Texts that challenge the narrative status quo -- from introducing new ways of authoring to showcasing historically overlooked experiences - have garnered increasing notoriety, specifically through literary prizing. Altogether, these books not only diversified the form of the awards' histories but also the characters, content, and authors. As…

Huddled around a table, a group of English teachers eagerly discuss their chosen book club young adult novels. The authors appreciate that these texts explore how social injustice and inequity influence people's worlds. The novels invite teachers to consider the perspectives of those whose viewpoints and experiences differ from their own. With an…

Using memorials and related nonfiction print and nonprint texts, students explore elements involved in creating a memorial and learn to think critically about the relationship between these elements.

The article uses autobiographical reflection to argue for mental health as an area of cultural difference that merits inclusion in multicultural education. The author considers some issues that relate to how schools can contribute to the psychic and emotional well-being of young people whose makeups have historically been considered to be…

This article will share a postcolonial analysis of three widely taught texts that the author has used to introduce both secondary English language arts classes and college students in multicultural young adult literature courses to postcolonial criticism: Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," Gene Luen…

In this article, the authors contend that high school English classes are a critical place for teaching democratic ways with words, and they call on and extend the tools of intercultural inquiry for the purposes of teaching democratic deliberation. The authors describe their collaborative engagement with an inventive data-driven genre--the…

Multicultural education and a multicultural curriculum are vital components of contemporary education. While most educators recognize the value of multicultural education in attempting to create a more just world, some lament that they do not have time to incorporate multiculturalism into their classrooms in light of all the content that must be…

High school teacher Julie Gorlewski considers the complexities of multicultural education and the challenges of realizing its potential as a social movement. She explains how students became "powerful users of language" by writing to the editors of their literature anthology to question what appeared to be censorship through alterations to text…

In May 2006, the summer-reading committee in the author's middle school debated the relevance of "So Far from the Bamboo Grove" by Yoko Kawashima Watkins and decided against using the book as a required summer-reading selection. Therefore, the author was interested in the controversy that erupted a few months later in Dover-Sherborn, a district…

Maureen Crane Wartski uses the themes like race and ancestry in her writings, as she believes that these themes are important parts of identity. Through multicultural literature it can be shown that there is a great deal to be learned from people who have different cultural experiences.

The diverse cultures of students need to be honored with due respect. Teachers of rural students and students who are not in culturally diverse areas should learn about all types of people in order to participate in a democratic society.

Argues that William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is the play that is best suited for the high school English curriculum of the 1990s. Discusses historical and critical aspects the play's key themes. Shows ways of using the play in high school classes, and describes 19 works to read alongside of"The Tempest." (HB)

Yu Ren Dong presents several activities that can give teachers confidence to explore the cultural differences in diverse texts and provide ways to help their students discuss these differences and enhance cross-cultural understanding. The use of cultural-response approach is highlighted.

Explores the many reasons to read and teach multicultural literature, including to know oneself and others, and because people still lead largely segregated lives. Considers the impact of including and excluding lives and cultures. Responds to opposition to including these works, and details the power of multicultural literature to move students.…

John A. Poole created a unit supplementing the reading with interviews of community members, finding that his rural Idaho students were unable to connect meaningfully with multicultural literature. Poole describes the unit's impact on the sophomores' appreciation of diversity.