Which term describes the pre-reading activity of activating prior knowledge about a topic such as volcanoes?

Which term describes the pre-reading activity of activating prior knowledge about a topic such as volcanoes?

• A. Building schema
• B. Copying notes
• C. Predicting outcomes
• D. Skimming the text

Answer: (A)

Building schema means using what you already know to prepare for new information. Before reading about volcanoes, you pull together your existing ideas and experiences—like what you know about lava, eruption effects, or the Earth's crust—and you connect them to the new details you’ll encounter. This mental framework helps you anticipate content, ask relevant questions, and integrate new facts more easily as you read, which improves understanding and memory. Copying notes isn’t a pre-reading activity; it’s a later study habit. Predicting outcomes is something you might do as you read to test understanding, not specifically about activating prior knowledge. Skimming is about quickly getting an overview of the text, not about triggering your background knowledge.

Building schema means using what you already know to prepare for new information. Before reading about volcanoes, you pull together your existing ideas and experiences—like what you know about lava, eruption effects, or the Earth's crust—and you connect them to the new details you’ll encounter. This mental framework helps you anticipate content, ask relevant questions, and integrate new facts more easily as you read, which improves understanding and memory.

Copying notes isn’t a pre-reading activity; it’s a later study habit. Predicting outcomes is something you might do as you read to test understanding, not specifically about activating prior knowledge. Skimming is about quickly getting an overview of the text, not about triggering your background knowledge.