Text Complexity and English Learners—Building Vocabulary
As part of a series of accessible articles on reading instruction (Text Matters), Elfrieda Hiebert examines the particular issues faced by English learners with regard to text complexity. Prior to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), old standards documents referred to reading proficiency with...
Authentic First Peoples Resources: Books for Use in K–7 Classrooms
This is a great resource that identifies more than 100 books, historical and contemporary, by and/or about First Peoples (the terminology used in Canada to refer to the indigenous peoples of the Americas who are neither Inuit or Métis). The books depict themes and issues that are important within...
Effective Teaching Strategies for Middle School Learners in Multicultural, Multilingual Classrooms
This article explores teacher evaluations of researcher-endorsed instructional strategies employed by 16 middle school teachers in Florida to address the developmental and educational needs of their students.
Guidelines for Respecting Cultural Knowledge
This document provides sets of clearly articulated guidelines that address issues of concern in the documentation, representation, and utilization of traditional cultural knowledge as they relate to the roles of various participants, including Elders, authors, curriculum developers, classroom...
Schooling for Self-Determination: Research on the Effects of Including Native Language and Culture in the Schools
This digest briefly reviews the impacts of assimilationist education for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students and describes recent examples of successful AI/AN schools that incorporate students’ Native language and traditional culture into the curriculum. Four exemplary AI/AN programs...
Culturally Appropriate Curriculum: A Research-Based Rationale
This chapter examines theoretical and practical research studies that support and inform the development of culturally appropriate curriculum for American Indian children in K–12 classrooms.
Reading and Language Arts Curricula in Elementary and Secondary Education for American Indians and Alaska Natives
In this article, the author reviews literature addressing reading and language arts curricula for Native students, with a goal to provide teachers with helpful instructional tools. An overview is presented of theories of first and second language acquisition and learning, stages of language...
The Potential of a Culturally Based Supplemental Mathematics Curriculum to Improve the Mathematics Performance of Alaska Native and Other Students
This randomized controlled trial conducted in Alaska examined the efficacy of the reform-oriented and culturally based Math in a Cultural Context (MCC) teacher training and curriculum. The results show that the Picking Berries (representing and measuring) and Going to Egg Island (grouping and place...