How to Create Links Between New and Familiar Experiences.

How to Create Links Between New and Familiar Experiences. This is part of a series: How to Extend Learning as Part of Everyday Life Part 9. Effective Teaching Strategies: Linking the New to the Familiar. In this article I am going to teach you how to extend learning as part of everyday life by linking new experiences to familiar ones.

How to Extend Learning as Part of Everyday Life

When it comes to bringing learning into the everyday moments of life, there is a simple three step formula I like to keep in mind. This is called the Powerful Interactions Framework.

The three parts to the formula are 1- be present, 2- connect, and 3- extend learning. This third step includes learning and implementing teaching strategies that build on the knowledge your child already has.

It is my goal to help teach you these effective teaching strategies so you can confidently extend learning when those key moments come up in your life. 

Effective Teaching Strategies: Linking the New to the Familiar

Definition: Making learning meaningful by linking together concepts and applying concepts to your child’s life by connecting what is known to new learning.

• Focus on concepts that are part of your child’s everyday life.
• Help your child apply and connect new concepts and information to what they already know and are interested in.
• Allow sufficient time helping them connect and integrate more abstract ideas so they remember and can use what they learn.

How to Create Links Between New and Familiar Experiences

What this looks like

This looks like pointing out connections you see in real life. As you model this, your child will start to look for and make connections on their own.

Here are some examples of what that might sound like:

• “Just like in the game we play, “red light, green light”- when I am driving the car there are lights that tell me if I need to stop or go.” 
• “Remember when we saw that caterpillar in our garden? When it grew up it turned into a butterfly just like this one!”
• “You know how you can spell your name using letters? Every word is made up of letters and can be written by putting them together.” 
• “We read a book about a bear eating some berries- and now we are picking berries from a berry patch just like him!”
• “We made bread from flour and other ingredients, just like the little red hen is in this story. Do you remember doing that?”