Transcript Multicultural Literature

Reading the world,
Reading the word:
Culturally Relevant Books
Julie Rae Johnson
Literacy Specialist & Outreach Trainer
Comprehensive Center, Region VI
7/17/2015
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Overview
Why use culturally relevant books?
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Multicultural Education
• How do you define it?
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Identity
• Appreciation of their own identity
and others
• Human dignity, justice and equality
• Interdependence of society
• From ethnic to national to global
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Assumptions
• It is increasingly important for political, social,
educational and economic reasons to recognize
the US is a culturally diverse society.
• Multicultural education is for all students.
• Multicultural education is synonymous with
effective teaching.
• Teaching is a cross cultural encounter.
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Further assumptions
• The educational system has not served all
students equally well.
• Multicultural education is (should be) synonymous
with educational innovation and reform.
• Next to parents (primary caregivers), teachers
are the single most important factor in the lives
of children.
• Classroom interaction between teachers and
students constitutes the major part of the
educational process for most students.
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Goals
• To have every student achieve to his or her
potential.
• To learn how to learn and to think critically.
• To encourage students to take an active role in
their own education by bringing their stories and
experiences into the learning scope.
• To address diverse learning styles.
• To appreciate the contributions of different
groups who have contributed to our knowledge
base.
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Further Goals
• To develop positive attitudes about groups of
people who are different from ourselves.
• To become good citizens of the school, the
community, the country and the world community.
• To learn how to evaluate knowledge from
different perspectives.
• To develop an ethnic, national and global identity.
• To provide decision making skills and critical
analysis skills so the students can make better
choices in their everyday lives.
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Immigrant groups
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Culturally diverse groups
• African American
• Native American
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Locating Resources
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Evaluating Multicultural
Literature
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•
Story
Characters
Themes
Settings
Illustrations
Other Considerations
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Levels of cultural content
– Culturally Neutral
- Visual information only
- People are people
• People are different, yet the same
Culturally Relevant Books
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Culturally
Relevant Books
Additive
Transformative
Cultural information
Presents cultural
Such as language,
Content that enables
foods clothing,
a reader to develop
Traditions, holidays
An understanding
And appreciation
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Social Action
Presents realistic
Social issues,
Or problems.
Motivates reader
To action.
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What makes a book
culturally relevant?
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Classroom/Teaching
Uses
• Themes:
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Customs, traditions and culture
Families, friends and community
Overcoming obstacles
Identity
Conflicts
Other?
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Teacher Resources
• International Children's Digital Library
http://www.icdlbooks.org/library/basic/inde
x.html
• Lee & Low Books
http://www.leeandlow.com/home/index.html
http://www.americas-stirfry.com/
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Internet Resources
• Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org/
• Multicultural Literature compiled by NCREL
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/p
resrvce/pe3lk28.htm
• Multicultural Book Reviews
http://www.isomedia.com/homes/jmele/joe.html#ei
anch
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Summary and where to
get more information
Bibliography
Other sources of information
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