Lesson suggestion: Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations

1. Introduce the term: “Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations.” Remind students that this behavior will be a focus for the month of January.

2. Ask pairs of students to take three minutes to compose one sentence expressing what they think this behavior heading suggests.

3. Ask for volunteers to share their sentence aloud. Help students to define the behavior.

4. Read “The Young Rooster.”

5. Ask students to share how they think the young rooster demonstarted the thinking behavior. (Learned from his mistake. Learned from his memory of the old rooster.)

6. Advise students that they will now attempt to identify an object. Show the widget. Ask pairs of students to compose their ideas of what the widget is / is used for.

7. Ask for volunteers to share their ideas.

8. Help students to recognize how they relied on past knowledge to develop their identification of the widget. Discuss the value of using existing knowledge as new encounters are made.

9. If desired, read “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” Entertain discussion with students about how assessments which too rigidly follow past experiences can limit new learning.

10. Share and Explain the “Applying Past Knowledge” rubric with students. Address how they / you might use this rubric during the course of the month.

11. Other?