The ABCs of Background Knowledge
Your students come to your classroom with a wide range of lived experiences and prior knowledge. To help them get the most out of complex texts, you can intentionally support language comprehension by connecting new learning to what they already know. The ABCs of Background Knowledge framework provides a simple approach for activating and assessing students’ prior knowledge, building their understanding throughout a unit, and helping them make meaningful connections that foster deep comprehension and critical thinking.
During this one-hour training, you will explore strategies for activating, building, and connecting background knowledge through classroom routines and instructional tools that support students as they learn new content. We’ll also examine cognitive load theory and instructional hierarchy to better understand how students acquire, strengthen, and apply knowledge over time. You’ll leave with practical, classroom-ready strategies that you can implement right away to help all students engage more deeply with texts and content across the curriculum.
Audience: School and District administrators, interventionists, reading specialists
Length: 1 hour
Presenter/s: Meghan Sanchez
Dates: August 11, 2026
Time: 4 pm
Cost: Free
Outcomes
- Identify the ABCs of background knowledge.
- Choose authentic, hands-on activities to support background knowledge building throughout a unit of study.
- Apply principles of cognitive load theory and instructional hierarchy to sequence instruction.
- Explore visual tools like concept mapping and hexagonal thinking to help students draw connections.
Teacher Bio
Meghan Sanchez is a Teacher Training Consultant with Chartwell Teaching Institute (CTI), specializing in structured literacy, morphology, and language comprehension. Meghan brings 10+ years of classroom experience and, prior to this role, taught students of all ages, from PreK-4 to high school. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Haverford College and a dual Master’s from Lesley University.
