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| Multicultural Literacy Program (MLP). A program designed to be integrated with the reading and writing curriculum for students in grades 3-6. |
Audience Classroom teachers in grades 3-6, special area teachers, Chapter 1 and ESL teachers.
Description The purpose of the MLP program is to incorporate: (a) the culture and language of culturally diverse students, as well as community participation, into the school's reading/literature program; (b) the active use of language to generate and construct one's own knowledge; and (c) an understanding of the relevance, reason, and need for cultural understanding and appreciation. Using a multicultural literature-based program bridges the gap between cultural experiences, prior knowledge, and verbal language/written text for culturally diverse and at-risk students. Teachers and students read multicultural stories; teachers further use a variety of literacy activities to enhance reading and writing performance. Program teachers receive instruction in methods and techniques to integrate multicultural literature-based activities into their reading program. New participants receive five days of inservice instructions throughout the year; veteran teachers receive three days during Years Two an Three of the program and may help conduct inservice sessions. Project directors visit each teacher's classroom bi-monthly. They demonstrate multicultural activities, collaborate with teachers, assist with adapting the activities to student needs, and observe teacher instruction. The learning materials include multicultural books, a Teacher's Manual, an Instructor's Manual to be used for conducting inservices, and basal reading texts or literature-based texts. Cultures represented among the multicultural books include African American, African, Arab, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, and European American. Monitoring and evaluation procedures are ongoing processes, which allow the program to be flexible and to match the context of the classroom, the school, and the community. MLP addresses National Educational Goal 3.
Evidence of Effectiveness Six claims of effectiveness were evaluated. Results of the analyses and teacher and student interviews consistently showed that the MLP had a positive impact on the students' reading and writing performance. The findings were consistent across three school districts and three years of implementation. Significant changes in teacher behavior and attitudes were also evidenced.
Requirements A bibliography of multicultural books; a Teacher's Manual of instructional activities; an Instructor's Manual of inservice activities; a classroom set of multicultural literacy books (25 titles per set); and one set of multiple copy books (25 in a set--same title--that can be circulated from classroom to classroom).
Costs Implementation and operation costs include training for teachers and the administrator or reading consultant; trainee travel cost to the Ypsilanti training session; release time (1 day per semester); honorarium and expenses for MLP program staff. Operation costs are estimated at $786 plus expenses per year.
Services Awareness materials are available at no cost. Project staff is available to attend awareness sessions (costs to be negotiated). Visitors are welcome at project site. Instruction is also available at project site (adopter pays own costs). Implementation, follow-up, and evaluation services are available to adopters. Costs for all services are negotiable.
Developmental Funding: U.S. ED Fund for the Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching, Eastern Michigan University, Ann Arbor Community Foundation
PEP No. 93-19R (4/1/94)
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