Reading: The MeansReading: The Meansof Extending &of Extending &

Building Funds ofBuilding Funds ofKnowledgeKnowledge

Elfrieda H. HiebertElfrieda H. Hiebert

University of California,University of California,

BerkeleyBerkeley

Three Principles about ReadingThree Principles about Reading& Knowledge& Knowledge

1. All students have funds of knowledge.

2. Reading is where vocabularies and conceptsof existing funds of knowledge are extended &

particular funds of knowledge acquired.

3. As teachers, we are facilitators in recognizing,developing, and widening this knowledge.

WhatWhat!!s a Fund of Knowledge?s a Fund of Knowledge?

Weather

Conditions: rain, snow, hail, sunny

& clear, sunny & cloudy

Seasons: winter, spring,

summer, fall/autumnclimate

zones: continental,

polar, tropical,

mountain, desert, mild

1.1. All students have funds ofAll students have funds ofknowledge.knowledge.

• It!s a matter of finding out what those funds are.

• Potential funds of knowledge:

– Weather

– Food

– Pets/animals

– Plants/trees/gardens

– Their neighborhoods

Including some funds that we as teachersIncluding some funds that we as teachersmight not valuemight not value……..

Nine-year-old

Top 3 TV shows:

•Pokemon

•Star Wars: TheClone War

•Ben 10

Top 3 movies

•Ben 10: Secret ofthe Omnitrix

•Pokemon: the Riseof Darkarai

•Zack and Cody:Everyone Onboard

Seven-year-old

Top 3 TV shows:

•The Flintstones

•Scooby Doo

•Tom & Jerry

Top 3 movies:

• Star Wars: The

Clone Wars

• Kung-Fu Panda

• Surf!s Up

5-year-old (with 10-

year-old brother)

Top 3 TV shows:•Arthur•Martha Speaks

•Sponge Bob

Square Pants

Top 3 Movies:•Star Wars•Indiana Jones

•The Mummy (5-

year-old covers

eyes at certain

parts)

Top Ten Books Over Three Years

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3Superman!s First Flight Britney Spears Hangin! With Lil!

Romeo

Arthur!s Underwear Pokemon Pop Quiz Pop People: Lil! Romeo

NBA Action From A ToZ

Mojo Jojo!s Rising Pop People: Destiny!sChild

Chomp! I Choose You Hangin! With HilaryDuff

If You Give a Mouse aCookie

Paste Makes Waste How To DrawSpiderman

Itchy Itchy Chicken Pox Attack of thePrehistoric Pokemon

What Did I Do ToDeserve a Sister LikeYou?

The Very HungryCaterpillar

Scooby-Doo and theSunken Ship

Meet the Stars ofProfessional Wrestling

Junie B. Jones and theMushy Gushy Valentine

Rock Solid The All New CaptainUnderpants Extra-Crunchy Book O! Fun#2

The Magic School Busin the Time of theDinosaurs

Scooby-Doo and theSnow Monster

The Adventures ofSuper Diaper Baby

Arthur Goes To Camp The Island of GiantPokemon

The CaptainUnderpants Extra-Chunky Book O! Fun

McGill-Franzen, A., & Botzakis, S. (in press). Series books, graphic novels, comics, and

magazines: Unauthorized texts, authorized literacy practices. In E.H. Hiebert (Ed.), Readingmore, reading better: Are American students reading enough of the right stuff? NY: Guilford.

2. Reading is where vocabularies and

concepts are extended & developed. Comparison of Spoken & Written Language

(from Hayes & Ahrens,1988)

28.4

17.3

Adult Speech

Expert eyewitness testimony

College graduates to friends

22.7

20.2

30.8

2.0

Television Texts

Popular adult shows

Popular children’s shows

Cartoons

Mr. Rogers & Sesame Street

Rare Words per 1,000

128.0

68.3

65.7

52.7

53.5

30.9

16.3

Printed Text

Abstracts

Newspapers

Popular Magazines

Adult books

Comic Books

Children’s Books

Preschool Books

28.4

17.3

Adult Speech

Expert eyewitness testimony

College graduates to friends

22.7

20.2

30.8

2.0

Television Texts

Popular adult shows

Popular children’s shows

Cartoons

Mr. Rogers & Sesame Street

Rare Words per

1,000

128.0

68.3

65.7

52.7

53.5

30.9

16.3

Printed Text

Abstracts

Newspapers

Popular Magazines

Adult books

Comic Books

Children’s Books

Preschool Books

Particular Funds of Knowledge are acquiredParticular Funds of Knowledge are acquiredsolely through academic presentations (texts,solely through academic presentations (texts,

lessons, selected media)lessons, selected media)

• Representational forms of government

• Photosynthesis

• Many historical events

• Atom-splitting

3.3. As teachers, we areAs teachers, we arefacilitators in recognizing,facilitators in recognizing,developing, and wideningdeveloping, and widening

this knowledgethis knowledge

WV KNOWSWV KNOWS

i. Did I draw on students' existing knowledgeand experience? "

ii. Did I identify what new knowledge can begained from this text and guide students ingaining it?

iii. Did I support students in organizing theirnew knowledge with their existingknowledge/experiences?

iv. Did I show students ways to widen theirknowledge?

v. Did I support students in sharing theirknowledge?

i. Capturing existing

Knowledge

Planting and

Gardening

When

How

tools

Where

What

crops that can be grown

year round

crops that are grown during certain seasons

flowers

not for food

for food

vegetablesfruits

seeds

seedlingstrees

containers

in the ground

heritage verus non-heritage plants

organic

non organic

use of chemical

pest control

use of chemical growth

enhancements

natural pest

control

use of natual

products to help plants grow

crops grown in

greenhouses

full sun

partial sun/shade

full shade

ii. Establish New Knowledge

Volcanoes: Nature’s Incredible Fireworks: This is an in depth

look at volcanoes. The author describes how volcanoes form and

how explosive and destructive they can be. There is also mention

of Mt. St. Helen and Mt. Vesuvius.

A Symphony of Whales: The ice traps thousands of Beluga

whales and they cannot swim back out to sea. Glashka rallies the

village to chip away at the ice so that the whale can surface and

breathe. When the icebreaker ship tries to lure the whales backout to sea, the whales are afraid of the ship’s engine and do not

follow the ship. Glashka tells the ship’s captain to play music to

help lure the whales back out to sea.

Night Letters: Lilly is fascinated with the natural world—ant

trails, a hawkmoth, cracks in a rock, flashing fireflies, and the bark

of a tree. As she sits outside with her cat, she jots down notes (i.e.,

night letters) about these phenomena.

Pushing Up the Sky: This Native American tale explains how the

sky got so high. The Snohomish worked together to push the sky

upwards. The stars in the night sky are holes that were made as a

result of the poles that were used to push the sky up.

The Gardener: The story is a collection of letters that chronicles

Lydia Grace Finch’s move from her family’s farm to the city to livewith her Uncle Jim. Lydia Grace plants a garden on the rooftop

of Uncle Jim’s apartment building to “plant” a smile on Uncle

Jim’s face.

WHAT NEW INFORMATION MIGHT

STUDENTS GAIN?

SELECTION

iii. Organize new and prior knowledge

iv. Ways ofwidening students!

knowledge

Supporting Students in

Sharing their Knowledge

Three Principles about ReadingThree Principles about Reading& Knowledge& Knowledge

1. All students have funds of knowledge.

2. Reading is where vocabularies and concepts of

existing funds of knowledge are extended & particularfunds of knowledge acquired.

3. As teachers, we are facilitators in recognizing,

developing, and widening this knowledge.

More papers &

information at:

www.textproject.org

www.quickreads.org

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