Acquire Background Information
Researching the theme is critically important. It enables the teacher to assess his or her prior knowledge, add to a personal knowledge base, identify misconceptions held by the teacher or students, and plan ways to reduce misconceptions.
A background information handout is prepared for a theme when a team thinks it need information in more depth and/or breadth on the theme. Each teacher contributes a section or the unit’s coordinator can prepare the handout. Adult resources rather than sources written for children are used for background reading. Some children’s books overgeneralize ideas leading to stereotyping or misconception.