Think about going to a large shopping mall that you have never visited before. You find the store locator and study it for a few minutes to get a general idea of what stores are in the mall and where they are located in relationship to each other. Using the legend that categorizes stores by type, you zero in on the stores that are important to your shopping needs, thus narrowing down your focus. You also note some other stores that capture your interest. Based on your background knowledge, you predict that one of the large department stores you hope to visit will be at one end of the mall and the store locator confirms your prediction. Now with a general sense of the organization of the mall, some clear destinations and directions, and excitement over your new shopping adventure, you head out.
The store locator is an example of an Advance Organizer. Advance Organizers are organizational frameworks presented prior to instruction that show students the big picture of what they will be learning. They highlight and organize the important ideas of a lesson and provide a framework for attaching the new learning.
