Check context familiarity by asking the class to share what they know about a problem's context before working on it¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Before students work on a problem, the teacher can surface prior knowledge of its setting as a quick diagnostic of familiarity. The guide states that "teachers might ask the class to share what they know about that context before working on the problem with them." This strategy is flagged as "especially important for English language learners" and for students currently struggling with mathematics.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• The teacher must identify the problem's context and its required background knowledge during advance preparation.

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• Students in grades 4 through 8
• English language learners

Target Learning Goals¶

• Familiarity with problem contexts so students can focus on mathematics and reasoning

Related Strategies¶

• Prepare Personalized Familiar Problem Contexts
• Activate Background Knowledge
• Activating Prior Knowledge
• Activation
• Connecting Background Knowledge To Content

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Preparing Problems for Classroom Instruction. (2012). Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4 Through Overview, U.S. Department of Education funded practice-guide presentation. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/16