Classroom Multicultural Perspective

This paper reviews some recent literature covering the concepts of Whole Language and Multicultural Education and their applications to fourth grade classroom teaching and learning. My Research Proposal stated that

I believe the ability to read and the love of reading is one of the most important academic goals in education. Besides expanding one's vocabulary and improving writing and spelling skills, it opens doors to unlimited knowledge and offers escapes to fantastic places no other medium can provide. Reading is also a skill that can promote self-esteem, enabling one to become a more informed, interesting person.

I strongly believe it's important to extend the whole language approach into the upper elementary grades.

Integrating the multiethnic approach into the whole language curriculum offers yet another possibility of making the classroom more student oriented.

Whole language is about empowerment.

An appreciation of diversity, a clarification of beliefs and value systems are other positive outcomes.

Critical thinking skills come into play... in such areas as cross-cultural comparisons.

Research of student social patterns have consistently found that they segregate themselves based on race.

Last but not least, I plan on involving the parents of my children.

This Literature Review project aims at examining these propos

. . .
ics is a method of teaching reading based on a totally different learning theory. L.L. Lamme and L. Ledbetter (1990), in "Libraries: The Heart of Whole Language", Language Arts, confirm the high motivation Whole Language-exposed children have developed towards reading and knowledge acquisition: In schools where whole language is catching on, activity in the school library/media center is booming! Children are in the center before school, after school, and throughout each school day... And the teachers? They're not grading skill pack pages or running off dittoes. They're in the media production room binding books their students have written... Freed from the basals, teachers are excited about teaching... J.E. Wellman-Bonilla (1991), in "Shouting from the tops of buildings: Teachers as learners and change in schools", Language Arts, echoes Lamme & Ledbetter's findings, as she discovers that in her Whole Language school: All of the classroom teachers at the school are increasingly open to change. They are reading more children's literature and professional articles and books. They are creating extensive classroom libraries of fiction and non-fiction, including books written by students. Reading and writing skills exerci
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Teaching K-8, Education Quarterly, Teacher Magazine, Language Myth, Language Arts, Teacher McWhister, Equity Excellence, Donald Graves, Mary Kitagawa, Edelsky Flores, language teachers, reading writing, multicultural education, myth language, language philosophy, language arts, language classroom, children learn, language classrooms, teacher education, learn read write, reality language philosophy, edelsky flores 1987, reading writing experiences, children learn read,
Approximate Word count = 9613
Approximate Pages = 38 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Classroom Multicultural Perspective