Using Multicultural Literature in the Classroom

Teaching and using multicultural literature in the classroom is very important for teacher to encourage students to read books that are culturally diverse. It is very important for students to become diverse and learn about their friend family traditions. By introducing multicultural literature in the classroom you are preventing prejudices and stereotypes from your students minds and to the rest of their lives. When deciding if a work is appropriate to bring in to the classroom. The work needs to be analyzed in the following ways. Check the illustrations look for stereotypes. Every culture can be stereotyped in picture books. Do all the minority faces look alike? Do the racial minority characters in the illustrations look alike? One example of this is in the novels that we read. Esperanza Rising and Becoming Naomi Leon. In Esperanza Rising, the young girl in the story is light colored; portraying that she comes from money. The young girl on the cover in Becoming Naomi Leon, is darker skinned portraying that the opposite, a poor life. It is important to check the story line. Standards for Success and resolution of problems, in the novel Roll of Thunder, the story line was a resolution and each of the characters had different problems but were their for their family in the end the family never gave up in this hard time that they were facing during this time. Look at the roll of the women and the lifestyles. Weigh the relationships between people. In the picture book And Tango makes three. In this story you see that the two males show the same love for the egg has a male and female would. This shows children that if you have one parent, two parents, or if your grandparents are raising you or if you have two mothers you are all loved the same. It is also important to look at the background of the author and illustrators to see id they are telling the story from an outsider or an insider. The best information comes from an insiders view. Overall, it is important