Final Lesson Plan:Multiculturalism, Translingualism, and
Identity TextsShanice N. Bacote
Montclair State University
THE CHALLENGE!
Personal assumptions about multiculturalism and cultural diversity
Combining this idea of translingualism with multiculturalism
Utilizing the concept of identity texts (Cummins 2011) to tie it all together.
Creation of a thematic unit
UNIT OBJECTIVES
Students will:› Have a clear, working knowledge of autobiographies and its’
categories.› Be able to identify important aspects of an autobiographical
text through the reading of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
› Write their own autobiography› Collaboratively create a blog to display their work.› Participate in the peer editing workshops.
EXTRA CREDIT: › Students can submit an additional version of their
autobiography written in a different language for other students.
› Students can write a full, detailed reflection of their writing process, to include challenges and successes.
MY CLASSROOM
East Side High School in Paterson, NJ 10th Grade Language Arts Classroom 26 students:
› 12 Black/African American› 7 Hispanic/Latino› 3 White/Caucasian› 2 Arabic/Middle Eastern students› 1 Chinese
DAY 1: Introduction Creation of a Word Wall based on the
various categories and/or characteristics of a autobiography.
ENGLISH FAMILY COMMUNITY
HOMETOWN
HOBBIES
SPANISH la familia la comunidad
ciudad natal actividades de ocio
CHINESE 家庭 社区 家乡 休闲活动
ARABIC عائلة أنشطة المجتمع
مسقط في نشاطاتالفراغ أوقات
FRENCH la famille la communauté
ville natale activités de loisirs
DAY 1: Introduction (cont.) An overview will be provided (Yatvin 2008) to introduce the
excerpt from the published autobiographical text: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. For homework, students will read the first chapter and answer the provided questions. The audio version in various languages will be available to students.› Spanish: OTHER VERSIONS
AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!
› French:
› Chinese:
› Hebrew:
DAY 2: Reflect and Organize Begin with journaling about their personal reflection on the
Douglass piece. Review homework questions. Provide students with bubble cluster graphic organizer to
begin organizing their thoughts. Students will be encouraged to utilize the words from our wall. Also, add to it throughout this writing process.
DAY 3 & 4: Peer Editing Workshops
Students will come into class with their first rough drafts. Students are broken into pairs and groups of three. Students will work in a different group or pair each time. Guidelines will be provided for peer editing, i.e. what to
look for. The teacher will walk around to provide informal
guidance, advice, and instruction. At the end of each workshop, students will correct and
polish drafts. Students will be encouraged to use words from the word
wall and add to the wall with teacher approval. All drafts will be collected at the end.
DAY 5: BLOGGING &IDENTITY TEXTS
Students will submit all drafts to me. All students will go to the computer
lab. Collaboratively all students will create
a blog for them to display their work. Provide a tutorial for students on blogs. Assisting students with language
characters while typing. Acts as our creation of an identity text.
Assessment and Evaluation
Participation in the peer editing process Progression from draft to final piece Submission to the collaborative blog Grammar, pronunciation, and fluency Individualized assessment
REFERENCESCummins, Jim (2011). Literacy engagement: fueling academic growth for English learners.
Freeman, Y.S., Freeman, D.E., & Ramirez, R (2008). Diverse learners in the mainstream classroom strategies for supporting all students across content areas. Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann.
Lockard, Joe (2004-2009). Frederick Douglass Translations. Retrieved from http://antislavery.eserver.org/narratives/douglasstranslations.
New Jersey State Core Curriculum Standards (2011). Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org.
Valdes, Gina (1982). Puentes y fronteras: Coplas chicanas. Los Angeles: Castle Lithographs.
Yatvin, Joanne (2007). English-only teachers in mixed-language classrooms: A survival guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.