The Missouri Reader Vol. 40, Issue 3 | Page 37

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I tend to have paper and pen close by. I stash them in my bedroom, my car, and my pockets. If there’s anything I’m better at than recognizing million dollar ideas at unexpected times and places, it’s forgetting them if I don’t quickly scratch out a note.

15 Masoff, J. (2006). We are all Americans: Understanding diversity. Waccabuc, NY: Five Ponds Press.

The book We Are All Americans: Understanding Diversity is a non-fiction resource that every classroom that is committed to culturally relevant teaching should have in its library. This

book shows the picture of the beautiful United States of America—a country where its people do not look or sound the same. All citizens have their culture heritage that is worth celebrating. The books teaches the students about historic events that led the United States to be the nation it is. Teachers can use this book as a way to develop their classroom’s culture—one of equality. The text can also be used in a variety of ways to teach nonfiction writing and reading comprehension.

References

Al-Hazza, T. C. (2010). Motivating disengaged readers through multicultural children's literature. The NERA Journal, 45(2), 63-68.

Colby, S. A., & Lyon, A. F. (2004). Heightening awareness about the importance of using multicultural literature. Multicultural Education, 11(3), 24-28.

Ernst, S. B., & Mathis, J. B. (2007). Multicultural literature: Reading, writing, and responding within a "new" literacy context. Journal of Children's Literature, 34(1), 10-12.

Kim, B. S., Green, J. L., & Klein, E. F. (2006). Using storybooks to promote multicultural sensitivity in elementary school children. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 34(4), 223-234.

Lowery, R. M., & Sabis-Burns, D. (2007). From borders to bridges: Making cross-cultural connections through multicultural literature. Multicultural Education, 14(4), 50-54.

Mathis, J. B. (2001). Respond to stories with stories: Teachers discuss multicultural children's literature. The Social Studies, 92(4), 155-160. DOI: 10.1080/00377990109603995

Moore, K. D. (2012). Effective instructional strategies from theory to practice (3th ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Suh, B. K., & Samuel, F. A. (2011). The value of multiculturalism in a global village: In the context of teaching children's literature. The NERA Journal, 47(1), 1-10.

Vygotsky, L.S. (1966). The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky. R. W. Rieber (Ed.). (Vol. 5). New York, NY: Plenum Press.

Luciane Hawkins was born in Curitiba, Brazil. She teaches first grade at Field Elementary in Springfield Public Schools. Luciane is working on the Graduate Literacy Program at Missouri State University. Her classroom was selected as one the most inclusive classrooms in the district.

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