Chapter 1 building a knowledge base

Part I liked: Teachers need to understand uses and values of literacy in the various cultures of children in the classroom.

This chapter was difficult for me to read at first. It began with all these percentages and rates concerning test scores. While the information is important it sould have been presented in another manner. Once I saw all those numbers and abbreviations I found the reading daunting, and I began to xzone out.

I did enjoy the section on how social cultural and linguistic factors influence learning. Through various information I have read a common theme appears on connecting culture and teaching. It seems that before you teach any leson or address any subject you have to figure out a way for it to connect to student experiences or teach in a manner reflective of their culture. For example in aculture where older siblings teach younger siblings, bring in reading buddies. This will teach the students in a manner known to them. It seems diversity awareness issues should not be kept seperated from the lesson plan, but integrated into it.