Multicultural Literature & Diverse Authors

 

Workshop Resources on Multicultural Literature & Diverse Authors

• Teaching Multicultural Literature: A Workshop for the Middle Grades
  This is a multi-part video workshop (8 one-hour programs) showing how to teach multicultural works meaningfully to middle school students. It includes classroom demonstrations, author interviews, instructional strategies (reader response, critical inquiry, cultural studies, social justice) and activities. 

• The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature in High School
  This is a professional development series (8 one-hour video programs) intended for high school teachers. It explores ways to include works by African American, Latino/a, Native American, Asian American writers using approaches like inquiry, cultural studies, and critical pedagogy. 

• “What You Can Do: Bring Multicultural Text to Your Classroom”
  A more succinct video offering actionable steps for teachers to integrate multicultural texts in their classrooms. 

• “What is Multicultural Literature?” (Colorín Colorado / Reading Rockets)

• A short video that defines multicultural literature, discusses its purpose, and explains how it differs from general literature. Good for introducing the concept to teachers or students.

• “Why Are People Afraid of Multicultural Children’s Books?” A presentation that addresses resistance and critique around teaching diverse literature—useful for anticipating objections or criticisms from students, parents, or school communities. 

• “The Importance of Multicultural Children’s Literature | BK Live”

• A video about how bringing authors from different backgrounds can enrich student experiences and change communities. 

 Key Strategies & Approaches from These Resources

Here are strategies and ideas drawn from these workshops and videos that you can incorporate into your blog as “how-to” tips:

1. Use multiple pedagogical lenses:The workshops emphasize using reader response, inquiry / research, cultural studies, and critical pedagogy to approach multicultural texts. That means letting students respond personally, ask questions and dig deeper, explore cultural and historical context, and engage in social justice reflection. 

2. Scaffold context & background knowledge: Before diving into a text by a diverse author, provide historical, cultural, and social context so students are not “lost.” Use visuals, primary sources, guest speakers, or mini-research projects. 

3. Encourage student inquiry & agency:Allow students to choose topics, ask their own research questions related to the multicultural text, and present findings (e.g. multimedia, written, creative). This strengthens engagement and ownership. 

4. Dialogue and reflection
   Use open discussion, small group reflection, journal responses, or “turn and talks” to let students articulate how the text connects to their experiences or to social issues. 

5. Link literature to action
   Many programs highlight using the text as a springboard for social justice or community work. For example, after reading a text about inequity, students might plan action projects, awareness campaigns, or interviews in their communities. 

6. Diverse selection & expanding the canon
   Intentionally include underrepresented voices (racial, ethnic, gender, geographic, cultural). Use tools or systems that help you choose texts that are diverse but still align thematically with your curricular goals. (One recent study addresses a “text recommendation” tool to scaffold that process.) 

7. Visual aids & multimedia support
   Use images, audio, video, artwork, and film adaptations to help students access unfamiliar cultural contexts or symbolism. Visuals can help reduce alienation when text alone feels distant. (Research supports that visual aids motivate interest in literary texts.)

8. Prepare for resistance
   Use resources like “Why Are People Afraid of Multicultural Children’s Books?” to anticipate objections (e.g. claims of “politics in the classroom”) and plan how to frame your rationale to stakeholders (parents, administration, students)
   
   

Here you have a link of a guide of steps for multicultural literature: 

https://www.bu.edu/africa/outreach/teachingresources/literature-language-arts/selection_guide/