FUNDS

Teachers Value the Cultural, Social and Intellectual Funds that Students Bring to School. Teachers accept and value what children bring to school. Teachers scaffold learning by using students’ prior knowledge, prior life experiences, personal life goals, role models, values, and talents.


 * Incorporate materials into the course that provide information on the course content while at the same time being something the students can relate to their own lives.
 * If there are special events going on at the school like Homecoming or student council elections incorporate that into your lesson.
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 * If students have familial history relating to a lesson, make use of the student's knowledge and if the student is willing, allow him or her to share their personal connection with subject to the class. This should help show that the students have meaningful opinions as well as get the students to stay involved in the course by showing them that there are things they may know that you the teacher do not.
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 * http://www.arp.sprnet.org/admin/supt/collab2.htm
 * If a class has a lot of athletes in it, find a way to incorporate sports into the lesson whether it be by relating football and warfare to discussing how Native Americans played an early form of what today is called lacrosse.
 * On a student's birthday, give the student a few quick facts that happend on their day of birth.
 * Utilize analogies that allow students to relate historical concepts to their lives.
 * http://www.educationworld.com/back_to_school/index.shtml

This principle can be applied through the use of activities to be done at the beginning of the year. - Have students share their expectations for the class. - Give students the space to share their interests through personal web spaces or in-class bulletin boards. - Having students create biographies about their own lives.

This understanding also requires teachers to know a lot about the students. - Teacher needs to know the life experiences and personal goals of the students. - Teacher needs to use students' experiences in their own examples and lessons. - A classroom effectively applying this principle would have students talking more than the teacher.

School and teacher philosophies need to emphasize making content relevant to students. - Moving away from the 'teach for the test' curriculum. - Schools organized around the idea of engaging students rather than reaching benchmarks. - Serialized social studies education takes away from the benefits of tapping into students' cultural, social and intellectual funds.

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I think this video really characterized how a student can use his or her prior experience to make an impact both inside and outside the classroom

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