Reading Research Into the Classroom
Tapping Students’ Cultural Funds
of Knowledge to Address
the Achievement Gap
Victoria J. Risko, Doris Walker-Dalhouse
e believe that all children and adolescents
W go to school expecting that they will suc-
ceed. Students whose language, ethnicity,
and race are not represented in the school’s dominant
culture experience varying degrees of success in read-
ing achievement, resulting in persistent gaps in read-
ing achievement (Lutkus, Rampey, & Donahue, 2006)
and disproportionately higher dropout rates in U.S.
high schools (Balfanz & Legters, 2004). While the
achievement gap in reading has narrowed slightly for
students in urban schools, the scores of African
American students are still below state and national
averages (Council of Great City Schools, 2007).
In contrast, some researchers have reversed this
trend and are reporting positive achievement perform-
ance with culturally responsive instruction capitaliz-
ing on the knowledge and literacy strategies students
learn in their homes and communities, the ways that
students reason about and make sense of their world,
and the language and communicative patterns of stu-
dents. Culturally responsive instruction requires edu-
cators to have a broad and in-depth understanding of
students’ cultural and linguistic histories and out-of
school experiences (Gay, 2003; King, 1994).
We provide a discussion of cultural modeling as
one example of how to design culturally responsive
instruction. In principle, cultural modeling provides a
guide for teaching all culturally and linguisticly di-
verse students, but it has been implemented specifi-
cally with African American students most in need of
educational support (Lee, 2007).
What Is Cultural Modeling?
Cultural modeling is a way of designing instruction to
make explicit connections between content and liter-
The Reading Teacher 61(1), pp. 98–100
98 DOI:10.1598/RT.61.1.12
acy goals and the knowledge and experiences stu-
dents share with family, community, and peers.
Cultural modeling as a framework for guiding lit-
eracy instruction demonstrates two vital components
of culturally responsive instruction: a respect for differ-
ences and the use of these differences as teaching and
learning resources rather than deficits to be overcome
(Lee, 2007; Lee, Rosenfeld, Mendenhall, Rivers, &
Tynes, 2004). This approach provides equitable and
accelerated learning opportunities for all students
(Banks, 2004) but is particularly empowering for stu-
dents’ whose culture and language may not be visi-
ble in classrooms (Gay, 2000).
Of course, individuals differ widely in their beliefs,
interests, daily activities, and family composition. Yet
common practices within communities, such as
church rituals and language practices, transcend gen-
erations and individuals. Movies, books, music, and
popular media may also be represented in students’
language and community literacy practices and con-
tribute to their learning processes.
Why Cultural Modeling?
Lee’s research reveals increases in students’ text com-
prehension and written performance. For high school
students, Lee (2001) reported increases of compre-
hension monitoring, student-generated questions, and
reasoning about the significance and applications of
text information. With third- and sixth-grade students,
Lee et al. (2004) reported high performance on writ-
ten narratives. In both studies, students’ use of African
American English vernacular, their prior knowledge,
and African American rhetorical patterns (e.g., use of
dramatic language, features of sermons delivered by
African American preachers, voices represented in
© 2007 International Reading Association
ISSN: 0034-0561 print / 1936-2714 online
African American literature) were described as cen-
tral to cultural scaffolding for learning and participa-
tion. In a similar manner, students’ use of African
American language features in their writing and strong
performance on the National Assessment of
Educational Progress writing test are positively corre-
lated (Smitherman, 2000).
How Do I Prepare to Teach Using the
Cultural Modeling Framework?
Identify Content to Be Taught. For example, if
teaching third- or fourth-grade students, one content
area targeted for study may be U.S. history from the
1930s through 1960s. Topics associated with this time
period could include economic depression, poverty,
loss of income and jobs, racism, lack of voting rights
for African Americans, segregation, and civil rights.
Identify Problems Embedded in the Content
That Require Higher-Level Thinking. Take students
beyond the study of facts as they examine problems
associated with the targeted content. For example, stu-
dents might trace and interpret reasons for different
perspectives on desegregation.
Identify Language Arts Skills and Strategies You
Want Your Students to Learn. The goal is to teach
the skills and strategies that students need to under-
stand the content in the unit. Included could be strate-
gies for activating prior knowledge, interpreting
symbolism, irony, and satire (three skills that Lee fo-
cused on in her instruction), or comprehending
metaphors and similes.
Identify Students’ Prior Knowledge, Including
Patterns of Language Used in Their Community,
at Home, and With Peers. When talking with stu-
dents and their families, teachers might learn about
stories and experiences shared within their commu-
nity and family that can be connected explicitly to
texts read in class. In addition, listening to students
and analyzing their writing provides information
about features of students’ oral and written language.
For example, students may include dialogue in their
writing that mirrors the speech of African American
political and religious leaders. Once teachers know
this, they can build on existing strategies as they teach
students additional ones for writing with dialogue.
Tapping Students’ Cultural Funds of Knowledge to Address the Achievement Gap
Select Multiple Texts to Supplement School
Texts That Represent the Cultural Data Sets of
African American Students. Lee described students’
cultural data sets as the multiple “texts” (from written
texts to videos to lyrics of spirituals) that students learn
to comprehend and interpret as part of their routine,
everyday lives; the comprehension and reasoning
skills applied to these texts are the same as those re-
quired for comprehending texts read in school. To ac-
tivate these reasoning abilities in the classroom, select
and use texts that are relevant to your students’ expe-
riences and that require interpretative reasoning. Such
texts could feature stories of famous African
Americans shared by their grandparents, culturally
conscious books (Sims, 1982) that explain familiar sto-
ries of life struggles and experiences of African
Americans, texts that portray familiar settings and lan-
guage patterns, the text of a current movie or rap song,
or photos and artwork.
How Do I Teach With Cultural
Modeling?
Start Instruction With Texts That Build Upon
Your African American Students’ Knowledge
And Experiences. Students will be engaged if the
cultural data sets are sequenced so that the initial texts
are African American texts that elicit specific memo-
ries of family activities and dialogues and invite stu-
dents’ connections, feelings, and interpretations.
A unit about the 1930s to 1960s in the United States
could be initiated with Toni Morrison’s book
Remember: The Journey to School Integration, which is
a collection of black-and-white photographs that dis-
play a somber reality about segregation and the events
leading up to the Brown vs. the Board of Education
legislation and school desegregation. Brenda Woods’s
The Red Rose Box could serve as a second text. This
book tells the story of two young girls whose lives are
changed by a red rose birthday box containing tick-
ets to visit their estranged aunt in California. The trip
provides them with an opportunity to see financially
secure African Americans who are not bound by
racial segregation in contrast to their segregated lives
in rural Louisiana.
Engage Students in Reading and Discussing Texts
or in Collaborative Writing About the Content.
Multiple language arts goals can be met with cultural
99
 data sets. By using the two books previously described,
students might discuss cultural and racial issues (e.g.,
family stories of relatives attending segregated
schools), African American vernacular and forms of
rhetorical organization for expressing meaning (e.g.,
the dialogue between characters in The Red Rose Box),
similes and metaphors (e.g., asking students if they
know anyone who has been described as being “old-
er than dirt,” which was a phrase used to describe Ms.
Lilly in The Red Rose Box), or universal themes (e.g.,
family conflict or the desire for a better life).
An Intellectual Journey
When we asked Carol D. Lee to share some ideas
about teaching with a cultural modeling framework
she reminded us that it requires teachers to complete
a detailed analysis of what students know and what
their out-of-school experiences are like. Student
knowledge and experience can be joined with the
strategies required for reading with understanding dif-
ferent kinds of texts (e.g., literature, science) that in-
volve varied prior knowledge, text structures,
vocabulary, and goals. This work can be the begin-
ning of an intellectual journey that is rewarding for
both teachers and students.
Risko and Walker-Dalhouse are editors of the Reading
Research Into the Classroom department. Risko
teaches at Vanderbilt University in Nashvillle,
Tennessee, USA. Walker-Dalhouse teaches at
Minnesota State University in Moorhead.
References
Balfanz, R., & Legters, N. (2004). Locating the dropout crisis.
Retrieved June 19, 2007, from www.csos.jhu.edu/tdhs/rsch/
Locating_Dropouts.pdf
Banks, J.A. (2004). Multicultural education: Historical development,
dimensions, and practice. In J.A. Banks & C.A.M. Banks (Eds.),
Handbook of research on multicultural education (pp. 3–29).
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Council of the Great City Schools. (2007). Beating the odds. An analy-
sis of student performance and achievement gaps on state assess-
ments. Results from the 2005–2006 school year. Washington, DC:
Author.
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research,
and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
King, J.E. (1994). The purpose of schooling for African American
children: Including cultural knowledge. In E.R. Hollins, J.E.
King, & W.C. Hayman (Eds.), Teaching diverse populations:
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Press.
Lee, C.D. (2001). Is October Brown Chinese? A cultural modeling ac-
tivity system for underachieving students. American Educational
Research Journal, 38, 97–141.
Lee, C.D. (2007). Culture, literacy, and learning: Taking bloom in
the midst of the whirlwind. New York: Teachers College Press.
Lee, C.D., Rosenfeld, E., Mendenhall, R., Rivers, A., & Tynes, B.
(2004). Cultural modeling as a frame for narrative analysis. In
C. Daiute & C. Lightfoot (Eds.), Narrative analysis: Studying the
development of individuals in society (pp. 39–62). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lutkus, A.D., Rampey, B.D., & Donahue, P. (2006). The nation’s re-
port card: Trial urban district assessment reading 2005 (NCES
2006-455r). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Sims, R. (1982). Shadow and substance. Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English.
Smitherman, G. (2000). African American student writers in the
NASEP, 1969–1988/89 and “the blacker the berry, the sweeter
the juice.” In G. Smitherman (Ed.), Talk that talk: Language, cul-
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Routledge.

The department editors welcome reader comments. To contact Victoria J. Risko, e-mail
victoria.j.risko@vanderbilt.edu or write to Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Box 330,
Nashville, TN 37203, USA. To contact Doris Walker-Dalhouse, e-mail walkerd@mnstate.edu
or write to Minnesota State University Moorhead, 1104 Seventh Avenue South, Lommen Hall,
Moorhead, MN 56563, USA. The Reading Research Into the Classroom department will appear
again in the February 2008 issue of The Reading Teacher.

100 The Reading Teacher Vol. 61, No. 1 September 2007