Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement
Research on What Works in Schools
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In Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement, Robert J. Marzano shows how a carefully structured combination of two approaches—sustained silent reading and instruction in subject-specific vocabulary terms—can help overcome the deficiencies in background knowledge that hamper the achievement of many children.
Readers will learn
* The principles that underlie an effective sustained silent reading program
* A five-step process for using sustained silent reading to enhance background knowledge
* The defining characteristics of effective vocabulary instruction
* A six-step process for direct instruction in vocabulary in each discipline
* The vocabulary terms critical to students' success in every academic subject
Vignettes suggest how the recommended reading and vocabulary instruction programs might be implemented in elementary schools, middle and junior high schools, and high schools. The book also includes a list of 7,923 vocabulary terms culled from the national standards documents and other publications, organized into 11 subject areas and 4 grade-level categories.
With its research-based recommendations and step-by-step approach, Building Background Knowledge equips educators with the tools they need to help close the achievement gap and enable all students to succeed.
Robert J Marzano
Robert J. Marzano is senior scholar at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) in Aurora, Colorado, associate professor at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and president of Marzano & Associates in Centennial, Colorado. He is the author of 25 books, 150 articles and chapters in books, and 100 sets of curriculum materials for teachers and students in Grades K-12. His works include What Works in Schools: Translating Research Into Action, School Leadership That Works, Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement, Classroom Management That Works, Classroom Instruction That Works, Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work, and A Different Kind of Classroom: Teaching With Dimensions of Learning.
During his 35 years in public education, Marzano has worked in every state multiple times as well as in a host of countries in Europe and Asia. The central theme in his work has been translating research and theory into practical programs and tools for K-12 teachers and administrators.
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