How do teachers respond when students appear to have little or no background knowledge about a topic?

In this episode of the Time for Teachership Podcast, host and instructional coach Lindsay Lyons explores strategies for helping students connect new learning to their lived experiences. Rather than viewing students as lacking knowledge, she encourages educators to expand their definition of background knowledge to include students’ identities, communities, experiences, and cultural assets.

Drawing on frameworks such as Funds of Knowledge and Cultural Wealth Theory, Lyons shares practical tools educators can use to help students build meaningful connections to historical content, social studies themes, and inquiry-based learning.

Listeners will learn how to support students in making sense of new information, generating deeper questions, and engaging in analytical thinking—without assuming they are starting with an “empty vessel.”

This episode is especially helpful for social studies teachers, instructional coaches, and educators focused on inquiry-based learning.

Key Topics Covered

• Rethinking the idea of students having “no background knowledge”

• Why student experiences are valuable learning assets

• Using Funds of Knowledge in the classroom

• Applying the Cultural Wealth Model to social studies instruction

• Strategies to help students connect historical topics to their own lives

• Cognitive routines that support inquiry and analysis

• Helping students generate deeper historical questions

• Building tools students can reuse across learning contexts

Key Takeaways

• Students rarely lack background knowledge—they simply have different forms of knowledge.

• Teachers can help students connect academic content to lived experiences.

• Asset-based frameworks support more inclusive and effective learning.

• Cognitive routines help students move from connections to critical thinking and analysis.

• Connection prompts can transform classroom conversations and inquiry.

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