Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching - National University

Additional multicultural fiction, historical fiction, and nonfiction books were also on display in
the classroom and available daily during independent reading time. An anchor chart listing the
books read for the research study was posted in the room, with new books added after each
reading.
In addition, key aspects of establishing environments and curriculum that provide
multiple experiences and value differences were incorporated (Kaser & Short, 1998). These
included the teacher listening to students to gain a sense of their thinking and to support their
learning. It also included students listening to each other and engaging in dialogue that involves
inquiry and critical thinking. Systems were put in place to allow and encourage thinking out loud
in order to take learners beyond their own ideas, to help them consider new perspectives and
ways to view the world, and to help them share their interpretations and connections to life and
cultural identities. The teacher made a conscious effort to construct an environment that was
socially just and equitable and where students’ questions around issues of diversity including
culture, race, class, gender, fairness, and ability were given importance and continually
discussed.
Multicultural picture books were selected as the format to engage students in critical
literacy practices. Picture books allowed the teacher the opportunity to engage students visually
and orally while providing an accessible way for all students to participate and begin to
understand the issues of social justice regardless of reading or language abilities. Based on the
guidelines established by the Cooperative Children's Book Center (2006), contemporary and
historical fiction, and nonfiction literature that encouraged positive portrayals of characters with
authentic and realistic behaviors was selected. Care was taken to use multicultural books that
avoided stereotypes, portrayed the values and cultural group in an authentic way, showed people
from different cultures working together, emphasized both similarities and differences,
broadened children’s vision and invited reflections, and showed multiple and contradictory
perspectives. A final criterion supported by Leland and Harste (2002) was to enrich students’
views of history by utilizing books that gave voice to those who traditionally have been silenced
or marginalized and that showed people taking action on social issues. In order to ensure that
students had the necessary historical understanding, books were read in a historical sequence
examining Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and
various immigrant groups. The books were often linked to the social studies curriculum units of
slavery, civil rights, the Holocaust, and war. A theme of tolerance and freedom permeated the
selected text.
Data and Findings
The data were collected during twice-weekly visits over eight months. As fifty multicultural
picture books were read aloud and discussed, data were collected via audiotapes, videotapes,
student journals, and classroom observation with field notes. Transcriptions of discussions and
journal entries provided the richest source of information for the study. Data were analyzed in
relation to the guiding questions upon which this research study was designed. The researcher
searched for regularities, patterns, and themes when reading the data and identified coding
categories. As data analysis continued, three findings emerged that addressed the research
questions. The ways in which the students made meaning about differences while interacting and
responding to the multicultural literature read aloud is encompassed in the following findings.
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