Use what you already know and what you have done to understand a story and an information text read aloud

Learning goal: When a story and an information text are read aloud, the child uses background knowledge (what they already know) and previous experiences (what they have done or seen) to understand them, and checks that knowledge against what the text actually says. For the information text the adult gives the scaffolding described below. This lesson teaches Ohio's 2026 kindergarten standards RL.K.10 and RI.K.10, first implemented in the 2027-28 school year.

What background knowledge is. Background knowledge is everything a child already knows about a topic: that snow is cold, that ice is slippery, that mittens keep hands warm. Previous experiences are things the child has actually done, such as building a snowman, losing a glove, or watching an ice cube melt in a cup. Authors do not explain everything. They count on readers to fill in some ideas from what they already know. A child who has felt cold fingers understands at once why a character in a story wants her mitten back; a child who has never seen snow needs the adult to build that knowledge first, with a picture, a short explanation, or a quick experience such as holding an ice cube.

Using knowledge is different from telling a story about yourself. Children love to say "That happened to me!" That connection is welcome, but the standard asks for knowledge used to understand the text. The adult's job is to turn "I lost my mitten too" into "When I lost my mitten my hand got cold, so I think Rosa's hand is cold, and that is why she is looking so hard." The connection now explains something in the story.

Knowledge must be checked against the text. Background knowledge can also mislead. If a child "knows" that snowmen always have carrot noses and says the snowman in the story has one, but the story says it has a stone nose, the words win. Teach a short rule: use what you know, then check what the words say.

Original story — Rosa's Mitten

Rosa and her little brother Teo built a snowman in the yard. Rosa took off one green mitten so she could press two stones into the snowman's face for eyes. She put the mitten on top of the fence post.

"Now he needs a mouth," said Teo. They found a stick and made a smile.

When Rosa reached for her mitten, it was gone. The fence post was empty. Rosa's fingers were red and stinging. She tucked her hand inside her coat sleeve.

"Maybe the wind took it," said Teo.

They looked in the snow by the fence. They looked under the bush. Rosa's hand hurt more and more.

Then Teo pointed at the snowman. "Look! He's wearing it!"

Their dog, Biscuit, sat beside the snowman, wagging. The green mitten hung from the snowman's stick arm, wet and chewed at the thumb.

Rosa laughed and pulled it on. It was cold and soggy, but her fingers felt better right away. "Biscuit wanted to help," she said.

"Next time," said Teo, "put your mitten in your pocket."

Using knowledge in this story. The story never says "Rosa's hand was cold because snow is cold and she had no mitten." It says her fingers were "red and stinging". Children who have played in snow know that fingers turn red and hurt when they are very cold, so they understand why Rosa tucks her hand in her sleeve and why the search feels urgent. Children who know dogs like to carry things can explain what probably happened to the mitten before the story tells them. After the reading, check: the story shows the mitten on the snowman's stick arm and Biscuit wagging beside it, and Rosa says, "Biscuit wanted to help." So the idea that the dog moved the mitten fits the words; the idea that "the wind took it", which Teo guessed, does not fit the ending.

Original information text — Snow and Ice

Snow falls from clouds when the air is very cold. Snow is made of tiny pieces of ice called snowflakes.

When snow or ice gets warm, it melts. It turns into water.

When water gets cold enough, it freezes. It turns into ice. A puddle can freeze on a cold night and melt again on a sunny day.

Scaffolding the information text. Before reading, ask, "What do you already know about snow and ice?" and write the answers on a chart in a column called "We think we know". Some answers may be true ("snow is cold") and some may not be ("ice is hot inside"). Do not correct them yet. Read the text. After reading, go back to each idea and ask, "Did the text say that? Does it agree?" Sort each idea three ways: the text agrees (move it to a column called "The text says"), the text says something different (change the idea to match the text), or the text does not say (keep it with a question mark; it may still be true, and another source could check it). If you can, put an ice cube in a cup at the start of the lesson and look at it after the reading; the melted water is an experience that matches the sentence "When snow or ice gets warm, it melts." That small experience is the scaffold that lets every child use the same background knowledge, including children who have never seen snow.

Fully worked model. Adult: "The text says a puddle can freeze on a cold night. Have you ever seen ice on a puddle?" Child: "Yes, it was hard and I slid." Adult: "So what does freeze mean here?" Child: "The water turned hard, into ice, because it was cold." The child used an experience to understand a sentence and a word, and the answer matches the text.

Worked example 1: Experience explains a feeling in a story. Question: "Why does Rosa tuck her hand inside her sleeve?" Answer using knowledge: "Because her fingers are red and stinging, and I know fingers hurt when they get too cold, so she is keeping her hand warm in her sleeve." The experience ("I know fingers hurt when cold") explains something the story shows but does not say in those words.

Worked example 2: Checking a guess against the words. Teo guesses the wind took the mitten. A child says, "The wind blows things away, so the wind took it." Check with the words: at the end, the mitten is on the snowman's stick arm, chewed at the thumb, and Biscuit is wagging next to it. Knowledge about dogs ("dogs chew and carry things") fits the words better. The corrected answer: "Biscuit probably took it, because it is chewed and the dog is right there."

Worked example 3: Scaffolded knowledge for an information text. Before reading Snow and Ice, a child says, "Ice stays ice forever." After reading, the adult asks what the text says happens when ice gets warm. Answer: "It melts and turns into water." The child's first idea is changed because the text and the melted ice cube in the cup both show something different. Using background knowledge includes changing it when the text teaches something new.

Worked example 4: Building knowledge a child does not have. A child who has never seen snow is puzzled by "Snow falls from clouds." The adult shows a photo of falling snow and lets the child feel crushed ice, then rereads the sentence. Now the child can say, "Snow is little bits of ice, and it comes down from clouds."

Representation task — Know, then check chart: Make a three-column chart: "We think we know", "The text says", "Did the text agree?". Before reading Snow and Ice, record 4 or 5 children's ideas in the first column. After reading, fill in the second column and mark each first-column idea with a check (the text agreed), a cross (the text disagreed) or a question mark (the text did not say).

Representation task — Connection that explains: After Rosa's Mitten, each child draws a time they were very cold or lost something, and dictates a sentence that starts "This helps me understand Rosa because…". The adult writes the sentence exactly as the child says it.

Independent performance (adult reads aloud a new, short story and a new, short information text on a familiar topic): The child (1) tells one thing they already knew or had done that helped them understand the story, (2) connects it to a specific part of the story, (3) tells one thing they already knew about the information topic before reading, and (4) says whether the information text agreed with it, using the words of the text.

Success criteria: 4 checks. The connection must explain a part of the text (not only "that happened to me"), and the child must use the words of the text to confirm or change a prior idea. Record the scaffold used (picture, object, short explanation) for the information text.