•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Five Latina mothers were engaged in pláticas literarias/literature discussions about Latino children’s literature at their children’s school. The pláticas served as means to build the links from personal experiences to school learning and to help the mothers recognize that their ways of knowing and making meaning of the world-their multiliteracies-are tools from which their children will and do learn. A community cultural wealth [CCW] framework was employed to identify and make visible the significance of these rich contributions and strengths. Basing the pláticas on texts that interested and were relevant to the mothers and providing them a safe space to engage with and discuss the texts allowed them to determine that they indeed had positive contributions to make to their children’s learning. It is suggested that schools need to draw from the CCW and multiple literacies of the students, families, and communities that they serve in order to create curriculum that is relevant.fadfFive Latina mothers were engaged in pláticas literarias/literature discussions about Latino children’s literature at their children’s school. The pláticas served as means to build the links from personal experiences to school learning and to help the mothers recognize that their ways of knowing and making meaning of the world-their multiliteracies-are tools from which their children will and do learn. A community cultural wealth [CCW] framework was employed to identify and make visible the significance of these rich contributions and strengths. Basing the pláticas on texts that interested and were relevant to the mothers and providing them a safe space to engage with and discuss the texts allowed them to determine that they indeed had positive contributions to make to their children’s learning. It is suggested that schools need to draw from the CCW and multiple literacies of the students, families, and communities that they serve in order to create curriculum that is relevant.Five Latina mothers were engaged in pláticas literarias/literature discussions about Latino children’s literature at their children’s school. The pláticas served as means to build the links from personal experiences to school learning and to help the mothers recognize that their ways of knowing and making meaning of the world-their multiliteracies-are tools from which their children will and do learn. A community cultural wealth [CCW] framework was employed to identify and make visible the significance of these rich contributions and strengths. Basing the pláticas on texts that interested and were relevant to the mothers and providing them a safe space to engage with and discuss the texts allowed them to determine that they indeed had positive contributions to make to their children’s learning. It is suggested that schools need to draw from the CCW and multiple literacies of the students, families, and communities that they serve in order to create curriculum that is relevant.

Key Take Away Points

  • Discussing the books in Spanish provided Latina mothers them the opportunity to be in control of their contributions to the literature discussions and use their multiple literacies to make meaning from the books and discussions.
  • Working with the Latina mothers in Spanish allowed them to draw connections amongst the various texts that we read and more importantly made connections to their life experiences which repositioned them in the world as owners of knowledge.
  • As a result of the literature discussions, the Latina mothers recognized how their multiple literacies provided their children with unique ways of making sense of the world and tools to interpret, facilitate, explore, engage, and make meaning of the world around them.

Author Biography

Julia López-Robertson is an Associate Professor of Language and Literacy at the University of South Carolina. Her scholarly agenda is built on a commitment to working with children, families, teachers, and preservice teachers in public schools, universities, and communities for the purpose of advancing understandings about emerging bilingual/multilingual students and their families and on the transformation of teacher education to support equitable teaching for all children, particularly English Language Learners. Julia spent seventeen years as a bilingual primary teacher in Boston, MA and Tucson, AZ and completed her Ph.D. in Language, Reading, and Culture at the University of Arizona. She can be reached at LOPEZROB@mailbox.sc.edu.

Download

Share

COinS