Practicing What We Teach: How Culturally Responsive Literacy Classrooms Make a Difference

by Patricia Ruggiano Schmidt, Althier M. Lazar

Overview

This accessible book features K–12 teachers and teacher educators who report their experiences of culturally responsive literacy teaching in primarily high-poverty, culturally nondominant communities. These extraordinary teachers show us what culturally responsive literacy teaching looks like in their classrooms and how it advances children’s academic achievement. This collection captures different dimensions of culturally responsive (CR) practice, such as linking home and school, using culturally responsive literature, establishing relationships with children and parents, using cultural connections, and teaching English language learners and children who speak African American language. This engaging collection:

• Provides a window into what teachers actually do and think when they serve culturally diverse children, including classroom-tested teaching practices.
• Depicts teachers enacting CR teaching in the presence of scripted curricula and rigid testing schedules.
• Covers childhood, secondary, and higher education classrooms.
• Helps readers imagine how they can transform their own classrooms through “Make This Happen in Your Classroom” sections at the end of each chapter.
• Includes a “Becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher” self-evaluation form.

“A thoroughly contextualized description and understanding of culturally responsive teaching. It will become a classic.”
—From the Preface by Lee Gunderson, University of British Columbia

“The teachers profiled in this book keep the conversation alive and move us toward more just educational settings.”
—From the Foreword by Patricia A. Edwards, Michigan State University

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807778302
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	09/06/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Patricia Ruggiano Schmidt is a professor of literacy education at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, and recipient of the International Reading Association’s Elva Knight Research Award. She consults internationally on culturally responsive literacy teaching. Althier M. Lazar is a professor in the teacher education department at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Foreword Patricia A. Edwards vii

Preface Lee Gunderson xi

Editors' Notes and Acknowledgments xix

Part I The Need for Culturally Responsive Literacy Teachers

1 Access to Excellence: Serving Today's Students Through Culturally Responsive Literacy Teaching Althier M. Lazar 3

Part II Centering Students in the Curriculum

2 From Nightjohn to Sundiata: A Heritage-Based Approach to Engaging Students in Literacy Tara Ranzy 27

3 Driving in Both Lanes: Practicing Culturally Responsive Literacy Teaching While Addressing Standards and Accountability Amelia Coleman-Brown 43

4 It All Came Down to This: "Know Thyself, Understand Others" A First-Year Teacher's Journey Through a New World Jamie Gartner 56

5 Taking Risks: Building Bridges with Students in an Alternative School Crystal Ponto Tanja Cosentino 69

6 Reading About the Negro Leagues Through the Lens of Critical Literacy: A Springboard to Straight Talk About Race Kristin R. Luebbert 83

Part III Building Relationships with Students and Caregivers

7 Extending a Lifeline Extending Oneself Gurkan Kose 99

8 From Pasta to Poets: Creating a Classroom Community Through Cultural Sharing Kevin Salamone 110

9 Communities as Resources: Two Teachers' Reciprocal Learning from Nondominant Cultural Communities June Estrada Ernie Estrada Guofang Li 121

10 Learning from and with Immigrant and Refugee Families in a Family Literacy Program Jim Anderson Fiona Morrison 130

Part IV Building on Students' Linguistic Strengths

11 Teaching Through Language: Using Multilingual Tools to Promote Literacy Achievement Among African American Elementary Students Heidi Oliver O'Gilvie Jennifer D. Turner Harry Hughes 141

12 Working with Diverse Language Speakers in an Early Childhood Setting Sunita Singh 156

13 Cross-Cultural Connections: Developing Teaching Principles Through Stories Mario E. López-Gopar 168

14 The Words We Need: A Culturally Responsive Approach to Scaffolding English Learners' Vocabulary Development Julie Coppola Maryellen Leelman Roseanne Barbacano 182

Part V Becoming Culturally Responsive Literacy Teachers

15 Encountering the ABCs and Meeting the Challenges Patricia Ruggiano Schmidt Fernando Rodriguez Laura Sandroni 199

16 Unlearning Color Blindness and Learning from Families Julie K. Kidd 218

17 Socially Responsive Literacy Teaching in the Midst of a Scripted Curriculum: A Novice Teacher's Story Kathryn S. Pegler 235

18 Becoming a Teacher for All Children: A Teacher's Story Jiening Ruan Brandi Gomez 250

Appendix: Reflective Practice and Evaluation 263

About the Contributors 265

Index 269

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A thoroughly contextualized description and understanding of culturally responsive teaching. It will become a classic.”
—From the Preface by Lee Gunderson, University of British Columbia

“The teachers profiled in this book keep the conversation alive and move us toward more just educational settings.”
—From the Foreword by Patricia A. Edwards, Michigan State University