Laura May

Animating Talk and Texts: Culturally Relevant Teacher Read-Alouds of Informational Texts.

This article describes the classroom interactions surrounding teacher read-alouds of nonfiction texts in the classroom of a teacher who strived for cultural relevancy. Participants in this study were one European American teacher and her upper-elementary students who lived in the surrounding working-class neighborhood; all but two students identified as Latino or African American. Data were collected for two consecutive school years using ethnographic and discourse analytic methods. Analyses showed that the teacher took up three social positions (i.e., cultural advocate, facilitator of classroom interactions, and teacher of reading) by animating texts and students.

Situating Strategies: An Examination of Comprehension Strategy Instruction in One Upper Elementary Classroom Oriented Toward Culturally Relevant Teaching

Drawing on ethnographic and discourse analytic methods, this article examines how comprehension strategies aligned with goals in a classroom oriented toward culturally relevant teaching. Findings indicate that (1) two distinct sets of comprehension were taught in the room and (2) one set aligned more easily with culturally relevant teaching than the other.

Culturally and Linguistically Relevant Readalouds.

The teacher readaloud is an instructional tool established in its ability to foster childrens language and literacy development. Increasing cultural and linguistic diversity and changing standards place pressure on teachers to provide literacy and language instruction relevant to childrens everyday lives and learning. This article presents a framework for conducting culturally and linguistically relevant readalouds within two essential components, talk and text, in terms of developing cultural competence, maintaining high academic expectations, and fostering a critical stance. Particular attention is given to the interactive nature of these readalouds and how they can be used to promote childrens active co-construction of textually-based meaning.

Acquiring Responsive Practices: Preservice Teachers Learn to Conduct Interactive Read-Alouds

As U.S. schools continue to grow more culturally and linguistically diverse, it is important for teacher–educator programs to include pedagogy that promotes engaging learning opportunities for all children. One way these learning opportunities can occur is through interactive read-alouds. Interactive read-alouds provide the teacher and child an opportunity to interact with the text and one another. This article examines how a teacher–educator emphasis on interactive read-alouds guides preservice teacher attention. The authors followed 20 preservice teachers during their first literacy methods course. Analysis of the data yielded two general themes. First, the larger teacher preparation, community-based context drew preservice teacher attention to culturally and linguistically responsive read-aloud practices. Second, preservice teachers tended to blend sociolinguistic awareness with pedagogy when discussing read-alouds.