EDTE 215 - Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Literacy Instruction

4 unit(s)
Richly diverse classrooms are filled with students who bring with them a wide range of languages, literacies, and cultural practices. Developing an effective culture of literacy requires an asset-based stance that celebrates each student’s unique background, strengths, language ecologies, and ways of engaging as learners. Teachers must learn to reflect on their own background and biases including beliefs about language learning, develop culturally sustaining methods of instruction, incorporate resources that are real and relevant for all students, and learn to honor varied patterns of participation and ways of knowing and communicating.

Ensuring that all students become purposefully literate further requires that teachers broaden their vision for literacy learning, moving beyond increasing students ability in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, towards supporting students’ ability to use their literate abilities to observe their world closely, ask critical questions, and add their voices to conversations of consequence.

Grading: Letter Graded

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