“Reading Takes You Places”
Multicultural Literature, Lessons & Activities
presented at State Library Conference 2011
by Amy Brownlee, K-12 Library Media Specialist, Sterling USD #376
Multicultural Literature, Lessons & Activities
presented at State Library Conference 2011
by Amy Brownlee, K-12 Library Media Specialist, Sterling USD #376
"Reading Takes You Places" Multicultural Activities slideshow highlighting our activities at Sterling Grade School:
Multicultural studies meet Common Core Standards by:
Multicultural studies can easily be integrated with 21st century skills in researching and creating an information product.
NOTE: These activities were not done all in one year, and they were not something I did alone. Lots of people shared ideas and expertise and helped make it all happen. Hopefully you will find some ideas you can use or adapt for your students.
- Incorporating literature from other cultures
- Including text from a variety of genres: fiction, nonfiction, fairy and folk tales, poetry, etc.
- Incorporating mini-research projects
Multicultural studies can easily be integrated with 21st century skills in researching and creating an information product.
NOTE: These activities were not done all in one year, and they were not something I did alone. Lots of people shared ideas and expertise and helped make it all happen. Hopefully you will find some ideas you can use or adapt for your students.
Teaching Diversity through a Cross-Curricular approach
"Each time we read a good piece of literature, we are changed by the experience: we see the world in a new way. For these reasons, literature can be a powerful vehicle for understanding cultures and experiences different from our own.” (E.M. Bieger)
"Each time we read a good piece of literature, we are changed by the experience: we see the world in a new way. For these reasons, literature can be a powerful vehicle for understanding cultures and experiences different from our own.” (E.M. Bieger)
You will find links to specific documents below, or you can view the folder containing all documents for the Multicultural Lessons.
Children’s literature– Year-long library theme "Reading Takes You Places"
- Storytime read-alouds
- Guest speakers who have traveled or lived internationally
- Using maps and globes to plot our location and the location of people in literature and guest speakers
- Monthly theme and book lists
- District newsletter articles: Fall article and Spring article
- Excellent Reader's Theater script available for the book Faraway Home by Jane Kurtz. Buzzeo, Toni. "Faraway Home Reader's Theater." Library Sparks Oct. 2006: 17-20.
- Culture stations
- Games, clothing, music/dance, book browsing under mosquito net
- Directions for playing mancala (we used homemade boards made from egg cartons and small stones as playing pieces)
- Interactive displays
- Items to look at or touch
- Example: use chopsticks to pick up a fortune cookie
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Bookmaking project
- Collaborative project between library classes and art
- All students K-6 contributed a page to a class book (6th graders partnered with kindergarteners)
- Students as authors and illustrators – writing process (brainstorming, first draft, editing, proofreading, etc.)
- Book topics: Celebrations & Special Days, Things I Do for Fun, Things That Go, Around My School, Around My Community, Animal Poems
- Books were donated to a school library in Ethiopia – Fregenet
- Explanation of the project
- Entry points lesson
- Multisensory, kinesthetic exploration of artifacts. Items can be scientifical, historical, cultural, etc.
- Guided observation questions for students to use when exploring artifacts
- Service learning & empathy
- Collecting books for Ethiopia Reads
- Raising money for Ethiopia Reads, a school, or a water project
- “Reading Safari” reading celebration week activities
- Included author visit, guest speakers, African art, food, music, and service learning
- List of week-long celebration activities
- News article describing the week's activities
- Tying in architecture, fine art, music, dance – collaborate with other teachers
- Google Lit Trip – Google Earth
- 6th-grade reading class read multicultural books and created annotated Google Lit Trips over their books
- Diversity lessons
- 21st Century Skills Research project: travel postcards
- Geography
- Mapping activity – color code states on a U.S.map and/or countries in a world map
- Where have you visited?
- Where has a family member or close friend visited?
- Where do you want to visit?
- Mapping activity – color code states on a U.S.map and/or countries in a world map
"Ethiopia for Teachers" Study Trip
Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad
Presentations and information
July 2010
co-sponsored by Kansas State University and Ethiopia Reads
Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad
Presentations and information
July 2010
co-sponsored by Kansas State University and Ethiopia Reads
In July of 2010, a group of American educators spent a month in Ethiopia visiting schools and libraries and learning about every facet of Ethiopian culture and society. The goal is to broaden understanding of teachers who can in turn teach their students, colleagues, and community members about the uniqueness of Ethiopian culture and foster multicultural studies and appreciation of diversity.
Lessons from Ethiopia: Bringing Africa "Home" to Students
Partners in Excellence Conference
October 7, 2010 / Junction City, KS
presented by Amy Brownlee, Carol Settgast, and Alicia Thomas
Description: Hear from three educators who spent a month in Ethiopia as part of a Fulbright-Hays Group Study Abroad Program visiting schools, libraries, and learning about the culture of the region. Learn how they connected with African students and teachers through the Ethiopia Reads organization and how they are using what they learned to teach lessons to their American students about multiculturalism, diversity, literature, geography, culture and more.
Partners in Excellence Conference
October 7, 2010 / Junction City, KS
presented by Amy Brownlee, Carol Settgast, and Alicia Thomas
Description: Hear from three educators who spent a month in Ethiopia as part of a Fulbright-Hays Group Study Abroad Program visiting schools, libraries, and learning about the culture of the region. Learn how they connected with African students and teachers through the Ethiopia Reads organization and how they are using what they learned to teach lessons to their American students about multiculturalism, diversity, literature, geography, culture and more.
View my PowerPoint slide show describing basic information about Ethiopia and details of my trip.
This 30 second video gives a brief taste of what we experienced on our trip.
This longer video gives a snapshot of our experiences on the trip. It is almost 9 minutes long and features Ethiopian music.