Culturally Responsive Read Aloud Collection and Lesson Plan, due Session 10 (15 points)
For this assignment, you will begin by doing some research about the community of your
placement school, its history, its people – including important contemporary and historical
figures, languages spoken, current issues of importance, cultural institutions in the neighborhood,
etc. (Note: This is not a large-scale research project; start with Wikipedia and go from there.) If
you can take some time to walk around, even better! Observations and interactions with students
in your fieldwork classroom are a critical data source. Drawing upon your knowledge of the
community, you will create a collection of culturally responsive read aloud texts that reflect
(some aspect(s) of) life in the community.
Introduction/Rationale for Utilizing Culturally Responsive Literature in the Classroom
You will write a brief introduction (~3-5 paragraphs) to your read aloud collection
where you first describe the community and the cultures and identities in your
classroom. Then, you will draw upon course readings to convey your understanding
of culturally responsive/sustaining literacy pedagogy and specifically, the importance
of utilizing culturally responsive texts in elementary classrooms. Consider, for
example, the following questions: What is culturally responsive literacy pedagogy?
What is culturally responsive literature? Why is it important for students to
experience culturally responsive literacy instruction? Why should teachers utilize
culturally responsive texts in elementary classrooms?
You will select four read aloud texts that are culturally responsive for students in
your classroom. For each of the four texts, you will write the title, author(s), and
illustrator(s), followed by a paragraph describing why you chose this book given
your knowledge of the community and classroom. You will want to briefly describe
what the book is about, explain how it relates to this community, and why you
thought it would be a good choice to serve as a “mirror” for students living in this
community.
Choose one of the four books from your collection and create a detailed interactive
read aloud lesson plan for the text, following the lesson plan template for fieldwork.
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This should not be a general outline but rather should be a detailed account of what
you actually intend to say and do and what you expect students to be doing during the
lesson. You want to be intentional about your language choices and pedagogical
decisions.
