Publication Date
12-2019
Abstract
This qualitative research study examined 13 preschool to third-grade teachers’ experiences reading and discussing culturally relevant texts (CRTs) with their students. Teachers worked at four schools in a large urban school district and with child populations from different sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds. We employed provisional and open-coding to analyze teacher interview data. Three salient themes emerged from the data: children’s identity investment in reading and discussing CRTs, children’s interest in CRTs, and children’s depth of comprehension when discussing CRTs. Findings from teacher observations suggest that reading and discussing CRTs with children from nondominant social backgrounds can tap into children’s capacities and experiential knowledge in ways that can promote reading engagement and comprehension development. When students have opportunities to share expertise on the topic of a text, teachers may be better able to understand and tap into the diverse range of knowledge and experiences that their students bring to the reading comprehension task.
Recommended Citation
Clark, A., & Fleming, J. (2019). "They Almost Become the Teacher": Pre-K to Third Grade Teachers’ Experiences Reading and Discussing Culturally Relevant Texts with their Students. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 58 (3). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol58/iss3/3
