Early+Years+Learners+&+Funds+of+Knowledge

Early Years Learners and Funds of Knowledge



Early learners are children in grades Prep, one and two, within VELS levels 1 and 2. The early learners interviewed and described in the following pages, were collectively ranging in age between 6 and 9, with an equal mix of boys and girls.

 Funds of knowledge are essentially the skills and knowledges that a child brings from home into the classroom. As Moll (2001 pg. 133) cites in their article on the topic, “funds of knowledge refer to … bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being”. As pre-service teachers, we should draw on this knowledge to engage the child in the classroom.

 Responses from early learners and their parents regarding the child's funds of knowledge is as varied as their ages and gender. These variations highlight to teachers just how diverse a single classroom can be and how different teaching approaches will assist early learners with their comprehension of literacy

 'Responses from the interview with D show that he is active and interested in bikes/motorbikes. D also loves playing basketball, both these points are confirmed by his mother.'

 'Lisa exhibited much excitement throughout the interview and expressed her love for reading, writing and in particularly, drawing. When told she may write or draw for the writing interview she spent much time in her drawings.

 Lisa loves to sing and therefore enjoys writing music for fun and recently wrote a story for her brother as a gift, demonstrating a self confidence in what she writes. Lisa likes to read at night before she goes to sleep, and prides herself on being able to read Chapter books now. She also enjoys reading her school reader with her mum and participating in reading in a group with her family.

 'Kim’s ‘funds of knowledge’ (Moll, 1992), the family or cultural knowledge within every child, is key in making her education relevant, inspiring, and useful. Kim’s seven years old, from an upper-middle class family in the eastern suburbs. She lives with her mother, father and brother. They appear to be a happy unit. Nana often helps look after the kids; Kim enjoys making various crafts and scrapbooking with her grandmother. In fact art is a theme in Kim’s family; she displays ability and interest in drawing and painting. Her uncle Spiro is a painter and started Kim painting on canvas when she was two. The recurring image of rainbows permeates her drawing and paintings; this could be utilised as a tool to engage in lessons about colours (primary), the environment, and spatial awareness. Kim is very interested in music; listening to Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Michael Jackson via recordings and the radio. She also has access to musical instruments at her place and nana’s including a guitar, recorder and keyboard. She enjoys physical activity like using the trampoline, monkey bars and attends a gymnastics program outside of school hours. She had previously studied swimming and dance. Kim’s knowledge and abilities appear broad and varied and were articulated clearly. I think Kim’s greatest ability is her eagerness to learn and her quick mind; she answered every question promptly and never lost focus. Considering I had never met her, or her family, before the interview I was amazed and uplifted by her open energy.'

 'Kailee’s disposition is reserved. She is quiet and reflects on questions before responding. While asking her what she enjoys doing Kailee takes the time to respond, wanting to please and be honest. Kailee could be considered an innovator. She likes things to be stacked out in front of her for everything to be seen and processes things before acting on anything. She loves visiting the beach with her younger sister and parents, in particular, making sandcastles. Her favourite thing on the weekends is ‘parent time’ where they do activities together like going to the park. Her favourite show is ‘The Biggest Loser’ and her favourite movie at the moment is Harry Potter. In regards to technology, Kailee only plays on the computer at school, as the only computer at home is her mum’s laptop for work related tasks and the mobile phone is only for adult use.'

 'Joshua has just turned 9 years old, and he is the youngest of 4 children with his closest (in age) sibling being 14 years old. Joshua attends a local primary school in which he has just moved into grade 3. Joshua enjoys playing sports, drawing, watching TV and playing interactive computer games. Although his efforts in class and enthusiasm for learning are great, throughout his time at school, Joshua has struggled to follow all the instructions and activities at the same level as his peers. After a referral from his teacher, Joshua’s mother tested him for dyslexia early in 2010. Joshua was diagnosed with all three forms of dyslexia to varying extents. This included dyseidesia, moderate dysnemkinesia and borderline dysphoneidesia, which had caused Joshua to have difficulty with visual recognition of words as well as short-term memory difficulty. Joshua was encouraged to undergo programs such as ‘piggyback’ and ‘THRASS’ to improve his visual information processing skills.'

 'Angus is a 6 year-old, grade 1 student, whom resides in a home in the outer south eastern suburbs with his father, mother and older sister, aged 8, where reading is encouraged and enjoyed. Angus attends a public primary school with approximately 650 students. Angus has many interests including art, sport and computer games. He has access to a wide range of technologies including computers, video games and mobile phones. Angus is quite technologically savvy playing games on his father’s iPhone and also using the computer to talk to his grandparents and father using Skype. He has some understanding of other languages which he has been taught by his parents and told me in the interview that in China they read their books backwards.'

 As written by Hill ‘making connections between children and their families is a way to make the curriculum meaningful for children’ (2010, p. 57). Funds of knowledge is important for a teacher to understand the community in which they are located. With expanding on this knowledge, a teacher can build on a student’s literacy curriculum.

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