Language Arts - Volume 75, Issue 3, 1998

Shares one teacher’s attempts to highlight diversity and children’s cultures in authentic ways. Examines three children’s connections to culture and their own cultural identities by looking at issues they explored across the school year (family, family and religion, and ethnicity). Situates the discussion of multiculturalism in the context of “kid culture.”

Researchers Jane Townsend and Danling Fu show how a Chinese boy’s entry into American language and culture was supported by a second-grade classroom that provided frequent opportunities for him to use oral and written language in personally meaningful ways.

Illustrates how the use of picture books in an English–as–a–second–language kindergarten supports language development. Describes individual children’s interactions with picture books, and analyzes the degree and nature of peer collaboration. Discusses the classroom context, observes the focal children reading, and describes how the teacher drew on a range of personal and peer resources.

Offers examples of exemplary classroom practice to address the issue of whether English language arts teachers can teach effectively if they are not fluent in the languages students speak. Discusses acts of inclusion (such as raising language status, and having flexible language boundaries), codeswitching as a resource, language choice and metalinguistic awareness, and learning in the “transformational space.”

Offers a profile of Pat Mora, a writer whose work crosses the boundaries of audience, genre, and language. Notes that woven through her works are topics drawn from her life experience. Looks at her recent accomplishments and forthcoming books. Discusses her advocacy for cultural and linguistic diversity, and for more Latinos in all phases of children’s book publishing.

Offers brief annotations of 45 illustrated children’s books that offer a vision of a linguistically rich world where language difference is a resource, not an obstacle. Groups the books in the following categories: codeswitching as authentic language; dual language texts; language and cultural traditions; alternate forms of communication; and personal and community voices.