SIOP Building Background

 

Building Background simply means preparing students for what they are about to learn.  In a way, this component is all about starting where the students are, not where they aren't.  SIOP examines this through the lens of both content and language. SIOP Building Background

SIOP Component #2:  Building Background

"Teaching is subordinate to learning" Caleb Gattegno

This component of SIOP encourages teachers to consciously try and connect students to both the content and language of the lesson.  Teachers build background by helping students connect the know to the unknown and the old to the new. The three features (below) remind educators of three important factors:  First, helping students focus on the familiar first is a good place to start.  Next, students come with valuable knowledge and skills that need to be used.  Finally, vocabulary must be a conscious, sustained effort.  Once again, SIOP helps teachers consciously attend to language.

SIOP helps students make conscious connections with past & present learning

The amount of time that a teacher may spend building background depends on how foreign the content and language are to the students.  Talking about living in an igloo to a Polynesian student body may take some background building.  Likewise, the idea of emphasizing vocabulary may take a little or a lot of effort depending on a variety of factors.  Some students may not need a lot of it while others may need a significant amount of support.  That's why we teachers much consciously attend to it. Siop practice and application

Emphasize key vocabulary for students in meaningful ways

Making vocabulary a focus of your class does not have to take away from learning; rather it should enhance it.  As teachers, we must learn to emphasize important vocabulary and key terminology at the beginning, the middle, and the end of our lessons.  This, however, does not have to consume vast amounts of time. 

Here are 5 things to remember about emphasizing key vocabulary.

​Don't assume your students know the words; don't assume they don't.  Find out!

Make sure vocabulary is at the center of everything you do by constantly referring to the terms.

Get students to use the vocabulary terms orally as much as possible. 

Use the board!  Write key words on the board.  Make sure they are visible to the leaners.

Empower students to learn unknown words by teaching them to use context clues.

Building Background isn't only for the Benefit of the Students

While students can gain a tremendous amount from a few building background activities (see SIOP feature 7 and SIOP feature 8), teachers also get a lot out of these activities. Beyond having students that are more prepared to learn, teachers also have a chance to informally assess where students stand with the lesson's objectives. This not only helps teachers get a preview of what might be easy or difficult for the students, it also helps them make adjustments to the lesson before getting deep into it.