(1986). Morris High School, New Directions in Bilingualism, 1984-85. OEA Evaluation Report. The New Directions in Bilingualism project completed the final year of a three-year basic program at Morris High School, the Bronx, in June 1985. Major goals were enhancing students' self images, developing native language skills, and improving English language proficiency to allow quicker mainstreaming. The program served 227 recently immigrated, low income, Hispanic, ninth through twelfth graders with limited English proficiency (LEP). Most were from rural areas of their countries of origin and their education in their native language tended to be limited. The program offered English as a second language (ESL), native language, and content-area instruction, and nontraditional courses, such as the New Environmental Workshop. Support services included the counseling and guidance department and staff development activities. Program objectives were assessed in English and native language proficiency, achievement in mathematics, science, and social studies, and attendance and dropout…
(1983). Multiethnic Literature; Supplements for Basal Readers. Children's literature can be used effectively to enrich the reading content of basal reading materials with stories and information by and about ethnic minorities. Developing an ethnic cultural web for a literary selection can stimulate language and enhance the thought processes of students. Using the webbing process, elementary school students can be encouraged to search for information and work together in interest or research groups. Another alternative to developing multiethnic literature for basal readers is to elaborate on a literary story. Children can also write biographies of famous ethnic persons. As the need to enrich the reading programs develops, similar culture webs could be built for other ethnic groups. Not only could stories about minority groups be used to develop a balanced representation of the cultural groups in the United States, but the folk literature of any minority group of any region can be used. Books of individual African folktales that reflect the…
(1985). Educating Asian Americans for the Year 2000. By the year 2000 there will be three Americas as the rich get richer, the poor become more destitute, and the self-sufficient become more complacent. By that date computer technology will dominate every facet of social and personal life. Asian Americans, because of their good placement as technicians, will be found in every segment of the technological society. By then the center of technological development will be Japan and, as collectively the Asian nations emerge as the dominant trade partner of the United States, America will have to adjust to Asian ways of doing business. Therefore, in addition to developing technical competence in their students, teachers need to impart cultural sensitivity to the nations in Asia and the Asians in the United States. It is essential that the resources be found for bilingual development and for the development of the "sociological imagination." Children from heterogeneous backgrounds studying and playing together will be the primary…
(1975). Exercises in Cross-Cultural Communication for Teachers of English to Spanish Speakers. Handout Series. Presented here are a series of classroom exercises in cross cultural communication for teachers of English to students whose native language is Spanish. These classroom exercises focus on a variety of topics including: (1) the definition of a culture; (2) stereotypes; (3) cultural conceptions of space and time; (4) societal values; (5) interpersonal relations; (6) societal change; and (7) language differences in English and Spanish. This guide stresses that in an effective language class, the values, beliefs, and behavior of the culture in which the language is spoken must be discussed, explained, and understood. (Author/APM)…
(1981). Acculturative Stress among Asian, American and Polynesian Students on the Brigham Young University–Hawaii Campus. A study was conducted to measure the relative degrees of acculturative stress among groups of students at the Brigham Young University Hawaii Campus. Specific ethnic groups included in the study were American-Caucasian, Chinese, Japanese, New Zealand-Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Fijian, Hawaiian, and Filipino. Data were collected from students at the school over a five year period. These students were administered psychological tests designed to measure adjustment, depression, self image, and group image. The research determined that acculturative stress was greater among cultural groups (students) where the gap between traditional and imposed (host) culture was significant. In addition, in a multicultural setting, acculturative stress also occurred between accommodating non-host cultures that differed greatly in cultural styles. Finally, it was shown that English language usage imposed the greatest discrimination barrier to all non-American cultures. Depression scores were inversely…
(1978). Black American Heritage: Contributions to the American Culture. This report provides information concerning various aspects of the black American experience. Six major topic areas are addressed by the various papers presented in this volume. They include: (1) psychological aspects of black ethnicity; (2) sociological considerations of black heritage; (3) cultural contributions of black Americans; (4) the experience of black Americans in science; (5) educational aspects of black ethnicity; and (6) human relations and ethnicity. Each paper includes a list of references and/or resource materials. (EB)…
(1978). Strategies for the Modification and Prevention of Racial Prejudice in Children: A Review. This paper focuses on the literature related to the formation of stereotypical racial attitudes in children and then organizes and reviews strategies for modification and prevention of such stereotypes. Racial attitudes of preschool and early school age Anglo, Black, and Chicano children towards themselves and each other are included. A brief overview of the evidence suggests that racial awareness is formed by ages three-four, and that by the age of five children hold prejudicial attitudes towards members of other races. The paper addresses and evaluates efforts to modify such attitudes in children, divided into what is labeled curriculum approaches and reinforcement procedure approaches. Six curriculum programs are reviewed which variously use multi-ethnic readers, stories portraying minorities in favorable positions and statuses, black consciousness curriculum, films, art activities, and other experimental curriculum activities involving skin color. Seven reinforcement based…
(1995). The Global Classroom: A Thematic Multicultural Model for the K-6 and ESL Classroom. Volume 1 [and] Volume 2. This two-volume resource guide is designed to help K-6 and ESL teachers implement multicultural whole language learning through thematic social studies units. The four chapters in Volume 1 address universal themes: (1) \Climates and Seasons: Watching the Weather\; (2) \Trees and Plants: Our Rich, Green World\; (3) \Animals around the World: Tame, Wild, or Mythical\; and (4) \International Foods: From Frijoles to Dal.\ Each chapter in both volumes contains 7 sections. Sections 1 through 5, \Content Area Learning Web\; \Sparking Interest\; \Expanding Language\; \Reading and Reflecting\; and \Creating and Sharing,\ include activities and strategies for implementation of multi-level grouping, classroom management, and collaborative learning. Section 6, \Getting Families Involved,\ gives suggestions for involving parents in the acculturation process. \Suggested Readings\ contains a list of multicultural children's books focused on the theme presented. The four chapters of Volume 2…
(1998). Teachers as Cultural Workers. Letters to Those Who Dare Teach. The Edge: Critical Studies in Educational Theory. The essays in this collection, presented as letters to teachers, reaffirm Paulo Freire's place as the most significant educator in the world during the last half of the 20th century. As North America experiences a rapid change to conditions approximating those of the Third World, Freire's pedagogy becomes more important, not only for his methods of reading instruction but for the ways in which they can develop students' ability to be aware of themselves in the world and in their cultures. Freire states that his intention is to demonstrate that the task of the teachers, who are also learners, is both joyful and rigorous. This task demands seriousness and scientific, physical, emotional, and affective preparation. It also demands the evaluation of practice and the reform of teacher education. Teachers must act as teachers and not as coddling parents. The following "Letters" are included: (1) "First Words: A Pedagogical Trap"; (2) "First Letter: Reading the…
(1996). Mexico: Service Learning Project. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1996 (Mexico). This project includes a mini-lesson to be used at the end of the unit on Latin America. The lesson introduces a service learning project to help Maryland students to address the service learning component needed for graduation. The specific lessons have students identify the changing role of Latin American countries in the world community. Ways in which students can use service learning to help solve problems in Mexico are presented. Cooperative group activities are used in the unit. (EH)… [PDF]
(1995). Strategies for Guiding Content Reading. Second Edition. Written for content area teachers in middle and secondary schools, this book offers specific strategies and examples they can use to integrate key reading, writing, and study skills into their teaching. The book takes a balanced reading approach, providing specific suggestions for direct teaching as well as many opportunities for cooperative or group learning. Comprehension, writing, and study processes are described in detail in the book and how these processes relate to specific content areas is shown. This second edition adds a chapter on children with special needs and a chapter on multicultural literature and teens. Chapters in the book are: (1) The Nature of Reading; (2) Textbook Evaluation; (3) Informal Reading Assessment; (4) Vocabulary Development; (5) Questioning; (6) Building Background and Predicting; (7) Silent and Postreading; (8) Study Skills; (9) Integrative Writing; (10) Meeting Students' Needs; (11) Multicultural Literature and Teens; and (12) Students with Special…
(2002). Nobody Else Like Me: Activities To Celebrate Diversity. Based on a musical celebration of children's diversity, this early childhood curriculum guide provides guidance in using the compact disk \Nobody Else Like Me\ to help children think critically about and appreciate differences and similarities among people. The guide is organized into 12 sections, each focusing on one of the songs from the disk, and containing an introduction to each song's developmental content, sheet music and lyrics, and activities appropriate for children ages 3 to 8 to explore the topic of each song. Each activity section includes a list of relevant children's and adult's books, and many have adaptations for children with disabilities. The song and relevant topics explored in each section are: (1) \Hello, Hello, Hello,\ using greeting words to welcome and communicate with children who speak other languages; (2) \Kye Kye Kule,\ learning traditional African and African American songs to help children understand similarities among peoples; (3) \Nobody Else Like…
(2000). Children's Literature for Pre-K. Theme: Hooray for Pre-K (September). This annotated bibliography provides a list of books appropriate for preschoolers that help teachers develop class routines and expectations. Two topics have emerged from this review: classroom and school activities and first school experiences, including feelings. This has helped provide a way to organize books and will hopefully help teachers select books for specific purposes. Books were considered on three criteria: emphasis on pre-kindergarten; accessibility to limited- English-proficient students; and multicultural perspective. The list also attempts to balance old favorites and new friends. Because there are more books on this topic than there is time or space to annotate, only some are described in detail while for others just the bibliographic information is provided. All listed books are recommended. (Author/KFT)… [PDF]
(1999). "Dangerous Indians": Evaluating the Depiction of Native Americans in Selected Trade Books. A study examined 20 trade books (1964-1997) to evaluate their accuracy in depicting Native American peoples and cultures. The criteria embodied an authenticity guideline based upon the "Five Great Values": (1) generosity and sharing; (2) respect for elders and women; (3) getting along with nature; (4) individual freedom and leadership; and (5) courage. Results indicated that 60% of the books are at least satisfactory in their depictions but that bias and stereotyping still persist enough to recommend the use of the guideline as a tool to allow educators to confidently identify these problems in their instructional materials. Contains 3 tables of data, 15 references, and the Native Cultures Authenticity Guideline. (Author/BT)…
(1981). Maximizing the Potential of Multiculturalism in the Classroom. Education Canada, v21 n2 p12-15,27 Sum. Aimed at maximizing the positive potential of a multicultural classroom and improving intergroup relations, three behavioral and three attitudinal objectives, with suggested programs and evaluative measures, are presented. (NEC)…