In the past, physical barriers such as geography and distance limited global communication. In this paper, we explore how young children in immigrant families engage in transnational literacy practices. Specifically, we explore the transnational funds of knowledge that result from those experiences. This three-year longitudinal collective case study involves ten children from immigrant families who have come to the United States from around the world. The students entered the study in four-year-old kindergarten, grade 1 or grade 2. Each year, we collected observations, spoken data and studentcreated artefacts (e.g. writing samples, maps, photographs). Data sources were designed to highlight the various spaces that the immigrant families occupy or have occupied over time (i.e. home/neighbourhood/ school; native country/country of residence). Our reading and rereading of coded data across the sample led us to focus on families' digital transnational practices and children's transnational awareness. We argue that these funds of knowledge should be recognized in classrooms and schools and that they have the potential to contribute to the nurturing of cosmopolitan perspectives for all children.
Interactive read‐alouds are a mainstay in traditional literacy classrooms because they support wide‐ranging goals in reading development. As educators make the transition to virtual classrooms, it is paramount that core practices, such as the interactive read‐aloud, are intentionally adapted to ensure that their purpose remains central to their use. Although the production of digital read‐alouds has flourished during the recent pandemic, many of these videos lack key components necessary to foster meaningful literacy growth. Educators need to be aware of the affordances and limitations offered by digital read‐alouds to analyze and create materials for classroom use. In this article, we offer resources to guide intentional planning to ensure that digital read‐aloud experiences go beyond passive student consumption. In addition, specific recommendations illustrate how digital read‐alouds can be positioned within synchronous and asynchronous classroom activities to preserve and amplify the sociocultural element that can be more challenging to maintain within virtual environments.
The authors explore the intriguing transnational awareness demonstrated by young students from immigrant families. The authors argue that awareness is an important fund of knowledge and the foundation on which some students build an inclusive view of the world, a view that honors the humanity of people around the world. After exploring the transnational awareness of young students, the authors follow one student from first grade into high school. Adam is Muslim American, bilingual in Arabic and English, and learning French. He is an avid soccer player, but most of all, he has a perspective on the world that is expansive, inclusive, and curious. Adam has lessons to teach not only his peers but also his teachers.
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