Issue 22: The Importance of Background Knowledge for Comprehension | Brittany Zucker

As a Speech-Language Pathologist and Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist, I specialize in working with children with receptive and expressive language disorders as well as language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Throughout my career, I have worked with numerous children who strengthened their language and decoding skills but continued to struggle to understand what they read. Overtime, I recognized that their comprehension was impacted by weak background knowledge.

The Science of Reading: More Than Decoding

The Science of Reading (SOR) encompasses five decades of scientific knowledge derived from thousands of studies around the world. This research investigates how proficient reading and writing develop in the brain, why some individuals have difficulty, and what instructional approaches are most effective.

The Simple View of Reading, shown above, is a formula developed by Gough and Tunmer in 1986 that has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. In the formula, the two factors are given values between 0 and 1 and are multiplied together to predict reading comprehension.

This formula makes it clear that reading comprehension cannot occur unless both decoding and language comprehension are strong; a weakness in any factor will lead to a breakdown in reading comprehension. For example, if a child is a strong decoder and earns a score of 1 for word recognition but struggles with language comprehension and earns a score of 0, their comprehension score will be 0 (1 x 0 = 0). This means the child will struggle to understand what they are reading, even though they can decode the words.

Over the last few years, the SOR movement has penetrated education systems, encouraging many schools to replace poor curricula in an effort to adopt better practices. While this change is applaudable, many have put such a strong emphasis on the word recognition strand by focusing on phonics and phonological awareness instruction that they, unfortunately, overlook the other aspects essential for reading comprehension, such as background knowledge.

What Is Background Knowledge?

Background knowledge is the amount of information or knowledge one has such as vocabulary, facts and conceptual knowledge about various topics. Some knowledge is topic-specific, such as knowing about our solar system, learning how to read a map and understanding the importance of the Civil Rights Movement. While other knowledge is more general, such as knowledge learned from life experiences such as visiting museums, spending a day at the beach and visiting another country.

How does Background Knowledge Affect Comprehension?

Decades of studies have shown that readers use their background knowledge to comprehend a text they read. According to Fisher and Frey (2009), how much a reader already knows about a topic is probably the best predictor of reading comprehension. Background knowledge is fundamental to reading as it impacts understanding, encourages vocabulary growth, and helps students make inferences and connections while reading, which allows for critical thinking.

When readers encounter a text for which they have limited background knowledge, the text will be much more difficult to understand. For example, a child who has limited knowledge on the topic of dinosaurs will likely struggle to understand an article titled "Amazing Paleontologist Discoveries," even if they are able to decode fossilization and Stegosaurus. This is why it's easier for me to read articles in my monthly ASHA (American Speech-Hearing Association) Magazine than an article in the Financial Times.

Simply put, reading about what we already know is easier. In fact, this idea holds true even for struggling readers, which was demonstrated in the famous experiment called "The Baseball Study." In 1988, researchers Donna Recht and Lauren Leslie divided middle school students into groups based on two factors - their general reading ability and their knowledge of baseball. They instructed students to read a passage about a baseball game and then assessed their comprehension in a variety of ways. The study found that a child's knowledge of baseball, not their predetermined reading ability, predicted their comprehension and ability to recall the story. Poor readers and good readers with high baseball knowledge performed equally, as did both sets of readers with low knowledge of the sport. The following graph summarizes the findings of this study.

Since the baseball study, numerous other studies have been conducted that confirm how knowledge of a topic has an enormous effect on a reader's ability to understand a text. In April 2023, the findings of a rigorous study at the University of Virginia were published, which followed more than 2,000 students. The researchers found that children who received a content-rich, knowledge-building curriculum for at least four years, starting in kindergarten, significantly outperformed their peers who did not receive the same interventions on standardized reading comprehension assessments.

Knowledge Brings More Knowledge

According to Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap and host of the Knowledge Matters podcast, knowledge sticks to other related knowledge like Velcro. Knowledge not only helps you understand a text, but it also helps you retain new information on the topic since you already have an existing framework to fit it into. Readers who have knowledge are able to comprehend a text where they acquire more information about that subject, which helps them read increasingly more sophisticated texts, further expanding their underlying knowledge base.

Unfortunately, this means that children who have less knowledge will struggle to acquire the background knowledge they need to succeed in school. They will have more difficulty making meaning from various texts, such as articles and books, and will ultimately perform poorly on assessments. Furthermore, these students often have difficulty succeeding in writing assignments since it's difficult to write about a topic they don't know or understand. For example, a child who lacks an understanding of Hitler Youth during World War II prior to reading the book Behind The Bedroom Wall will struggle to understand why it is so difficult for the main character, Korinna, to accept that her parents are members of the underground resistance group.

How to build background knowledge at home and in school

Now that we recognize how comprehension is closely correlated to a student's background knowledge, we should make every effort to intentionally teach and build background knowledge throughout a child's day.

(1) Incorporate Read-Alouds

Reading aloud is an instructional practice where teachers, parents and caregivers read texts aloud to children. This activity is undoubtedly one of the most important activities to help children increase vocabulary, improve listening comprehension, and build the knowledge needed to become successful readers and learners. Additionally, according to Jeanne Chall's reading research, most students will be unable to learn anything new from independently reading until fourth or fifth grade.

According to Molly Ness, a reading researcher and author of "Read Aloud for All Learners," reading aloud is necessary for every student, every day - regardless of age, grade level or language background." Read-aloud texts should include well-illustrated, high-quality literacy in a variety of genres that include both narrative and expository texts. Furthermore, when reading books aloud, it's important to ask questions and encourage both teacher-led and peer-to-peer conversations. Engaging in dialogic reading builds oral language, vocabulary and comprehension skills.

See the chart below for some of my personal favorite read-alouds that I love to use to build knowledge.

(2) Real Life Experiences

Informal learning experiences, such as school field trips and family outings, provide children with opportunities to experience and explore new things. Trips to the zoo, aquariums, nature preserves, parks and museums allow children to make connections with the world around them. Even a trip to the beach, a visit to a carnival or a ride on a train is a learning experience for children that builds knowledge.

Virtual field trips are a new way for children to immerse themselves in new learning experiences. Many museums, historical societies, zoos and aquariums have virtual field trip options on their website. For example, there is a Giant Panda Cam at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the Seattle Aquarium has a 30-minute video tour, you can explore The Anne Frank House or Ellis Island and even visit The Great Wall of China virtually.

(3) Watch Educational Videos

Video learning is another way to build knowledge at home and in the classroom. Educational videos often make new topics come to life in an engaging and engrossing way. For example, a short video on how snow forms can be enlightening for a student who has never seen snow before. However, it's important to note that just like a read-aloud should be interactive, so should video watching - pause the video, ask questions, and encourage discussions. Some of my favorite sources to find educational videos are Mystery Doug Science, Scholastic News, Newsela, and YouTube.

(4) Think Thematically

Thematic sets are collections of texts and media tightly focused on one topic. These sets integrate different types of texts, genres and resources such as picture books, chapter books, articles, podcasts and educational videos. By focusing on one topic for days or weeks, children will encounter the same vocabulary and concepts repeatedly, which allows them to retain knowledge and learn more about the topic. If you know your child is learning about penguins in school, a trip to the zoo to see these birds or reading a picture book at home about penguins can be helpful.

You can find curated sets on websites such as Newsela, Readworks, CommonLit, and Scholastic, or you can create your own! Some of my favorite topics include inventions, conservationists, endangered species, space, ocean life, women's rights, Black history, and activists.

(5) Continue Teaching Science and Social Studies

Many schools have cut subjects like social studies and science in an effort to focus more time on structured literacy instruction. However, these subjects increase students' knowledge of the world and are just as important. Knowledge improves reading, which means studying history and biology is teaching reading just as much as a Language Arts block.

Conclusion

Knowledge is a foundational building block that enables better readers and learners. Building knowledge intentionally at home and in school is important to a child's success as it helps them make meaning from text, learn more about a topic, and think critically.

References

• Coppola, Shawna (2014). Building Background Knowledge. The Reading Teacher, 68(2), 145–148.
• Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2009). Background knowledge: The missing piece of the comprehension puzzle. Heinemann.
• Hirsch, E. D., Jr. 2003. "Reading Comprehension Requires Knowledge—of Words and the World." American Educator 27, no. 1 (Spring): 10–29. [eric.ed.gov]
• Morrison, Vanessa, and Lisa Wheeler. "Revisiting Read Alouds: Instructional Strategies that Encourage Students' Engagement with Text." Reading Rockets. Accessed Jan 19, 2022. [readingrockets.org]
• Shapiro, A. (2004). How including prior knowledge as a subject variable may change outcomes of learning research. American Educational Research Journal, 41(1), 159–189.
• Smith, R., Snow, P., Serry, T., & Hammond, L. (2021). The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Comprehension: A Critical Review. Reading Psychology, 42(3), 214–240. [doi.org]
• Wexler, Natalie. 2019. The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System—and How to Fix It. New York: Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Brittany Zucker

Brittany Zucker is a Language, Literacy and Dyslexia Interventionist based in New York City. She is ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) certified, is certified in Orton-Gillingham at the Associate Level through the Orton-Gillingham Academy (OGA) and is a certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist through the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Brittany works full-time as a Lower School Reading Coordinator at The Shefa School, a private Jewish Day School for students with language-based learning disabilities, where she works closely with teachers by providing training and coaching. Additionally, she creates curriculum with a focus on integrating language and literacy and presents professional development workshops through The Shefa Center. After school, Brittany sees clients privately where she provides evidence-based structured literacy and language intervention and works collaboratively with families to ensure their children are receiving the best and most appropriate support in the classroom. Brittany also co-authored the book The Speech-Language Pathologist's Guide to Dyslexia, which assists professionals in identifying and providing evidence-based intervention to children with dyslexia.

Extracts from Dystinct Magazine