Early Child Development and CareVol. 178, No. 5, July 2008, pp. 527–536

ISSN 0300-4430 (print)/ISSN 1476-8275 (online)/08/050527–10© 2008 Taylor & FrancisDOI: 10.1080/03004430600851223

Using cultural tools to develop scientific literacy of young Mexican American preschoolersMari Riojas-Corteza*, Mary Esther Huertab, Belinda Bustos Floresa, Bertha Pereza and Ellen Riojas ClarkaaThe University of Texas at San Antonio, USA; bThe University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, USATaylor and Francis LtdGECD_A_185055.sgm10.1080/03004430600851223Early Childhood Development and Care0300-4430 (print)/1476-8275 (online)Original Article2007Taylor & Francis0000000002007MariRiojas-Cortezmari.cortez@utsa.edu

Building on the home cultural practices related to science can facilitate scientific literacy develop-ment of preschoolers. Using a sociocognitive and sociocultural approach and funds of knowledge asa theoretical framework, this article describes how Mexican American parents and young childrenidentified the science concepts and knowledge learned from common activities found in their homesthrough the Family Institute for Early Literacy Development. Science skills and concepts were foundin many activities related to Mexican American cultural practices such as gardening, cooking andhome remedies. Parents were informed of the type of scientific readiness knowledge that schoolsexpect children to bring from home, and in turn parents were able to explain to their children thoseconcepts during the institute and at home. The success of the institute is founded on the opportunitygiven to parents to understand and implement school expectations for their young children.

Keywords: Early literacy; Science; Bilingual preschoolers

Introduction

Young children are naturally inquisitive about themselves and their world. Whilesociocultural theories support the notion that children learn by engaging in tasks andwith others, brain research provides the biological evidence that such experienceenhances neuron growth and connections. Synaptic connections between neurons arepromoted with each repeated experience and promote brain growth (Catherwood,1999; Bergen & Coscia, 2001).

*Corresponding author. The University of Texas at San Antonio, College of Education and HumanDevelopment, Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching, One UTSA Circle MainBuilding 2.210E, San Antonio, TX 78249-1644, USA. Email: mari.cortez@utsa.edu

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Providing children with multisensory opportunities to engage in inquiry promotesscientific literacy. The family plays an important role in the young child’s scientificliteracy development. Everyday multisensory activities within the home provide oppor-tunities for a young child to explore the natural inquiry process. This type of brainactivity is essential in assuring cognition and memory. When a child’s learning expe-rience is heightened through the senses, the child’s memory is likely to be enhanced.

While Mexican American children do not differ in this regard, their cultural expe-riences do differ from the majority of their counterparts. Moll (1992) suggests thateducators often fail to recognize the funds of knowledge; that is, the knowledge sociallyconstructed in households that minority children bring with them to the educationalsetting. The acquisition of knowledge is mediated by cultural tools (Vygotsky, 1978).By not tapping into the funds of knowledge, educators are disregarding the child’s priorknowledge and the contributions these make to brain development. In thismanuscript, we use the funds of knowledge theoretical framework to explore the wayscientific literacy is promoted within Mexican American homes. Specifically, we willillustrate how linguistic and cultural practices enhance young Mexican Americanpreschoolers’ scientific literacy development. Furthermore, we provide suggestionson how these funds of knowledge can be used by teachers of young children.

Learning science in a bilingual environment

Although there are many Mexican American children who speak English, there areothers that do not or who are growing up bilingually. In order to enhance concept devel-opment in young second-language learners, the use of the first language for classroominstruction is highly recommended (Pérez, 2004). The home language helps childrenmake connections to scientific concepts. If the teachers are not fluent in the children’sfirst language, then an English as a Second Language approach is recommended usingdevelopmentally appropriate practices such as hands-on experiential learning, music,science or discovery centers, and the language experience approach among others. Thelanguage experience approach in particular allows children to narrate experiencesusing their own words. When combined with science activities, such as growing plants,children engage in conversations about scientific concepts they learned at home.

In the teaching of science, as in other areas, teachers can turn to the parents for assis-tance. The use of cultural tools creates a connection for children to otherwise abstractscientific concepts. The quality of education is strengthened when family experiencesand home learning are valued. For instance, one school in South Central Texasdecided to enhance their parent involvement by inviting parents of three and four yearolds to attend the Family Institute for Early Literacy Development (Riojas-Cortezet al., 2003). The institute was created to help bridge the gap between what childrenneed to know in school and the experiences that they learn at home. Three of the fiveactivities that emanated from the institute are described in this article.

Using the National Science Education Standards and the Texas PrekindergartenGuidelines (see Figures 1 and 2), the institute focused on how young children learnthrough their senses using three cultural practices dear to many Mexican American

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families—caring for plants, using plants for health remedies, and cooking. Thesepractices naturally exemplify the scientific process. A daily calendar was developed toalign objectives and activities with the science content standards and also with thehome experience. The children’s families gathered in the school cafeteria everymorning for two hours. During the first hour the parents were presented the sciencestandards that the children were expected to master. For the second hour the childrenjoined family members present and worked on a science-related activity.Figure 1. Science Content Standards, grades K-4Figure 2. Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines

The science of plants

Two activities focused on plants and offered two distinct experiences for the youngchildren and their parents. The Caring for Plants activity was framed by the life sciencecontent standards, and the Home Health Remedies activity integrated the science inpersonal and social perspectives content standards. Additionally, the design of eachactivity integrated both a sociocognitive and sociocultural approach. The sociocogni-tive approach sustained learning by having each child handle materials familiar fromeveryday experiences and guided the use of science concepts in their conversations

Life Science Science in Personal andSocial Perspectives

Unifying ConceptProcesses

Characteristics oforganisms

Personal health Change, constancyand measurement

Life cycles oforganisms

Types of resources Form and function

Organisms and theirenvironment

Figure 1. Science Content Standards, grades K-4

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Figure 2. Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines

530 M. Riojas-Cortez et al.

with their parent about plants. The communication held between parent and childwas essential since the conversations evoked statements of wonder and inquiry,guiding the child’s ability to transcend their current cognitive abilities, understandingand knowledge (Ravinis & Bagakis, 1998).

The sociocultural approach facilitated the integration of each parent’s culturalknowledge and perspectives about plants. For example, many plants are typical toMexican American homes, and the Cuidando las Matitas (Caring for our Plants) activ-ity capitalized on this (the word matitas conveys a cultural notion of endearmentlinked to caring). The activity opened with a demonstration of plants typically foundin homes. As a large group activity, a discussion ensued using scientific terms to iden-tify and label the parts of a plant, describe the lifecycle of plants, and to share ideasabout how to include children in the care for plants at home. Following an animatedexchange of ideas among the parents about how to help their children learn aboutplants at home, a science and literature connection was modeled for parents as a toolthey could use to guide their child’s learning about plants. The classic children’s bookSemilla de Zanahoria (The Carrot Seed) by Ruth Krauss (1991) was read to the parentsand their children. The parents were then given seedlings, seeds, soil, water, pots andhand shovels. The objective was to have each parent–child dyad observe and discussthe different types of seeds they were given, to plant seeds and to illustrate theirprediction of plant growth in a scientific journal. These engaging conversationsdemonstrated the richness of learning resulting from natural exchanges betweenparent and child. A child’s wonder was observed after having planted a bean. Heasked his mother whether the plant could grow to be anything, including a potato.The parent–child communication was explanatory of the child’s new insight aboutplants. Parents discussed how children formed ideas about the natural world and howchildren’s questions allowed them to discern the validity of their ideas.

Each parent and child team was asked to maintain a scientific log at home todocument plant growth. The log in Figure 3 shows the use of the life science contentstandards.Figure 3. Home Scientific Log Translation: 1. First we put dirt in the cup and we make a small hole. 2. We plant the bean seed. 3. The second day we looked at a plant that started to grow. It looks like a little snake. 4. It grew more the third day. 4. The fourth day, it grew a lot more. Child’s writing: The first day I planted a bean in a cup. The second day the bean grew a little. The third day it grew more. At the end it grew more, a lot moreThe Home Health Remedies activity focused on the use of plants to maintain healthas a common, shared human practice and how global industries use plants to renderhealth products. The activity emphasized how the cultural knowledge of using plantsas home remedies is transmitted through the generations and the how the preparationprocess of drying, boiling, mixing, and so on, are scientific processes. The children’sbook Prietita y la Llorona (Prietita and the Ghost Woman) by Anzaldúa (1995) was thenshared with parents to demonstrate how literature can support learning about plants.A lively discussion followed as parents shared how they used plants as health remedies.Parents explained that the aloe plant soothes sunburns, ginger abates nausea, and thatchamomile tea settles an upset stomach. The interactions among the parents gave theman opportunity to share their funds of knowledge about health benefits related to plants.

Each parent and child dyad received a magnifying glass, ginger root, chamomile,anise, aloe, mint and a clove of garlic. The objective was to have each dyad illus-trate and record the potential health remedy of each plant in a scientific journal.Parents prompted children to use their sense of smell and touch to embellish their

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observations. Parents and children authored a Home Health Remedies journal illus-trating plants, describing their potential for sustaining health and well-being, anddetailing preparation instructions. The content was reflective of the science contentstandards, as the examples in Figures 4 and 5 show.

Figure 3. Home Scientific Log. Translation: 1. First we put dirt in the cup and we make a small hole. 2. We plant the bean seed. 3. The second day we looked at a plant that started to grow. It looks like a little snake. 4. It grew more the third day. 4. The fourth day, it grew a lot more. Child’s writ-ing: The first day I planted a bean in a cup. The second day the bean grew a little. The third day it

grew more. At the end it grew more, a lot more

532 M. Riojas-Cortez et al.

Figure 4. Aloe Vera Savila/Remedy Translation: When you get burned, you put aloe on your burn. It is also good for the skin. Aloe stings, smells bad and it’s soft.Figure 5. Cinnamon and Garlic Canela y Ajo Remedy Translation : Cinnamon is hard. She liked the smell. Garlic is an antibiotic that gets rid of different types of infections. It also regulates high blood pressure. It is good for stomach worms. It is also curative for swellings.

Cooking as a scientific process

The National Science Content Standard for K-4: Unifying Concept Processes wasused in another activity to discuss with parents the science of making tortillas.The discussion focused on the concepts of change, constancy, measurement, formand function. Although the emphasis of the lesson was on science, the integra-

Figure 4. Aloe Vera/Savila Remedy Translation: When you get burned, you put aloe on your burn. It is also good for the skin. Aloe stings, smells bad and it’s soft.

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Figure 5. Cinnamon and Garlic/Canela y Ajo Remedy Translation: Cinnamon is hard. She liked the smell. Garlic is an antibiotic that gets rid of different types of infections. It also regulates high

blood pressure. It is good for stomach worms. It is also curative for swellings.

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tion of literacy was of great importance particularly in cooking when recipes needto be read or oral instructions must be followed. The parents found sciencecognates—words, vocabulary that are similar in origin and meaning in Spanishand English—fascinating, such as volumen/volume, área/area, combinar/combine,and so on.

Using the book Magda’s Tortillas (Las Tortillas de Magda) by Chavarría-Cháirez(2000), the scientific process of making tortillas de harina or flour tortillas wasillustrated. Although many parents do not make tortillas at home any more, grand-mothers and other relatives may still do so and the tortilla is considered part of thediet of many Mexican American families. First, the parents were asked about thevocabulary used in making tortillas. Their answers included ingredients such asflour, water, salt, manteca or lard, but also included scientific vocabulary such asvolume, mass, changes, elasticity, combine and measure. The parents guided chil-dren to name, identify and follow verbal instructions to make tortillas. The use oflanguage was encouraged throughout the process with children repeating and usingthe vocabulary and also observing and describing the changes that were occurring tothe ingredients as the masa (dough) was made (Figure 6). Shapes and forms werealso part of the vocabulary since the dough had to be divided into testales (smalldome-shaped balls) that would later be flattened with a rolling pin to make the torti-llas. It was explained to the parents that the Spanish word testal is much more

Figure 6. Kneading Masa

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specific and did not have an equivalent English term. Specifically, the Spanish wordspecifies size and form while in English one has to explain that it is a portion that isin the form of a small, golf ball size, dome-shaped balls. The children and theirparents created different shapes of tortillas and they cooked them in a comal (grid-dle) (Figure 7).Figure 6. Kneading MasaFigure 7. Tortillas on the Griddle ComalOne of the interesting features of this activity included how parents shared theirown procedures for making tortillas. One mother, for example, worked at a tortillería(tortilla factory) and she shared how to make tortillas in bulk. Furthermore, a palote,which is the rolling pin that is used to extend the tortillas, has a physics application offorce, motion and friction. The activity demonstrated that a culturally rich familypractice is a valuable experience that promotes children’s scientific thinking andknowledge.

Conclusion

When parents’ experiences and home learning are valued, teachers will discover thatchildren from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds bring a scienceknowledge base that can enrich the science curriculum and help them make connec-tions to the science content standards. The understanding of the science conceptsand the development of the scientific vocabulary is enhanced by the cultural relevancyof activities as described here.

Figure 7. Tortillas on the Griddle/Comal

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Suggestions for working with Mexican American parents

● Initiate casual conversations with parents regarding daily things that they do athome.

● Create a ‘show and tell’ time for parents to share cultural knowledge throughoutthe school year.

● Discover the cultural tools that children’s families have by sending out question-naires every time a new unit of study begins in the classroom.

● Meet with parents to share the curriculum and make connections between homepractices and school standards.

● Together with parents, identify common cognates found in the home language andtarget language.

● Recognize value of the home language by acknowledging how science vocabularyis universal.

References

Anzaldúa, G. (1995) Prietita and the ghost woman [Prietita y la llorona] (San Antonio, TX,Children’s Book Press).

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Catherwood, D. (1999) New views on the young brain: offerings from development psychology toearly childhood education, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 1(2), 23–35.

Chavarría-Cháirez, B. (2000) Magda’s tortillas [Las tortillas de Magda] (Illus., A. Vega) (Houston,TX, Arte Público Press).

Krauss, R. (1991) The carrot seed (New York, Harper Trophy).Moll, L. (1992) Literacy research in community and classrooms: a sociocultural approach, in: R.

Beach, J. L. Green, M. L. Kamil & T. Shanahan (Eds) Multidisciplinary perspectives on literacyresearch (Urbana, IL, National Council of Teachers of English), 211–244.

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