“Reading each conversation as a book”: Community cultural wealth and relational youth literacies

Abstract

Adolescent youth participating in a summer writing workshop drew from funds of community wealth to answer youth-generated inquiry questions about history, political participation, and equity. By turning to community members as expert sources of knowledge, students deepened their inquiry, their connections to the local community, and their identities as writers. Learning from these youth writers, there are recommendations for how classroom teachers can engage youth in inquiry projects that draw from sources of community cultural wealth.