Teaching Students About a Diverse World―Past and Present

by Rachel Eader

Growing up in a small, rural Ohio town did not leave much room for diversity. Classrooms were filled with students who looked the same, who talked the same, who came from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, and who had parents working in the same profession or factory. For me, exposure to diversity came in the stacks of the Logan County District Library. As a child, I created experiences for myself in the pages of books. I traveled the world and the limits of time to create an authentic world view. Without knowing it, I allowed diverse texts and topics to shape my background knowledge and experiences, which followed me into the classroom.

Defining Diversity

The concept of diversity is multifaceted. To be sure, though, diversity needs to be defined beyond the narrow strokes of race and gender to encompass the broad strokes of ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, and time-period-specific issues. This more far-reaching definition is a critical tool for teachers to use in their classrooms. Providing knowledge and experiences through literature is a powerful way for teachers to help students understand the world of the past and today's diverse world―right down to their classrooms and communities―and to help prepare students for the rich and shrinking world awaiting them upon graduation.

How can a teacher utilize the plethora of diverse texts and topics to engage and enrich a classroom of students? Two anecdotes follow to demonstrate. I also hope to paint a few pictures of diversity by sharing "book bundles."

From Bellefontaine to the Shetland Islands to Africa and Back to Bellefontaine

As a prolific reader, I pore through novels. My love of literature shaped my seventh grade language arts classroom. From book talks to door signs highlighting my new favorite novel, I modeled for students a passion for reading. There were times, though, that outside experts were helpful in supporting literature used in my classroom. Two instances come to mind.

I came upon A Stranger Came Ashore (by Mollie Hunter) because Greg Wisse, a seasoned math teacher and reluctant reading teacher in my school, enjoyed using this novel in his one-period-a-day reading class. When I became the reading teacher for one of the seventh grade teaching teams, I decided to integrate this book because of Mr. Wisse's suggestion. On reading this myth of Selkie Folk, I was not disappointed. You see, as much as I love literature, I also love Scotland; and Shetland, one of its northern islands, is the setting for this tale. Unfortunately, in my travels, I never made it there. I decided, then, to use the Internet to my advantage. I made an online visit to the Shetland Island Tourist Bureau (SITB) and ordered a travel video for my students and me to view. This was my attempt to build background knowledge for my student readers and to help them have a movie in their minds. The treeless and rocky landscape and volatile voes (a voe is a rocky inlet) of Shetland can be a hard image for a central Ohioan to visualize!

It was during this process that I made the acquaintance of Stephen Simpson, Shetland resident and SITB employee. Not only did he answer questions for my students and me about the traditions and customs of the islands, but he also sent us photographs of his family while participating in Up Helly Aa, a Viking fire festival―a festival, as we learned, in which Shetlanders dress in Viking garb and parade through town with lit torches. Once in the city center, the torches are thrown into a specially crafted long boat. Occurring in late January, this bonfire is thought to trick the gods into returning the sun. This celebration is a major component in the novel and one new to the students reading about it.

In this one novel, students were introduced to a new myth, a new location, many new customs, and an understanding that though culture can distinguish groups, it can also bind them together. What a critical lesson for my rural students to learn.

Another opportunity for outside influence came from Gloria Whelan's Listening for Lions. As I began reading this novel―a story about the daughter of medical missionaries dispatched to Africa at the turn of the twentieth century―my mind immediately turned to the experiences of my aunt and uncle and their children. My Aunt Glenda and Uncle Bob Watt were also medical missionaries in Africa, and I grew up receiving cherished letters from my cousin detailing her life adventures. The fictional tale of Rachel Sheridan and the real-world experiences of my relatives came together to influence both my understanding of the novel and the way I planned to use it in class. On finishing the book, I sent a copy to my aunt and asked for her feedback. In addition to reading and applauding the book's account of life in Africa, she sent copies to her daughters for their approval. With their confirmation, I knew I had discovered an accurate and engaging text that would again widen the world of my students.

Book Bundling to Support Diverse Texts and Topics

After finding those good books, I struggled with what to read next. With the Henderson family in A Stranger Came Ashore and Rachel Sheridan in Listening for Lions, the end of the novels did not mean the end of my or my students' interest in the texts and topics. For that reason, I began book bundling.

Book bundling is the process of creating a list of novels, informational texts, picture books, and other print and media resources to support a theme. You can begin when you find a book or theme that interests the students― or that sometimes is one you can't resist―and your students (or you) want to know more about the topic. You can use the bundles in a variety of ways:

• Literature circles. Reaping benefits from the work done by literacy expert Harvey Daniels, students select one book from the bundle and meet in a cooperative learning group. A variety of roles are assigned, and students make their way through the material, working both independently on an assigned role and cooperatively to disseminate the information learned.
• Differentiated learning activities. From reading level to content knowledge, assessments are used to determine the present level of student proficiency. Formal assessments (say, the Qualitative Reading Inventory or Aimweb) and informal assessments (such as interest inventories and prelearning surveys) guide the selection from the book bundle.
• Independent reading selections. Students self-select titles for independent reading practice. The selections are based on criteria provided by the teacher, such as genre of writing mode or personal interests.
• Literacy learning stations. Students flow through a series of learning stations focused on reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing. The book bundles can be the focal point of one station, or the stations can have an overall theme.

The classes I taught were not diverse in culture or ethnicity, so I used book bundling to expose my students to diverse cultures. Obviously, this kind of exposure to diversity does not need to be limited, as in my experience, to a homogenous group. Classrooms blessed with a variety of students can exponentially grow through the use of diverse texts and topics. Not only will the background knowledge within the classroom be rich and dynamic, but the resources that can be drawn on from the families of those students are essential.

In short, the benefit of book bundling comes from the ability to expose students to a variety of sources related to a similar topic. The texts and topics below show how book bundling can be used in addressing diversity.

Cultures and Communities

Cultures and communities share commonalities and differences. A book bundle that focuses on one particular group can be used in various ways. Certainly students will learn about the culture, but they will also be able to compare and contrast one culture with another and also with their own. To build background knowledge, the following book bundle was created. At the same time, students were able to use their knowledge of other cultures and communities to make a variety of connections.

In the case of the following book bundle, my students read a short article from Time for Kids about Navajo code talkers from World War II. I listened to their interest and pulled together a series of books to continue the discussion on this topic.

U.S. History

Reading J. B. Cheaney's My Friend the Enemy sparked an interest in World War II-era internment camps. My mind flooded with other world events that connect to this blemish in American history. For that reason, this bundle was created.

By happenstance I picked up Kirby Larson's Hattie Big Sky at a literature conference. The landscape pictured on the cover piqued my curiosity. (Little did I know I selected what would be the 2007 Newbery Award winner.) The book grabbed my attention from the beginning, and I put together the following book bundle to engage my students.

For Adolescent Girls

For middle school language arts teacher, some book bundles almost create themselves. Issues and concerns for the adolescent girl are as diverse as the range of emotions they feel in one school day. For that reason, assembling a book bundle that represents how fictional characters deal with the daily happenings of adolescents is critical. From the loss of a parent and the responsibility of raising siblings to the desire for higher education and the search for truth in life, these books bring adolescent girls together and keep them coming back for more.

Literature opens the door to an understanding of and empathy for cultures and customs. Making a place for diverse texts and topics in today's classroom is an investment in the future.

Working on behalf of the Educational Service Center of Franklin County, Rachel Eader is in her first year as Regional Literacy Consultant for the State Support Team, Region 11. She works in a variety of buildings, training School Literacy Consultants to deliver literacy-related professional development. Recently, Rachel was accepted into the Literacy Educator Training Consortium to pursue a literacy specialist endorsement. Previously she worked as a seventh grade language arts teacher at Bellefontaine Middle School in Bellefontaine, Ohio.

Return to top