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Multiple studies have shown the importance of using multicultural texts in classrooms—not only for students of color but for all students. As the International Literacy Association explained in their 2017 article Characteristics of Culturally Sustaining and Academically Rigorous Classrooms, we hope for the books we read to serve as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors for our students. As the ILA article states,
“Effective classrooms provide all students with a mirror in which they can see themselves. The books, topics, and issues they encounter foster insights into their own personal and cultural experiences. But simply knowing themselves is inadequate. Students also need a window to understand the perspectives of others, especially those whose experiences differ from their own. [...] Schools must [also] provide a doorway for students to enter new realms of possibility. Hope-filled schools ensure that every student sees promising paths, and that each student is equipped with the skills to complete the journey.”
We truly believe that purchasing these titles will help us create more mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors for our students. The titles that we have included/hope to buy are also largely books in a series. We are hoping that this will also allow us to add more of the subsequent titles to our class libraries, so that if a student finds a book series that they connect with, they continue to read more books and foster their love of reading. We believe that this grant will allow us to see our students being more engaged and interested in reading.
https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-culturally-sustaining-classrooms-brief.pdf?sfvrsn=7b80a68e_8
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