Connecting Prior Knowledge to New Ideas

You already know a lot of things! You know how to count your fingers. You know how a story about a puppy might end happy. All of these things you know are called your prior knowledge. When something new comes along, like a new math problem or a new story, you can use what you already know to help you understand it.

This is called connecting prior knowledge to new ideas. It is like building with blocks. You do not start from nothing. You use blocks you already have to build something new.

Prior knowledge is everything you already learned or saw before today. If you have counted five apples, you know what the number 5 means. If you have read a book about a bear, you know bears live in the woods. All of that is your prior knowledge.

You do not need to learn everything brand new every time. You can look at a new idea and ask yourself, "What do I already know that is like this?"

Let's say you already know that \(2 + 1 = 3\). You counted 2 toy cars, then added 1 more car, and got 3 cars in total. Now a new problem comes along: \(2 + 2\).

You can use your prior knowledge! You still start with 2, just like before. This time you add 2 more instead of 1. You count: 1, 2, then 3, 4. So \(2 + 2 = 4\). You solved a new problem because you remembered how the old one worked.

Here is another example. You know that a triangle has 3 sides. If someone shows you a new shape and asks you to count its sides, you already know how to count sides from the triangle. You just look and count the sides on the new shape too.

Your prior knowledge also helps with reading. If you read a book about a dog that gets lost and finds its way home, you learned that dogs can find their way. Now if you read a new book about a cat that gets lost, you can guess the cat might find its way home too.

You are not guessing from nothing. You are using a story you already know to understand a brand new story.

Try these steps the next time you see something new:

1. Look at the new idea. Is it a new math problem, a new word, or a new story?
2. Ask yourself, "Have I seen something like this before?"
3. Think of the thing you already know that is most like it.
4. Use what you remember to help you understand or solve the new one.
5. Check your answer. Does it make sense?

Prior Knowledge: Things you already learned or did, like counting toys or reading a story about a dog.

New Idea: Something you have not learned yet, like a new math problem or a new story.

Connect: To link a new idea to something you already know, so it is easier to understand.

Understand: When a new idea makes sense to you because you thought about what you already know.

You can practice this every day. When you learn a new number, think about numbers you already know. When you hear a new story, think about a story you already read. Say out loud, "This reminds me of..." and finish the sentence. The more you practice, the easier new ideas will feel.

Related lessons

• Use Prior Knowledge To Make Connections