Colorado Quality Standard 2: Multicultural Texts and Influences
I teach English Language Development through a variety of multicultural texts. Our main curriculum is The Edge curriculum by National Geographic, which offers a plethora of cultural and economical perspectives in the United States. We also read small group books and essays based around diversity. Many of the topics we cover in class are interesting for high school students and ignite good conversation and controversy, which is beneficial for improving speech and fluidity of thought. Students connect to texts and remain interested. We then carry these texts over to students’ writing practice where they are able to feel ownership over the material because they are interested.
The practice of using multicultural texts demonstrates a commitment to and respect for diversity (Element B), and exposes students to culture outside of our small mountain town. It also provides themes in which students are able to open up and really talk to one another topics that are important to them, and demonstrate to the class their unique interests and strengths (Element C), depending on the topic. The use of multicultural texts enables me to construct a positive, nurturing relationship (Element A) with students through authentic conversation, where everyone’s opinion is valued and respected. The themes we discuss are important to our classroom, school, and world in general; knowing how to discuss difficult topics is important as our youth go into the world.
I have learned a significant portion of my literacy knowledge through teaching multicultural texts. When students are invested and interested in a topic, the classroom morphs into this place of enthusiasm and opinion. Watching students learn how to best express their opinions through verbal discussion has been extremely rewarding. The first year I taught English Language Development I realized that the first problem in the classroom was that we didn’t have engaging texts. Low-level high-interest books are difficult to find. Many of the more interesting topics are usually written at a higher level. After adopting the Edge curriculum I found how excited students can be about reading, and have been searching for interesting, cultural texts ever since.
The practice of using multicultural texts demonstrates a commitment to and respect for diversity (Element B), and exposes students to culture outside of our small mountain town. It also provides themes in which students are able to open up and really talk to one another topics that are important to them, and demonstrate to the class their unique interests and strengths (Element C), depending on the topic. The use of multicultural texts enables me to construct a positive, nurturing relationship (Element A) with students through authentic conversation, where everyone’s opinion is valued and respected. The themes we discuss are important to our classroom, school, and world in general; knowing how to discuss difficult topics is important as our youth go into the world.
I have learned a significant portion of my literacy knowledge through teaching multicultural texts. When students are invested and interested in a topic, the classroom morphs into this place of enthusiasm and opinion. Watching students learn how to best express their opinions through verbal discussion has been extremely rewarding. The first year I taught English Language Development I realized that the first problem in the classroom was that we didn’t have engaging texts. Low-level high-interest books are difficult to find. Many of the more interesting topics are usually written at a higher level. After adopting the Edge curriculum I found how excited students can be about reading, and have been searching for interesting, cultural texts ever since.