Promoting Cultural Awareness in the Urban Elementary Classroom through Multicultural Literature

As the country’s population grows ever more diverse,
there is a growing need of cultural awareness in
our elementary public schools. Young children are
coming together from all over the world with diverse
families and experiences and co-existing with each
other in America’s elementary schools. In order to
minimize a negative view towards diversity, this study
implements a multicultural approach that can create
positive cultural interactions in the urban elementary
classroom. Multiculturalism is, in short, the view that
various cultures in society merit equal respect and
genuine interest. In order to incorporate multiculturalism
into the curriculum, I utilized selective multicultural
children’s literature that corresponded with
the current reading standards and objectives. With
a focus on literacy, reading and writing, the students
participated in several activities that helped them
explore the similarities and differences between
characters from diverse cultures.