Prior knowledge is more than a set of facts that a student has amassed at home and in previous grades. Prior knowledge also includes language patterns and ways of thinking that students develop through their social roles and cultural experiences. Differences in cultural practices can sometimes be misinterpreted by teachers as evidence of “deficits”. For example, white middle-class children are more accustomed to being asked decontextualized questions like “What color is this?” than children from other social groups(Heath, 1983). Implicit rules of interaction can make it difficult for teachers to see the strengths of students outside their own social group unless they have a means for drawing out those strengths in a way that is culturally responsive. For example, Moll and other(1992) use “Funds of knowledge” as a way to describe the house-hold knowledge that children bring with them to school. This knowledge may be based, for example, on farming, carpentry, medicine, religion, childcare, and budget management activities, which can be used to support school knowledge.