different races from interacting.
Connections: When I look around the classroom today, I see people with all different skin
colors, however, in the book, two girls that have different skin colors are separated by a fence. I
know that racism was a big problem in our country and I think that race is what is keeping these
two girls apart. Im glad that today we can all be in class together even though we have different
skin colors.
Predictions: I predict that because this book took place in the past, these two girls cant
play with each other because they have different skin colors. I think the girls are very curious
about each other and might end up trying to go on the other side of the fence to find out what life
is like on the other side.
An Example of how to Assess the Students Understanding of the Strategy:
To assess students understanding of how to apply TIME to activate their prior
knowledge before reading a book, students can individually complete a TIME graphic
organizer about a book of their choice. The graphic organizer simply needs four columns, one
for each letter in TIME with the definition of what each letter stands for at the top of each
column. Students will write a couple bullet points of ideas for each step in each column. These
TIME graphic organizers can be completed for any book and can be a great formative, or
summative, assessment.
Childrens Text Information:
Jump! From the Life of Michael Jordan by Floyd Cooper, 2004, Philomel Books, ISBN #
978-0399242304
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, 2001, G. P. Putnams Sons, ISBN # 978-0399231162
References:
Cooper, Floyd. (2004). Jump! From the life of Michael Jordan. New York, NY: Philomel Books.
Serravallo, Jennifer. (2015). The reading strategies book: Your everything guide to developing
skilled readers. (pp. 54, 59, 63). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Woodson, Jacqueline. (2001). The other side. New York, NY: G. P. Putnams Sons.

Shelby Fitzpatrick & Katie Gipe

EDR 320
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Additional Strategies:
2.12 Ask Questions to Engage with the Text
The Other Side is a great book to practice using questions to engage with the text. The
Other Side brings up some familiar and potentially unfamiliar topics that can be addressed with
the class. With this book, you can talk about friendship and differences among peers. You can
also bring up more complex topics like discrimination and segregation. As you read through this
book, ask questions about what the students may be wondering. The book has great illustrations
as well that students can gain a lot of information from. Looking at the illustrations, you can ask
the students why certain events might be happening or what they think the characters might be
thinking. Encourage students to ask questions when they read and take time to stop and think.
2.16 Choose Books with your Identity in Mind
Jump! From the Life of Michael Jordan, is a good book to model this strategy because it
has a very specific topic. We picked to work with this book because our students enjoy
basketball and love Michael Jordan so it was something we knew they would get excited about
and stay interested in. The purpose of this strategy is to get students excited about reading and
helping them figure out how to identify books that are about what theyre interested in. Students
should first think about what reading level they are at to help narrow down the search to books
better suited for them. Next, students should think about what they enjoy doing or what interests
them. This is a great place to start when students are looking for their next book to read. You
could use Jump! From the Life of Michael Jordan with your class is to practice going through the
process of how you might pick out a book. You could demonstrate the strategy by having a box
of books with a variety of reading levels and topics. You could first eliminate the books that are
too high or too low. Next, express a few interests you may have (basketball, animals, poetry).
Shuffle through the books to see if any of the books match your interests.

Shelby Fitzpatrick & Katie Gipe

EDR 320
Professor Page

Shelby Fitzpatrick & Katie Gipe

EDR 320
Professor Page