when i remember my own childhood, i picture a colorful tapestry woven by the hundreds of worlds i visited through the pages of books. imagine my surprise when one of my students commented about what i thought was a magical space, “i’m tired of reading about white kids.” she followed this with a reminder that i, her teacher, am also not white. i decided to make a change. i began by making bins around the subjects i intended to cover. i pulled every book out of the bins and made a pile on the floor. one student took the first bin and labeled it books about asian americans. it was followed by books about african americans. i want students to feel proud and accepted—to see other children who struggle to find a voice, and who have dreams and challenges like their own.
imagine if the only time you read a book about someone who looked like you, it was about slavery—and it was the only book in your classroom library to represent you. but these historical accounts should not be the only books that a student sees in the library that reflect his or her background. when it was time to replenish books through pta or classroom funds, i made a concerted effort to buy culturally inclusive books. in your library, get rid of decorations that do not have a function. i had many conversations with our school librarian about ways to build a more diverse collection. students took care of our bins and worked to find other books that could be included. the classroom library was “our library.” it was a place of pride in our individual and collective stories. “it’s good except for…” and she pointed to the one book bin that was empty: books about girls from senegal.
research shows that a social-emotional learning curriculum can lead to improved academic performance. research shows that a social-emotional learning curriculum can lead to improved academic performance. how you proceed from there—by removing the book from your library altogether or using it as a tool for learning—is up to you and your school or district leaders.
for example, the san francisco public library put together a resource of several books containing negative stereotypes that the library continues to circulate for research purposes and because of public demand. another great way to build a diverse and inclusive library designed for your classroom is to include your students and their parents in the process. if you don’t have a diverse classroom library yet, it can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to get inclusive books, or if you lack the budget to expand your selection.
it involves leveraging students’ cultural and linguistic experiences, utilizing their background knowledge, and providing multiple ways for look for topics that can be covered by your existing titles. you might need to start without much in the way of cultural diversity. examples of when you create a culturally diverse classroom library, you provide students with the opportunity for these kinds of experiences., diverse classroom library books, diverse classroom library books, culturally responsive classroom library, inclusive classroom library, culturally responsive library.
with the state of the world today, reading diverse literature can help us push for changes that go beyond the classroom. multicultural having a diverse collection can support all students in finding titles that they can read and connect with on some level while affirming their own cultural let’s note that having a multicultural classroom library does not in and of itself produce a fully supportive learning environment for students., assessing and selecting culturally diverse literature for the classroom, effective classroom libraries, importance of diverse books in the classroom, importance of classroom library, best books for elementary classroom library, classroom library questionnaire, diverse reading, we need diverse books list, how to incorporate multicultural literature in the classroom, how to build a classroom library. how do you create a culturally responsive classroom library? how do you diversify a classroom library? why is it important to have a diverse classroom library? how can you be culturally diverse in the classroom?
When you try to get related information on culturally diverse classroom library, you may look for related areas. diverse literature for high school,culturally diverse books for elementary school diverse classroom library books, culturally responsive classroom library, inclusive classroom library, culturally responsive library, assessing and selecting culturally diverse literature for the classroom, effective classroom libraries, importance of diverse books in the classroom, importance of classroom library, best books for elementary classroom library, classroom library questionnaire, diverse reading, we need diverse books list, how to incorporate multicultural literature in the classroom, how to build a classroom library.