3. What are some good resources for multicultural instruction?

Primary source materials are a good way to provide multicultural instruction. In studying a particular historic period, various perspectives on the same event can be represented through first- person narratives (recorded oral histories, letters, journals, essays). Learners can come to appreciate historic events in all their complexity from the perspectives of all parties involved. Studying different authors is another way to deepen cultural understanding.

A good resource for students learning Spanish is Latina and Latino Voices in Literature: Lives and Works by Frances Day (2003). By studying authors from across the Hispanic world, learners can come to appreciate the perspectives, life styles, values and experiences of various Latin American peoples. Other useful websites with resources related to Latino culture include LANIC and the Center for Multilingual, Multicultural Research. Websites with resources related to Asian cultures are Asia for Kids and The Asia Society's Ask Asia page.

The following Web sites are other good sources of information for planning multicultural instruction:

  • The World of Difference Institute Training and Curriculum Guides offered through the Anti-Defamation League are a great resource for teachers from kindergarten to high school.
  • Teaching Tolerance, a magazine published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, provides many classroom activities and materials to support multicultural instruction.
  • Rethinking Schools publishes a quarterly magazine and curricular materials focusing on multicultural, anti-bias instruction.
  • Culture for Kids sells bilingual and multilingual materials in over 30 languages and cultural studies on hundreds of countries.
  • Teacher's Discovery sells books, videos, lesson activities for teaching Spanish, German, and French languages and the cultures of Spanish-, German-, and French-speaking peoples.