Copyright
by
María Guadalupe Leija Lara
2017
1 The Dissertation Committee for María Guadalupe Leija Lara certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation:
Interactive Read Alouds: Developing Literacy in Bilingual
Second Grade Classrooms
Committee:
______Cynthia S. Salinas, Supervisor
______María E. Fránquiz, Co-Supervisor
______Mary Jo Worthy
______Luis Urrieta, Jr.
______Ramón A. Martínez
______Minda M. Lopez
2
Interactive Read Alouds: Developing Literacy in Bilingual
Second Grade Classrooms
by
María Guadalupe Leija Lara, B.A.; M.Ed.
Dissertation
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of
The University of Texas at Austin
in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
The University of Texas at Austin
May 2017
3 Dedication
Para mis hijos e hija for your kind words, actions, consejos, and support!
To Abraham Lara for his strength, humor, and love.
To Itzabel Lara for her kindness, inspiration, and love.
To Junajpu Lara for keeping me honest.
To Xb’alanke Lara for your charisma and charm.
Acknowledgments
First of all, I would like to thank God, La Virgencita de Guadalupe, and my guardian angel who lead me through this journey and gave me faith, hope, and strength when I needed it most. Abraham and Itzabel, I couldn’t have made it this far without your support. We were tested in so many ways but the two of you were pillars during this educational journey. You both took up many tasks that I was unable to help with. You are both amazing individuals who nurtured and supported me through this process. It should have been the opposite way and I am sorry for that. Hopefully, in the future I am able to support you through your own educational journey.
Thank you for feeding the twins, changing diapers, and putting them to bed when I was away writing or at conferences. Thank you for helping us to criar a mis gemelitos!
Dr. Gilberto P. Lara, thank you for all of your support, advice, and love! You are a giving person and have taught me how to improve as a writer, have faith no mater what we are faced with, and believe in myself. This journey has certainly not been an easy one, but you have made it more manageable. I look forward to our future as parents and scholars.
Gracias a mis padres que hicieron tantos sacrificios para darme una vida en los estados unidos aun manteniendo mi idioma, cultura, y tradiciones Mexicanas. Gracias mamá (Romualda
Leija) por animarme y enseñarme que como una mujer Mexicana, puedo lograr mis sueños.
Gracias papá (Abraham Leija) por traernos a este país y por luchar por nuestra familia. Gracias padres por la educación que me dieron en casa, valorar quien soy y de dónde vengo, y por apoyarme en la escuela. Gracias por crearnos como una familia unida que siempre esta dispuesta a ayudarse unos a otros. Sin sus morales y valores, no hubiera alcanzado mis metas. Tomó una
v
comunidad unida para poder alcanzar esta meta. Gracias Francisco Leija por ser el hermano mayor y por tus palabras de ánimo. Gracias Luisa Leija por tus consejos, llamadas, y por ser la hermana mayor que siempre esta dispuesta ayudar a los demás, te quiero mucho. Gracias Alberto
Leija por ser un hermano lleno de amor y por tu amistad. Gracias Javier Leija por recordarme lo importante que es tener fe y esperanzas en Dios. Gracias Cruz Leija por ayudarnos y por animarme, “¡Échale ganas Lupita!”. Gracias Modesta Leija Salgado por todo lo que haces por la familia, para que se mantenga junta y unida. Gracias Estela Leija Maxwell for your humor, words of wisdom, and love. When you went off to college, you made it possible for me to envision myself going to college. Thank you Fernando Leija for all of your help and support on this journey, for your humor, and friendship. Vanessa Leija Valdez I am proud of you for not giving up and for finishing your bachelor’s degree.
Gracias Trina y Jaime Peña por todo su apoyo y ayuda. Realmente no se que hubiera hecho si no los hubiera tenido cerca. Gracias por todo el cariño y amor que nos brindan a mi, a
Gilberto y a nuestros hijos. Gracias por todas las veces que cuidaron a los niños para que nosotros pudiéramos escribir y asistir a conferencias. Tía por la comida que hizo y la ropa que nos lavó y dobló mientras que nosotros nos íbamos a escribir. Thank you Gladys Lara for taking time from your work to help Gilberto and I attend conferences. We always returned and found things better than we left them. Thank you for being someone we can always count on. Gracias
Socorro Peña Lara por ayudarnos cuando más necesitábamos ayuda con los niños. Gracias
Cecilia Leija por tomar tiempo de tu familia para ayudarnos mientras que nos íbamos a las conferencias. Gracias por cuidar a los niños como si fueran los tuyos. Gracias Bertha Ramírez for believing in me and for your kind words.
vi
Dr. María E. Fránquiz, words cannot express how grateful I am for your actions, words, kindness, and for believing in me when others did not. You are my Academic Guardian Angel who is by my side and guides me as I journey through an unknown path. Thank you for having such high expectations, I have grown leaps and bounds as a researcher, writer, and educator. I am so thankful to Dr. Claudia Peralta for planting that seed in me to believe that I could pursue doctoral studies and for leading me in the right direction. I am also thankful for Dr. Roberto
Bahruth who encouraged me to view education from a critical perspective.
Dr. Cinthia S. Salinas, when I met you during my masters I was amazed by your energy.
The first couple of years of my doctoral studies, I saw you as this amazing scholar, full of life and joy, and wanted to work with you or be part of your academic family. You also intimidated me. My wish came true and I got a lot more than I bargained for when Dr. Fránquiz decided to pursue her academic career at Utah University and handed me over to you. I was sad and heartbroken that Dr. Fránquiz was leaving but thrilled that I would be guided by “the vivacious
Latina scholar”! Not only are you vivacious, but you are also humble, kind, loving, and nurturing. You embody the traits of a stellar educator and mentor; you made abstract concepts manageable for me to comprehend, while being patient, kind, and encouraging as I struggle with writing the dissertation. I remember being told numerous times, “You need to write now, stop reading!” If you hadn’t pointed out the importance of writing, I would probably still be reading to this day. You always think about what emerging scholars will need in the future and strive to mentor and prepare us. Thank you for your advice, mentoring, friendship, hugs, food, Port and
vii
beer! Thank you for making the dissertation experience so wonderful and for the fun times at the
Salinas’ Resort, I will always cherish our memories!
To my other dissertation committee members, thank you for all of your support and feedback during this process. I hope to have the honor to work with you in the future Dr. Luis
Urrieta Jr., Dr. Jo Worthy, Dr. Ramón A. Martínez, and Dr. Minda López.
To my participant Mr. Menchaca (pseudonym), gracias por abrir su salón y permitirme observarlo durante cuatro años. Su manera de enseñar da inspiración a los demás y le doy gracias a Dios que tuve la oportunidad de documentar el trabajo que usted hace con sus alumnos y sus padres para que otros educadores aprendan sobre la importancia de asegurar que la materia sea relevante a los niños y sus padres. Aprendí mucho sobre como los maestros pueden incluir a los padres.
Gracias Dr. Arcelia Hernández, Dr. Haydeé Rodríguez, Dr. Raúl Fregoso Bailón, Sandra
Velázquez y Jorge Morales por su amistad y ayuda todos estos años, for being there when I needed a friend. Dr. Lucy Arellano and Dr. Lucila Ek, I am thankful our paths have crossed and look forward to future gatherings. Thank you Dr. Lagarett King, Dr. Teddy Chao, Dr. Erin
Centeio, Dr. Gail Sue Kasun, Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodriguez, Dr. Kevin Magill, Dr. Todd
Hunter, Dr. Julie Martínez, Dr. Lucia Cardenas, and Dr. Langston Clark for your friendship, I always look forward to conferences in hopes you will be there.
viii
To my colegas, the future: Dr. Brenda Ayala-Lewis, Dr. Katherine Talati, Dr. David
Degollado, Dr. Idalia Nunez, and Dr. Adeli Ynostroza Ochoa. Looking forward to working with y’all in the future!
ix
Interactive Read Alouds: Developing Literacy in Bilingual
Second Grade Classrooms
By
María Guadalupe Leija Lara, Ph.D.
The University of Texas at Austin, 2017
Supervisor: Cynthia S. Salinas
Co-Supervisor: María E. Fránquiz
The qualitative case study investigated how a Latino bilingual teacher incorporated students' linguistic, cultural, and experiences of the Latina/o community through interactive read alouds during an Immigration Project and a Día de los Muertos Project. Given the large and growing demographics of this nation and the challenge of recruiting and retaining teachers of color in bilingual education, the significance of this study lies in the depth examination of the contributions of a Latino teacher in his bilingual second grade classroom.
The theoretical framework guiding this study drew from CRT and LatCrit (Solórzano &
Delgado, 2001) theories, and the continua of biliteracy (Hornberger & Link, 2012). The
theoretical framework focuses on the lived experiences of Communities of Color and positions
them as having valuable linguistic and cultural knowledge that educators can draw from to
further develop students' bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism. Qualitative research
methods included classroom observations, field notes, semistructured interviews, audio and
video recordings, and collection of student and teacher produced artifacts. Findings suggest that
the Latino teacher negotiated conflicting language ideologies about the use of code switching in x oral and written form during the teaching of language arts. In addition, through the Immigration
Project, students and the teacher were able to make text-to-life connections that drew from their personal and community’s linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge. During the Día de los Muertos Project, findings revealed that Latinos are a diverse ethnic group with dynamic cultural practices. It’s important to note that when literacy intersects with national origins, religion, and cultural experiences, students and families respond in varied ways.
xi Table of Contents Chapter I: Introduction ...... 1 White Teachers ...... 3 Diverse Teaching Force ...... 4 Latino and Bilingual Teachers in Classrooms ...... 5 Significance of the Study ...... 6 Chapter II: Theoretical Framework and Literature Review ...... 8 Teachers of Color ...... 8 Latina/o Bilingual Teachers ...... 12 Language matters...... 13 Bilingual and Bicultural...... 15 Bilingual and Biliterate...... 15 Teaching in the Bilingual classroom...... 16 Critical Literacies ...... 18 Read alouds ...... 19 Importance of read alouds...... 20 Read aloud planning components...... 21 Benefits of reading aloud...... 22 Read alouds in bilingual classrooms...... 23 Biliteracy ...... 26 The Continua of Biliteracy ...... 27 Critical Race Theory and LatCrit ...... 28 Summary ...... 32 Chapter III: Research Methodology ...... 34 Research Paradigm ...... 35 Theoretical Framework ...... 35 Case Study Research Methodology ...... 39 Rationale for Selection of Participant ...... 40 Setting and participant...... 42 Data Collection ...... 47 Archival data...... 48 Observations...... 52 Interviews...... 53 Artifact collection...... 54 Data Analysis ...... 55 Researcher Positionality ...... 57 Pilot Study ...... 61 Conclusion ...... 63 Chapter IV: Results ...... 64 Themes from Analysis ...... 65 Mr. Menchaca’s Language Ideology ...... 66 Theme 1: Code Switching in the Bilingual Classroom: Negotiating Conflicting Ideologies ... 69 “Tenga orgullo”: Communication is Key ...... 70 Transmitting language expectations...... 70 xii Facilitating language choice...... 74 “Un error muy grave”: Addressing Students’ Resistance to Code Switching ...... 79 Code switching and comprehension...... 79 Questioning language ideologies...... 83 Co-Constructing Bilingual and Biliteracy Development ...... 90 “Dangerous”: Lexical queries...... 90 “Clavado en tu corazón”: Understanding figurative language...... 96 Summary ...... 99 Theme 2: Texts as a Reflective Tool ...... 101 Students Making Text-to-Life Connections ...... 102 Longing for the people left behind...... 103 Connecting to other’s immigration experiences...... 108 Recalling microaggressions: “Mojado era la palabra que más utilizaban y también otras palabras más elevadas”...... 111 Sharing Memories: Teacher Text-to-Life Connections ...... 114 Teacher as responsive text...... 114 Teacher positioning self as transnational...... 116 Nuancing Lexical Meanings ...... 118 Learning the multiple meanings of papeles...... 118 Another homonym: Learning the multiple meanings of coyote...... 122 Summary ...... 133 Chapter V: Results ...... 135 Background ...... 136 Lived Experience and Cultural Beliefs as the Heart of the Curriculum Project ...... 138 Centering cultural knowledge in homework assignments...... 141 Reclaiming Día de los Muertos ...... 148 Reclaiming cultural practices in school: “No quiero que se pierda esa costumbre”...... 148 Adopting a new cultural practice...... 153 Cultural practices and religious beliefs...... 155 Día de los Muertos in the Context of the Church and State ...... 156 Rejecting Día de los Muertos as a cultural practice...... 157 Attending to parental concerns: "Están jugando con dos mundos"...... 165 Summary ...... 169 Chapter VI – Discussion ...... 171 Summary of the Study ...... 171 Purpose...... 172 Literature review...... 172 Methodology...... 175 Findings and Implications ...... 177 Finding 1: Code switching in the bilingual classroom: Negotiating conflicting ideologies...... 178 Finding 2: Text as a reflective tool...... 180 Finding 3: Recognizing heterogeneity in Latino cultural knowledge...... 182 Recommendations for Practice ...... 185 Recommendations for Teacher Education ...... 187 Recommendations for Future Research ...... 188 Limitations ...... 188 Conclusion ...... 189 xiii Appendices ...... 191 Appendix A: Sylvia & Aki (3rd Grade Class, September-November, 2012) ...... 191 Appendix B: Nacer Bailando, Sylvia & Aki, & Biographies (3rd Grade Class, September-May, 2014) ...... 192 Appendix C: Immigration Project (2nd Grade Class, February-March, 2015) ...... 195 Appendix D: Immigration Project Book Descriptions ...... 196 Appendix E: Día de los Muertos Project (Second Grade Class, October-November, 2015) ...... 199 Appendix F: Día de los Muertos Project Book Descriptions ...... 200 References ...... 202
xiv List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Average NAEP Reading Scale Scores for 4th and 8th Grade ...... 2 Figure 3.1: Theoretical Framework ...... 38 Figure 3.2: Riverside County School District Demographics ...... 43 Figure 3.3: Riverside County School District Teacher Demographics ...... 43 Figure 3.4: Ethnic Demographics of Students at Vista Elementary School ...... 45 Figure 3.5: First and Second Cycle Coding ...... 57 Figure 3.6: Hybrid Learning Space ...... 62 Figure 4.1: Dangerous ...... 93 Figure 4.2: Juan’s Response to Prompt on the Coyote ...... 127 Figure 4.3: Daniel’s Response to Prompt on the Coyote ...... 130 Figure 5.1: Dora’s Essay: Celebrating Día de los Muertos in México (October 22, 2015) ...... 142 Figure 5.2: Amelia’s Essay: Celebrating Día de los Muertos in the U.S. (October 22, 2015) ...... 146 Figure 5.3: Me Gustaría Hacerlo (I would like to do it) ...... 154
xv List of Tables
Table 4.1: Writing Prompts for Children’s Books ...... 127
xvi Chapter I: Introduction
A great deal of attention has been placed on the growing multicultural demographics of our public schools. Students of color currently make up 48% of the prekindergarten through
12th-grade public student population and are predicted to increase to 55% by 2023 (Kena et al.,
2014). Of that percent, Latina/o1 students make up 24% of the public school student population and are expected to increase to 30% by 2023. In 2009, immigrant youth made up 25% of the nation’s children and Mexico was listed as the fourth top leading country from where 27% of lawful permanent residents (LPR) originated. The southern region of the U.S. has had the largest public student population increase in terms of Latina/o student enrollment increasing by 8%
(Kena et al., 2014). In 2005, the majority of English Language Learners (ELLs)/emergent bilinguals2 lived in California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Arizona (García &
Kleifgen, 2010). Texas continues to be one of the most populated states with more than 10% of its student population designated as emergent bilinguals (Kena et al., 2014).
Emergent bilinguals speak a variety of languages with the following being the most common (from greatest to least): Spanish, Chinese, French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean,
German, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Japanese, Persian, Greek, Serbo-Croatian,
Armenian, and Yiddish (Ryan, 2013). There are a wide range of educational programs that serve emergent bilinguals: submersion, ESL pull-out, ESL push-in, structured immersion, transitional bilingual, developmental bilingual education, one-way and two-way bilingual education, and
1 In the dissertation I will use the term Latina/o to refer to “A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race” (Kena et al., 2014, p. vii). 2 Although students learning English are identified as EL or ELL in the research literature, in the dissertation study, I will refer to them as “emergent bilinguals”. Emergent bilinguals are students who continue to develop their first language while learning English. (García, 2009) 1 dynamic bi/plurilingual education. Each program varies in the language used for instruction, the duration of the program, the academic and linguistic goals, and the components of the program
(García & Kleifgen, 2010).
While it is fortunate that students in the U.S. “…who are English language learners
(ELL) participate in appropriate programs of language assistance” (Kena et al., 2014, p. 52), academically, these students continue to struggle in K-12 settings. Latina/o students continue to have the highest dropout rate at 13% in 2012 when compared to their Black peers at 8% and white peers at 4% (Kena et al., 2014). In terms of national statistics, the emergent bilingual/ELL vs. non-ELL gap for reading scores in 4th and 8th grade for 2013 remained largely unchanged when compared to that of 2005 (Kena et al., 2014). As these young Latina/os continue to progress through elementary and middle school they consistently perform lower than their non-
ELL peers as noted in Figure 1.1. Accordingly, there continues to be a greater gap in 8th grade reading scores than in 4th grade.
Figure 1.1: Average NAEP Reading Scale Scores for 4th and 8th Grade
43 35 36 46 40 44
Adapted from “The Condition of Education 2014 (NCES 2014-083),” by Kena et al., U.S.
Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, p. 99.
Irvine claims that in order to address the gap in scores we must also concentrate on
“closing the other gaps that prevent culturally diverse students from experiencing school 2 success” (2010, p. vii). Irvine identifies the following disparities for culturally diverse students: teacher quality, teacher training, challenging curriculum, funding, technology, SES, employment, affordable housing, health care, nutrition, school access, and childcare. Both Milner (2012) and
Irvine (2010) argue that there is not an “academic gap” but rather a gap in content area learning such as in reading as mentioned above. Milner (2012) refers to the disparity as an “opportunity gap” rather than an “achievement gap”. He argues that when you identify the gap as an
“achievement gap” you are comparing white students and students of color but not addressing the disparities that exists in students' “learning opportunities”. Other factors include teachers’ ideologies (color blindness, cultural conflicts, meritocracy, deficit mindsets, low expectations and context-neutral mindsets) and practices that create an “opportunity gap” between groups of students (Milner, 2012). In other words, “school practices continue to result in unequal opportunities” (Ochoa, 2007, p. 19).
White Teachers
Perhaps the greatest challenge in preparing a predominantly white teaching force, is addressing these complex and yet unfamiliar factors that lead to gaps in opportunity to learn.
Sleeter’s (2001) literature review of pre-service teachers’ preparation for working with a diverse population revealed that white pre-service teachers tend to not have an understanding or have a misunderstanding of the issues that minority students encounter and are less likely to be able to make connections with their experiences. Howard (2006) argues that due to white social dominance there is an opportunity gap in schools. He points out that white teachers need to understand and confront issues of racial and socioeconomic inequities in order to provide adequate education to all students. Howard (2006) argues that when white teachers acknowledge 3 that race exists, believe in their students, are culturally competent, understand themselves as white teachers in order to effectively teach a diverse population of students, and take actions in which the steps they take lead racially diverse students to become academically successful they become “White transformationist teachers”.
Diverse Teaching Force
In response to Sleeter (2001) and Howard’s (2006) call for acknowledgement of race disparities, several scholars have begun to examine the contributions of teachers of color.
Having shared experiences with students of color, several scholars have argued that notions of cultural intuition (Delgado Bernal, 1998, 2002), historical positionality (Salinas & Castro, 2010), and even ideological or more advocacy oriented stances (Ek, Sánchez, & Quijada Cerecer, 2013) can become instrumental in providing more culturally relevant instruction as well as narrowing the gaps in opportunity to learn. Some scholars working with teachers of color further argue that curriculum innovations as well as disruption of majoritarian tales (Fránquiz, Salazar, &
DeNicolo, 2011) enacted by teachers can become instrumental in their own personal and collective transformations. Moreover, there is a growing body of work that makes links between like race pairing and academic achievement (Villegas & Irvine, 2010). Understanding in greater depth the pedagogical decisions and practices of teachers of color remains an important area for scholarly work. As noted in a meta-analysis, teachers of color need to be recruited and retained in the profession so researchers may begin to learn from their experiences and pedagogical practices (Quiocho & Rios, 2000). More specifically, Ball, Skerrett and Martínez (2011) suggest a need for more empirical studies that deliberately examine ways teachers effectively leverage
Latina/o students’ cultural and linguistic resources. More research studies need to document the 4 “…knowledge, strengths, and skills of bilingual Latina/o teachers” (Rodriguez, 2011, p. 240).
Latino and Bilingual Teachers in Classrooms
All too often Latina/o bilingual teachers can demonstrate unique and valuable instruction and pedagogical strategies that would benefit all teachers who are provided the opportunity to work with bilingual students (Rodriguez, Salinas & Guberman, 2005; Salinas, Fránquiz, &
Guberman, 2006). In addition, Latina/o bilingual teachers share cultural knowledge and experiences that influence how they teach students of color (Nieto, 1998; Darder, 1995).
Perhaps one of the more crucial opportunities for a Latina/o bilingual teacher to engage in is culturally responsive pedagogies involving reading instruction (Villegas & Davis, 2008). In particular reading programs that use read alouds have received scholarly attention (Dugan, 1997;
Elley, 1989; Heath, 1983; McKeown & Beck, 2004; Robbins & Ehri, 1994; Sénéchal, 1997;
Sipe, 2000, 2002). Read alouds not only offer opportunities for students to become motivated to read (Palmer, Codling, & Gambrell, 1994), develop attention span and listening skills (Dragan,
2001), build vocabulary (Penno, Wilkinson, & Moore, 2002), and comprehension skills (Griffin,
Burns, & Snow, 1998), but they can also entail opportunities to use culturally relevant literature
(Martínez-Roldán, 2005). Such relevant literature should provide text-to-self and text-to-world
(Sipe, 2007) connections that not only further engagement but also affirm Latina/o students’ identities and contributions (Fránquiz, 2012). In addition, critical encounters “…the specific moments in reading that disrupt the traditional social pattern of talk” (DeNicolo & Fránquiz,
2006, p. 157) help students develop critical thinking and reflection skills. Critical encounters are discussion points that lead students to question their own beliefs and assumptions about the topic at hand. Immigration studies (Cummins, 2013; Martínez-Roldán & Newcomer, 2011) in 5 bilingual read alouds that emphasize authentic experiences like the struggles and tension around immigration are of particular importance in the current U.S. sociopolitical context because they provide rich opportunities for teachers and young bilingual students to make linkages to self, home, and community contexts.
Notions of language use in bilingual settings have also been long examined by scholars
(Cummins & Swain, 1986; Krashen, 2003; Ovando & Combs, 2012). Emergent bilinguals encounter multiple instructional models (e.g. early exit, maintenance, transitional and dual- language). Whether a teacher promotes language separation (Sayer, 2008), code switching
(Zentella, 1997) or translanguaging (García, 2009) in the classroom in general and during read alouds specifically, influences the types of connections that can be made to self, home, and community contexts.
Well aligned with culturally relevant pedagogies like read alouds and children’s literature that provides critical encounters, linguistic practices become entwined in the classroom practices that are vital to examine. Embedded within these practices are assumptions regarding the experiences of these Latina/o communities.
Significance of the Study
Given the large and growing demographics of this nation and the challenge of recruiting and retaining teachers of color in bilingual education, the significance of this study lies in the depth examination of the contributions of a Latino teacher in his bilingual second grade classroom. In particular the study will examine the use of interactive read alouds3 (Barrentine,
1996; Sipe, 2000, 2002, 2008) and culturally relevant literature that focuses attention upon the
3 Barrentine (1996) noted that interactive read alouds provided opportunities for teachers to guide students in discussing the text read aloud. In addition, Sipe (2000, 2002, 2008) analyzed student varied responses to the text read aloud. These responses included: dramatizing, talking back, critiquing/controlling, inserting, taking over. 6 genuine experiences of bilingual children, the racist structures that work to marginalize their communities (Delgado, 2002) and the ways in which they can find sources and examples of resistance (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). I pose the following research questions:
What are the instructional approaches that a bilingual Latino second grade teacher uses during interactive read alouds to teach the language arts?
How do those instructional approaches draw from students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge of their communities?
The next chapter presents a review of the literature on teachers of color, Latina/o bilingual teachers, read alouds, biliteracy, critical race theory (Solórzano & Yosso, 2000), and
Latino critical race theory (Solórzano & Delgado, 2001). Chapter III presents my qualitative case study design (Merriam, 2009; Yin, 2009). The theoretical framework draws on the continua of biliteracy (Hornberger & Link 2012), and critical race theory and Latino critical race theory
(Solórzano & Delgado, 2001) to understand the interactive read aloud approaches for reading instruction that the Latino bilingual teacher uses. Through ethnographic tools such as: prolonged engagement, classroom observations, field notes, semistructured interviews, and collection of artifacts I provide a thick-description (Gertz, 1973) of the classroom phenomenon. Chapter IV and chapter V examine themes that emerged through analysis and triangulation of the data collected. Chapter VI provides a discussion of the findings and implications of the study, recommendations for practice, teacher education, and future research.
7 Chapter II: Theoretical Framework and Literature Review
In this chapter I consider the body of work that reviews the experiences and sociocultural understandings of teachers of color as well as their influence upon the academic success of students of color (Irvine, 1988; Nieto, 1998; Villegas & Davis, 2008). In order to further understand the contributions of teachers of color in bilingual classrooms (Fránquiz & Pratt, 2011;
Rodriguez, 2011), I also examine the identities of Latinas/os bilingual teachers as well as their use of culturally relevant pedagogical practices (Arce, 2004; Irizarry & Raible, 2011) like interactive read alouds (Barrentine, 1996; Sipe, 2000,2002, 2008; Worthy, Durán, Hikida, Pruitt,
& Peterson, 2013) and notions of biliteracy (Cummins, 1979; Hornberger, 2003). I conclude the review of literature with an emphasis on the wealth of communities of color that are central to these classrooms and teachers of color (Solórzano & Delgado, 2001).
Teachers of Color
Quiocho and Rios (2000) provide a review of literature on teachers of color that identifies factors that affect their personal and professional identities. For example, the context of their social and cultural experiences in their families and communities and their schools (Galindo,
1996; Kanpol, 1992) shape their conceptions of diversity (Allexsaht-Snider, 1996). In Galindo’s
(1996) study of three Chicana4 teachers, two were first-generation college graduates. He noted a bridging identity as a “…type of identity that links past biographical experiences with a current occupational role” (p. 85). Galindo found that the Chicana teachers’ family values were an intimate part of their professional identity and that the family values they had as students
4 Urrieta (2007) notes, “…the term Chicana/o is not a neutral term. It is often a highly politicized term in the struggle against U.S. neocolonialism, racism, and other multiple forms of oppression” (p. 113). 8 growing up influenced their teacher role. The embodying of family values is demonstrated in the topics teachers addressed in class, the relationships they developed with the students and parents, and their perceptions of their students of color.
Additionally, some scholars refer to teachers’ cultural knowledge as a means to enact a caring disposition or “other mothering” (Collins, 1991; Dixson & Dingus, 2008) or “other fathering” (Lynn, 2006). Latina/o teachers in particular embody a sense of “cariño” and
“confianza” (Nieto 1994; Rueda, Monzó & Higareda, 2004). For example, Rueda et al. (2004) noted in their study of eight novice teachers/former para-educators and twenty para-educators that they demonstrated cariño towards their students in their verbal and physical interactions. In addition, the Latina/o teachers developed confianza with their students as they shared cultural experiences.
The scholarship on teachers of color makes several claims regarding the importance and significance of their place in the teaching field. In particular at least three arguments are made on behalf of diversifying the teaching field with more teachers of color. First, teachers of color can serve as valuable role models for their students regarding academic and professional success and commitments to give back to their communities (e.g. Dee, 2004; Johnson, 2008). Second, teachers of color tend to hold higher expectations for their students of color (Irvine, 1990). The benefits are numerous (e.g. García-Nevarez, Stafford, & Arias, 2005). Finally, scholars have found that first hand understandings and shared experiences allow teachers of color insights and understandings of more relevant pedagogies (e.g. Kauchak & Burback, 2003; Rios &
Montecinos, 1999). The culminating effect of same race teacher can influence an increase in academic success for students of color (e.g. Villegas & Davis, 2008).
Other scholars agree that teachers of color are role models for the students of color they
9 serve (Dee, 2004; Guyton, Saxton, & Wesche, 1996; Johnson, 2008; Su, 1994). Focusing on
Latino male teachers Lara and Fránquiz (2015) caution that we must be careful not to essentialize teachers of color as monolithic both in terms of ethnicity and gender, but to acknowledge the possibilities of their cultural intuitiveness and ability to recognize oppressive institutional practices that enforce heteronormative pressures. Teachers of color may display a commitment to their home communities’ values, discourses and practices thus encouraging students to sustain rather than reject their cultural identities (Galindo, 1996). A body of work discusses notions of cultural intuition (Delgado Bernal, 2001; Salinas & Castro, 2010) and kitchen pedagogies (Villenas, Godinez, Delgado Bernal, & Elenes, 2006) that reveal the importance of promoting the knowledge learned at home. Teachers of color not only embody and reflect the strengths of communities of color but they may also act as advocates (Erick,
1986; Irvine, 1990; Nieto, 1999) and adhere to a more socially just schooling system (Delpit,
1988; Carr & Klassen, 1997; Thompson, 2004). As a result, teachers of color allow their students to envision themselves as successful and active members of our democracy (Salinas &
Castro, 2010).
Research studies also argue that teachers of color have more positive expectations of students of color (Irvine, 1990). For example, Oates (2003) found that teachers of color in comparison to white teachers held more favorable perceptions of African-American students.
Without deeper understandings of the experiences and contributions of communities of color, white teachers can ascribe to stereotypes of African-American students and experience racial dissonance (Rosenberg, 1979). In contrast, teachers of color tend to have a deeper understanding of the lives of their students and thus do not hold to as many negative stereotypes (Kauchak &
Burback, 2003; Rios & Montecinos, 1999). As a result, teachers of color tend to hold high
10 expectations for their students by setting limits, providing structure, and encouraging them to be academically successful (Irvine, 1990). Further, García-Nevarez’s et al. (2005) study of 152 teachers noted that Latina/o (n=44) teachers were more encouraging of their students’ use of their first language than the white teachers in the study. The Latina/o teachers understood the role that the first language played in developing Latina/o students’ second language.
The knowledge about their home language, traditions, history, and community that teachers of color bring with them into classrooms influences their pedagogies. Nieto, (1998) argued that such cultural knowledge becomes instrumental in their classroom decision-making.
For example, Darder (1995) showed that teachers of color, with similar experiences growing up in the same schooling systems as their students, tend to understand students’ experiences, culture, and academic barriers. This includes experiences of hostility and inequality that they themselves experienced growing up (Nieto, 1999). Irvine (1989) also argued that Black teachers bring “…unique, culturally based pedagogical approaches that are often compatible with the learning needs of their minority students” (p. 51) and consequently strived to make their instruction culturally relevant (Au, 1980; Hollins, 1982; Mohatt & Erickson, 1981; Quiocho &
Rios, 2000). Such scholarship concluded that a kind of “culturally synchronicity” aids teachers of color in supporting their students of color (Irvine, 1999).
When teachers and students are out of sync, they clash and confront each other both
consciously and unconsciously in matters concerning cultural variables such as:
(1) verbal language, which includes issues of dialect, accent, argot, and bilingualism;
(2) nonverbal language, which includes interpersonal and social space; body language;
touching; vocal characterizers; qualifiers; voice segregates; and vocal qualities like pitch,
tone, rate and rhythm; and (3) coverbal behaviors such as gestures, facial expressions,
11 and eye contact. (p. 247)
However, when teachers of color and students of color experience “cultural synchronicity” these types of miscommunications can be avoided since they share cultural understandings.
Importantly, the end result of high expectations and cultural knowledge is the enhancement of the academic achievement of students of color. Villegas and Davis (2008) meta- analysis of same race influence upon the academic success is vital in understanding the significance of teachers of color. They examined six empirical studies that included more than standardized tests as measurements of the academic success of students in same race/ethnicity pairings. Dee (2004) and Clewell, Puma, and McKay (2001), for example both found that racial pairing had a cumulative effect and resulted in an increased reading and mathematic achievement
(see also Evans, 1992). Moreover, Hanusheck (1992) found that the Black teachers were more effective at teaching vocabulary and comprehension than their white teacher counterparts.
Though Villegas and Davis (2008) concede that more definitive conclusions can most likely not be reached through only six studies, they do emphasize an obvious pattern that links same race pairing with academic success for students of color. Moreover, the meta-analysis also points to other multiple regression studies (e.g. Farkas, Grobe, Sheehan, & Shaun, 1990) that reveal the importance of racial pairing in increasing enrollment in college preparatory courses and gifted and talented programs as well as college enrollment (e.g. England & Meier, 1986).
Latina/o Bilingual Teachers
Though Latina/o bilingual teachers are included in the studies regarding teachers of color, they also have distinct identities and perspectives that call the attention of researchers in the field of bilingual education. Latina/o bilingual teachers often have histories akin to their students and 12 families such as experiences of diaspora/immigration, oppression and activism, and first-hand linguistic knowledge that inform their pedagogies. As a result their teacher identities typically affirm the importance of bilingualism, biculturalism, and biliteracy. In this section I argue that
Latina/o bilingual teachers purposefully select bilingual education and purposefully make pedagogical decisions based on their own personal and professional experiences.
Language matters.
Several researchers have documented Latina/o’s own school biography as second language learners and its relationship to their decision to become bilingual educators (Arce,
2004; Aguilar, MacGillivray, & Walker, 2003; Rodriguez & Cho, 2011). Rodriguez and Cho’s
(2011) study of preservice teachers included two Latina/o students from Venezuela who came to the U.S. during the fourth grade. The findings highlight that the lived experiences of the preservice teachers as students, influenced their construction of their teacher identity.
Studies have also indicated Spanish language speaking ability as being a determining factor in selecting the field of bilingual education for the Latina/o bilingual teachers (Arce, 2004;
Jones, Young, & Rodríguez, 1999; Cahnmann & Varghese, 2005). Indeed, several studies have emphasized the importance of family in helping bilingual teachers develop, sustain, and value their home language of Spanish. Several study participants attribute their command of the
Spanish language to their parents’ demand of speaking Spanish at home (Fitts & Wiseman, 2009;
Guerrero, 2003). Fránquiz and Pratt (2011) also found that bilingual teachers enrolled in a
Masters program entitled Proyecto Bilingüe (pseudonym) pointed to the fundamental role family played in becoming bilingual and bicultural. Consistently the studies reveal that Latina/o bilingual teachers’ parents were instrumental in valuing bilingualism. Their parents played a
13 vital role in maintaining and developing their child’s bilingualism (Kjolseth, 1982).
In general, scholars have concluded that schools can create hostile environments where students’ first language is viewed as a threat and one that must be subtracted in order to support these students to become successful monolingual English speakers (Delgado, 2008; Fillmore,
2000; Valenzuela, 1999). For that reason often Latina/o bilingual teachers recall negative schooling experiences that push them to become teachers because they did not want students like themselves to be shamed, humiliated, discriminated, or made to feel less worthy due to their ethnicity (Galindo, 2007; Jones et al., 1999; Varghese & Stritikus, 2005). Varghese (2008) noted that the Latina/o bilingual teachers in her study felt that they were discriminated because of their ethnicity and because they were not fluent English speakers. Likewise, a teacher in Delgado’s
(2008) study recalled being reprimanded for using her first language, Spanish, as a student. As a result, the Latina/o bilingual teachers wanted to provide their students a positive educational experience acknowledging the importance of their home communities and Spanish language.
In addition to having negative schooling experiences growing up, studies indicate a pattern in which Latina/o bilingual teachers have had to work to reclaim their language. For example, in Galindo’s (2007) study of a Chicana bilingual teacher that had been teaching for sixteen years, he revealed that she reclaimed her Spanish in college because the education she received in school had demolished her speaking ability. Guerrero (2003) also noted the role that college played in assisting his bilingual teacher participants in reclaiming their academic Spanish speaking ability. Finally, Arce (2004) noticed the influential role that college played for Latina/o bilingual teachers in reclaiming/developing their bilingual abilities.
14 Bilingual and Bicultural.
Research has linked not only the schooling experiences but also a strong sense of a bilingual and bicultural identity to the Latina/o bilingual teachers. For example, Jones et al.
(1999) found that the Mexican-American preservice teachers in their study demonstrated a strong connection to their Spanish language and cultural roots. The Latina/o bilingual teachers in
Jones’ et al. study felt a strong sense of responsibility in ensuring that they maintain their cultural identity. These studies indicate the importance of cultural identity for bilingual teachers and a necessity to maintain their identities. Fránquiz and Pratt (2011) noted that Latina/o teachers enrolled in professional development programs both in Puerto Rico and in Texas desired to inculcate the value of being bilingual and bicultural to their Latina/o students on the island and the mainland.
Bilingual and Biliterate.
Latina/o bilingual teachers developed their biliteracy in different ways. Some began developing their biliteracy at a young age in school (Monzó & Rueda, 2001), others were due to a parents’ encouragement (Fránquiz et al., 2011; Rodriguez, 2011), and others in college
(Aguilar et al., 2003; Fránquiz, Martínez-Roldán, & Mercado, 2011; Guerrero, 2003). For example, one of the teachers in Monzó and Rueda’s (2001) study noted that he developed his bilingual and biliterate skills at a young age while in school. In contrast, one Latina teacher identified her mom as providing the support she needed at home, in addition to, reading Spanish books over the summer to continue developing her biliteracy (Rodriguez, 2011). Others attributed their biliteracy skills to Spanish texts found in the home. For example, Fránquiz et al.
(2011) noted how a Latina preservice teacher developed multiple literacies as a child. As a child
15 she was exposed to the Spanish Bible, “…praying, singing, sharing stories, listening, memorizing, (re)telling jokes, and caring for the less fortunate” (p. 288). Yet other teachers did not develop strong biliteracy skills until college. For instance, Selma, a U.S. born bilingual
Latina teacher in Guerrero’s (2003) study, identified an advanced Spanish class as being the most influential in helping her develop biliteracy skills. Finally, some teachers transform their language pedagogies and reclaim their Spanish as a result of immersion experiences in places such as Puebla, Mexico (Escamilla, Aragon, & Fránquiz, 2009).
Teaching in the Bilingual classroom.
It is claimed that Latina/o bilingual teachers’ personal experiences and knowledge influence how they teach, because they may bring with them the experiences of “growing up in a racist, hegemonic society”; in these cases teachers make conscientious decisions about how to teach their students (Arce, 2004, p. 241). Rodriguez et al. (2005) for example argue that Latina/o bilingual teachers promote particular histories that are much more relevant and critical for
Latina/o students. In a separate study, Salinas et al. (2006) argue that Latina/o teachers’ decision making is rooted in their historical positionality and ideological understandings of the curriculum in general, and the teaching of history in particular. As a result, they teach histories related to their communities from a critical race theory (CRT) perspective. Through a Latino Critical theory (LatCrit) lens, Rodriguez (2011) found that Patricia, a novice Latina bilingual teacher, made connections between her own experience as a Latina learner and how that impacted her teaching pedagogy as she designed literacy curriculum for her students. For example, Patricia recalled her experience as an emergent bilingual, as she reflected on her experience learning
English she felt there were “key things” she needed to know. As a teacher she felt that she had
16 an advantage when teaching emerging bilinguals since she was able to relate to their experiences.
In addition, Patricia provided her students readings based on their interests and what was relevant to them: identity, revolution, and immigration. Afterwards, she encouraged her students to take on an activist role.
Another principle that guides Latina/o bilingual teachers is the importance of building good relationships with their students (Monzó & Rueda, 2001). Latina/o bilingual teachers are concerned with helping students construct positive identities of themselves (Rodriguez, 2011) and in strengthening students’ self-identity and ethnic-group identity (Arce, 2004). In addition,
Latina/o bilingual teachers demonstrate that they value students’ culture, language, and experiences (Monzó & Rueda, 2001) and community knowledge (Irizarry & Raible, 2011) by using them as starting points in the curriculum.
Challenging the official school curricula is an area of focus for Latina/o bilingual teachers (Fránquiz et al., 2011; Rodriguez et al., 2005; Salinas et al., 2006). Arce (2004) found that the five novice Latina/o bilingual teachers in her study guided their students in developing critical consciousness through dialogue about the use of culturally relevant literature and expository texts in order for students to begin to question the injustices. Likewise, Irizarry and
Raible (2011) found that the three Latina/o bilingual teachers participating in his study made connections to the community, involved the parents, and modified the curriculum to include
Latino perspectives and history. This body of work concurs that Latina/o bilingual teachers value the importance of connecting the curriculum in a meaningful manner to their students and in supporting them to become critical about their learning and reflecting on what they are learning about (Cahnmann & Varghese, 2005). Such an approach requires students to struggle with powerful ideas (Fránquiz, 1999) and/or experience critical encounters (DeNicolo &
17 Fránquiz, 2006) with internalized oppressions.
Critical Literacies
Critical literacy is rooted in the work of Freire and Macedo where the teacher plays an important role in helping their students read their worlds (Freire & Macedo, 1987). This process does not come about naturally but only after the teacher relinquishes the role of being in control of discourse and knowledge but instead toward one of encouraging dialogue and guiding students toward praxis (Freire & Macedo, 1995). The approach of problem posing has the end goal in mind for students to be able to think critically about their world, not to criticize it necessarily but act upon it and write upon it and looking for ways to improve their world
(Vasquez, 2014). Critical literacy can be synthesized into four main dimensions “disrupting the commonplace, interrogating multiple viewpoints, focusing on sociopolitical issues, and taking action and promoting social justice” (Lewison, Flint, & Van Sluys, 2002, p. 382). Critical literacy has the ability to create pedagogical spaces where teachers can bring up “issues of social justice and equity” (Vasquez, 2014, p. 17) with their students.
In addition, critical literacy provides teachers with the opportunities to utilize the diverse experiences and resources that students may bring to the classroom to explore and take action on issues of diversity and equity. Through dialogue and reading of various types of texts, students can begin to ask questions about the nature of inequity (Vasquez, 2014) and develop a deepen understanding while connecting their experiences to these big ideas in their worlds (Vasquez,
2010). The work of critical literacies has been studied with in pre-school (Vazquez, 2007), kindergarten (Lewison, Leland, & Harste, 2008), first grade (Bourke, 2008, Crafton, Brennan &
Silvers, 2007, Leland, Harste, & Huber, 2005), first and second grade two year study (Souto- 18 Manning, 2009), combination first/second grade elementary sheltered English classrooms, (Fain,
2008) and a combination of third and fourth grade (Campano, Ghiso & Sánchez, 2013). The aforementioned studies have illustrated how teachers can aid students, even at the youngest of grades, to engage critically with social issues through the use of children’s literature.
Studies specifically taking place in bilingual classrooms are scarce. One such study was
Flores-Dueñas (2005) which focused on a Mexican bilingual first grade teacher with looking to improve the reading skills of her first grade students in a transitional 90/10 model, used mainly books in English around the topics of slavery and civil right to teach reading. Another study that took place in a bilingual fourth grade classroom during language arts was DeNicolo and Fránquiz
(2006). DeNicolo and Fránquiz documented through ethnographic methods the use of literature circles with quality multicultural children’s literature to complement a scripted reading curriculum. By providing a space for students to interact with books about the Latino experience with critical issues and social justice themes, the fourth grade students were able to make sense of issues of racism and discrimination. The present study is situated in a second grade one-way bilingual classroom of Latina/o students and seeks to add to the dearth in literature of elementary bilingual classrooms and the reading of culturally and linguistically relevant children’s literature.
The importance of read alouds in assisting students’ development of critical literacies in the language arts classroom is well documented. In the next section, I outline the characteristics of the literacy practice.
Read alouds
According to Fránquiz (2012), critical literacies open up spaces where the contexts in which words are used orally or in writing is examined closely. The pedagogical practices that 19 are taken up by Latina/o bilingual teachers are particularly revealing in understanding their decision-making in classrooms. In this section, I will review literature on the importance of read alouds, planning components for read alouds, the benefits of reading aloud, and read alouds in bilingual classrooms.
Importance of read alouds.
Read alouds continue to be an important literacy practice in classrooms (Anderson,
Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985; Dreher, 2003; Sipe, 2000). Researchers have noted the benefits of read alouds, which include: motivation, reading and oral language development, vocabulary development, and comprehension (Dugan, 1997; Elley, 1989; Heath, 1983;
McKeown & Beck, 2004; Robbins & Ehri, 1994; Sénéchal, 1997; Sipe, 2000, 2002). According to the Report on the Commission on Reading, read alouds are, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading...” (Anderson et al.,
1985, p. 23). The researchers go on to add, “The benefits are greatest when the child is an active participant, engaging in discussions about stories, learning to identify… words, and talking about the meanings of words” (p. 23). Students typically listen, read, tell, and write their own stories based on the text structures they have become acquainted with (Peck, 1989) through literary practices like read alouds. Fisher, Flood, Lapp, and Frey (2004) indicate that read alouds are of prime importance in the literacy development of students. In addition, read alouds can motivate students to become readers and help students develop topical knowledge about subject matter
(Cunningham, 2005; Fox, 2013; Hoffman, Roser, & Battle, 1993; Palmer et al., 1994).
20 Read aloud planning components.
Although some research has shown that teachers do not intentionally plan for read alouds
(Dickinson, 2001; Teal, 2003) or are not purposeful in planning the read aloud (Beck &
McKeown, 2001), other research documents the intentional planning of teachers (Fisher et al.,
2004; Hoffman et al., 1993; Pressley, 2006). Fisher et al. (2004) observed teachers that were identified by their principals as expert read aloud teachers. The researchers randomly selected
25 of the nominated teachers and identified seven components that all the teachers shared in common while they read aloud including:
(1) Books chosen were appropriate to students' interests and matched to their
developmental, emotional, and social levels. (2) Selections had been previewed
and practiced by the teacher. (3) A clear purpose for the read-aloud was
established. (4) Teachers modeled fluent oral reading when they read the text.
(5) Teachers were animated and used expression. (6) Teachers stopped
periodically and thoughtfully questioned the students to focus them on specifics
of the text. (7) Connections were made to independent reading and writing. (p.
11)
The authors note the importance of each of the components when planning for read alouds. One important finding was the need for teachers to practice reading the book prior to the read aloud as the read aloud was more engaging when the teacher read the book fluently. Favorite read alouds become routine across years of teaching.
Hoffman et al. (1993) suggested taking the following read aloud “model” into consideration when planning for read alouds. They identified this “model” based on the factors that researchers have documented in their work as significant for maximum student 21 comprehension. The factors include:
Designating a legitimate time and place in the daily curriculum for reading aloud,
Selecting quality literature, Sharing literature related to other literature,
Discussing literature in lively, invitational, thought-provoking ways, Grouping
children to maximize opportunities to respond, Offering a variety of response and
extension opportunities, Rereading selected pieces. (p. 501)
Similar to the authors, Pressley (2006) reiterates the importance of selecting high-quality literature and the benefits of oral language development, literacy development, and critical thinking skills through the use of read alouds. However, it is evident that in addition to taking into consideration the factors that the authors have documented as being purposeful, teachers must also take into considerations student’s background knowledge (Valdes, 1991).
Benefits of reading aloud.
Palmer et al. (1994) conducted a survey in which third and fourth graders responded to questions in regards to reading motivation. The researchers found four powerful influences on their motivation to read. The four motivational factors were, “…prior experiences with books, social interactions about books, book access, and book choice” (p. 177). The authors found that these factors “…support the notion that teachers are in a position to have a positive impact on children's motivation to read through careful planning with respect to the classroom literacy environment” (p. 178). The authors note the vital role that teachers play in the decisions they make and how they can affect students’ literacy learning experience.
Research supports the notion that as students are exposed to read alouds they develop reading skills and oral language growth (Dickinson, Cote, & Smith, 1993). For example,
22 Robbins and Ehri (1994) found that the kindergarten students with larger vocabulary knowledge performed better in being able to identify the meaning of the vocabulary words and the students were able to identify more meaning of words from the story read than words that were not related to the story. The study indicates that as students are exposed to read alouds their vocabulary knowledge will increase, this is especially the case for students who have developed a larger vocabulary bank. Similar to the previous authors, Penno et al. (2002) found that students acquired new vocabulary when stories were read to them. In this study vocabulary word meaning was discussed to help student develop a deeper understanding of the vocabulary words.
Comprehension is vital to reading success. Griffin et al. (1998) point out that,
“Comprehension also takes practice, which is gained by reading independently, by reading in pairs or groups, and by being read aloud to” (p. 6). As a result of being exposed to reading, students’ vocabulary and comprehension skills were also impacted by read alouds (Dickinson &
Smith, 1994; Elley, 1989; Feitelson, Kita, & Goldstein, 1986; Morrow, 1990).
Higher level literacy practices are of prime importance during read alouds (Crafton,
Brennan, & Silvers, 2007; Pantaleo, 2004, 2007; Sipe, 2008; Vasquez, 2010;) particularly for the development of critical literacies. For example, Worthy, Chamberlain, Peterson, Sharp, and Shih
(2012) studied over a year how an exemplary second grade teacher provided a space for students to connect with literature during read-alouds. The study documented the moves she made to foster open-ended dialogue by valuing all voices and encouraging students to respond critically during the class discussion of the read-aloud.
Read alouds in bilingual classrooms.
Cummins (1994) notes that students develop oral language skills in their second language
23 as they are exposed to comprehensible input. His hypothesis is that comprehensible input from teachers facilitates students accessing background knowledge in their fist language and supports the development of the second language. Krashen’s (1985) concept of incidental language learning adds the notion that as second language learners are exposed to read alouds they acquire vocabulary in their second language (Elley, 1980, 1989; Elley & Mangubhai, 1983). For example, Elley (1989) found that when teachers read aloud to students and provide explanations to support the comprehension of the story, students acquire more vocabulary. However, if the teacher provides minor explanations or the students only listened to the story, vocabulary acquisition is notably less. In a replication study, Lambert (1991) supported the notion that as second language learners are read aloud stories and receive scaffold instruction, they acquire vocabulary in their second language.
Worthy et al. (2013) noted that a fifth grade bilingual Latina teacher used the book
Esperanza Rising (Ryan, 2002) because it was culturally relevant to the transitional bilingual students as they shared cultural and linguistic similarities such as crossing the border and learning English. During the discussion of the English text, comprehension was aided when the students modeled hybrid language practices and helped one another make meaning. A finding of the study is students also used metalinguistic strategies and developed oral language skills as a result of deep study of this piece of literature.
During reading discussions bilingual students make connections (Short, 1993) to books that have been previously read aloud (Martínez-Roldán, 2003). For instance, Martínez-Roldán and Lopez-Robertson (1999) observed that during the literature discussions the first grade bilingual students made many connections to texts that had been read aloud during the year as they engaged in literature discussions. In addition, literature response strategies are used as a
24 way to further the read aloud. For example, Fránquiz (2012) noted that the teacher extended the read aloud as she had kindergarten students draw a literature response and the teacher or assistant scribed the literature response. The significance of planning for a variety of questions, ways to dialogue in small and whole groups, and making connections to the worlds of children, families, communities, and other texts is important for the development of critical literacies. In the next section, I discuss the benefits of interactive read alouds.
Interactive Read Alouds
Interactive read alouds are defined as conversations teachers lead by asking questions,
"that enhance meaning construction and also show how one makes sense of text" (Barrentine,
1996, p. 36). Through interactive read alouds, teachers provide students opportunities to make meaning and can scaffold students’ comprehension of the text (Maloch & Beutel, 2010). During these interactions, teachers model how readers interact with text (Sipe, 2008) and build on students’ strengths and extend their knowledge (Wisemann, 2011). Interactive read alouds provide a space for open-ended dialogue (Worthy, et al., 2012), critical conversations (Moller,
2002) and for students to respond in a variety of ways to texts (Sipe, 2000, 2002, 2008).
Through interactive read alouds, students are exposed to conversation participation structures (Allor & McCathren, 2003), make gains in oral language development (Karweit &
Wasik, 1996), increase in comprehension and vocabulary development (Hargrave & Sénéchal,
2000; McGee & Schickendanz, 2007; Santoro, Chard, Howard, & Baker, 2008; Van den Broek,
2001), print knowledge (Justice & Piasta, 2011), concept development (Wasik & Bond, 2001), content knowledge (Strachan, 2015) and foster a community of learners (Wisemann, 2011).
The use of interactive read alouds in bilingual classes, provide opportunities for students
25 to draw from their linguistic and cultural knowledge (Worthy, Durán, Hikida, Pruitt, & Peterson,
2013). For example, in Worthy’s et al. study of a Latina teacher during her second year of teaching found that the teacher and her students made linguistic and cultural connections to the interactive read aloud of Esperanza Rising (Ryan, 2000).
Biliteracy
Macedo (1994) noted the reflection of hegemonic practices that occur in public schools in regards to language and literacy. These hegemonic practices are based on false notions that what benefits the dominant population of students will also work for the underrepresented populations
(Donato, 1997; Moll, 1988; Reyes, 1991; San Miguel, 1987). August and Shanahan (2006) found that strategies that benefit monolingual speakers do not necessarily benefit emerging bilingual students. Researchers have noted that emerging bilingual students do not perform well academically when instruction does not take into account their linguistic and cultural backgrounds (Barrera, 1992; Reyes, 1991; Valdes, 1991). At the same time, other scholars have documented the gains bilingual students make when they are exposed to literacy in their native language (Collier, 1989; Cummins, 1981; Reyes, 1987). Cummins (1979) found that when students learn concepts and literacy skills in their native language they are able to transfer that knowledge to their second language at a later time (also see, August & Shanahan, 2006;
Genesee, Lindholm-Leary, Saunders, & Christian, 2006; Greene, 1997). Therefore, the time spent learning in students’ native language is important because eventually that knowledge will be transferred and students will not fall behind academically while they are learning their second language. Reyes (1992) found that when students are free to write about what’s important to them they produce higher quality pieces. She also found that when students are exposed to both 26 languages they develop “spontaneous biliteracy” (Reyes, 2001). Learning in both languages is documented as supporting the development of both languages (Legaretta, 1979; Reyes &
Laliberty, 1992; Reyes, 2001) yet, when teachers integrate culture, language, and the community language development is optimally enhanced (Pérez & Torres-Guzmán, 2002).
The Continua of Biliteracy
As we examine literacy practices during interactive read alouds, it is important to consider how bilingual Latina/o teachers utilize language in bilingual classrooms. The continua of biliteracy seeks to understand how students develop biliteracy and bilingualism as they interact with texts in two languages. According to Hornberger (2003), there are three areas to take into consideration as teachers work towards guiding students in developing their biliteracy.
One area to take into consideration is the context of biliteracy, “…contexts for biliteracy are defined in terms of three continua: micro-macro, oral-literate, and monolingual-bilingual.” The second area “…characterize(s) the development of the biliterate individual’s communicative repertoire: reception-production, oral language-written language, and L1-L2 transfer” (p. 7). The third area is the content of biliteracy: minority-majority, vernacular-literary, and the contextualized-decontextualized. The “…focus (is) on the meaning those forms express…” (p.
50). Hornberger adds that, “…the more their learning contexts allow learners to draw on all points of the continua, the greater the chances for their full biliterate development” (p. 37). By drawing from multiple points on the curriculum students’ knowledge and culture will be valued and used to aid in acquiring biliteracy.
Research using the continua of biliteracy as a theoretical framework reveals the development of bilingualism and biliteracy (de la Piedra & Araujo, 2012; Fránquiz et al., 2015; 27 Hornberger & Link, 2012). For instance, de la Piedra and Araujo’s (2012) three-year study analyzed how a Latina teacher drew on students’ transfronterizo (borderlands) experiences to develop biliteracy skills over three years as she taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. The teacher drew on several points of the continua of biliteracy, on the traditionally powerful side to teach standards and writing skills and on the traditionally less powerful side to draw from students lived experiences. Likewise, Fránquiz et al. (2015) study also found that teachers drew from opposite sides of the continua of biliteracy to foster the bidirectional development of biliteracy and bilingualism while engaging students and parents in that process.
Critical Race Theory and LatCrit
Critical race theory (CRT) derived from critical legal studies (legal indeterminacy) and radical feminism. CRT developed as activists and scholars united to bring about change to address issues of race and racism they believe had returned after the 1960s Civil Rights Era
(Crenshaw, 1988; Delgado, 1988a, 1988b). Critical race theory “(a) challenges the traditional paradigms, texts, and related discourse on race, gender, and class; (b) focuses and examines the effects of race and racism from the perspective and experiences of Women and Men of Color; and (c) provides a guide to transform those oppressive social conditions in which Women and
Men of Color find themselves” (Solórzano & Yosso, 2000, p. 42). The purpose of CRT, then, was to take into account the relationship between race, racism, gender, and class (Crenshaw,
Gotanda, Peller, & Kendall, 1995; Delgado, 1995; Wing, 1997) in order to work towards creating a socially just society (Fay, 1987; Tierney, 1993).
Through critical race theory, legal scholars of color considered the impact that racism has on American law in order to contribute to the elimination of racism and all forms of 28 subordination (Matsuda, 1991). For example, for CRT scholars, deficit thinking in regards to the cultural and linguistic knowledge that students of color possess, matters (Yosso, 2005). CRT offers insights, perspectives, methods, and pedagogies that guide our efforts to identify, analyze, and transform the structural and cultural aspects of education that maintain subordinate and dominant racial positions in and out of the classroom (see Matsuda, Lawrence, Delgado, &
Crenshaw, 1993; Tierney, 1993). Additionally, critical race theorists assert that people’s truths are based on their experiences and their positioning within a given context (Delgado, 1989, 1991;
Matsuda, 1989; Williams, 1989). As marginalized people reflect on their own experiences, they become liberated of false truths and develop an understanding of how dominant and subordinated groups serve to uphold dominant ideologies that serve to oppress them (Crenshaw,
1988).
Counter-storytelling provides a lens to understand subordinated groups’ experiences and struggles in order to provide a different perspective to majoritarian narratives (Lawrence, 1987).
This lens also serves as a catalyst into new ways of thinking and perceiving marginalized groups,
(Delgado, 1989) such as bilingual teachers and their students. LatCrit shifts the focus away from a Black/white binary (Lopez, 1996; Perea, 1997) to include the history of struggles against segregation and for equality, identity and the role that racism has played specifically in
Latinas/os lived experiences (Perea, 1997; Valdes, 1997, 1998; Valdes, Culp, & Harris, 2002).
LatCrit extends CRT (Valdes, 1996) to address issues of subordination based on immigration status, language, ethnicity, culture, phenotype, identity, and sexuality (Arriola, 1997; Espinoza,
1990; Garcia, 1995; Hernandez-Truyol, 1997; Johnson, 1997; Martinez, 1994; Montoya, 1994;
Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001). LatCrit’s focus is to provide a platform for issues of subordination to be discussed in order to hear the voices and concerns of marginalized
29 Latinas/os. In this way, there can be a linkage between theory and praxis, scholarship and teaching, and the academy with the community.
Solórzano and Delgado (2001) identified five themes that emerge to “…form the basic perspectives, research methods, and a pedagogy of CRT and LatCrit framework in education” (p.
312). The fives themes are the (1) centrality of race and racism, (2) the challenge to dominant ideology, (3) the commitment to social justice, (4) the centrality of experiential knowledge and
(5) the interdisciplinary perspective. Below I outline these definitions provided by Solórzano and Bernal (2001) and how they have been elaborated by other scholars.
1. The centrality of race and racism and intersectionality with other forms of
subordination. Race and racism are permanent (Russell, 1991) and intersect with
gender (Solórzano & Yosso, 2001), class (Crenshaw, 1989), citizenship (Kohli &
Solórzano, 2012), language, and immigration status.
2. The challenge to dominant ideology. Notions of “…objectivity, meritocracy,
color-blindness, race neutrality, and equal opportunity” (Solórzano & Yosso,
2001, p. 313) are challenged and re-center marginalized perspectives (Kohli &
Solórzano, 2012. These traditional claims are used to justify the decisions and
actions that the dominant group takes (Calmore, 1991; Solórzano, 1997).
3. The commitment to social justice. Scholars work towards liberating or
transforming racial, gender or class oppression and eliminating racism (Matsuda,
1991). This type of work must always be motivated by a social justice agenda
(Kohli & Solórzano, 2012, p. 445).
4. The centrality of experiential knowledge. Draws from the lived experiences of
Latinas/os to include “ such methods as storytelling, family history, biographies,
30 scenarios, parables, testimonios, cuentos, consejos, chronicles, and narratives”
(Solórzano & Bernal, 2001, p. 314). Lived experiences are positioned as valuable
and critical to understanding their subordination. An extension from
counterstories are testimonios, in which the narrator tells his/her first-hand
account of a significant event(s) s/he has experienced (e.g. Urrieta, 2003;
Beverley, 2000). Through a testimonio, the narrator in a sense testifies or shares
his/her witnessing account (Tuhiwai Smith, 1999) of “…a problem of repression,
poverty, marginalization, exploitation, or simply survival that is implicated in the
act of narration itself” (Beverley, 2000, p. 556). The narrative is true to the
account based on contextual factors of time, place, and historical as well as social
conditions.
5. The interdisciplinary perspective. The perspective “…challenges ahistoricism
and the unidisciplinary focus of most analyses and insists on analyzing race and
racism in education by placing them in both an historical and contemporary
context using interdisciplinary methods” (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001, p. 314).
Scholars intersect various frameworks in order to better analyze and understand
the experiences of students of color.
Although CRT originated in critical legal studies, it has expanded to other fields such as education to analyze issues of race, gender, and class (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solórzano,
1997, 1998; Tate, 1997), feminist work (Evans, 1993; Harris, 1990; Mackinnon, 1991; Montoya,
1994; Wing, 1997), and gays, lesbians, and queer issues (Arriola, 1994; Hutchinson, 1996;
Robinson, 2008).
There is a dearth in LatCrit theorization in educational settings even though Huber
31 describes its parent CRT “invaluable tool for critical scholars who seek to expose and disrupt oppressive conditions within education institutions in the U.S.” (2008, p. 159). However, scholars have begun to use LatCrit as a frame to analyze the contestations to challenge majoritarian tales (Fránquiz, Salazar, & DeNicolo, 2011). Salinas, Fránquiz, and Rodríguez
(2016) focused on critical historical inquiry work done by Latina pre-service teachers and the counter stories they create in opposition to historical erasure of Latinos. Apart from work with pre-service teachers, work in the elementary classroom is also scarce. Osorio (2016) describes her literacy practices in her own transitional bilingual 90/10 second grade classroom as a
Colombian-American teacher of majority Mexican-American students. She focused on literature discussions in which students shared their own border stories with the following texts La
Superniña del Cilantro (Herrera, 2003), Esperando a mi Papá (Laínez, 2004) and Del Norte al
Sur (Laínez, 2010). Through CRT and LatCrit frameworks Osorio focused on centering the curriculum around her students’ experiences as valid knowledge while taking into account the intersection of race and racism. In this dissertation study CRT generally, and LatCrit specifically, will be used to analyze the experiences of a Mexican male teacher and his majority
Mexican-American students in a second grade bilingual education classroom.
Summary
In this chapter I presented literature about the experiences of Latina/o bilingual teachers, their sociocultural understandings of students of color, and the academic influence they have on the success of students of color. I discussed the identities of Latina/o bilingual teachers and the culturally relevant pedagogical practices they use in bilingual classrooms, such as read alouds and biliteracy. Finally, I discussed the theoretical framework that will guide this dissertation 32 study: LatCrit and CRT (Solórzano & Delgado, 2001), centers the lived experiences of
Latinas/os, takes into account the race, racism, and other forms of subordination, challenges dominant ideologies and the continua of biliteracy (Hornberger & Link, 2012), which draws on multiple points of the continua to incorporate the traditionally less powerful content, context, development and media and the traditionally more powerful content, context, development and media to support students in developing biliteracy and bilingualism. In the following chapter, I discuss my research design and provide context for the study.
33 Chapter III: Research Methodology
This qualitative study sought to understand the interactive read aloud approaches used for reading instruction that drew from the relevant experiences of children from Latina/o communities generally and the Mexican/Mexican-American community in particular. While traditionally, teachers have held “deficit thinking” notions about students of color (Valencia &
Black, 2002), the dissertation examines how teachers can position Latina/o students and their experiences as assets in developing students’ biliteracy skills. The premise underlying the dissertation study is to document the extent to which the teacher developed students’ biliteracy and bilingual skills in the educational setting.
In this chapter I discussed how the research study was designed to answer the following research questions:
What are the instructional approaches that a bilingual Latino second grade teacher uses during interactive read alouds to teach the language arts?
How do those instructional approaches draw from students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge of their communities?
To answer the research questions, I utilized a qualitative research approach (Denzin &
Lincoln, 2005) that was dependent on observing the participant in his natural setting over a prolonged period of time. In the following section, this approach is discussed in the following manner: (1) research paradigm, (2) theoretical framework, (3) case study research methodology,
(4) rationale for selection of participant, (5) school context, (6) data collection procedures, (7) methods for data analysis, (8) researcher positionality, and (9) preliminary findings from a pilot study.
34 Research Paradigm
The focus of qualitative research is to observe the participant(s) in their natural setting in order to better understand the data collected. Merriam (2009) states that,
“Qualitative researchers are interested in understanding how people interpret their experiences, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they attribute to their experience” (p. 5). The ultimate goal, then, is to understand the experience of the participants and the meaning they attribute to these collective experiences.
The approach used in the dissertation study aligns with the interpretive or constructivist paradigm – meaning the nature of knowledge is socially constructed (Crotty, 1998). In this paradigm there is no “…single “truth” with a capital “T”; rather there are multiple “truths”
(Merriam, 2009, p. 10). Researchers in this paradigm work to deconstruct, problematize, question, and interrupt. Thus, the dissertation study stems from the interpretive paradigm.
Accordingly, “Interpretivists attempt to understand situations from the point of view of those experiencing the situations, and are concerned with what will assist them in doing so – what is heuristically powerful. Communication is viewed as a give-and-take, transactive process, where
X and Y inform and influence each other” (Sipe & Constable, 1996, p. 158) dependent on participant’s understanding of experiences of the social phenomena.
Theoretical Framework
This dissertation study sought to understand the approaches for reading instruction that a bilingual Latino second grade teacher used during interactive read alouds to draw students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge to build their biliteracy and sustain bilingual development. The qualitative design is located within a Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latino 35 Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), and the continua of biliteracy.
CRT stems from critical legal studies (legal indeterminacy) and radical feminism
(Matsuda, 1991). CRT developed as activists and scholars united to bring about change and to address issues of race and racism in institutions (Crenshaw, 1988; Delgado, 1988a, 1988b). CRT considers the relationships among race, racism, gender, and class (Crenshaw et al., 1995;
Delgado, 1995; Wing, 1997) in order to work towards creating a socially just society (Fay, 1987;
Tierney, 1993).
LatCrit developed from CRT but centers its focus on the lived experiences of Latina/os to address issues of subordination based on immigration status, language, ethnicity, culture, phenotype, identity, and sexuality (Arriola, 1997; Espinoza, 1990; Garcia, 1995; Hernandez-
Truyol, 1997; Johnson, 1997; Martinez, 1994; Montoya, 1994; Solórzano & Delgado Bernal,
2001). LatCrit informed the dissertation study as it relied on the five themes identified by
Solórzano and Bernal (2001). The five themes that emerged from their work form “the basic perspectives, research methods, and pedagogy of CRT and LatCrit framework in education” (p.
312). The fives themes are the centrality of race and racism, the challenge to dominant ideology, the commitment to social justice, the centrality of experiential knowledge and the interdisciplinary perspective. The definitions provided by Solórzano and Bernal have been elaborated by other scholars and are presented below.
● The centrality of race and racism and intersectionality with other forms of subordination.
Race and racism are permanent (Russell, 1991) and intersect with gender (Solórzano &
Yosso, 2001), class (Crenshaw, 1989), language, and immigration status.
● The challenge to dominant ideology. Notions of “…objectivity, meritocracy, color-
blindness, race neutrality, and equal opportunity” (Solórzano & Yosso, 2001, p. 313) are
36 challenged. These traditional claims are used to justify the decisions and actions that the
dominant group takes (Calmore, 1991; Solórzano, 1997).
● The commitment to social justice. Scholars work towards liberating or transforming
racial, gender or class oppression and eliminating racism (Matsuda, 1991; Solórzano &
Yosso, 2001, Bender & Aoki, 2002).
● The centrality of experiential knowledge. Draws from the lived experiences of Latina/os
to include “ such methods as storytelling, family history, biographies, scenarios, parables,
testimonios, cuentos, consejos, chronicles, and narratives” (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001, p.
314). Lived experiences are positioned as valuable and critical to understanding their
subordination (Fránquiz, Salazar & DeNicolo, 2011).
● The interdisciplinary perspective. This perspective “…challenges ahistoricism and the
unidisciplinary focus of most analyses and insists on analyzing race and racism in
education by placing them in both an historical and contemporary context using
interdisciplinary methods” (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001, p. 314). Scholars intersect
various frameworks in order to better analyze and understand the experiences of students
of color.
By taking into account students’ experiential knowledge, educators can guide students in challenging majoritarian tales through counter-storytelling. Sometimes these counter-stories are presented in children’s literature; other times teachers guide students to write counter-stories based on their linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge.
The continua of biliteracy seeks to understand how students develop biliteracy and bilingualism as they interact with texts in two languages. According to Hornberger (2003), there are three areas to take into consideration as teachers work towards guiding students in
37 developing their biliteracy. One area to take into consideration is the context of biliteracy,
“…contexts for biliteracy are defined in terms of three continua: micro-macro, oral-literate, and monolingual-bilingual.” The second area “…characterize(s) the development of the biliterate individual’s communicative repertoire: reception-production, oral language-written language, and L1-L2 transfer” (p. 7). The third area is the content of biliteracy: minority-majority, vernacular-literary, and the contextualized-decontextualized dimensions of biliteracy learning.
The “…focus (is) on the meaning those forms express…” (p. 50). Hornberger adds that, “…the more their learning contexts allow learners to draw on all points of the continua, the greater the chances for their full biliterate development” (p. 37). By drawing from multiple points on the curriculum students’ knowledge and culture will be valued and used to aid in acquiring biliteracy.
Figure 3.1: Theoretical Framework
By drawing from CRT and LatCrit, and the continua of biliteracy frameworks, the 38 dissertation study sought to understand the instructional approaches the Latino second grade teacher used during interactive read alouds to develop biliteracy and sustain bilingualism as he drew on students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge from their communities (see
Figure 3.1).
Case Study Research Methodology
Case study methodology provided an in-depth description and analysis of a bounded system (Merriam, 2009). In the case of the dissertation study Mr. Menchaca’s (pseudonym) approach to the reading instruction of interactive read alouds in a second grade bilingual classroom provided a bounded system in the ways he incorporated students’ linguistic, cultural practices, and experiential knowledge as they worked to sustain and develop biliteracy and bilingualism. Yin (2009) defines a case study as,
an empirical inquiry that 1) investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within
its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are
not clearly evident. 2) copes with the technically distinctive situation in which there will
be many more variables of interest than data points, and as one result, relies on multiple
sources of evidence, with data needing to converge in a triangulating fashion, and as
another result, benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions to guide
data collection and analysis. (p. 18)
Qualitative case study research requires that the researcher not only take the context into consideration but also the data collection, analysis, and triangulation of data sources. Stake
(2005) describes case study research as, “…spending extended time on site, personally in contact with activities and operations of the case, reflecting, and revising descriptions and meanings of 39 what is going on” (p. 450).
There are several different types of qualitative case studies such as, historical organizational, observational, life history. Stake (2005) identifies intrinsic, instrumental, collective, and multi-site case studies. For the purpose of this study, I selected an intrinsic case study due to my personal interest in how teachers approach reading instruction through read alouds. ‘“Intrinsic designs aim to develop what is perceived to be the case’s own issues, contexts, and interpretations, its “thick description”’ (Stake, 2005, p. 450). The study examined how a teacher integrated students’ linguistic practices, cultural knowledge, and experiential knowledge to develop biliteracy and sustain students’ linguistic practices through interactive read alouds.
Rationale for Selection of Participant
Mr. Menchaca (pseudonym) was one of ten teachers from a local school district that was identified as an effective bilingual teacher that met selection criteria for a subsidized Masters degree in bilingual education at Central University. Through a federal grant, the local school district and Central University worked together to encourage bilingual teachers to obtain their
Masters degree. Due to the national increase of emerging bilinguals/ELLs (Kena et al., 2014), the program sought highly qualified bilingual teachers to take leadership roles in bilingual education within their communities.
Mr. Menchaca was selected for this project through purposeful sampling (Merriam,
2009). Merriam states, “Purposeful sampling is based on the assumption that the investigator wants to discover, understand, and gain insight and therefore must select a sample from which the most can be learned” (2009, p. 77). There are several types of purposeful sampling such as, 40 typical, unique, maximum variation, convenience, and snowball or chain (Merriam, 2009). Mr.
Menchaca met the characteristics of both a unique and convenient sample. He enacted a unique approach to biliteracy instruction and was a convenient sample due to the researcher/participant relationship established during his participation in a specialized Masters degree program.
In fall 2012, I participated in a large qualitative research project that inevitably served as a pilot study for this dissertation. Dr. María E. Fránquiz invited me to participate in the study documenting instructional practices of bilingual teachers using the text Sylvia and Aki (Conkling,
2011) in their classrooms. The Masters program recruited experienced teachers that had demonstrated excellence in pedagogical practices at their individual school and were interested in becoming leaders of bilingual instruction. Each year between 2008-2013 a cohort of teachers was selected to participate in a 15-month Masters degree program at the local university. During the program teachers were encouraged to present at local, state, and national conferences.
For the Sylvia and Aki Project, the ten participating teachers including Mr. Menchaca read aloud the chapters of the book. In addition to reading and responding in a variety of ways to the characters and events in the story, the teachers and students attended the Tómas Rivera
Mexican Children’s Book Award Celebration in which the author Winifred Conkling and, in this case, one of the protagonists, Sylvia Mendez, attended and spoke. During the project and preparation for the field trip, Mr. Menchaca was a student in Dr. Fránquiz’s course. Mr.
Menchaca was selected to participate in the Sylvia and Aki Project based on his curricular interest in Latino children’s literature and his eagerness to participate in a research project. Due to my established relationship with Mr. Menchaca during the Sylvia and Aki Project, he was willing to continue being observed for the dissertation study.
41 Setting and participant.
In this section I will describe the setting in which Mr. Menchaca taught. I will start by describing the school district. I will then give an overview of the characteristics of Vista
Elementary, the school where Mr. Menchaca taught. Finally, I will give an overview of Mr.
Menchaca’s dual language second grade classroom (the names of places and programs are pseudonyms).
Riverside County School District.
Riverside County School District is large urban school district situated in Central Texas.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) reported that for the 2015-2016 school year a total of 130 campuses: 85 elementary campuses, 18 middle schools, 17 high schools, and 10 locations are identified as other campuses. The diversity of the student population is also large. Of the 83,270 students enrolled during the 2015-2016 academic school year, 59% of students were reported as
Hispanic while 27% were reported as white, 8% as Black and 3% as Asian. Figure 3.2 breaks down school enrollment data by ethnicity and shows that children of Hispanic heritage make up the majority of the student population. Asians, on the other hand, are one of the smallest populations. Of this student population 33% of students were designated as emerging bilinguals and received specialized English language instruction. The students in Mr. Menchaca’s class are included in this category.
In academic year 2015-2016, the teaching population at Riverside County school district was composed of 5,822 teachers. Figure 3.3 provides the breakdown of the district teacher workforce.
42 Figure 3.2: Riverside County School District Demographics
Figure 3.3: Riverside County School District Teacher Demographics
As noted in Figure 3.3, the majority of the teaching population is composed of white
43 teachers, while Hispanic teachers are only a quarter of the teaching force. The district student population and the district teacher workforce
s are representative of the nationwide teacher to student demographic percentages
(Dalton, Sable, & Hoffman, 2006), where the majority of students are students of color and the majority of teachers are white teachers.
The elementary school educational programs the district offers varies for emerging bilingual students. These are: English as a Second Language (ESL), bilingual transitional model, maintenance bilingual, one way and dual language programs. Some of the languages taught in the district are Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, American Sign Language and Spanish.
In regards to the dual language program, the district offers a one-way or two-way dual language program. The one-way dual language program is offered at 56 of the elementary schools and the two-way dual language program is offered at 16 of the elementary schools and 3 middle schools.
One-way dual language program are composed of native-speakers of a language other than
English. Where two-way dual language programs strive to have 50% native-English speakers and 50% native-speakers of the second target language (Collier & Thomas, 2004).
Vista Elementary School.
A major interstate highway divides the city, which separate a predominant white citizenry on the west from a predominant Latino and Black citizenry on the east. Vista Elementary
(pseudonym) is located on the east side of the city and opened its doors in 1977. There were a total of 703 students enrolled from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade during the 2015-2015 academic school year. Figure 3.4 below shows the ethnic demographics of the student body.
44 Figure 3.4: Ethnic Demographics of Students at Vista Elementary School
The majority of the population are students of color, 53% of the student body was classified as emerging bilingual and 95% of the student population was identified as economically disadvantaged. Consequently, it is a high poverty school and it is a racially encapsulated population. Within a racially diverse society, the relational phenomena between racial encapsulation and resegregation has been documented by scholars (Banks, 1976; Banks &
Banks, 1995; Orfield & Yun, 1999).
Mr. Menchaca’s classroom.
Mr. Menchaca’s classroom was located in one of the nine portables behind the main building. As one walked up the ramp of the portable, his classroom was the second door. The walls contained a Spanish and English word wall, bilingual math and writing charts, and plenty of students’ writing. The teacher had a computer hooked up to monitor that was often used to show students’ pictures, videos, and access websites. In addition, he also had a document
45 camera projector, which was used by the teacher and students to show writing drafts, illustrations, etc. Tables had taken the place of desks used the two previous years that I observed his classes; each table accommodated up to four students. The tables invited students to work cooperatively. The students kept their books, notebooks, folders and supplies in their carton box that went underneath their table. Team names hung above the tables to represent the four different collaborative groups in the class. There was a large space between the students’ desks and the screen at the front of the room. This large space was designated for students to come to the carpet to hear interactive read alouds, participate in class discussions, and other daily activities. Towards the back of the room there was a brown kidney shaped table where students could sit with the teacher for small group instruction and a small bookcase with books the teacher used when working with small groups. In the back of the room, there was also an area for students to hang up their backpacks and coats. The portable classroom had its own bathroom.
Often, there was a student teacher or an intern from the local university observing in the classroom. It was not uncommon for parents to stop by or call during the school day to ask a quick question. Mr. Menchaca had an open door policy and parents would often stop by to check in.
During the Immigration Project (spring of 2015), the second grade bilingual class consisted of 14 Mexican and Mexican-American students, one biracial Mexican-Nicaraguan student, and one Honduran student. Six students were boys and ten were girls. Students range from second-generation immigrant students to recent immigrants.
During the Día de los Muertos Project (fall of 2015), the second grade bilingual classroom consisted of 17 Mexican and Mexican-American students, one Mexican-Nicaraguan student, and one Anglo-Honduran student. Eight students were boys and 11 were girls. Students
46 were recent immigrant or second-generation students.
Mr. Menchaca.
Mr. Martín Menchaca was born and raised in Mexico. He was in his early fifties, had been teaching for nine years: four in kindergarten, four in third grade, and was in his first year of teaching second grade at the time the archival data was collected. He was fully bilingual and biliterate in Spanish and English. Prior to immigrating to the U.S., he taught in Mexico for three years. After working as a custodian and at a local grocery store, his daughter’s kindergarten teacher encouraged him to attend the local university and become a U.S. certified teacher. He received his license to teach in the U.S. and was certified as an Early Childhood through fourth grade Bilingual Generalist. He received his Masters degree in Bilingual/Bicultural Education during the spring of 2014.
Data Collection
One of the strengths in selecting a case study as a method for data collection is stated by
Merriam (2009), “Anchored in real-life situations, the case study results in a rich and holistic account of a phenomenon. It offers insights and illuminates meanings that expand its readers’ experiences” (p. 51). As a researcher, I tried be fully conscious of how my own biases could influence how I collected the real-life situations and interpreted the phenomena (Merriam, 2009).
Credibility was established by prolonged engagement, persistent observation, triangulation, referential adequacy, peer debriefing, and member checks (Erlandson, 1993). Prior to this study, I had and continued to have prolonged engagement in Mr. Menchaca’s classroom.
47 Archival data.
The archival data collection consisted of a total of 104 observations that took place during the read aloud portion of the day. Twenty-three observations took place from September to November of 2012 (for more details see Appendix A). During this time, I observed Mr.
Menchaca read aloud the following books: Harvesting Hope (Krull, 2003), My First Book of
Proverbs: Mi Primer Libro de Dichos (Gonzalez & Ruiz, 1995), and Sylvia & Aki (Conkling,
2011) to his third grade bilingual students. The class also attended the Thomas Rivera Author
Celebration and met Sylvia, one of the characters in the book. In addition, a “social literacy event5” with parents and students focused on the English chapter book Sylvia and Aki (for more details see Appendix A).
An additional 55 third grade observations took place from September 25, 2013 to May of
2014 (for more details see Appendix B). During this time the first social literacy event was about the Spanish chapter book, Nacer Bailando (Flor Ada, 2013). The second social literacy event was about the books: My First Book of Proverbs: Mi Primer Libro de Dichos (Gonzalez &
Ruiz, 1995), and Sylvia & Aki (Conkling, 2011). The teacher also invited three parents to share their experience of being involved in their child’s reading at a local conference. The third social literacy event of the year was based on a biography unit. The teacher read aloud, My Name is
Celia/ The Life of Celia Cruz (Brown, 2004), My Name is Gabito/ The Life of Gabriel García
Márquez (Brown, 2007), and Tito Puente (Brown, 2013). Students wrote their own biographies
5 Street (1995) argued that people engage with literacy in a social manner. People’s prior experiences, knowledge, and power relations affect how people interact with literacy. He later added that “literacy events” are the “concepts and social models” people bring to the literacy event (2003, p. 79). Therefore, drawing off of Street’s work, I have named the literacy gatherings, “social literacy events” because of the nature of how Mr. Menchaca structured the events. Mr. Menchaca always had parents interact with the written products students produced, responded to questions he posed about the project/units of study in order to gain parents’ perspectives, and facilitated a social discussion about the project/unit of study. Parents not only interacted with the texts (read aloud and student produced), but also with each other’s responses to the literacy event; which were influenced by their prior understandings, experiences, and beliefs. 48 about a family member. During the social literacy event some of the students presented their biographies to parents (for more details see Appendix B).
From February to March of 2015 there were a total of 26 observations (for more details see Appendix C). During this time Mr. Menchaca involved his second grade students and their families in an Immigration Project. The teacher interactively read aloud the following books: My
Diary from Here to There/ Mi diario de aquí hasta allá (Pérez, 2002), Xochitl and the Flowers/
Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores (Argueta, 2003), Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado
(Anzaldúa, 1993), and From North to South/ Del Norte al Sur (Laínez, 2010), Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote (Tonatiuh, 2013) My Shoes and I (Laínez, 2010), and Waiting for Papá/
Esperando a Papá (Laínez, 2004) (see description of books in Appendix D). A highlight of the unit was students’ interviewing of parents about their immigration experiences. As a culminating activity, the teacher guided the students in creating a composite testimony story about the parents’ immigration experiences. During the social literacy event each family was given a copy of the class created immigration book. The teacher once again asked for parent volunteers to share their experience about the how he involved them throughout the Immigration
Project.
During October and November of 2015, there were a total of 16 observations (for more details see Appendix E). Mr. Menchaca involved the students in a Día de los Muertos Project.
He interactively read aloud the following books: The Spirit of Tío Fernando: A Day of the Dead
Story/El espíritu de tío Fernando: Una historia del Día de los Muertos (Levy, 1995), Pablo recuerda: La fiesta del Día de los Muertos (Ancona, 1993), Un barrilete: para el Día de los
Muertos (Amado, 1999), and Funny bones: Posada and his Day of the Dead Calaveras
(Tonatiuh, 2015) (see description of books in Appendix F). Students interviewed two classroom
49 parents about how they celebrated Día de los Muertos. For the culminating activity, Mr.
Menchaca had students created a class book about Día de los Muertos. Students worked in groups to write about the origin of the cultural practice, the significance of the cultural practice, the items that are included on an altar, and how Día de los Muertos was celebrated in the local community. Parents were invited to a social literacy event where students shared their work and parents discussed their opinion about the cultural practice.
Mr. Menchaca routinely interactively read aloud to students from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
Discussions with Mr. Menchaca and between students occurred during these interactive read alouds. From 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. students usually responded to a writing prompt or writing activity related to the read aloud. During the 2015 observations, Mr. Menchaca read two books aloud, one in Spanish and the other in English and had students respond to the read alouds through writing. The observations would usually start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 10 a.m.
During these occasions I routinely jotted field notes, video and audio recorded, and collected artifacts. In addition, I observed the social literacy events that Mr. Menchaca facilitated with students and their parents. The social literacy events were centered on sharing students’ work with the parents and on having parents share their perspectives on the project of study. Having prolonged engagement and on-going observations in Mr. Menchaca’s classroom functioned to build trust and rapport with him, his students, and the students’ parents.
Triangulating the data collected was vital “…to enhance the validity of research findings”
(Mathison, 1988, p. 13; Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). In order to support the findings, I triangulated codes and themes across my data sources: semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, transcriptions, field notes and student and parent artifacts. Triangulation helped reduce bias on my part as a researcher. In order to establish credibility I also peer debriefed with a colleague.
50 This provided the space to share my analysis, reflections, and interpretations of the analysis of the data (Creswell, 2005; Erlandson, 1993) and receive feedback. In this way, peer debriefing made the dissertation study more reputable (Gay et al., 2009).
Member checks were also important in ensuring credibility (Erlandson, 1993).
Throughout the study I shared data analysis, interpretations of the data, and the findings with Mr.
Menchaca. In addition, I continued to ask if there was anything he would like to comment on, add, or change. Member checking were instrumental in assuring that I was interpreting the participant’s experience accurately and helped to reduce bias on my part.
To enable transferability I a provided rich, thick description of the setting, participants, and the findings (Erlandson, 1993; Geertz, 1973). Findings were supported with data evidence from field notes, interviews, and artifacts. The purpose behind providing rich, thick description is to describe classroom phenomenon in sufficient detail that readers can gain insights and draw conclusions that may be transferable to other contexts. Ethnographic methods that make explicit the patterns of social relationships within the culture of the classroom are typically used to provide thick description (Geertz, 1973) of classroom life.
In order to establish trustworthiness, I addressed credibility and transferability
(Erlandson, 1993). Credibility was addressed through prolonged engagement in the field, peer debriefing, member checks, and triangulation. Transferability was addressed by providing rich, thick description of the data sources collected and the use of purposeful sampling.
I continued to use a range of ethnographic tools to aid in data collection: prolonged engagement at the research site, classroom observation, semistructured interviews, collection of teacher and student produced artifacts, video and audio recordings, iPhone, picture camera, laptop, spiral notebook, and pencil. Through the use of the ethnographic tools and the data
51 analysis process, I created an audit trail.
Observations.
Though a large archive of observation data was available, I further refined my data through additional observations in the spring and fall of 2015. As I observed the interactions that took place in Mr. Menchaca’s classroom during the interactive read alouds I documented my observations through jottings (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 2011). Jottings are notes that help jog the researcher’s memory at a later time when one is ready to sit down to write full, detailed field notes. Field notes are, “…detailed, nonjudgmental, concrete descriptions of what has been observed” (Marshall & Rossman, 2006, p. 98). Emerson et al. (2011) explain that taking field notes, “… are more fundamentally accounts framed and organized to be read by some other, wider audience” (p. 45). Field notes are core and vital to qualitative inquiry and require that the researcher “…have explicit note-organizing and note-management strategies” (Marshall &
Rossman, 2006, p. 99). Along with jottings, “Observer’s Comments” are simultaneously written to document the researcher’s reflections, reactions, feelings and interpretations of what is being observed or a reflection of what has been observed (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). These
“Observer’s Comments” assisted in reflective journal entries and in analyzing the data “chunks”.
Gold (1958) identified four observer roles a researcher could take: complete participant, participant as observer, observer as participant, and complete observer. As a complete participant the role as an observer is to fully participate without the group knowing that one is observing them. Participant as observer entails that the participants know that they are being observed. Observer as participant involves the participants knowing that the researcher’s primary role is to observe and that he or she may participate as needed. The last role is complete
52 observer in which the researcher may or may not be visible to the participants and the only role of the researcher is to observe.
As a researcher, my role was to be an observer as participant in which my “…observer activities (were) known to the group; participation in the group (was) definitely secondary to the role of information gatherer” (Merriam, 2009, p. 124). When I was asked to participate in class discussions my primary goal was always to gather information.
Interviews.
Another ethnographic tool for data collection in the dissertation study was interviews.
Fontana and Frey (2005) remind researchers that, “…interviewing is not merely the neutral exchange of asking questions and getting answers. Two (or more) people are involved in this process, and their exchanges lead to the creation of a collaborative effort called the interview” (p.
696). The interview is not a neutral process, it is purposeful. Merriam (2009) identifies three types of interviews: highly structured/standardized, semistructured, and unstructured/informal.
Highly structured/standardized interviews contain interview questions that have been formulated prior to meeting with the participant, the information is usually collected through surveys.
Semistructured interviews contain some predetermined questions and allow for flexibility in asking new questions or open-ended questions. Unstructured interviews are useful when beginning a study or when the researcher does not know the focus of the study. Unstructured interviews are also helpful in learning about what the participant views as being important.
I used semistructured interviews, “guided by a list of questions or issues to be explored, and neither the exact wording nor the order of the questions is determined ahead of time”
(Merriam, 2009, p. 90). Semistructured interviews were helpful in determining the specific
53 questions that I was interested in addressing before and after various interactive read alouds.
Multiple semistructured interviews were conducted. The first one examined the choices of interactive read alouds and the language and literacy curricular plans of the teacher. The second interview addressed biliteracy development as perceived by the teacher and demonstrated in student products.
In addition, I also conducted unstructured interviews. These occurred mostly after the observations of the interactive read alouds. For the most part, there was time for Mr. Menchaca and I to debrief and go over interactions that took place or for him to share any insights that he felt were relevant for me to know. These exchanges assisted me in developing a deeper understanding of his interpretations. In addition, follow up questions through emails were also helpful to clarify any lingering questions. These emails provided my participant time and space to think, reflect, and organize his responses to questions.
Artifact collection.
LeCompte and Preissle (1993) define artifacts as, “symbolic materials such as writing and signs and nonsymbolic materials such as tools and furnishings” (p. 216). The artifact collection included a variety of artifacts that were produced by students such as their drawings and writings or by their parents. In addition, I added to the archive data that already existed and continued to collect teacher produced artifacts or resources that the teacher gathered to support his teaching such as primary sources, videos, letters, lesson plans, and papers he authored for classes he took at the university. Other forms of artifacts were pictures from the classroom including the setting, bulletin boards, students working with the teacher, etc. Moment to moment interactions were collected on video and audio recordings. Transcriptions of specific events that
54 took place during the observation constituted important data sources regarding ways languages were used in the bilingual second grade classroom. Having access to video and audio recordings were instrumental in my ability to, “…to note body language and other gestural cues that lend meaning to words of the persons...” (Angrosino, 2011, p. 729). Since there were so many things that happened as I observed, transcriptions of video/audio recordings provided significant details that helped thicken the description of the setting.
Data Analysis
Merriam (2009) states that researchers,
…read and reread the data, making notes in the margins commenting on the data. You
write a separate memo to yourself capturing your reflections, tentative themes, hunches,
ideas, and things to pursue that are derived from this first set of data. You note things
you want to ask, observe, or look for in your next round of data collection. After your
second interview, you compare the first set of data with the second. This comparison
informs the next data collected, and so on. (p. 170)
Merriam points out that the analysis of data done in this manner is a recursive process. She also warns that, “Without ongoing analysis, the data can be unfocused, repetitious, and overwhelming in the sheer volume of material that needs to be processed. Data that have been analyzed while being collected are both parsimonious and illuminating” (p. 171). Therefore, it was vital to dedicate the time and effort to assure that transcribing and analyzing was done on a regular basis in order to reduce the data to manageable chunks.
Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014) describe a multi-step method approach for qualitative data analysis as: First Cycle coding, pattern coding, theme identification, and 55 assertion and proposition development. During the First Cycle coding, the researcher analyzed the detailed field notes and created codes. These codes were descriptive labels for data “chunks” that were selected due to their meaningful representation across the data (Miles et al., 2014).
There is a “critical link” between the code and the data “chunk” (Charmaz, 2001). Coding offered the opportunity to “condense” the amount of data I collected due to the meaningful selection of data “chunks” during the field note analysis process (Miles et al., 2014). In the figure below, I present a transcription of field notes from a classroom observation, highlighted are the “chunks” of data and off to the right is the code for the chunk that has been highlighted.
During this English interactive read aloud, the teacher read Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote
(Tonatiuh, 2013). During the conversation that ensued the teacher drew on students’ prior knowledge to discuss the multiple meanings of coyote and coyote.
During the Second Cycling coding the goal was to identify pattern codes from the First
Cycle coding method in order to identify emerging themes. The functions of the pattern coding were to condense the codes into themes; this process assists the researcher in analyzing the data during and after the data collection process (Miles et al., 2014). Pattern codes can be: categories or themes, causes/explanations, relationships among people, and theoretical constructs (Miles et al., 2014).
The Third Cycle coding is to identify the theme based on the pattern code that have been identified during the Second Cycle coding. Triangulation is achieved through the analysis of multiple sources of data such as field notes, interview, and artifacts. In addition, member checks were conducted when necessary to support the emerging theme.
56 Figure 3.5: First and Second Cycle Coding
Researcher Positionality
I am a Chicana that was born in Mexico and lived there for three years before my parents decided to move to the U.S. Prior to our migration, my father had already spent some time working in the U.S., first undocumented and then under the Bracero program. My parents eventually decided to call Idaho their home. As a child I grew up as a transnational and traveled to Mexico on a yearly basis. In Mexico we would visit my grandparents in el rancho. I always 57 considered it a joy to visit, as everything was an organic experience and refreshing to the soul.
Similar to Patricia Sanchez’ concept of transnational experiences (2001) mine were never disclosed in full detail with peers, not because I was embarrassed, but rather it never seemed relevant to the school curriculum. In fact it was not until my doctoral experience that I begun to reflect and write about some of those transnational and immigrant childhood experiences.
Reflecting on my own experience as an elementary, middle school, and high school student, I did not see my experiences reflected in the school curriculum. I was not exposed to challenging or culturally relevant curriculum. Although I did maintain my first language primarily through speaking it with my family, my white teachers never encouraged it. My
Spanish language was not perceived as a gift that should be valued, cherished, and nurtured; it was viewed as an irrelevant inheritance, something handed to me at the onset of birth. Hakuta states there is a distinction between elite bilinguals and folk bilinguals, “Society admires the bilingualism of the diplomat but not the multilingualism of the cab driver” (2011, p. 172). At home, my mother fostered and nurtured the development of my first language she would always say, “El inglés es para la escuela y el español es para la casa. No quiero que se les vaya olvidar el español.” When I took a Spanish class in high school during my junior and senior years because there were no other electives to take, the teacher would dismiss what I knew. Returning to Hakuta’s (2011) earlier quote, Volk and Angelova (2007) echo the distinction where teachers fail to see what Spanish speakers do in English classroom as remarkable, only when English speakers learn a language then it is seen as done through effort. In my Spanish class, I did not learn much, what I knew was not valued and the teacher had no interest in challenging me to grow.
My mother and father would share my dad’s experience crossing the border without
58 permission, with a coyote for economic opportunities. My parents made sacrifices both economically and physically to ensure that my siblings and I could have a more promising future. In addition, having the opportunity to work in the fields as a child helped to ingrain in me a desire to be academically successful. I recall saying to myself as a sixth grade child, “I can’t wait until I can say, I remember when worked in the fields”. I recall praying for a breeze or a cloudy day to cool down my body and the rest of the farm workers. Later as a college student I recall standing in front of the liberal arts building. As I turned around, I told myself, “I can’t wait until I can say, I remember when I walked out of my first college class.” I knew that these would be significant markers in my life, that I would overcome but it would require a lot of dedication, effort, resiliency, and persistence.
My college experience opened my eyes to new realities that I did not realize existed. For example, I did not know much about discrimination, inequality, and hegemony. Nor did I know how much it had actually affected me. It was only through reflection that I came to see how being one of two Latinas in a graduating class of eleven in a small rural school I had been a victim of micro and microaggressions. As I embarked on my journey to become a bilingual teacher, it awoke in me a desire to become an agent of change. As I was able to reflect on my own schooling experience and realize that I had not developed a critical consciousness as a child,
I didn’t want that for my future students. I wanted them to have the opportunity to maintain their bilingualism, biliteracy, biculturalism, and to develop a critical consciousness regardless of their age. After receiving my bachelors, I knew what should be done but didn’t know exactly how to do it within the schooling system. It wasn’t until my Masters program that I learned how I could fill the gaps by exposing them to culturally relevant literature, multicultural literature, authentic writing opportunities, and community building to name a few.
59 During this time, I became aware of the importance of culturally relevant literature and began to select books in which my students could see themselves reflected. Interactive read alouds became fundamental to my teaching along with writing responses to the read alouds. As I began to work with Dr. Fránquiz on different research projects, I was drawn to the literacy field and am excited about the research for my dissertation.
As a researcher I position myself as an indigenous-insider. According to Banks (1998),
“This individual endorses the unique values, perspectives, behaviors, beliefs, and knowledge of his or her indigenous community and culture and is perceived by people within the community as a legitimate community member who can speak with authority about it” (p. 8). I position myself as an indigenous-insider because the teacher, Mr. Martín Menchaca (pseudonym) and I have similar ethnic and professional backgrounds. For example, our educational experiences have been similar in a number of ways – we have taught in similar contexts and under similar policies. These past experiences have shaped our views of education, pedagogy, and praxis. I consider myself to be an indigenous researcher because I too am a bilingual teacher although my educational and teaching experiences are from another state. In addition, Mr. Menchaca and I are both parents and share similar experiences about the education that our own children have received. At times, we question the practices, curriculum, and learning experiences that our children have received over the years as we debrief after observations.
As a researcher I, “…strive for objectivity but acknowledge how the subjective and objective components of knowledge are interconnected and interactive” (Banks, 1998, p. 6). I need to acknowledge my own experiences and privileges as I observe, analyze, and reflect that my own biases may influence how I interpret the data. I need to be certain that the data speaks for itself rather than making false interpretations about my participant.
60 Pilot Study
For the pilot study (see Appendix A), I gathered a total of 23 video and audio-recorded observations along with field notes, artifacts, and two semi-structured interviews (Merriam,
2009). Student artifacts were collected to document the interactions that took place between the teacher, parents, and students. The data was coded by identifying emerging patterns and themes
(Miles et al., 2014). Triangulation of the data collected was done to establish trustworthiness
(Mathison, 1988).
The pilot study focused on the following research question: What are the strategies for reading instruction that a third grade bilingual teacher uses during a transitional year from
Spanish to English? Four themes emerged as the teacher used literature to transition students from Spanish to English: translanguaging for meaning making, creating a hybrid learning space, language brokering and para-phrasing.
Mr. Menchaca provided a space where students were allowed to draw on their linguistic repertoires in order to be active and full participants in the reading and discussion of the English text. Not only did he do this during oral language development but also during the reading and writing portions of each day. Students were also encouraged to work cooperatively which led to the co-construction of knowledge between teacher and student, between peers and between parent and child. It’s not often that parents are invited to be active participants and partners in the construction of knowledge in the manner that this third grade teacher did.
The findings illustrate that the use and development of two languages supported students’ language acquisition and acquisition of critical academic knowledge. In addition, this study demonstrated how teachers can successfully encourage the transition of students from Spanish to
English without a strict separation of languages. Mr. Menchaca actively valued and gave voice 61 to the linguistic practices his students brought with them (Hornberger, 2003) from home and community. He created a hybrid learning space where students were invited and encouraged to use their first language, second language, and cultural knowledge to negotiate meanings of oral and written texts with the teacher, their peers, and their parents. The hybrid learning space is the space where home and school knowledge intersect at a level plane.
Figure 3.6: Hybrid Learning Space
Home knowledge has the ability to contribute to school learning, students bring with them their first language and cultural knowledge. In the school, the teacher brings with him his pedagogy, praxis, critical reflection, and the institutional policies. Mr. Menchaca used the hybrid learning space to nurture and embrace students’ culture and linguistic repertoires and supported students’ learning by using strategies that aided them in participating in an engaging, challenging, and relevant curriculum. This study demonstrated how translation and para-phrasing (Orellana,
Reynolds, Dorner, & Meza, 2003) can be used as a tool to bridge literacy learning between the school and home. This study also exhibited how teachers can provide emerging bilingual students opportunities to use critical thinking as they discuss read alouds in Spanish and English.
Students were able to make connections between what they were learning from their parents and
62 what they were reading in school. The social literacy event was a culmination of everyone’s contribution to learning in the hybrid space between home and school.
After the pilot study, I continued to be engaged in how Mr. Menchaca consistently made changes to his pedagogy that further supported students academically and emotionally. Every year, Mr. Menchaca made changes to his literacy practices and found numerous ways to integrate students’ experiential knowledge. For these reasons, Mr. Menchaca’s classroom provided an excellent setting for the classroom dissertation study of the operationalizing of the intersection between CRT and LatCrit theory, and the continua of biliteracy in the bilingual language arts classroom.
The proposed dissertation study archival data was refined during the fall 2015 semester.
The data collected were classroom observations documented through the field notes, interviews, and artifact collection, audio and video recordings of the reading instruction of read alouds in a second grade bilingual classroom. These data collection methods were be used to develop a
“thick description” of the case study (Geertz, 1973).
Conclusion
In this chapter, the research paradigm, theoretical framework, and the case study methodology for the dissertation study were presented. I discussed the rationale for the study of the participant in a particular school. The description of the classroom was discussed along with details about how I gained access to this site. The data collection methods include the archival data observations, field notes, audio and visual recordings, interviews, and artifact collection and the refinement process. Finally, data analysis and the pilot study describe analytical approaches to appropriately answer the research questions. In the next chapter the results of these approaches are presented. 63 Chapter IV: Results
Chapter IV presents the results of a qualitative case study6 investigating the following research questions: What are the instructional approaches that a bilingual Latino second grade teacher uses during interactive read alouds to teach the language arts? How do those instructional approaches draw from students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge of their communities? For analysis of the research questions, LatCrit (Solorzano & Delgado, 2001) and the continua of biliteracy (Hornberger, 2003) were used.
Since September of 2012, I have had the opportunity to observe the read alouds in Mr.
Menchaca’s classroom for a number of different instructional units: Sylvia and Aki Project,
Nacer Bailando Project, inquiry units on biographies and civil rights, Immigration Project, and
Día de los Muertos Project. For the purpose of the dissertation, I focused on the Immigration
Project that will be analyzed in this chapter and the Día de los Muertos Project that will be analyzed in the subsequent chapter. The data for the Immigration Project was collected during the spring of 2015. Classroom observations were documented through video and audio recordings. Additionally, field notes, semistructured interviews, post-lesson debriefing, and teacher, student, and parent-produced artifacts were collected for analysis.
The qualitative case study provides an in-depth description and analysis of a bounded system (Yin, 2009) – in this case, the second grade bilingual classroom. Mr. Menchaca’s approaches to interactive read alouds was the primary unit of analysis. I also sought to “provide
6 Fránquiz, M. E., Leija, M. G., & Garza, I. (2015). “Figuring” bidirectional home and school connections along the biliteracy continuum. Bilingual Research Journal, 38(2), 152-171. The data I gathered was one of four related data sets and used a collectively developed framework. Each author gathered their own data & contributed equally to the analysis and writing of the article.
64 a platform” for the often marginalized and subordinated experiences of Latina/os, specifically, immigration experiences of both the teacher and students. Through interactive read alouds
(Barrentine, 1996; Sipe, 2008) the teacher read aloud a narrative text and guided discussion about immigration by asking questions, “that enhance meaning construction and also show how one makes sense of the text” (Barrentine, 1996, p. 36).
Themes from Analysis
During the Immigration Project, two themes developed through the analysis of the interviews, observations, and collection of artifacts. The first theme was Code Switching in the
Bilingual Classroom: Negotiating Conflicting Ideologies. The second theme was Texts as a
Reflective Tool.
I present the first theme, Code Switching in the Bilingual Classroom: Negotiating
Conflicting Ideologies, by describing the teacher’s ideological stance on the shared status of
Spanish and English in the second grade bilingual classroom. I show how the teacher embodied and enacted the use of both languages in oral and written form. I also illustrate how some students resisted the use of the Spanish or English languages during language separation blocks.
Furthermore, I show how the teacher challenged dominant language ideologies upheld by some of the students, his own peers, and the dual language program model.
The second theme, Texts as a Reflective Tool, showcases how the teacher drew from students’ and their community’s linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge. I describe ways students and parents were invited to share immigration and transnational experiences during the
Immigration Project. I also highlight how the teacher utilized homework assignments to
65 integrate the diverse experiences of his students into classroom literacy practices.
Mr. Menchaca’s Language Ideology
From interview data I learned that Mr. Menchaca developed a critical consciousness
(Freire, 1979) in regards to his language ideologies about bilingualism during his Masters program. According to Kroskrity (2004), language ideologies are defined as “beliefs, or feelings about languages as used in their social worlds” (p. 498). Language ideologies are both beliefs and enactments of how people’s language ideologies. Therefore people may have specific notions about language use, however, these notions may be enacted in different ways. For example, Martínez, Hikida, & Durán (2015) noted in their study of two experienced elementary dual language teachers (a white teacher and a Latina teacher) that although the teachers articulated linguistic purism ideologies, at times their enactment deviated from their articulated language ideologies.
Prior to the program, Mr. Menchaca adamantly believed in separate language practices – speaking only Spanish or speaking only English depending on interlocutors and contexts.
Teaching in a 50/50 dual language program model, which stressed language separation practices for instruction, had influenced his language ideology. During an interview conducted after completing his Masters degree program, Mr. Menchaca shared his opinion about using both languages to teach.
...no les tengo que enseñar nada más español o inglés, sino los dos. Hacerlos pensar en
los dos idiomas. [Translation: I don't have to teach them only in Spanish or English, but
instead in both. Get them to think in two languages.] (May 4, 2015)
Mr. Menchaca’s views on bilingual education had transformed over the years. His goal of 66 fostering “truly bilingual” students was no longer guided by having to adhere to a strict separation of languages (Sayer, 2008), or as he put it, “no les tengo que enseñar nada más español o inglés, sino los dos” [Translation: I don't have to teach them only in Spanish or
English, but instead in both.] His ability to value and seize the gift of being able to, “pensar en los dos idiomas” [Translation: think in both languages] or simultaneous language exposure was at the heart of acceptance of code switching. Such flexible linguistic usage draws from both sides of the development continua of biliteracy— the reception and production, oral and written, and the home language and dominant language (Hornberger, 2003).
Complicating Mr. Menchaca's ability to embrace code switching was the requirement to adhere, with fidelity, to the 50/50 dual language program model adopted by the school district.
The 50/50 dual language program required that students speak exclusively in one language during assigned days or subjects. However, Mr. Menchaca found a strong sense of conviction that all linguistic resources were conducive to becoming bilingual while learning new content.
Towards the end of the year, during an interview (May 4, 2015), Mr. Menchaca reflected on his language ideology in supporting students to become bilingual and biliterate. He shared how he did not confine students to participate in class only in one language.
…el hecho de tener un bloque en inglés y un bloque en español. The (name of dual
language program) es como muy, como dicen unas críticas, “es que son like two
monolinguals in one bilingual student”. (The program directors), así es como lo
manejan, pero usted se ha fijado, yo no sigo (el programa), así no es darle libertad a lo
que ellos, el lenguaje que se sientan a gusto. Si lo mezclan, está bien, quiere decir que
están, su cerebro está haciendo conexiones entre los dos lenguajes. En vez de, “¡No,
tiene que ser en español! ¡No, dime todo en inglés!” (Interview, May 4, 2015)
67 [Translation:…the fact that they have a block in English and a block in Spanish. The
(name of dual language program) is like very, like some critics say, “it is like they are
two monolinguals in one bilingual student”. (The program directors), that is how they
manage it, but you have witnessed, I don't follow (the program), that is not giving liberty
to what they, the language that they feel more at ease with. If they mix it, it is fine, it
means that they are, their brain is making connections between the two languages.
Instead of, “No, it has to be in Spanish! No, say it to me all in English!”]
For Mr. Menchaca, the relationship between the two languages was tantamount to becoming bilingual. Mr. Menchaca agreed with critics that having two blocks (Spanish and English) portrayed students as, “two monolinguals in one bilingual student”. His perspective echoed
Grosjean‘s (1989) notion that emerging bilingual students are falsely positioned as, “two monolinguals in one bilingual student” (p. 3). Grosjean explained that such a view was
“fractional” and it assumed that people should develop into strong speakers of each language independently from each other. Mr. Menchaca went on to describe how his approach, “darle libertad a lo que ellos, el lenguaje que se sientan a gusto” [Translation: give them freedom to what they, the language they feel comfortable”], placed value on students right to choose their language of preference for communication.
In addition, Mr. Menchaca noted that in his classroom as in the wider community outside the classroom, code switching was a perfectly acceptable language practice and signified students’ efforts in producing language and meaning, “Si lo mezclan, está bien, quiere decir que están, su cerebro está haciendo conexiones entre los dos lenguajes” [Translation: If they mix it, it is fine, it means that they are, their brain is making connections between the two languages].
Poplack (1980) explains that a speaker code switches as s/he uses two different languages to
68 communicate a phrase, sentence, or turn. Later, Grosjean (1989) noted that those that look down on the use of both languages in one setting often viewed the coming into contact of two languages as “accidental”, a product of “carelessness” or “interference” (p. 5). However, scholars have identified code switching as a complex skill that children and adults undertake as they develop bilingual competence (Poplack, 1980; Zentella, 1997).
Mr. Menchaca’s reflection illustrates the ideological tensions of being expected to comply with certain problematic guidelines, and of also valuing code switching as a linguistic tool students can use to develop bilingualism as they draw from the powerful and the less powerful side of the development continua of biliteracy (Hornberger, 2003). Garcia (2005) warns about the potential in bilingual programs to inadvertently favor English when there is no room for engaging with both languages. From a LatCrit standpoint one needs to take into consideration how the language and experiences of Latinos have been historically omitted
(Delgado Bernal, 2002). In the case of Spanish/English bilingualism, acknowledging the hegemonic power of English over Spanish in the wider society is important to note (Fitts, 2006;
Shannon, 1995).
Theme 1: Code Switching in the Bilingual Classroom: Negotiating Conflicting Ideologies
The first subtheme: “Tenga orgullo”: Communication is Key explores how Mr.
Menchaca communicated to both his students and their parents his expectations for how languages were to be used in the context of the one-way bilingual classroom. In a one-way program students are more proficient in their heritage language, Spanish, and developing their second language, English. As a means to encourage students to use their linguistic repertoires and reflect the language practices of the community, Mr. Menchaca valued communicative skill 69 negotiation instead of a strict separation of languages for communication. The second subtheme,
“Un error muy grave”: Addressing Students’ Resistance to Code Switching explores student resistance to code switching in the multicultural children’s texts he read during the immigration unit. In addition, Mr. Menchaca sought to help students reflect upon their own ideologies behind code switching. The final subtheme Co-Constructing Bilingual and Biliteracy Development examines how students code switched in conversations to aid each other in understanding lexical meaning and figurative language.
The interactive read aloud texts were pre-selected picture books (Sipe & Brightman,
2006) aimed to assist in drawing connections from text-to-life. For a list of the picture books used in the Immigration Project see Appendix C. The books analyzed in this theme are: Xochitl and the Flowers/ Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores (Argueta, 2003) and Pancho Rabbit and the
Coyote (Tonatiuh, 2013).
“Tenga orgullo”: Communication is Key
Mr. Menchaca made it a point to inform both his student and parents about philosophy as it related to the district guidelines for language separation. Mr. Menchaca drew from his students’ linguistic knowledge through the use of code switching as a pedagogical practice to encourage communication and aid in understanding content.
Transmitting language expectations.
During Back to School Night, which took place the third week of school (September 11,
2014), Mr. Menchaca shared with his students’ parents the 50/50 dual language model expectations and his own language ideology. He stated,
70 Aquí, yo les he dicho (a los alumnos), “ningún idioma tiene preferencia”. No es de que
vamos aprender inglés lo más rápido que se pueda, no. Tienen que tener los dos, los dos
son importantes. Por eso ustedes, si ven el horario, ellos tienen un bloque en inglés y
otro bloque en español. Queremos que vayan aprendiendo los dos idiomas….Con ellos
yo tengo que tener ciertas líneas de que, “ahora tengo que hablar inglés, ahora
español”. Ellos no, ellos es el lenguaje que puedan utilizar.
(Recorded Observation, September 11, 2014)
[Translation: Here I have told them, (students), “neither language has a preference.” It is
not about how we are going to learn English as soon as possible, no. They have to have
both, both are important. That is why you, if you look at the schedule, they have a block
in English and another one in Spanish. We want them to learn both languages….With
them I have to follow certain guidelines that “now I have to speak in English, now in
Spanish”. Not them, for them it is the language they are able to employ.]
Mr. Menchaca addressed the equal status of languages in his classroom, “ningún idioma tiene preferencia”…. Tienen que tener los dos, los dos son importantes.” [Translation: “neither language has preference”....They have to have both, both are important.] In stating that both languages were equally important, Mr. Menchaca drew from both sides of the development continua of biliteracy. He valued and placed power on the micro context (use of Spanish and
English in his local community). He also took into account the powerful side of the continua where he must adhere to, macro standards by, “tengo que tener ciertas líneas de que ahora tengo que hablar inglés, ahora español” [Translation: I have to have certain guidelines that now I have to speak in English, now in Spanish”]. Therefore, for Mr. Menchaca, the goal of the program was to not only utilize the monolingual side of the continua (more powerful side) but to draw
71 from both sides of the continua of biliteracy. He understood that through the use of English and
Spanish, students would develop their bilingual and biliteracy skills (Hornberger & Link, 2012).
Mr. Menchaca wanted parents to understand that although he may be faced with requirements; those requirements should not hinder his students’ abilities to express themselves,
“Ellos no, ellos es el lenguaje que puedan utilizar.” [Translation: Not them, for them it is the language they are able to use.] Mr. Menchaca wanted his students’ parents to understand that his students had the freedom to express themselves in the language they felt most comfortable in and not feel pressured to participate in one language over another. He wanted the parents to know that he was going to encourage his students to draw on their full linguistic repertoires to make meaning in social interaction and as tools to develop content literacy (Martínez, 2010).
Just as Mr. Menchaca made his language expectations clear to the parents of his students, he also communicated his expectations to his students. During the following interaction, Mr.
Menchaca reminded his students that in this community of learners he encouraged them to participate in Spanish or English regardless of their oral language proficiency in the target language (English).
51 T: Yo los quiero animar a que hagamos toda la conversación en inglés,
[I want to encourage you all to have the whole conversation in English]
52 nuestra participación en inglés,
[our participation in English,]
53 pero no necesariamente tiene que ser,
[but it does not necessarily have to be,]
54 si alguien no se siente a gusto hablando en inglés
[if someone does not feel comfortable speaking in English]
72 55 o no puede expresar su opinión en inglés,
[or cannot express their opinion in English,]
56 ¿se va quedar callado?
[are you going to stay quiet?]
57 Ss: No
58 T: ¿Qué puede hacer?
[What can you do?]
59 S: Hablar en español.
[Speak in Spanish.]
60 T: En español, ¿verdad?
[In Spanish, right?]
61 Entonces no hay ningún problema.
[Then there is no problem.]
62 Podemos usar los dos idiomas indistintamente,
[We can use both languages without distinction,]
63 cualquiera de los dos idiomas.
[whichever of the two languages.]
64 Yo los animo a que lo hagamos en inglés
[I encourage y'all to do so in English]
65 pero no quiero que se queden callados
[but I do not want you to stay quiet]
66 o que eso les vaya afectar su participación,
[or that it will affect your participation,]
73 67 por no saber cómo expresarse.
[for not knowing how to express yourself.]
(Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
Although Mr. Menchaca encouraged his Latina/o students to speak in the target language,
English (line 51), he was also aware that they might not have the oral language proficiency to be able to do so (line 55) or may not feel comfortable in speaking the target language (line 54). By asking students if they would stay quiet if they could not express their opinion in English (line
56), Mr. Menchaca set up the expectation that students should participate regardless of their language proficiency in the target language. In line 58 Mr. Menchaca asked, “¿Qué puede hacer?” [Translation: What can you do?]. This prompted students to think of a communication strategy for being able to participate. The student followed by stating that the non-target language could be used (line 59). Mr. Menchaca did not want the target language to hinder students’ communication, as may be the case in bilingual programs that embody language separation ideology (Lindholm-Leary, 2012). In lines 62-64 Mr. Menchaca ended his turn by restating his language expectations and encouraged students to be active participants (line 65).
The data revealed Mr. Menchaca’s language ideologies as a bilingual educator. While he was working within a bilingual model that promoted separate language practices, Mr. Menchaca created “safe spaces” (García, 2004, 2005) where students were provided the opportunity to draw from their “linguistic repertoires” (Martínez, 2013, p. 279) to participate in classroom language and literacy interactions.
Facilitating language choice.
As noted in the previous section, Mr. Menchaca encouraged students to participate in
74 class discussions regardless of the target language. However, occasionally students would question the other students’ use of a language different than the language of the day or students would ask permission to use the non-target language of a subject area (i.e. mathematics in
English). In both instances, Mr. Menchaca acknowledged the tension between the macro language policy of the school and the flexible policy of his classroom and was supportive of the language choice students made. He was consistent in encouraging students to continue with the language they had selected.
An instance in which a student called into question a classmate’s choice to code switch came the second week of the project, during a whole class Spanish read aloud of Xochitl and the
Flowers/Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores (Argueta, 2003), one of the books used during the
Immigration Project. The story is about Xochitl, a girl, who emigrated from El Salvador to the
U.S. with her family. Xochitl’s family sets up a flower shop in their recently leased apartment.
During the following conversation, Mr. Menchaca had just read aloud the section in the book where the landlord returns to the Grand Opening celebration after some of the neighbors talk him into allowing Xochitl and her family to run the business from the leased apartment. Mr.
Menchaca asked the students, “¿Qué significa esta expresión? No veo a nadie cantando
(referring to the illustration). Dice, “El vivero se empieza a llenar de música”.” [Translation:
What does this expression mean? I do not see anyone singing (referring to the illustration). It says, “The yard starts to fill with music.”] After several students share their thoughts, Leo starts his response in Spanish and switches to English. Magda, a student, challenges Leo’s choice to switch to English.
156 Leo: Este, yo
[Um, I]…I think that, um, he
75 157 Magda: Dilo en español.
[Say it in Spanish.] (interrupts Leo)
158 T: No, que utilice el lenguaje que él quiera.
[No, he should utilize the language he wants.]
159 Leo: I think that everyone is happy cause there’s a lot of friendship…
160 T: Okay, so Leo, you say that there is friendship….
(Recorded Observation, February 13, 2015)
In line 156 Leo began his turn in Spanish, the language of the read aloud, and then switched to
English. Surprisingly, Leo was a student that questioned code switching in a prior conversation I had observed, but by this point, he himself was observed code switching. Magda insisted in line
157 that Leo revert to Spanish. Her comment reflected the macro or master/dominant ideology where language is commonly spoken in monolingual form. As a way of challenging the dominant language ideology of strict language separation practices, Mr. Menchaca intervened in line 158, “No, que utilice el lenguaje que él quiera.” [Translation: No, he should utilize the language he wants.]. Gort reminds us that “code switching is not done because children are deficient or confused by their two languages; rather, they are living their lives in bilingual environments where alternating between two languages is an important and, at times, necessary element of communication” (2012, p. 64). It is that very concept of communication that Mr.
Menchaca sought to encourage, the inclusion of student contributions to the conversations regardless of any restrictions. Although separate language practices had become ingrained in some of the students prior to arriving in Mr. Menchaca’s class, he continuously worked towards fostering acceptance of code switching.
As noted above, Mr. Menchaca encouraged students like Leo to choose the language in
76 which to communicate. Either through intercession or encouragement, Mr. Menchaca sought to help students build ownership of their emerging bilingual fluency. In the following example Mr.
Menchaca encouraged David to make a language choice for an interview with a children’s book author.
During the second week of the project, Mr. Menchaca also arranged a Skype interview with Duncan Tonatiuh, the author of Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale (2013).
Duncan is a well-known Mexican-American author whose work has received numerous awards for his authentic texts. This particular book, Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale, received the 2014 Pura Belpré Award for narrative and illustration and the 2014 Tomás Rivera
Mexican American Children's Book Award for its portrayal of the Mexican American experience. Being that Duncan Tonatiuh is an accessible author and that the students had listened to some of his work, Mr. Menchaca thought he would be the ideal author for his class to interview via a web conference platform. Addressing the class during the Immigration Project,
Duncan revealed he grew up transnational, sharing his time between Mexico and the United
States.
Prior to the Skype interview, Mr. Menchaca asked students to write one question they would like to ask Duncan. Students wrote their questions in Spanish, except for David who wrote his question in English. When it was David’s turn to ask the author a question, he hesitated and asked Mr. Menchaca what language he should pose his question in.
212 David: ¿En inglés?
[In English?]
213 T: Tenga orgullo, fuerte.
[Have pride, speak up.]
77 214 S: Inglés
[English]
215 Gabriel: Loud, loud, loud, loud
216 David: Hola [Hello] Señor Duncan Tonatiuh.
217 Author: Hola [Hello]
218 David: What inspired you to do books like Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote?
219 Author: What inspired me to do books like Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote?
220 David: (confirms by nodding his head)....
221 Author: Reading is what inspired me....
222 the story of Pancho
223 maybe it reminds you of a story like The Little Red Riding Hood or The
Gingerbread Man.
224 But it may also remind you of stories you have heard of your family or friend…
225 Because a lot of the things that Pancho goes through
226 like riding on top of a train...
227 crossing the river...
228 are things that people go through to reach the U.S….
229 ¿Otra pregunta?, another question? (Recorded Observation, February 13, 2015)
David unsure of what language to pose the question in, asked Mr. Menchaca for guidance in
Spanish (line 212). In line 213 Mr. Menchaca responded, “Tenga orgullo, fuerte.” [Have pride, speak up.] Mr. Menchaca could have suggested that David use Spanish. However, he made it clear that it was David’s right to choose. During a prior interview with Mr. Menchaca, he had shared with me that David was a high achieving student who was more dominant in English than
78 Spanish. In line 214 a student suggested that he speak English. Piggybacking on Mr.
Menchaca’s utterance of “Tenga orgullo, fuerte,” Gabriel cheered David on to speak “loud, loud, loud, loud,” (line 215). In line 216 David greeted the author in Spanish and in line 217 the author responded in the same language. David then posed his question in English (line 218) and the author restated his question in English (line 219). In both interactions Duncan followed the leader, or interlocutor. In her ethnography, Zentella (1997) illustrated how bilinguals take into account their audience’s linguistic repertoires, speak to them based on their acquired knowledge about that individual’s linguistic abilities, and “follow the leader (p. 88)”. With the help of Mr.
Menchaca and Duncan Tonatiuh, David was learning these communicative skills.
“Un error muy grave”: Addressing Students’ Resistance to Code Switching
Although Mr. Menchaca encouraged, modeled, and reminded students that the use of both languages was perfectly acceptable, there were times when some of the students were not always open to the idea of code switching. As shown previously, students such as Magda tried to discourage peers from code switching during conversations. What follows is how students responded to code switching choices made by authors in the books that were read during the
Immigration Project.
Code switching and comprehension.
During the English whole class read aloud of Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: An
Immigrant’s Tale (Tonatiuh, 2013) students noted that the author’s use of code switching affected their ability to comprehend the story. The story is about Pancho, a young rabbit, who after waiting in vain for the return of his father from the U.S. enlists the help of a Coyote to
79 traverse the border landscape and find his father (See description of book in Chapter 3). At this critical juncture, only a couple of sentences into the story, the students voiced their concerns about code switching in the text Mr. Menchaca read aloud.
One spring the rains did not come and the crops could not grow. So Papá Rabbit, Señor
Rooster, Señor Ram, and other animals from the rancho set out north to find work in the
great carrot and lettuce fields. (Tonatiuh, 2013)
132 Gabriel: Maestro, dicen palabras en español y en inglés.
[Teacher, they say words in Spanish and English.]
133 Leo: No le estoy entendiendo hasta aquí.
[I have not understood anything up to this point.]
134 S: Uh huh... (Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
In line 132 Gabriel brought to Mr. Menchaca’s attention that the first two sentences of the story used both languages. At this point in the story, three Spanish words had been read aloud (Papá,
Señor, and rancho) and all other words were in English. Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A
Migrant’s Tale (Tonatiuh, 2013) is written in English, largely a monolingual text with some
Spanish words added (Keller, 1984; Lipski, 1982). Lipski explains that in some cases “the
Spanish words that crop up from time to time are frequently common to the lexicon of most
Americans and serve as cultural/ethnic markers and not necessarily as part of a well-integrated bilingual grammar” (1982, p. 195), the words, Papá, Señor, and rancho were not immediately translated but instead were meant for the reader to “infer” (Lopez-Flores, 2006) their meanings from the context. This exploration of bilingualism in texts and code switching is considered lexical interlingualism (Bruce-Novoa, 1990) where the author does not necessarily maintain the two languages as separate codes but instead provides “reservoirs of primary material to be
80 molded together as needed, naturally in the manner of common speech” (p. 50). In other words,
Papá, Señor, and rancho technically are not confusing and easy to discern in context. However,
Gabriel in line 133 made clear that he was struggling to comprehend the story. This lapse in comprehension was troubling since Mr. Menchaca had identified Leo as a high academic achieving student with strong bilingualism during a debriefing of the lesson (February 2, 2015).
Leo’s peer echoed his stance in line 134. When the class analyzed together the two sentences that Mr. Menchaca had read aloud, students admitted struggling with the phrases “one spring rains did not come”, and “set out north”. Students needed to understand that the general word
“spring” was referring to a season and not an object and that “did not come” was referring to the rain. In addition, they needed to know that “set out north” was referring to the character in the story needing to move north of where they were. These phrases are difficult to understand because of the use of ordinary words for abstractions presented in the story. In continuing the conversation, Daniel noted the use of Spanish and English in the book was problematic.
138 Daniel: Ese libro tiene el mismo problema que el (trabajo) de Vicente (y
Gerónimo)
[That book has the same problem as Vicente and Gerónimo’s work]
139 porque están hablando del inglés y de español.
[because they are talking about English and Spanish.]
(Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
In line 138 Daniel identified the book as having “the same problem” as Vicente and Gerónimo’s work. The previous school day, students were paired up to co-write a text and purposely make writing errors that would later be edited by the whole class. The goal was to learn to proofread.
In their composition Vicente and Gerónimo had intentionally code switched in Spanish and
81 English and when their peers analyzed their writing, a student commented on their use of code switching as, “un error muy grave” (“a very grave error”). Building off of the concept of code switching in writing as an error in line 139 Daniel positioned the story’s code switching as flawed just as Vicente and Gerónimo’s co-written piece was. As the conversation continued, the students took a stance that two languages should not be used simultaneously for writing purposes.
140 Gabriel: No le entiendo porque dice palabras en inglés y en español
[I do not understand because it says words in English and Spanish]
141 y también porque si está en México tiene que escribir en español.
[and also because if he is in México he has to write in Spanish.]
142 Alejandra: Es que ese es un libro Mexicano y se escribe también como…
[It’s because it is a Mexican book and you also write like…]
143 Ana: Inglés
[English]
144 Alejandra: Inglés y español.
[English and Spanish.] (Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
Just as Daniel indicated earlier, Gabriel explained that the reason for his lack of comprehension was the use of both languages (line 140) simultaneously. More importantly in this excerpt the students posit that the language of the text is not accurate for the setting. In line 141 Gabriel stated his linguistic ideological stance, “si está en México tiene que escribir en español.”
[Translation: if he is in Mexico he has to write in Spanish.] Gabriel made a connection to the setting in the text, Mexico, therefore, he believed that the author should write in Spanish and not code switch. This ideological stance of one-language/one-nation (Hornberger, 2000, Woolard
82 and Schieffelin, 1994) is evident in Gabriel’s remark where he attributes México to have an official language, Spanish for one-people. Alejandra chimed in (lines 142 & 144) and clarified the author’s use of both languages as a possibility for bilingualism to exist in Mexico, “Es que ese es un libro Mexicano y se escribe también como…Inglés y español [Translation: It’s because it is a Mexican book and you also write like…English and Spanish]. Even though Alejandra’s linguistic ideological stance differed from Gabriel’s one-language/one-nation point of view, she posed the possibility of a Mexican book as being bilingual, with the inclusion of code switches.
Questioning language ideologies.
Just as students questioned the use of code switches in narratives, they also viewed code switching in conversations as incorrect. Recognizing these differing ideologies, Mr. Menchaca pressed his students to articulate their thinking by posing questions. In the following excerpt he addressed one student, Leo, because he had made the claim that the code switching in the story
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale (Tonatiuh, 2013) was wrong. Mr. Menchaca also referenced the author’s intrasentential (Zentella, 1997) use of code switching (line 162) in the second line of the story, “So Papá Rabbit, Señor Rooster, Señor Ram, and other animals from the rancho set out north to find work in the great carrot and lettuce fields” (Tonatiuh, 2013).
161 T: You said there is something wrong
162 because it is written in English and it is using some words in Spanish.
163 When we do that,
164 do you mean that we are wrong when we use English and Spanish?
165 Leo: Sometimes
166 T: Why Leo?
83 167 Why are we wrong if I we use English and Spanish?
168 Do I have to stick to one language?
169 Do I have to just say everything in English and say everything in Spanish
170 or can I use both?
171 S: Both (Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
In line 163 Mr. Menchaca referenced the classroom community’s use of code switching by using the signal word “we”, “we do that...we are wrong...we use English and Spanish?”. Leo asserted his position that “sometimes” you are wrong if you code switch. Similarly, Martínez (2009) found that the students in his ethnographic study of a sixth grade classroom in East Los Angeles explained their code switching in terms of deficiency. Martínez’ participants attributed code switching as improper language use, without recognizing the influence of notions of power among the languages. In lines 166, “Why?” and 167, “Why are we wrong if I we use English and Spanish?” Mr. Menchaca referred to the societal “we” and asked in lines 168, “Do I have to stick to one language?” and in line 169 also asked, “Do I have to just say everything in English and say everything in Spanish?” In this way, the oppressive view of the collective “we” in society was implied and the rights of the “I” for immigrant individuals was articulated by Mr.
Menchaca for Leo and the class to consider. Finally, Mr. Menchaca asked Leo and students to consider if repetition or using both languages simultaneously (line 170) was preferable. In response to whether or not you could use both languages simultaneously a student agreed that both could be used (line 171). However, Leo did not directly answer Mr. Menchaca’s probe about why English and Spanish could not be used together. His classmate answered the question based on the options given. Nonetheless, Leo provided further rationale for his stance to Mr.
Menchaca detailing his language ideology at this point in the school year and provided
8 4 background information from his experiences in first grade about how his ideology developed.
172 Leo: You can write like books in English and Spanish
173 but, you can’t write them in English and Spanish.
174 T: You cannot?
175 Why not?
176 Leo: ‘Cause when I was with Mrs. Jones (his first grade teacher)
177 she said, “When we are talking with something in Spanish,
178 we cannot go and do it again in English.”
179 T: So you cannot be mixing both languages?
180 So she wants you to start the conversation in English and finish it in English?
181 If you start the conversation in Spanish, you finish it in Spanish?
182 Leo: (Nods head in agreement) (Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
In line 172 Leo provided a rationale for language separation. He said that books could be written in either language, “in English and Spanish”, but not through the use of intersentential or intrasentential code switching (line 173). The teacher queried his stance by asking “You cannot?” (line 174) and asked for justification, “Why not?” (line 175). In lines 176-178 Leo explained that based on his prior schooling experience, “Mrs. Jones (his first grade teacher)” had told him, “When we are talking with something in Spanish, we cannot go and do it again in
English.” It could have been that Leo’s first grade teacher was referring to the inefficiency of translating and repeating what is said in one language to another. To clarify what Leo meant, in line 179, Mr. Menchaca asked him if he was referring to code switching. Mr. Menchaca double- checked to make sure he was referring to Mrs. Jones’ view of language separation and not translation. Leo confirmed that he was referring to code switching as he nodded his head in
85 agreement to Mr. Menchaca’s three questions (lines 180-182). Clearly Leo understood the language ideology in first grade differed from the language ideology in second grade and was able to communicate his dilemma.
Through these exchanges Mr. Menchaca encouraged his students to think about their language ideologies. These ideologies were discussed during and after Pancho Rabbit and the
Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale (Tonatiuh, 2013) was read. In the continuance of the conversation regarding the author’s choice, Magda provided her ideas.
183 Magda: Maybe like that book.
184 The one who write it,
185 is a little bit of Mexican.
186 Maybe he meant to write it in Spanish
187 so he can put a little bit in English and a little bit in Spanish.
(Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
Magda pointed out that the author’s identity, “a little bit of Mexican” (line 185) was the reason he purposefully wrote, “a little bit in English and a little bit in Spanish” (line 187). Previously
Mr. Menchaca had mentioned how Duncan Tonatiuh was a transnational person, growing up in
Mexico and studying in the U.S. during high school and college. Magda understood that
Tonatiuh navigated two worlds and two languages. As a result, for her, he was “a little bit of
Mexican”.
Mr. Menchaca summarized discussion to this point. He restated the language ideology of the second grade classroom and checked in with Leo because it was his noticing of different ideologies that prompted the class discussion.
189 T: Leo, I don’t think there is something wrong when you use English and
86 Spanish.
190 We are bilingual,
191 we are able to use it.
192 For example, when you go to Mrs. Johnson,
193 do you talk to her in Spanish?
194 Leo: No
195 T: No right,
196 you do it in English
197 because you know that Mrs. Johnson is...going to be able to understand you...
198 but when you come to me,
199 do you talk to me in English or in Spanish?
200 Leo: Spanish
201 Gabriel: Both
202 Leo: Both
203 T: You use both.
204 My point is that you can use both languages
205 but, I know you are really smart
206 and you can say, “This person talks to me in English
207 so I am going to talk to her in English,
208 or this person is bilingual,
209 so I can use both languages.
210 Lo que no quiero
[What I do not want]
87 211 es que ustedes se sientan mal,
[is for you all to feel bad,]
212 por usar los dos idiomas.
[for using both languages.]
213 Los podemos usar.
[We can use them.]
(Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
Mr. Menchaca directed his comment (line 189) at Leo, to check in on separate language practices
(lines 172-173) that he had retained from first grade. Leo aligned his stance of language separation with his first grade teacher. These views fall on the more powerful side of the context continua in which macro language structures privilege society’s dominant language, English
(Hornberger & Link, 2012). Mr. Menchaca restated a stance on code switching, “I don’t think there is anything wrong when you use English and Spanish”. In line 190, Mr. Menchaca added that as a bilingual speaker, he is able to use both languages (line 191). In lines 192-193, Mr.
Menchaca asked Leo if he would speak in Spanish to an English monolingual speaker, Mrs.
Johnson. In line 197, Mr. Menchaca explained that the reason why he would not talk to an
English monolingual speaker in Spanish was because, as a speaker, Leo knew the speaker’s language repertoire and would be responsive to their abilities. Mr. Menchaca went on to identify himself as a bilingual speaker (line 199) and asked Leo what language he used to communicate with him. Leo first responded Spanish (line 200) and then when Gabriel responded that they speak to him in both languages, Leo also responded “both” (line 202). In line 204 Mr. Menchaca pointed out that bilingual speakers (line 204), are able to differentiate (line 205) between an
English monolingual speaker (lines 206-207) and a bilingual speaker (lines 208-209). He ended
88 the conversation with letting them know that they should not be ashamed of their bilingual speaking abilities (lines 210-212) and of their right to use both languages (line 213). Mr.
Menchaca’s objective was to transition the students from considering code switching to be a shameful practice (line 211) or to view the use of both language as crutch-like communication
(Zentella, 1997). Other researchers agree that too often any inability to use one language without resorting to filling in with another language is positioned as deficient by the majoritarian discourses that privilege purism and standardization (Lippi-Green, 2012).
As Leo (line 133), Daniel (line 138), and Gabriel (line 140) voiced in the conversation above, they struggled with Mr. Menchaca’s literature choices that used a divergent script that integrated code switching within the text (Hornberger & Link 2012). In selecting Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale (Tonatiuh, 2013), Mr. Menchaca invited students to notice language mixing in literature and discuss the appropriateness of authors, speakers, and readers to use a wide range of linguistic resources to communicate. Mr. Menchaca opted to probe (lines
163-164, 167-170, 175, and 179-181) into the students’ ideological notions of language practices
(lines 138-139 and 176-178) when the students attributed their lack of comprehension to the code switching. By the end of the discussion students learned that second grade was different than first grade, that code switches are appropriate forms of communication orally and in writing, that bilinguals are responsive to interlocutors that are monolingual. In these ways students could think more deeply about the choices of authors and their own choices. In the research literature thinking about linguistic choices is referred to as metalinguistics, a competency that is important for bilingual/biliterate learners to develop (Reyes, 2006).
89 Co-Constructing Bilingual and Biliteracy Development
The goal of the one-way bilingual program in which Mr. Menchaca taught was to develop bilingualism through the separation of languages during instruction. As Gort notes, some programs prescribe these separations to foster parallel development for each language, however “these institutional constraints might actually restrict possibilities for children’s multilingual potential.” (2012, p. 67). In spite of the programmatic mandates, above all, Mr.
Menchaca valued the development of bilingualism and encouraged his students to use both languages, simultaneously if needed, to negotiate meaning, learn content, language and develop literacy during the "language-related episodes (LREs)" (Swain & Lapkin, 1998). What follows are examples of students engaging in meaning negotiation during literacy activities while employing both languages simultaneously.
“Dangerous”: Lexical queries.
Peer support was a literacy approach that Mr. Menchaca employed in order to encourage language learning in a meaningful context such as response to literature in oral and written forms. Over time students code switched to help peers with understanding of characters and actions in read alouds or in lexical oriented queries when writing responses to the interactive read aloud prompts. In the excerpt of a read aloud below Alejandra, a student, is responding to the English writing prompt (Why is Pancho Rabbit the only one looking for Papá Rabbit?). As
Alejandra wrote a response to the prompt, she asked the peers in her table group for help with a word.
312 Alejandra: ¿Cómo se dice peligroso en inglés? (directed at the students at her
table) [How do you say dangerous in English?]
90 313 Magda: Um, peligroso se llama este:::: . . .
[dangerous is called um…]
314 Gabriel: Deenger-res, deenger-res (long e vowel pronounced as dinˈʤʊˌrɛz)
315 Magda: Um, Dangerous (long a sound)
316 Yesenia: Dangerous (Directed at Gabriel)
317 Magda: Dangerous (Directed at Gabriel)
318 Gabriel: Deenger-res, deenger-res (Spanish /i/ sound, emphasis on the /r/)
319 Yesenia: No,
320 se dice asi, da::::ngerous”
[you say it like this]
321 No deenger-res (long e sound) (Directed at Gabriel)
322 Magda: Yo no dije eso. (Directed at Yesenia)
[I did not say that.]
323 Yesenia: Dangerous. Pues [well]. . . . (whispers) (10 second pause)
324 Alejandra: ¿Drangerous o cómo [how]?
325 Magda: Dangerous
326 Yesenia: Dan:ger
327 Alejandra: ¿Cómo [How] Magdalena?
328 Magda: Dangerous
329 Gabriel: Danger-rous (long a sound), deenger-rous (Spanish /i/ sound),
deenger-rous (Spanish /i/ sound), (1.0) dee::::nger::::rous (Spanish /i/ sound)
(Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
Alejandra’s request for translation from her peers is situated in the less powerful side of the
91 continua because the request was oral and in Spanish (line 312) rather than in the targeted and dominant school language, English. The interactions at the table illustrated how emerging bilingual classmates assisted one another with writing responses to a read aloud prompt. The writing response activity provided opportunities for students to co-construct and scaffold language development (Martin-Beltran, 2010). Magda began to answer Alejandra’s query but hesitated as she searched for the English translation in line 313. Gabriel who was also Spanish dominant contributed his lexical knowledge toward the end of Magda’s utterance. As indicated in line 314 Gabriel’s pronunciation of the long /a/ in “dangerous” came in the form of an English long /e/ similar to the Spanish /i/ vowel sound, “Deenger-rous” with an /r/ inflection similar to a
/rr/ in Spanish. Gabriel's pronunciation of the first diphthong in “dangerous” as a Spanish /i/ vowel sound is described by Perez (1994) as monophthongization, where the diphthong, two sounds in a long /a/, is reduced to a single vowel. Perez attributes this phenomenon to a tendency of language learners producing their Spanish vowels in their “pure forms” (1994, p.
247). August attributes these pronunciations to the influence of the first language when emerging bilinguals “have not broadened their listening skills to include English sounds” (2003, p. 11). In line 329 it is evident that Gabriel was working through the long /a/ vowel pronunciation, “Danger-rous (long a sound), deenger-rous (Spanish /i/ sound), deenger-rous
(Spanish /i/ sound), dee::::nger::::rous (Spanish /i/ sound)”. As he listened to both Yesenia’s and
Magda’s pronunciation (lines 326, 328), he pronounced “dangerous” correctly the first time, but as he continued to repeat the word the next three times he reverted to his Spanish /i/ vowel pronunciation for the long /a/ vowel sound.
In the classroom bilingual interactional space where Alejandra’s group negotiated meaning, Gabriel both contributed to the lexical function of the group work (lines 314, 318, and
92 329) and also drew from his peers’ phonological expertise as they presented him and Alejandra with the standard English pronunciation (lines 315-317, 320, 323, 325, and 328) of “dangerous”.
In line 324 Alejandra verified what she heard, “¿Drangerous o cómo?” [Dangerous or how?].
Alejandra asked Mónica to pronounce “dangerous” once more (line 327). The interaction demonstrates the process of co-construction through individual language expertise, where students drew on their distinct linguistic repertoires as they aided in meaning making. The students in this interaction used their ability to communicate in both languages as
“communication and cognitive tools” (Swain & Lapkin, 1998). Figure 4.1 shows that
Alejandra’s work was a product of emerging bilinguals’ translational teamwork as seen on the last word of her response “drendest” (dangerous).
Figure 4.1: Dangerous
(Artifact, February 2, 2015)
Alejandra’s response to the English prompt shows she was able to approximate spelling of
English words. Alejandra’s written response also showed comprehension of the story. At this point in the story, Pancho Rabbit, his family, and friends waited for the return of Papá Rabbit.
When Papá Rabbit does not arrive, Pancho Rabbit sneaks out of the house to look for him. 93 Analysis of Alejandra’s writing indicates that she is at the within word pattern stage of her English writing. According to Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston (2016) this is exactly where we would expect second grade speakers to be. Therefore, Alejandra is on track in the development of English. Students in the within word pattern stage tend to struggle with long vowel patterns, r-influenced vowels, three-letter blends and digraphs, silent consonants, homophones, homograph, and diphthongs.
Alejandra’s writing response reveals that she has acquired several English high-frequency words such as, is, for, because, and, he, the, and in (Fry, 2000). In regards to the sight word his, in her three uses of the word, towards the end of her response she spells the word correctly. In the first two instances she represented the short /i/ sound with the letter e. This indicates that this might be one vowel sound that Mr. Menchaca could work on by using a word sort where she can differentiate between the short /i/ and short /e/ vowel sounds. Another vowel pattern that
Alejandra needs to work on is the long /i/ vowel pattern as noted in her spelling “niht” for night.
Alejandra has an understanding that the long /i/ spelling for this word contains the h but needs to work on adding the g to correctly spell the word using igh. In addition, as noted above, students in the within word pattern stage need practice with diphthongs. Alejandra approximated the high-frequency word, about, and wrote “abut”. This is another spelling pattern that she needs to develop.
In analyzing her use of the word “lookieng”, one can see that she knows how to spell the sight word look but does not yet understand the inflectional ending ing. The inflectional ending is a spelling pattern that students in a more advanced stage, syllables and affixes stage, would work on (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2016).
Spanish, her first language, also influenced her writing. This is easily noted in the
94 approximation spelling of the word cares as “quers”. In Spanish, the phonemes /ke/ sound like the first English syllable, “ca”, in “care”. In Spanish, the phonemes are spelled with the syllable que. One way to support her in understanding the hard /c/ sound would be do to a word sort with the soft /c/ sound. Another way to support Alejandra in her current spelling stage would be to provide a word study of the r-influenced vowel patterns ar, are, and air.
As noted in the conversation above, Alejandra was assisted by several of her classmates in identifying the translation for “peligroso” [dangerous] (line 315). The word was pronounced correctly seven times (lines 315-317, 320, 323, 325, and 328) and once more on line 329 by
Gabriel, who consistently struggled with the pronunciation. However, Alejandra heard the pronunciation of the word as “drangerous” (line 324) which she phonetically recorded as
“drendest”. Alejandra used her linguistic resources in Spanish and English plus peer assistance to communicate her understanding of the story. She communicated in writing her inference of
Pancho Rabbit’s actions in leaving in the middle of the night to find his father, Papá Rabbit, to her audience (Mr. Menchaca).
In analyzing Alejandra’s verbal interactions with peers and her writing response, the table arrangement provided opportunities for students’ language and writing skills to develop in this moment and throughout the Immigration Project. On the continua of biliteracy, Hornberger
(2003) theorized that the development of biliteracy is achieved by drawing from the traditionally less powerful side: L1, oral, and receptive as well as the traditionally more powerful side: L2, written, and production. Through these interactions we see how Alejandra and her peers drew from multiple points on the continua in regards to producing oral language: Spanish (lines 312-
313, 319, 322, and 327), English (lines 314-318, 325-326, and 328-329), and code switching
(lines 320-321 and 324). In addition, students were receptive to the oral language their peers
95 produced. An example of this taking place is noted in line 324 when Alejandra confirms what she heard, “¿Drangerous o cómo?” and in line 327 where she asks Magdalena to repeat the word once more. In addition, students were not only provided opportunities for oral language development through peer assistance but they were also provided opportunities to develop their writing skills by responding to the interactive read aloud prompts.
“Clavado en tu corazón”: Understanding figurative language.
Meaning making as a social act occurred during the “language related episodes” in small groups as shown above but it also happened in whole class interactions during reading and writing discussions. In the following excerpt, Mr. Menchaca guided the students in writing a composite testimony story based on the immigration experience interviews that the class conducted with four of the class parents. Prior to the discussion presented in the excerpt, the class had discussed each of the interviews and talked about the parents’ experiences prior to immigrating, the immigration journey, and life in the U.S. The students worked in groups and wrote down key characteristics on large Post-it notes, from each of the parents’ immigration experience. During this part of the project, the teacher asked the students to negotiate which of the Post-it notes should be used for the composite testimony story.
176 T: Sabían que iban a extrañar a sus familiares (reads a group’s Post-it note)
[They knew they would miss their relatives]
177 pero los tenían clavados en su corazón.
[but they kept them close in their hearts]
178 ¿Les parece bien la secuencia? . . .
[Does the sequence seem right to you?]
96 179 Luciano: Yo no estoy de acuerdo.
[I don’t agree.]
180 T: Luciano, ¿por qué no?
[Why not?]
181 Luciano: Porque si estuviera clavado en tu corazón pues ya vas a estar muerto.
[Because if it were impaled in your heart, well then you would already be dead.]
182 Leo: No te hagas el chistoso, (turns around and gives eye contact to his peer)
[Quit playing the silly one.]
183 no está…
[he is not …]
184 Agustín: No un clavo de verdad, (interrupts)
[Not a real nail]
185 dentro de tu corazón
[inside your heart]
186 Juan: Es sentido figurado
[It’s a figurative sense]
187 Agustín: It means that nunca te vas olvidar de nadie.
[It means that you will never forget anyone.]
188 Leo: Porque los tienes en tu corazón,
[Because you have them in your heart,]
189 allí están,
[they are there]
190 where you remember it. (Recorded Observation, March 12, 2015)
97 Luciano voiced his concern with the choice of words (lines 179 and 181), “si estuviera clavado en tu corazón pues, ya vas a estar muerto.” [Translation: If it were impaled in your heart, well then you would already be dead.] and Leo, in a jokingly manner (lines 182 and 183) told
Luciano, “No te hagas el chistoso, no está…” [Translation: Quit playing the silly one, he is not…]. Leo did not realize that Luciano was understanding “clavado” [impaled] in a literal sense, lodged deep inside one’s heart. Just like Leo, Agustín showed a nuanced understanding of the word and provided an additional explanation noting that they were not referencing “clavado” as in “nailed” in one's heart (lines 184 and 185). Adding to the group’s understanding of the word “clavado”, Juan explained that the word was being used as a literary device “es sentido figurado” [it’s a figurative sense] (line 186). The concept of language learners taking figurative language or idiomatic expressions in a literal sense, has been documented by several scholars
(Ariza, Morales-Jones, Yahya, & Zainuddin, 2010; Zwiers, 2014). At the end of the transcript both Agustín (line 187) and Leo (lines 188 and 190) sum up the meaning of “clavado” using both Spanish and English intrasententially. Leo drew from the less powerful side of the continua
(L1 and oral) and the more powerful side (production), “Porque los tienes en tu corazón, allí están…” [Translation: Because you have them in your heart, they are there…] and then drew from the more powerful side (L2 and production) and less powerful side (oral), “where you remember it”. In drawing from both sides of the continua, Agustín and Leo mediated Luciano’s understanding by contextualizing how figurative language functions. The interaction demonstrates how in this social learning environment the students were able to draw from both sides of the development continua of biliteracy as they taught each other and developed an understanding of figurative language.
98 Summary
The first theme in the Immigration Project, Code Switching in the Bilingual Classroom:
Negotiating Conflicting Ideologies, considered the complexity of linguistic development through knowledge production. Examples of discourse between Mr. Menchaca and his students as well as discourse among second grade peers, showed instances of resistance to code switching as an acceptable language practice. While some students resisted the use of simultaneous language use, others drew from their linguistic repertoire, particularly code switching, to construct and co- construct meaningful responses to literature in oral and written forms. In addition, Mr.
Menchaca and his students drew from multiple points on the continua of biliteracy to develop bilingualism and biliteracy. Mr. Menchaca addressed Garcia and Wei’s (2014) call for educators to sustain students’ first language and redress language inequalities with biliteracy as the end goal.
Mr. Menchaca was deliberate in questioning dominant ideologies of language separation practices that were handed down as requirements from a top-down model in his school.
Sometimes his intentional questions made students such as Leo uncomfortable. However, caring literacy as expressed by teachers and peers has been shown to transform ideologies that students appropriate from the dominant society (Fránquiz, 2002). Mr. Menchaca would also question his students’ claims about the use of code switching in oral and written forms. Learning to resist and challenge the dominant deficit views of code switching was accomplished through the use of children’s literature. As the final arbiter in this classroom (Menken and Garcia, 2010), Mr.
Menchaca recognized and intentionally planned to have his students practice their right to communicate in the language of their choice. Notably, he worked to position code switching as transformational resistance (Solorzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001) in order to counteract 99 hegemonic language ideologies (Martínez, 2013).
100 Theme 2: Texts as a Reflective Tool
Theme two describes how the students and the teacher, Mr. Menchaca, drew from their lived experiential knowledge to learn about language structures, characters, plots and events presented in interactive read aloud stories (Sipe, 2008) throughout an Immigration Project. The immigration texts were pre-selected picture books (Maloch & Beutel, 2010) aimed to assist in drawing connections from text-to-life. For a complete list of the Spanish and English picture books read aloud in the Immigration Project see Appendix C. The books analyzed in this theme were interactively read aloud and will be presented in this dissertation section in the order listed:
My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aquí hasta allá (Pérez, 2002), My Shoes and I (Colato
Laínez, 2010), Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado (Anzaldúa, 1993), Xochitl and the Flowers/ Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores (Argueta, 2003), and Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote
(Tonatiuh, 2013).
In addition to reading aloud books, Mr. Menchaca also integrated writing responses throughout the Immigration Project. In adhering to the district dual language requirements, writing prompts were carefully planned out and were based on the language of instruction and the language of the selected read aloud. If Mr. Menchaca read a story aloud in Spanish, then students wrote a response to a writing prompt he posed to them in Spanish. Consequently, if the read aloud took place in English, then the writing prompt was also in English. However, students were also provided choice in responding in their language(s) of preference as needed. A total of 14 responses were collected during the Immigration Project: 10 of the responses were for the books read aloud in Spanish and four responses for the books read aloud in English.
Since connections to characters and events were frequently documented, the theme text as a reflective tool developed. Three main subthemes were prominent through the analysis of 101 data related to this theme: a) Students Making Text-to-Life Connections, b) Teacher Text-to-Life
Connections, and c) Nuancing Lexical Meanings. The first subtheme examines the connections students made between their experiential knowledge and the text. Students made connections to community members’ immigration experience and recalled microaggressions they had experienced. The second subtheme addresses how the teacher responded to students’ inquiries about his experiences as an immigrant and shared his transnational experiences in connecting to the interactive read alouds. The last subtheme analyzes the lexical meanings of homonyms such as, papeles and coyote in oral and written form.
Students Making Text-to-Life Connections
One of the approaches employed during interactive read alouds was for Mr. Menchaca’s students to draw on their background or experiential knowledge. Solórzano and Delgado Bernal define experiential knowledge as the “the lived experiences of the students of color by including such methods as storytelling, family history, biographies, scenarios, parables, testimonios, cuentos, consejos, chronicles, and narratives” (2001, p. 314). Mr. Menchaca, invited students to share their experiential knowledge during pauses in classroom read alouds of children's books or during discussions after the reading. Students made connections with past experiences, transnational experiences, and textual experiences.
Mr. Menchaca understood the importance of being connected to his students and made the conscientious choice of living in the same community, an asset for students of color recommended by researchers (Irizarry & Antrop-González, 2008; Kozol, 1990: Ladson Billings,
1994). Consequently, he had a comprehensive knowledge of his students’ lived realities (Gay,
2010). Over his nine years of teaching in the same school he had acquired knowledge of the
102 families that had come through his classroom. This knowledge greatly aided him in building confianza (mutual trust) with his students’ families.
Longing for the people left behind.
What follows are a few examples of instances where Mr. Menchaca prompted his students to share about having recently moved to the U.S. either as immigrants or returning after having lived in México most of their childhood. These prompts were meant to elicit text-to-life connections.
During the Spanish interactive read aloud of My Diary from Here to There/Mi Diario de
Aquí Hasta Allá (Pérez, 2002), Mr. Menchaca paused to invite the students to draw parallels with the feelings of the protagonist, Amada, who was coping with having her immediate family all together in the U.S. but leaving her extended family behind (See description of the story in
Chapter 3).
72 T: (Amada) Está contenta porque en cierta manera su familia va estar
allá (in the U.S.)
[She is happy because in a way, her family is going to be over
there]
73 Pero algunas personas...tienen que dejar su familia allá (México).
[But some people…have to leave their family over there]
74 Le voy hacer una pregunta a Benjamín.
[I am going to ask Benjamín a question.]
75 Benjamín, tú acabas de llegar a Estados Unidos, ¿verdad?
[Benjamín, you just came to the United States, right?]
103 76 ¿Dejaste familiares allá?
[You left your family over there?]
77 Benjamín: Muchos
[Many]
78 T: ¿Cómo te hace sentir eso, Benjamín?
[How does that make you feel?]
79 Benjamín: Un poco triste.
[A little sad.]
80 T: ¿Por qué?
[Why?]
81 Benjamín: Aquí, nada más tengo un tío.
[Here, I only have one uncle.]
82 T: Entonces, eso te hace sentir un poco triste.
[So that makes you feel a little sad.]
83 Daniel, tú también.
[Daniel, you too]
84 No hace mucho que llegaste, ¿verdad?
[It hasn’t been long since you got here, right?]
85 ¿Tú dejaste tu familia allá?
[You left your family over there?]
86 Daniel: Dejé a mi abuelita y hasta mis tíos y mis tías.
[I left my grandma and even my uncles and aunts.]
87 T: ¿Cómo te hace sentir eso?
104 [How does that make you feel?]
88 Daniel: Triste
[Sad]
89 T: ¿Por qué?
[Why?]
90 Daniel: Porque no los puedo ver tanto.
[Because I cannot see them much.]
(Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
In lines 72-74 Mr. Menchaca juxtaposed the experience of Amada, the protagonist in the story, with that of the students in his class. Doing so required knowledge of his students and also the wherewithal to create and provide a safe environment where the students would take up the invitation to share their private experiences and emotions. Through this interaction, we come to understand the social network of support that students may or may not have as they settle and acculturate in the U.S. For example, by asking Benjamin (line 76) and Daniel (line 83) about their recent immigration to the U.S., the class comes to learn that Benjamin only has an uncle in the U.S. (line 83) and that Daniel has left behind his grandmother, uncles, and aunts (line 86).
As a result of this separation, both children indicated that they felt sad as noted in lines 79 and
88. Suárez-Orozco and Suárez-Orozco (2008) describe the importance of having a social network of meaningful relationships, such as family and friends, school staff, and churches.
Through this interaction, Mr. Menchaca became aware of the social network available to his students. As a teacher, Mr. Menchaca can be supportive of his students by developing a strong relationship with them, fostering a caring community where students can develop positive relationships with one another, and cultivate a strong relationship with his students’ parents.
105 As the conversation continued, Mr. Menchaca called on Gabriel whom he knew was a recent arrival from Mexico. Gabriel offered another perspective on the immigration experience of a transnational child.
90 T: O, Gabriel, tú también.
[Oh, Gabriel, you too.]
91 Tú no naciste aquí, ¿verdad?
[You weren’t born here, right?]
92 Gabriel: Sí, nací aquí.
[Yes, I was born here.]
93 T: Pero te tuviste que regresar.
[But you had to return.]
94 ¿Cómo te hace sentir eso?
[How does that make you feel?]
95 Gabriel: Dejé a tíos, abuelos, abuelas, y primos.
[I left my uncles, grandfathers, grandmothers, and cousins.]
96 T: ¿Cómo te hace sentir eso?
[How does that make you feel?]
97 Gabriel: Triste
[Sad]
98 T: ¿Por qué?
[Why?]
99 Gabriel: Porque dejé a toda mi familia.
[Because I left my whole family.]
106 (Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
In this interaction, Gabriel revealed he was born in the U.S. (line 92). He had lived in Mexico most of his young life and had recently returned to the U.S. (line 93). Gabriel’s journey between both the United States and Mexico illustrated the varied immigrant experiences of Latina/o students and that no immigrant experience is alike. Accordingly, students use their dual frame of reference (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 1995; Valenzuela, 1999). Some may believe that life is better in the U.S. than in their previous country, while others may not share the same outlook.
As the conversation continued another way of expressing feelings about moving to a new country was described. While Benjamin, Daniel, and Gabriel indicated that they were sad about leaving Mexico; Felipe proposed returning back to México. Felipe began by describing how he did not have extended family members living in the U.S.
99 Felipe: Aquí, yo no tengo ni uno.
[I don’t even have one.]
100 Allá tengo todos mis primos, mis amigos, allá en México.
[Over there, I have all of my cousins and friends, in Mexico.]
101 Yo quiero irme para México, ya no quiero estar aquí.
[I want to go to Mexico, I don’t want to be here anymore.]
102 T: ¿Por qué te quieres ir para México?
[Why do you want to go to Mexico?]
103 Felipe: Porque extraño todos a los que tenía en México.
[Because I miss everyone I had in Mexico.]
104 Yo me quiero ir, le digo a mi tía que me lleve a México.
107 [I want to leave, I tell my aunt to take me to Mexico.]
105 Le digo, “¿Me lleva con usted?”
[I tell her, “Will you take me with you?”]
(Recorded Observation, February 2, 2015)
Felipe felt comfortable in sharing his desire to return to his country of birth, Mexico (line 101).
His choice to provide a contrasting sentiment indicated he felt Mr. Menchaca’s classroom was a safe space to discuss his longing, his homesickness. For children, yearning to return is a common response to the traumatic experience (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2002) of immigration. Homesickness is also a common feeling as immigrant students experience what some research literature describes as culture shock (Pedersen, 1995; Ward, Bochner, & Furnham,
2001). Felipe, Daniel, Gabriel, and Benjamin are all straddling two worlds, two languages, and two cultures.
Through the exposure to books with characters that experience a dual frame of reference,
Mr. Menchaca posed questions about feelings and students took risks in sharing their own stories. Mr. Menchaca demonstrated an understanding of some of the immigration factors that have an impact on students’ educational experience (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2008).
Characters in stories, dialogue in the classroom, and diverse text-to-life experiences give a human face to complex concepts such as immigration.
Connecting to other’s immigration experiences.
The 2nd grade classroom in this study provided students many ways to learn about the immigration experience. Students brought a myriad of oral histories about the harrowing journeys of others and even their own. Reading children’s literature with an immigration focus
108 yielded many opportunities for the oral stories of the community to become a part of the curriculum. Since Mr. Menchaca heard many stories through his years of teaching in the same school, he could use experiences previously shared during interactive read aloud discussions.
For example, while reading aloud My Shoes and I (Laínez, 2010), Mr. Menchaca paused at the place in the story in which the protagonist and his father were traveling, ran out of money and had to live in an old trailer. Since the trailer was full of holes, the trailer began to flood during a thunderstorm. Knowing that his student’s brother had traveled in a trailer with holes barely big enough to allow oxygen in, Mr. Menchaca paused the English read aloud. He asked Leo to contrast his brother’s experience with the characters’ experience in their trailer.
50 T: I think it was Leo, right?
51 You shared the experience of your brother?
52 Can you say it again?
53 Leo: Like what?
54 T: When your brother crossed the border, he crossed the border in a
trailer.
55 Leo: Habían unos hoyos allí y allí solo podían respirar poquito
[There were some holes there and through them they could only breathe very
little]
56 T: Pero aquí, ¿qué está pasando con los hoyos? (moves hands up and down)
[But here, what is happening with the holes here?]
57 Alejandra: Se mete la lluvia
[the rain comes in]
58 T: Está entrando el agua, ¿verdad?
109 [the water is getting in, right?]
(Recorded Observation, February 10, 2015)
In line 50 Mr. Menchaca recalled that Leo had shared a similar experience prior to this conversation and jogged his memory (line 51) in English, the language of the read aloud. In line
53 Leo responded in English, unable to make a connection to the experience to which Mr.
Menchaca referred. In line 54 Mr. Menchaca clarified the experience to which he was referring in English, which prompted Leo to code switch to Spanish when he shared his brother’s experience, “...solo podían respirar poquito” [Translation:...they could only breathe very little] in line 55. This story had been told to Leo by his family. In line 56 Mr. Menchaca employed a reciprocal type of code switch (Zentella, 1997) as he followed Leo’s language choice and also switched to Spanish as he contrasted the experience of Leo’s brother and the characters’ by posing the following question, “...Pero aquí, ¿qué está pasando con los hoyos?” [Translation:
But here, what is happening with the holes?]. In addition, Alejandra also chimed in Spanish, the same language of the two prior utterances. In asking Leo to share a personal text-to-life connection (Sipe, 2008), his brother’s experience, Mr. Menchaca facilitated a bilingual discussion about the characters in the book and Leo’s brother. In the dialogue the holes became symbolic as they made students aware of the dangers undocumented people encounter as they cross the border. Leo’s brother’s experience draws disturbing parallels to the 2003 incident in
Victoria, Texas where 19 immigrants died in a trailer from asphyxiation and heat (Ramos, 2005).
It is important also to note that the language choice in which the story was told and the teacher’s willingness to accept and engage in the students’ language preferences English (line 54) or
Spanish (lines 56 and 58) was an ordinary classroom literacy practice.
110 Recalling microaggressions: “Mojado era la palabra que más utilizaban y también
otras palabras más elevadas”.
Immigration is a very charged topic that conjures very strong feelings and opinions.
Sometimes responses to immigration are very negative and seep into the conversations of even the youngest students. During the Spanish interactive read aloud of Friends From the Other
Side/Amigos del Otro Lado (Anzaldúa, 1993). The story is about Prietita, a Mexican American girl, who becomes friends with Joaquin, a recent immigrant from Mexico (See description of book in Chapter 3). When Prietita defended Joaquin from boys who bullied him and called him
“mojado” (“wetback”), Mr. Menchaca paused to ask the students if they had ever experienced something similar or had heard that word. Some students raised their hand indicating they had heard it. Magda, a student, shared that she heard the word for the first time at what seemed an unlikely place, a baptism party.
111 Magda: A mi me ha tocado oír esa palabra mucho
[I have gotten to hear that word a lot]
112 pero la vez que primero la escuché,
[but the first time I heard it,]
113 fue en…(una fiesta de) un bautizo.
[it was at a baptism party]
114 La amiga de mi mamá,
[My mom’s friend,]
115 invitaron a sus primos
[invited their cousins]
116 y sus primos les estaban gritando, “mojado”. 111 [and their cousins were yelling at them, “wetbacks”.]
117 Mojado era la palabra que más utilizaban
[Wetbacks was the word they utilized most]
118 y también otras palabras más elevadas.
[and also more offensive words.]
119 T: ¿Más que mojado?
[More than wetback?]
120 Magda: Sí,
[Yes,]
121 nosotros, los niños, corrimos corrimos a la casa
[we, the children, ran ran to the house]
122 y pusimos seguro en la puerta.
[and locked the door.]
(Recorded Observation, February 25, 2015).
Pausing the reading of the book to discuss the word “mojado” (“wetback”) was important and met the conditions of a critical encounter in children’s literature (Fránquiz & DeNicolo, 2006), as it is typically a derogatory remark for persons who enter the United States from Mexico without permission (Bustamante, 1972). The use of “mojado” is often used as a disparaging remark assuming that all immigrants enter the U.S. by swimming across the river, thus being wet.
Unfortunately as illustrated by Magda’s experience, sometimes these types of scornful remarks come from fellow Latinos. Mendelberg describes this dynamic of intergroup dissociation:
Displacement seemed to underlie the reactions of Mexican-American youngsters;
they tended to dissociate the Mexican image presented from their own and to displace it
112 onto another group. Thus, some subjects associated the inferior image to the group coming
in from Mexico (whom they call deprecatingly "wetbacks," "mojados," "mojos," "espaldas
mojadas," "barbwired," "alambrados"). There was some identification with the aggressor:
the subjects laughed with the audience at the "funny, dull Mexican" or joined the audience
in "blaming the victim" (1986, p. 217).
There is no shortage of epithets for immigrants when people seek to “other” them or dehumanize them. Valenzuela (1999) described the dynamics of “Chicanos” needing to distance/distinguish themselves from “Mexicanos” in her ethnography of a Texas high school, as did Mendoza-
Denton (2014) in her California high school ethnography. Interestingly, mojado is a normative word used to describe what happens to a person being baptized, the context in which Magda first heard the word, a baptism party. Yet, other children used mojado as an insult. The segment of discourse marked a willingness on Mr. Menchaca’s part to invite his students to learn about and wrestle with experiences of Latinas/os living in the U.S. without documents (Green, 2003). At this critical encounter Magda shared her experience (lines 111-118), that upon hearing this descriptor and more offensive words, “más elevadas” (line 117) at the baptism party, this aggression caused her to rush home with other children and lock themselves inside (lines 121-
122). Magda’s connection highlights the power of language to hurt, demean or denote affiliation. As a linguistic practice using mojado positions the user as inhabiting a space legally while questioning the other’s right to be there. This unfortunate practice is directed at Latina/os, whether legal or not, and subjects them to having the legitimacy of their citizen birthright questioned (Perez, 2011).
Similar to López-Robertson’s (2012) study of a Latina teacher who intentionally created a space for her small group of four Latina second grade students to make personal connections to
113 stories through literature discussions, Mr. Menchaca also created a space that provided students opportunities to enrich the interactive read alouds by sharing their personal and communities’ connections to the story. These connections to the text provided a space where students were able to share emotional and physical hardships that they and their community encountered.
Sharing Memories: Teacher Text-to-Life Connections
Mr. Menchaca often drew on his own experiential knowledge, his students’, and their communities’ by providing affordances in oral and written activities. Frequently Mr. Menchaca shared his own personal experiences to model making text-to-life connections. While Mr.
Menchaca positioned the text-to-life experiences of his students as valuable resources in the everyday classroom literacy practices, he also employed the use of his own personal stories and experiences whenever he came across a passage in a text for which he could add a connection from his own life. Other ways that he was prompted to share his experiences came from his own students’ curiosity.
Teacher as responsive text.
As noted in the previous section, Magda shared her critical encounter (DeNicolo & Fránquiz,
2006) with being called a “mojado” during the Spanish interactive read aloud of Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado (Anzaldúa, 1993). After Magda shared her personal experience, Alejandra, her peer, posed a question to Mr. Menchaca. Following is an excerpt of the interaction.
123 T: Yo cuando llegué a los Estados Unidos
[When I got to the United States]
114 124 fue de las primeras cosas que encontré
[it was one of the first things I found]
125 así que,
[so then,]
126 y lo escucha uno de su misma raza.
[and one hears it from your own people.]
127 A veces personas que también vinieron de México.
[Sometimes people that also came from Mexico.]
128 Alejandra: Mr. Menchaca, ¿a usted le han dicho mojado?
[Mr. Menchaca, have you been called a wetback?]
129 T: No, que yo recuerde no,
[No, not that I recall,]
130 pero lo he escuchado.
[but I have heard it.]
(Recorded Observation, February 25, 2015).
In this interaction Alejandra shifted the focus from students as the contributors of experiential knowledge back to the teacher (line 128); she asked Mr. Menchaca to share, just as Magda had
(lines 111-118 of the previous transcript), if he had ever been called “mojado”. Alejandra felt comfortable in asking Mr. Menchaca a personal question, inviting him to make a text-to-life connection. In sharing his own experience with hearing mojado when he first arrived in the
United States (line 123), Mr. Menchaca personalized the Latino immigrant experience for his students from the point of view of an adult. In being open about his experience as a Mexican immigrant, Mr. Menchaca demonstrated confianza (Vélez-Ibañez, 1997) with his students and
115 modeled that as a member of the Latino community he too was well aware of the microaggressions that some members experience. Microaggressions are defined as, “subtle insults (verbal, nonverbal, and/or visual)” (Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000, p. 60). In a similar fashion to that of other teachers such as Mrs. Barrera in Fránquiz, Avila, and Ayala Lewis’
(2013) study, Mr. Menchaca positioned social justice issues as important conversations to have in second grade classrooms.
Teacher positioning self as transnational.
Apart from entertaining questions during discussion it was also common for Mr.
Menchaca to make personal connections to the stories he read aloud to his 2nd grade students.
Sometimes the connections were deeply rooted in his country of birth, Mexico. One such opportunity for making a connection occurred while reading aloud in Spanish Xochitl and the
Flowers/Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores (Argueta, 2003). As revealed in Chapter 3, the book is centered on Xochitl, a girl, whose family emigrated from El Salvador to the United States. In the book, Xochitl’s mother added dirt she brought from El Salvador to the new flower garden in their new home. During this Spanish read aloud, Mr. Menchaca shared his own connection to the final event in the story.
143 T: La señora tiene un saco (referring to the dirt) de El Salvador.
[The lady has a sack of dirt from El Salvador.]
144 Yo en mi casa hay unos rosales,
[I have some rose plant at my house,]
145 ya están un poquito viejitos.
[they are a little old.]
116 146 Esos rosales, me los traje de la casa de mi mamá….
[The rose plants, I brought them from my mom’s house….]
147 Era un palito nada más,
[It was only a little stick,]
148 "una varita", dice mi mamá.
[“a little stick”, says my mom.]
149 Lo puse y floreció.
[I planted it and it blossomed.]
150 Eso me recuerda de México y de mi familia.
[That reminds me of Mexico and of my family.]
(Recorded Observation, February 13, 2015)
Mr. Menchaca made a personal connection with Xochitl’s mother and her need to bring a bit of
El Salvador with her to the U.S. Instead of dirt, Mr. Menchaca brought rose cuttings from his mother’s home in Mexico to his home in Texas (line 146). He stated that the palito (little stick) that became rose plants continues to keep his memories alive, “Eso me recuerda de México y de mi familia” [Translation: That reminds me of Mexico and of my family]. In this segment of discourse (line 150), Mr. Menchaca positioned himself as a text that represents a transnational person – one who lives in the United States but physically holds on to the roots of his country of origin; much as Xochitl’s mother did with the dirt from El Salvador. The “rosales” (rose plants) serve as a physical and physiological reminder of the roots that anchor him to his country of origin like the dirt in the garden of Xochitl’s family.
In Lara and Leija’s (2014) study of gender roles and equality in children’s literature one of the teachers enhanced his read alouds by sharing his personal experience to make a connection
117 to the read aloud story. Similarly, Mr. Menchaca also enriched the interactive read alouds through his personal text-to-life connections in the language arts classroom. His ability to give students glimpses into his experience as an immigrant helped his students better understand the immigration experience. The classroom became a place where the lived experiences and experiential knowledge shared through oral histories by the teacher and students were used to document and theorize potential sites of oppression (Huber, 2009).
Nuancing Lexical Meanings
For the most part, grade school children’s concepts of traveling to other countries or continents consist of knowing that they need documents. Yet, millions of children move across borders without documents for religious freedom, to flee violence or poverty, or because their parents are seeking a better occupational pathway for their family. In some cases they are part of an informal network of immigration. People and children looking to “el norte”, as the U.S. is referred to in Latin America, know early on that without legal documents entry is complicated and sometimes dangerous.
Learning the multiple meanings of papeles.
Through the use of children’s literature for interactive read alouds, class discussions, and the subsequent writing activities in Mr. Menchaca’s Immigration Project, many students shared their understanding of complex homonyms. One such homonym was “papeles". Papeles, literally translates to papers or documents. One version of papeles was discussed during a
Spanish read aloud of Xochitl and the Flowers/Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores (Argueta, 2003).
During this part of the read aloud, Xochitl’s father announces that he has leased an apartment
118 with a garage and a backyard that could be used to grow plants and flowers that could be sold.
Leo, a student, shared that like the family in the story, his family was also starting a business.
55 Leo: Maestro, yo estoy haciendo un negocio en mi casa.
[Teacher, I am making a home business.]
56 T: ¿Qué clase de negocio?
[What type of business?]
57 Leo: Mi mamá está haciendo pasteles.
[My mom is making cakes.]
58 Lo más importante es que yo estoy haciendo un puesto de tacos,
[The most important thing is that I am making a taco stand,]
59 mi mamá me ayuda hacer los tacos.
[my mom helps me make the tacos.]
60 T: Entonces es un negocio que Leo quiere iniciar.
[So it is a business Leo wants to start.]
61 Daniel: ¿Si tienes este, (pauses) para este, (pauses) papeles para poder
vender tacos?
[Do you have, (pauses) to um, (pauses) documents to be able to sell tacos?]
62 T: A ver, pregúntale más.
[Let’s see, ask him more.]
63 ¿Qué es eso de papeles para vender tacos?
[What is it about papers for selling tacos?]
64 Daniel: Es que como si no tienes papeles,
[It’s like if you don’t have papers,]
119 65 no papeles para cruzar la frontera.
[not papers to cross the border.]
66 Como de esos papeles,
[Like those papers,]
67 si vendes flores así sin permiso de alguien.
[if you sell flowers without someone’s permission.]
68 Como de un policía o de alguien,
[Like from the police or someone,]
69 no sé de quién.
[I don’t know from whom.]
70 Juan: Como si no tiene el permiso . . . .
[Like if he doesn’t have the permission….]
71 Daniel: Los, los…
[The, the…]
72 T: ¿Inspectores?
[Inspectors?]
73 Daniel: U huh.
74 T: Te puede pasar algo, ¿verdad?
[Something can happen to you, right?]
75 Daniel: U huh. (nods in agreement)
76 T: Leo, lo que te pregunta es,
[Leo, he is asking you,]
77 ¿si tienes el permiso para vender los tacos?
120 [if you have the permit to sell the tacos?]
78 Leo: Sí, mi papá lo compró cuando el vino para acá,
[Yes, my dad bought it when he came over here,]
79 cuando nosotros arreglamos.
[when we became legal.]
(Recorded Observation, February 10, 2015)
In lines 55 and 58 Leo made a text-to-life connection, relating his family's cake and taco business to Xochitl’s family starting a flower business at their newly leased apartment. In line 60 Mr.
Menchaca restated Leo’s business plans. However, Daniel made an astute connection in line 61.
He asked Leo “¿Si tienes este, (pauses) para este, (pauses) papeles para poder vender tacos?”
[Translation: Do you have, (pauses) to um, (pauses) documents to be able to sell tacos?]. Daniel attempted to inquire if Leo had obtained a food-handling permit. In line 62 Mr. Menchaca prompted a peer-to-peer opportunity to facilitate learning from each other regarding the nuanced meaning of “papeles”. Knowing that the conversations about documents had centered on immigration documents in line 65 Daniel clarified, “...no papeles para cruzar la frontera”
[Translation...not papers to cross the border]. Although Daniel wasn’t able to fully express himself, with the help of the teacher in line 72, Daniel’s inquiry is further developed as Mr.
Menchaca provided the specific vocabulary, “inspectores” (inspectors). In line 77 Mr.
Menchaca paraphrased what Daniel tried to ask Leo by clarifying the type of permit Leo would need for his business.
Two connections were made in the excerpt, one by Leo as a member of a home-food
(cake and tacos) business start-up (lines 55 and 58) and another by Daniel who realized that to run a business one may need special permits (lines 64-69). Thus making a connection to Leo’s
121 example that was more nuanced because “papeles” had one meaning related to a permit to cross national borders and another meaning related to selling food. Interestingly, this conversation foreshadowed what happened to Xochitl and her family later in the story. Having had this conversation prior to the event in the story provided the context needed to understand the problem that arose in the story.
In both cases papeles, referred to official documents or permits that people must possess to move freely across borders or participate in the economy as vendors. Gallo (2016) noted in her ethnographic study of a six-year-old daughter and her father, that the young child understood the complexity and importance of having papeles, at a far younger age than was previously suggested by Gonzales (2011). Mr. Menchaca’s second grade students showed an elaborate understanding of papeles; they understood the homonym as legal documents and also the informal economy that allowed others to operate without them. In the introduction to his book,
Urrieta (2009) describes how his family engaged in the informal economy to make ends meet and how as a child he was responsible for helping out, “I knocked on people’s doors, I solicited customers in parking lots, and I hid from the police in order to sell my share of eggs, oranges and nopales (cactus)” (p. 4). The construction of papeles as a measure of legality serves to create binaries where students understand that certain actions may operate outside of the law, but more often than not, necessity justifies the means.
Another homonym: Learning the multiple meanings of coyote.
Just as children’s literature, Xochitl’s family selling flowers, elucidated multiple meanings for papeles and operating in the informal economy, class discussions also provided the
2nd graders with opportunities to discuss the multiple meanings of coyote. Understanding the
122 immigrant perspective on coyote and coyotaje requires making distinctions between legal entry to the U.S. and the justification of coyotes as a means to gain entry in the U.S. These nuances are deeper than the simple animal illustrations of a coyote that is often found in Southwestern children’s literature. Instead, and loosely defined, in the Immigration Project, coyote represented a cunning person who knows the layout of the land and guides people across the national border between the U.S. and Mexico undetected, or has a wily way of smuggling humans into the U.S. for a price. Since the process of gaining entry through coyotes is without permission or legal documents, often the discourse of dehumanization, delinquency and illegality is employed in rhetoric that positions undocumented immigrants as “deviant” (Bustamante, 1972) or “illegals,”
(Dick, 2011) or “animals” (Santa Ana, 1999).
In exploring the immigration experiences and knowledge of the community and his students, Mr. Menchaca sought to position their oral stories as a valid part of the curriculum.
These oral stories supported in contextualizing the immigration experience. Mr. Menchaca would often ask students to talk to their parents about the Immigration Project in order for them to learn about their family’s experience. In the following excerpt Mr. Menchaca began the conversation by posing the following questions, “Vamos a empezar por compartiendo, ¿qué fue lo que dijeron ayer su mamá, su papá, sus hermanos, o primos? ¿Qué fue lo que dijeron, algo nuevo?” [Translation: Let's begin by sharing. What did your mom, dad, brothers or cousins tell you yesterday? Did they tell you something new?] Felipe, extended the verbal assignment to his community and shared what he had learned from his neighbor.
94 Felipe: A mi me contó una señora,
[A lady told me,]
95 ya no me acuerdo de donde vino,
123 [I don’t remember where she came from,]
96 que, “solo ven el dinero y piden más.”
[that, “they only see the money and ask for more”.]
97 Como le suben.
[Like they increase it.]
98 Como le subieron más, al señor, le subieron la cantidad.
[They increased it more, on the man, they increased the price.]
99 Y solo la fueron a dejar,
[And they only left her,]
100 la fueron a dejar allí,
[they left her there,]
101 y el coyote solo se fue con el dinero.
[and the coyote left with the money.]
102 T: Entonces, no la entregaron donde la deberían de entregar.
[So they did not drop her off where they should have dropped her off.
103 Felipe: No.
[No]
104 T: Felipe me estaba comentando,
[Felipe was telling me,]
105 me dice, dice que lo comentó con una persona que son vecinos.
[he tells me, tells me that he spoke with a person that is his neighbor. ]
106 Le dije, “¿te dijeron cuánto es el precio?”
[I told him, “did they tell you the price?”]
124 107 No se acuerda del precio
[He doesn’t remember the price]
108 pero sí se acuerda que dice, “si ven que tienes dinero,
[but he does remember that she told him, “if they see that you have money,]
109 aumentan la cantidad, aumentan el precio”.
[they increase the amount, increase the price”.]
110 No es lo mismo para todas las personas.
[It is not the same for everyone.]
111 Si ven que tienes dinero, pues te piden más.
[If they see that you have money, well they ask for more.]
112 Si ven que no les vas a pagar te dan el precio mínimo,
[If they see that you are not going to pay they give you the minimum price,]
113 entonces varían los precios.
[so the prices vary.]
114 Felipe: (nods in agreement) (Recorded Observation, February 4, 2015)
In this transcript segment, Felipe shared his community knowledge about coyotes based on the experiences of persons in his neighborhood (line 94). Felipe shared when dealing with coyotes, the price for crossing the border constantly rises, by describing in line 98, “…le subieron más, al señor, le subieron la cantidad.” [Translation: They increased it more, on the man, they increased the price..] and in lines 99-101 he noted, “Y solo la fueron a dejar, la fueron a dejar allí, y el coyote solo se fue con el dinero.” [Translation: And they only left her, they left her there, and the coyote left with the money.] In line 102, Mr. Menchaca paraphrased what Felipe had recounted about his neighbor’s story, “Entonces, no la entregaron donde la deberían de entregar.”
125 [Translation: So they did not drop her off where they should have dropped her off.] Mr.
Menchaca added details of how coyotes may unfairly increase the price based on hints related to socioeconomic class and the availability of additional money on top of what was originally agreed on (lines 108 – 110). The precarious situation associated with the utilization of coyotes is complicated as enforcement increasingly steps up along the U.S. borders. Tighter security means that prices for coyote services increase (Gathmann, 2008; Lozano & López, 2013). As prices for coyote services rise, the dynamics of the black market of coyotaje compromises the safety of persons traveling to the U.S. Slack (2016) explains how “migrant kidnapping is provoked by the shared precarity of travelling in these clandestine spaces, coupled with the fact that their family connections in the U.S. could quickly come up with a few thousand dollars” (p. 4). Felipe’s example illustrates that children from immigrant families along the U.S./Mexico border are aware of and need to discuss the precarity of border crossings where immigrants, including children, are often exploited and violated without legal recourse.
Whereas some children in Mr. Menchaca’s 2nd grade classroom can travel easily by foot, car, bus, train, or plane across the U.S./Mexico border, others are undocumented or children of undocumented parents. Stories about the immigrant experience read aloud and stories shared from lived experience provided a context to study immigration from multiple perspectives.
Given that an estimated 5.5 million school children in the U.S. are members of undocumented families (Suárez-Orozco, et al. 2011), the necessity to thoughtfully examine the topic of immigration has an unprecedented urgency.
In addition to students sharing their knowledge orally, students also demonstrated their understanding by responding to Mr. Menchaca’s read aloud prompts. Table 4.1 provides a breakdown of the number of writing responses per interactive read aloud and the language of the
126 writing prompt. The books read aloud in Spanish were: My Diary from Here to There/ Mi diario de aquí hasta allá (Pérez, 2002), Xochitl and the Flowers/ Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores
(Argueta, 2003), From North to South/ Del Norte al Sur (Colato Laínez, 2010), and Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado (Anzaldúa, 1993). The stories read aloud in English with
Spanish code switches were: Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote (Tonatiuh, 2013), My Shoes and I
(Colato Laínez, 2010), and Waiting for Papá/ Esperando a Papá (Colato Laínez, 2004).
Table 4.1: Writing Prompts for Children’s Books Spanish English Writing Writing Books Prompts Prompts My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aquí hasta allá (Pérez, 2002) 4 Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote (Tonatiuh, 2013) 2 Xochitl and the Flowers/ Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores (Argueta, 2003) 2 My Shoes and I (Colato Laínez, 2010) 1 From North to South/ Del Norte al Sur (Colato Laínez, 2010) 1 Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado (Anzaldúa, 1993) 3 Waiting for Papá/ Esperando a Papá (Colato Laínez, 2004) 1
In the previous transcript excerpt, Felipe shared with his peers what he had learned from his neighbor about coyotes. After Mr. Menchaca finished reading aloud the story of Pancho
Rabbit and the Coyote: An Immigrant’s Tale (Tonatiuh, 2013), he posed the following English writing prompt, “What do you think about the Coyote?”. In Figure 4.2 Juan addresses fraudulent practices of coyotes.
127 Figure 4.2: Juan’s Response to Prompt on the Coyote
That they’re unfair
because
he sometimes leaves
you abandoned or
he takes you to the
other side and he goes
with the money.
(Artifact, February 4, 2015)
Juan writes about the danger of people being deceived or swindled by coyotes. He asserts that they are “unfair” and can abandon you on either side of the border while absconding “...with the money”. Juan demonstrates an understanding of the risks undocumented immigrants must take both financially and physically. The relationship between the smuggled and the smuggler can turn from mutualistic to parasitic. Spener (2009) describes these cash transactions as part of an informal economy that “takes place beyond the pale of state regulation”. He continues,
“transactions between immigrants and coyotes take place outside the legal frameworks created and enforced by governments”. However, they are “regulated by other important social relationships and cultural norms for behavior” (p.163). In other words, coyotes and immigrants enter a partnership of trust where the coyotes need to take care of their reputation if they intend to be hired again. Spener outlines an “...economy of coyotaje practices” (2009, p. 164) that exist outside of formal economies. In the 2nd grade classroom some children have been introduced to these coyotaje practices by way of the oral histories passed down through the family and the
128 community.
Felipe’s oral sharing of his neighbor’s experience with the coyote and Juan’s writing illustrate the social networks that are developed and how knowledge is exchanged about the precariousness of border crossings by word of mouth; which coyotes must no longer be trusted.
The experiential knowledge of others becomes collective funds of knowledge (Vélez-Ibañez,
1988, 1997).
Juan’s writing response shows his knowledge of coyotaje practices and his emerging
English language skills. He is at the within word pattern stage of writing (Bear, Invernizzi,
Templeton, & Johnston, 2016). During this spelling stage, students demonstrate issues with homophones, homographs, silent consonants, three-letter blends and digraphs, diphthongs, long vowels, r-influenced vowels, and complex vowel patterns. In the writing response Juan demonstrated an acquisition of English high-frequency words such as, that, the, other, and, there, you, or, to, goes, money, he, and take (Fry, 2000). While Juan made close spelling approximations such as, becaus (because) and whit (with), he did not yet differentiate between the homophones there and they’re in the sentence. Additionally, Juan had difficulty with the r- controlled vowel patterns /air/ and /er/. Thus, he wrote unfer (unfair). This is a common error with native speakers of English. Another common error is not having full command of the silent e as in sid (side). Interestingly, Juan added the e at the end of the word abandone but did not add the complete suffix ed to indicate the past tense form of abandon. Juan did rely on phonetic
(invented) spelling and the Spanish phonetic sound for /i/ when he wrote lifs (leaves). He wrote the Spanish grapheme i for the English long /e/ vowel sound spelled /ea/. Juan, as a 2nd grader writing a complex sentence response articulated his opinion in regards to the English writing prompt, “What do you think about the Coyote?” and drew from his knowledge of English and
129 Spanish to communicate in written form. Juan demonstrated knowledge of an important social issue while displaying his emergent English language skills.
In contrast to Juan who identified a “coyote” as a human smuggler, Daniel associated
“coyote” with Pancho Rabbit, the main character in the text.
Figure 4.3: Daniel’s Response to Prompt on the Coyote
That the coyote is hungry
because he try to eat Pancho
Rabbit and Papá Rabbit he’s
save the life of Pancho Rabbit
and the chivo y el gallo también
lo salvo [Translation: …goat
and the rooster also saved him].
In the end of the book, he threw
a really big fiesta.
(Artifact, February 4, 2015)
In response to the English writing prompt, “What do you think about the coyote?”, Daniel recalled the climax of the story, when Pancho Rabbit no longer had food to offer the Coyote and the Coyote decided that he would eat Pancho Rabbit. At that point in the story, Papá Rabbit and his two friends Señor Ram and Señor Rooster appeared and saved Pancho Rabbit. When they arrived at home, there was a “big fiesta” waiting for them. Overall, Daniel demonstrated comprehension of the story line with the exception of referring to Señor Ram as a chivo (“goat”). 130 While Daniel began his response in English, he intrasententially code switched (Gort, 2012) towards the end of his response to Spanish, “...y el gallo también lo salvo.” [Translation:...and the rooster also saved him]. As Daniel continued his response he switched back to English, the language of the prompt and once more intrasententially code switched to Spanish, “fiesta”.
Daniel felt comfortable using both languages strategically in written form, yet tried to maintain his response in the language of the story and the prompt. In using both languages to support his writing, Daniel is developing his bilingual and biliterate skills (Gort, 2012).
Unlike Juan, Daniel drew more from his first language, Spanish, to write the phonetic sounds he is unable to represent in English. For example, when he wrote dat, he used the consonant d instead of the voiced digraph th. Freeman and Freeman (2014) note that the use of the d is a common spelling for the digraph th while students are acquiring English spelling conventions. This spelling is noted once more when he wrote dr for the consonant blend thr in threw, Daniel only represented the word with the consonant blend written as dr and did not represent the long /u/ sound with the vowel pattern /ew/. Another instance in which he drew from his Spanish phonemes was in the word coyote written as collote. Although he wrote coyote correctly in the English prompt he copied from the board, he refers back to the ll in Spanish that is pronounced as the /y/ in English.
Daniel is in the letter-name alphabetic stage; students in this stage develop spelling patterns for “initial and final consonants, digraphs, blends, and short vowels” (Bear, Invernizzi,
Templeton, & Johnston, 2016, p. 149). Although Daniel is able to hear the majority of all consonants, he still struggles with consistent use of digraphs, blends, and short vowels. Daniel is hearing the majority of the consonant sounds in words with the exception of r in try and d in and.
He has grasped the spelling of the high-frequency words book, big, and a (Fry, 2000). However,
131 has not yet developed high-frequency words such as is, to, and, he, and in. Analysis of the spelling of these high-frequency words demonstrated his reliance on his first language, Spanish.
For example, for the words is and in, he represented the short /i/ vowel sound with the Spanish
/y/ sound (yn and ys); for he, the /h/ consonant sound in English was represented with the
Spanish phoneme /j/ (ji); and for the spelling of the word to, he represented the diphthong oo phoneme with the Spanish /u/ vowel sound (tu). The Spanish /u/ vowel makes the same sound as the diphthong oo like in moon.
Although, he is close to remembering how to spell the high-frequency (Fry, 2000) word because, he is relying on Spanish, his first language, for the long /e/ vowel sound which he represented with the grapheme i. There is also an inconsistent spelling of the high-frequency words of and the. For the high-frequency word of, Daniel wrote it correctly the first time (of) and the next time (af). He relied on his Spanish phonetic knowledge and represented the English short /u/ vowel sound with the Spanish phoneme /a/. In regards to the inconsistent spelling of the word the, Daniel writes the word correctly the first time (the), the second time relied on the
English long /e/ sound and omitted the h from the digraph th (te), the third, fourth, and fifth time he relied on his Spanish phoneme knowledge and represented the English long /e/ sound with the
Spanish /i/ vowel sound (ti).
In regards to his Spanish writing, Daniel is at level 5 (Ferreiro & Teberosky, 1982). In this spelling stage the majority of phonemes are represented with their corresponding letter. As observed in Daniel’s writing sample, all of the phonetic sounds are represented with their corresponding letter with the exception of the /v/ spelled with a b. This is a common spelling error found in Spanish spelling conventions since both sounds sound the same in Spanish and the speaker must be able to differentiate between the correct spelling pattern (Argüero, 1996; Vaca,
132 1983).
Summary
Throughout the Immigration Project, Mr. Menchaca drew from the traditionally less powerful side (contextualized, reception, oral, and minority Spanish language) and from the traditionally more powerful side (literary, production, written and dominant English language) of the content and development continuas of biliteracy (Hornberger, 2003) to guide students in developing their bilingual and biliteracy skills. As he read aloud the selected literature, the class discussed format and content. Mr. Menchaca drew from the traditionally less powerful side
(minority) to purposefully select immigration picture books (literary) such as, My Diary from
Here to There/Mi diario de aquí hasta allá (Pérez, 2002), My Shoes and I (Colato Laínez, 2010),
Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado (Anzaldúa, 1993), Xochitl and the Flowers/
Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores (Argueta, 2003), and Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote (Tonatiuh,
2013). The English (dominant language) and Spanish (students’ native language) picture books were written by Latina/o authors and accurately represented the immigration experience
(contextualized). In addition, Mr. Menchaca encouraged students to listen (reception) to the interactive read alouds and discussions and engage with the text orally (production) and in written form (literary).
The Immigration Project served as a platform to discuss immigration, a topic that even young second grade Latina/o students are privy to. Students shared their personal, parents’, siblings’, and neighbors’ experiences with immigration. The conversations around the interactive read alouds and immigrant experiences shed light on the emotional and physical hardships that undocumented and documented immigrants endure as they cross the border and/or 133 live in the United States. For example, Latina/os whose phenotype mark them as “forever foreigners” (Tuan, 1998), whether documented or undocumented shared their experiences with verbal abuse. Throughout the interactive read alouds, students also discussed the multiple meanings of words, clarified misunderstandings, and supported one another in comprehending the text.
In addition to oral discussions of the text, Mr. Menchaca also provided opportunities for students to make connections, share their knowledge about immigration issues, and demonstrate their comprehension through written responses to the prompts that stemmed from the read aloud texts. Through the writing, students demonstrated their biliterate skills as they supported one another with their writing and drew on their linguistic repertoires to make meaning through written text. The subsequent chapter provides analysis and discussion of the Día de los Muertos
Project based on the triangulation of data sources.
134 Chapter V: Results
In the dissertation study, two curricular projects were analyzed, The Immigration Project and the Día de los Muertos Project. In the Día de los Muertos Project, LatCrit and the continua of biliteracy are the two theoretical frameworks used to analyze how Mr. Menchaca drew from
2nd grade students’ and their communities’ linguistic, experiential, and cultural knowledge for the purpose of developing the literacy. The 2nd grade students I observed during the Día de los
Muertos Project were not the same 2nd grade students observed for the Immigration Project reported in Chapter V. However, Mr. Menchaca’s classroom demographics in the 2014-15 and the 2015-16 academic years were very similar.
The LatCrit framework provided a platform for the teacher and I to discuss challenges that Latina/o communities continually face, such as immigration status, language, phenotype, ethnicity, culture, identity and sexuality. Too often these challenges are based on racism and dominant ideologies that perpetuate deficit notions of Latina/os (Solórzano & Delgado, 2001) and of their communities.
The continua of biliteracy (Hornberger, 2003) provided a conceptual lens into ways teachers plan for the development of students’ biliteracy and bilingualism. Mr. Menchaca and I both understood this conceptual framework. Thus, he purposefully drew from different points of the biliteracy continuum to teach literacy and the language arts in his 2nd grade classroom.
This chapter presents the qualitative results of the second project of the dissertation study,
Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead. Analysis focuses on the following research questions:
What are the instructional approaches that a bilingual Latino second grade teacher uses during interactive read alouds to teach the language arts? How do those instructional approaches draw from students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge of their communities? This 135 chapter presents findings from analysis of interviews, classroom audio and video observations, and student produced artifacts.
Because the majority of his students were Latina/o, Mr. Menchaca sought to centralize
Latino culture in his curriculum. One cultural practice he sought to explore in the second grade classroom was the celebration of Día de los Muertos. Scholars remind us that Latinos as a whole are characterized by a vast array of characteristics such as ethnicities, nationalities, languages, and religions (Lopez, 1996; Mutua, 1999), and are not one monolithic or homogenous group.
However, since Mr. Menchaca and the majority of his students are first or second generation
Mexican immigrants, there was already some familiarity with the cultural practices associated with Día de los Muertos, as a starting point. In this unit, once again, interactive read alouds
(Sipe, 2008) served as a springboard for students to develop an understanding of the meaning and significance of Día de los Muertos as a cultural practice in their communities. Like in the
Immigration Project, the read alouds occurred during the teaching of language arts.
Background
Día de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated in México and many other Spanish-speaking countries. In Mesoamerican times the holiday was held in the spring; after the Spanish conquest
Día de los Muertos was moved to November 1st and November 2nd by the Catholic Church to coincide with All Saints Day and All Souls Day respectively. To date, it continues to be a tradition that represents a syncretism of Pre-Hispanic and Catholic rituals consisting of remembering the departed by placing food, drink, and flowers at an altar and/or at their grave
(Marchi, 2013).
Despite its widespread observation in Mexico and U.S. communities of Mexican 136 immigrants, little has been written about Día de los Muertos in public school classrooms (Lewy
& Betty, 2007; Rowan, 2001; Salinas, Fránquiz, & Guberman, 2006). For instance, Rowan
(2001) describes her personal experience as a high school Spanish foreign language teacher that taught a unit about Día de los Muertos through the use of photographs, websites, videos, and the newspaper. She found that while some students developed appreciation for the celebration others still perceived it as macabre. In a second study (Lewy & Betty, 2007), a white preservice teacher in a combination fourth and fifth grade classroom from a predominantly high socioeconomic status school taught a two-week unit through the use of fiction and nonfiction books. The class was composed of primarily white students with the exception of two Mexican-
American students. The analysis found that students went beyond developing tolerance and instead developed appreciation for the celebration. Finally, Salinas, Fránquiz, & Guberman
(2006), explored how bilingual student teachers used historical thinking with emergent bilinguals through the use of multicultural literature, primary sources (photographs), and key vocabulary activities. They found that bilingual preservice teachers can facilitate complex and rich discussions about Día de los Muertos through the use of primary sources. Using José Guadalupe
Posada’s iconic zinc etching of La Calavera Catrina and a photograph of a present day procession to a cemetery the preservice teachers engaged their third grade students not only in historical reasoning but also made connections to their own families’ experiences.
From this research, the theme, Recognizing Heterogeneity in Latino Cultural Knowledge, emerges as a primary contribution to our understanding of the importance of Día de los Muertos.
This primary theme yielded three subthemes developed through the analysis of data collected in
Mr. Menchaca’s classroom:
a) Lived Experiences and Cultural Beliefs as the Heart of the Curriculum Project,
137 b) Reclaiming Día de los Muertos, and
c) Día de los Muertos in the Context of the Church and State.
The primary subtheme, was identified from coding ways Mr. Menchaca planned for a pedagogical space where students could see their cultural knowledge positively reflected based on the interactive read alouds. These plans involved inquiry assignments that shed light on students’ own lived experiences as well as those of their parents. Through the inquiry assignments students shared how cultural knowledge spans borders and how cultural practices are passed from one generation to the next.
The second subtheme, emerged as students’ families talked about reclaiming past traditions that had not been celebrated since their child had been born, others talked about how their child supported their learning about the cultural celebration and last how parents supported their child in learning about Día de los Muertos regardless of their religious beliefs. The subtheme sheds light on the influence the school learning played on students’ and families’ desires to reclaim, adopt, and/or learn about the cultural practice.
Finally, the last subtheme examines student's and parents’ reservations about cultural celebrations in the classroom when these practices were in opposition to their religious beliefs.
Through parent interviews, I came to understand their religious belief about Día de los Muertos and the reasons for why they rejected the integration of the cultural practice in the curriculum. In addition, they expressed their view on remembering loved ones.
Lived Experience and Cultural Beliefs as the Heart of the Curriculum Project
Mr. Menchaca made the conscious choice of teaching about Día de los Muertos during
October and November of 2015 in an effort to afford the students both a window and mirror into
138 the nuances of a Latino cultural practice, honoring ancestors. To accomplish this goal, Mr.
Menchaca employed interactive read alouds (Barrentine, 1996; Sipe, 2008; Wiseman, 2011) to draw and build on the language and literacy experiences and cultural knowledge of his 19 students (17 Mexican, one Mexican-Nicaraguan, and one Anglo-Honduran). He started the project by providing background information through the use of two online videos in Spanish:
Los Mayas y Aztecas and Documental Día de Muertos. The first week, in addition to showing the videos, he also read aloud during the Spanish block, The Spirit of Tío Fernando: A Day of the
Dead Story/El espíritu de tío Fernando: Una historia del Día de los Muertos (Levy, 1995) and during the English block, Pablo recuerda: La fiesta del Día de los Muertos (Ancona, 1993).
During the second week, he read aloud in Spanish, Un barrilete: para el Día de los Muertos
(Amado, 1999), and towards the end of the second week and beginning of the third week he read aloud in English, Funny bones: Posada and his Day of the Dead Calaveras (Tonatiuh, 2015).
During an interview, Mr. Menchaca talked about the importance of making curriculum choices with explicit connections to students’ experiences in order to provide them with opportunities to engage with the curriculum.
Si no lo basamos (el currículo) en las experiencias de ellos, la educación es algo ajeno a
ellos. [Translation: If we do not base it (curriculum) on their experiences, education is
something foreign to them.] It is like something that is foreign that doesn’t belong to me,
to my culture. I think it is hard for them to make connections when something is foreign
to them, when something is not part of their daily lives, not part of what they celebrate or
do….Muchos de los maestros, que somos partes de los Latinos, sabemos que cuando uno
incluye la cultura de los papás, todo es mejor….Los niños no han logrado avanzar, no
porque no pueden, si no porque no hemos incluido su cultura de ellos. Hemos incluido
139 otra cultura con la cual los niños no se relacionan, es algo ajeno para ellos.
[Translation: Many of the teachers, that are a part of the Latinos, know that when you
include the parents’ culture, everything is better….Students have failed to advance, not
because they can’t, but rather because we have not included their culture. We have
included another culture with which the children do not relate to, it is something foreign
to them.] (Interview, August 14, 2015)
In this interview, Mr. Menchaca highlighted the importance of sustaining students’ linguistic, experiential and cultural practices (Paris, 2012) by drawing from their lived experiences (Bell,
1987; Olivas, 1990; Sipe, 2008; Solórzano & Yosso, 2000; Wiseman 2011) to challenge dominant ideologies of what should be included in the curriculum (Bernal, 2002). In doing so, he resisted the marginalization and subordination of Latina/os by centering their family and/or community lived experiences in the school curriculum (Villenas & Deyhle, 1999). Mr.
Menchaca also recognized that, like many Latino teachers, he too possessed cultural intuition
(Bernal, 1998), a unique perspective, of his Latina/o students’ culture, which when integrated in the curriculum can result in significant academic achievement (Villegas & Davis, 2008).
Bernal states that, “the communication, practices, and learning that occur in the home and community can be viewed as…cultural knowledge” (2002, p. 113). Even though these practices may not reflect the dominant culture, notwithstanding they do constitute a trove of valuable knowledge that teachers can draw from to build literacy skills. Through interactive read alouds, teachers can provide opportunities for students to make text-to-self connections (Barrentine,
1996; Sipe, 2008) and can guide students towards developing meaningful identity texts
(Cummins, 2006) where their cultural knowledge and experiences are accurately and positively reflected. Like Ms. Milner in (Wiseman, 2011), who used interactive read aloud texts with her
140 kindergarteners, Mr. Menchaca sought to convey that each story was an experience they would share together and that the knowledge of their families and communities were an important part of the story.
Centering cultural knowledge in homework assignments.
Drawing from students’ cultural knowledge and integrating their experiences into opportunities to read and write allows for the centering of race, class, gender, and even religious beliefs. For example, it was a common approach for Mr. Menchaca to ask the students to reflect on their home lives and experiences as they related to classroom discussions, assignments, and children’s literature. To initiate the project he asked the 19 students to talk to their parents and answer the following questions, "¿Cómo celebran el día de los muertos?" [Translation: How do you celebrate the Day of the Dead?"] "Si no celebran el día de los muertos, ¿hay otra tradición que celebran?" [Translation: If you do not celebrate Day of the Dead, is there another tradition that you celebrate?"] The inquiry into home practices set a context for students to make connections with each other and with the read aloud stories. In this way a space was provided for collecting and sharing stories that would be deepened across the project. Figure 5.1 provides a glimpse into Dora’s mother’s childhood and how she celebrated Día de los Muertos growing up in Mexico.
141 Figure 5.1: Dora’s Essay: Celebrating Día de los Muertos in México (October 22, 2015) How is Día de los Muertos celebrated? My mom when she was little would make an altar in her house. Her grandmother would help her make it. When my mom’s mother, my grandmother, went to the market and they would buy her a sugar skull to place at the altar. My mom remembers that in school they would have them do activities like the calaveras that are verses where la muerte (death) jokes around with characters in real life. “calavera” In the school’s patio calaca (death) observed all the students to see how many she would take.
The assignment was to examine how Día de los Muertos was celebrated in students’ families. Listening to her mother’s story offered Dora the opportunity to draw from the traditionally less powerful side of the content continua of biliteracy, which is oral, in the vernacular and contextualized (Hornberger & Link, 2012). Dora’s retelling of her mother’s experience in writing moved her language from the oral to the more powerful side of the content continua, which is literary competency. Dora made some spelling errors such as calaberita and obserbara showing juxtapositions of “b” and “v” and overuse of “r”. She also wrote ahecerlo demonstrating her use of visual memory (Johnston, 1997) to write the root word (sight word) hacer (written as ahecer) and added the ending lo. In Spanish the grapheme h is silent, yet Dora knew that the grapheme h is used in the root word hacer along with the graphemes c to represent the phoneme /s/.
142 In addition, Dora did not remember to write mamá with an accent mark on the second a to indicate mother and not suck. In Spanish writing, Dora is at a level 5 where few errors are made (Ferreiro & Teberosky, 1982). For the most part, Dora is representing all phonemes with its corresponding grapheme. Dora included many complete and complex sentences centering on the central vocabulary word for her writing response – calavera. As a result of Mr. Menchaca’s inquiry assignment, Dora’s home became a place to learn about Día de los Muertos. While scholars have illustrated how the home is the place for socialization of Día de los Muertos
(Gutierrez, Rosengren, & Miller, 2015), Mr. Menchaca demonstrated how teachers in schools can also play an instrumental role in integrating interactive read alouds and home inquiry assignments to draw from the minority position of the content continua of biliteracy (oral traditions passed in a family), therefore placing instructional value on students’ families’ lived experiences and cultural practices.
The homework assignment also afforded an opportunity for students to draw from the vernacular side, written in Spanish in the non-school context, of the content continua of biliteracy. For example, Dora wrote about one of the activities available to her mom in school, literary "calaveras" ("calavera poems"). These literary calaveras were popularized in México as a genre through José Guadalupe Posada’s art and verses (Carmichael & Sayer, 1991). Having learned calaveras in that context, Dora’s mother passed down this knowledge to her daughter as a result of the homework assignment. Dora provided a definition of a literary calavera in her homework. She wrote, "son versos donde la muerte bromea con personas de la vida real"
[Translation: they are verses where la muerte (death) jokes around with characters in real life.]
(See Figure 5.1, second paragraph). In the genre, the main character is "La Calaca" ("death"), who watches and snatches children. This is a local interpretation of calaca. Dora also employed 143 rhyming in her retelling, a characteristic of this type of folklore, through the use of the verbs,
"observaba" and "llevaba" ("observed" and "would take"). This student produced artifact, shows how Dora and her family share cultural and literacy knowledge in Spanish that is passed down from one generation to the next. Similar to Bernal’s (2001) work of pedagogies of the home, this cultural knowledge (altars and literary calaveras) was passed down from Dora’s great- grandmother to grandmother to mother to daughter. As Dora modeled in her writing, cultural knowledge spans borders as people immigrate to the U.S. and share this knowledge with their children (Sánchez & Kasun, 2012).
In writing the literary calavera, Dora drew from the vernacular (traditionally less powerful) side of the content continua of biliteracy (Hornberger & Link, 2012). The experience of writing the literary calavera with her mother may facilitate to an easier transition to the literary and majority (traditionally more powerful) sides of the continua when the focus of instruction is centered on reading and writing poems. In the same fashion, Hornberger and
Skilton-Sylvester (2003) note that the vernacular side of the content continua of biliteracy is often excluded from the curriculum, yet when included, can support the acquisition of the dominant language and curriculum. Through this assignment Mr. Menchaca also drew from the contextualized (traditionally less powerful) side of the content continua of biliteracy (Hornberger
& Link, 2012), which centered and placed value on Dora’s families’ cultural and experiential knowledge (Solorzano & Bernal, 2001). Unlike previous studies of Día de los Muertos in classrooms spaces (Lewy & Betty, 2007; Rowan, 2001), Mr. Menchaca demonstrated how teachers can draw from the minority, vernacular, and contextualized sides of the content continua of biliteracy to develop students’ biliteracy and bilingual skills.
144 Unlike Dora, who formed connections by writing about her mother’s experience with Día de los Muertos in Mexico, her peer, Amelia, had first-hand experience taking part in the tradition herself. In Figure 5.2 Amelia wrote in Spanish about her family’s cultural practices in honoring her mother’s uncle in the United States.
Similar to the characters in the books: Nando in The Spirit of Tío Fernando: A Day of the
Dead Story/El espíritu de tío Fernando: Una historia del Día de los Muertos (Levy, 1995) and
Pablo in Pablo recuerda: La fiesta del Día de los Muertos (Ancona, 1993), Amelia also identified as a participant of Día de los Muertos by stating, “Yo celebro…” [Translation: I celebrate…] positioning herself as a member of this cultural practice. In Ancona’s book, Pablo
(the main character) and his family set up an altar for his abuelita and placed pan de muerto and flores de cempasúchil to honor and remember her. Amelia and her mother “reflected” (Bishop,
1990) similar cultural practices, they too placed offerings such as “pan de muerto” (“sweat bread, bread of the dead”) and “cempasúchiles” [sic] (“marigold flowers, flowers of the dead”) for her uncle. It may serve to point out that “pan de muerto” is not readily available in just any store; it is usually only available in “panaderías” (Mexican pastry stores) seasonally for this celebration. Personalizing an “altar” for the family member entails gathering the bread, flowers, and artifacts from the deceased person’s pastimes such as “la lotería” (“bingo”) and “una camisa de fútbol” (“soccer jersey”). These iconic items have a symbolic cultural and nostalgic meaning in keeping the person’s interests and memories alive.
145 Figure 5.2: Amelia’s Essay: Celebrating Día de los Muertos in the U.S. (October 22, 2015)
Yo celebro el día de los muertos. Le pone pan de muertos. A mi mamá, su tío le gustaba jugar lotería. Le pone cempasuchiles y le pone una camisa de futbol.
[Translation: I celebrate Día de los Muertos. She puts sweet bread. My mom’s uncle liked to play Mexican bingo. She puts marigolds and she puts a soccer jersey.]
Although Amelia is a young second grade student, through her writing, she demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the meaning of Día de los Muertos rooted in her participation and experiences. In regards to her Spanish writing, Amelia is at a level 4 (Ferreiro & Teberosky,
1982). Writers at a level 4 are able to accurately represent most phonemes with graphemes in words. Amelia is able to represent the majority of phonemes in words with the exception of the phoneme /d/ in día (bia) and de (be), although, she did spell the word de correctly two other times. She did not represent the phoneme /u/ in muertos, the second time she wrote the word mertos. In addition, Amelia needs support with the use of accent marks for words such as, bia
(día), mama (mamá), tio (tío), loteria (lotería), and futbol (fútbol). To support Amelia’s Spanish writing skills, Mr. Menchaca could provide additional instruction with the phonemes /b/, /d/, /u/, high frequency words such as de and día, and the use of accent marks.
Figures 5.1 and 5.2 demonstrate how the space created by Mr. Menchaca during and after
146 the reading out loud of children’s literature about Día de los Muertos validated students’ cultural practices and their lived experiences from home and community as legitimate knowledge to build deeper understandings. He centered learning around Latina/o students’ cultural knowledge whether from Mexico, the U.S. or another country by providing an opportunity for students to discuss oral traditions and cultural practices with their parents. These discussions at home were retold in writing and shared in the classroom in Spanish or English and in vernacular styles that were contextualized around Día de los Muertos. The homework assignment created a space where students could share their distinct family cultural practices and each student’s lived experiences. While Dora shared about her mother’s experience in Mexico, Amelia shared her personal experience in the U.S. The two Spanish written responses provided different perspectives of Mexican heritage students’ cultural knowledge that resulted from participating in interactive read alouds, dialoguing with parents, composing a reflective essay and illustrating it just as authors and illustrators do. Mr. Menchaca planned these literacy activities in and through two languages with the use of the selected children’s literature. Tschida, Ryan, and Ticknor
(2014) note the importance of disrupting dominant narratives in children’s literature when teachers expose students to children’s literature where they can see themselves and their experiences reflected in the read alouds.
In addition, both of these pieces of writing (Figures 5.1 and Figure 5.2) emit a sense of tranquility (sun, heart, flowers in Amelia’s illustration), acceptance (“I celebrate …”), and contentment (positioning mother and grandmother as experts) rather than portraying a sense of sadness or fear towards the concept of death that is celebrated on All Souls Day or All Saints
Day. While Dora’s essay centers of defining calavera, Amelia’s illustration gives form and color to the symbolic calavera. Dora’s literary calavera also demonstrates the playful 147 relationship between the living and death itself as noted by Paz, “death is a word that is never uttered…. The Mexican, on the other hand, frequents it, mocks it, caresses it, sleeps with it, entertains it; it is one of his favorite playthings and his most enduring love” (1985, p. 57-58).
Celebrations during Día de los Muertos are demonstrative of the Mexican spirit where loved ones are remembered in a positive and enduring manner (Gutierrez et al., 2015). In this way the memories of family and community ancestors are kept immortal.
Reclaiming Día de los Muertos
The second subtheme of recognizing heterogeneity in Latino cultural knowledge takes into account the ways different students and their families responded to the concept of Día de los
Muertos. Some spoke about the importance of reclaiming a cultural practice that had been dormant for some time. Others voiced a desire to participate in the cultural celebration for the first time. Finally, some that did not participate in the cultural practice responded with a level of acceptance towards learning about Día de los Muertos.
Reclaiming cultural practices in school: “No quiero que se pierda esa costumbre”.
During the course of the Día de los Muertos Project, some students’ families talked about reclaiming Día de los Muertos as a cultural practice at home and in school. Mr. Menchaca began the Día de los Muertos Project by showing students an online video titled, Los Mayas y Aztecas, and discussed their history, civilizations, and contributions. After showing the video he stated,
“Nada mas quería, que supieran quienes son los Aztecas y quienes son los Mayas porque la celebración del día de los muertos se basa en ellos. Entonces, entre más conocimientos de ellos, más vamos a poder entender la celebración.” [Translation: I only wanted you to know whom the
148 Aztecs and Mayans are because the celebration of Day of the Dead is based on them. Then the more we know about them, the more we will understand the celebration.] The purpose of the second video titled, Documental Día de Muertos, was for students to understand the origin of the celebration as a Pre-Hispanic tradition. Mr. Menchaca used both videos to support students in understanding the historical context of the celebration and connected the present celebration to the past. Afterwards, Mr. Menchaca read aloud Pablo recuerda: La fiesta del Día de los
Muertos (Ancona, 1993) during the Spanish block and The Spirit of Tío Fernando: A Day of the
Dead Story/El espíritu de tío Fernando: Una historia del Día de los Muertos (Levy, 1995) during the English block of language arts.
On the third day of the project after reading aloud in Spanish a section of Pablo recuerda: La fiesta del Día de los Muertos (Ancona, 1993) to the whole class, Mr. Menchaca told the students that they would work in small groups to summarize their learning. The following conversation took place between Daniel, a student, and Mr. Menchaca.
101 Daniel: Mr. Menchaca,
102 una cosa,
[one thing,]
103 que nosotros, mi familia, no celebramos eso (Día de los Muertos)
[we, my family, do not celebrate Day of the Dead]
104 pero yo ya sé cómo lo haría.
[but I already know how I would do it.]
105 T: Sí, yo se que tú no celebras pero si tu fueras este niño,
[Yes, I know that you do not celebrate it but if you were this child,]
106 ¿qué nos dirías de esto?
149 [what would you tell us about this?]
107 Si tu hubieras hecho este altar, ¿qué nos dirías? (holds up picture of altar)
[If you had made this altar, what would you tell us?]
108 ¿Qué hay?
[What is there,]
109 ¿qué existe en el altar?
[what is on the altar?]
110 Y sobre todo,
[And above all,]
111 me interesa más el ¿por qué?
[I am most interested in the why?]
112 ¿Qué celebran?, ¿qué hacen?, y ¿por qué?
[What do they celebrate?, what do they do?, and why?]
113 ¿Me doy entender?
[Am I clear?]
(Recorded Observation, October 21, 2015)
In line 103 Daniel immediately positioned himself and his family as non-participants of Día de los Muertos. Yet noted in line 104, “…pero yo ya sé cómo lo haría” [Translation:…but I already know how I would do it]. Mr. Menchaca clarified his expectations of the assignment (lines 105-
112). In doing so he asked students to share their understanding of the topic that had been assigned to them, not as participants of the cultural practice but as knowers of the tradition. Mr.
Menchaca wanted students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the history and meaning of the celebration as noted in lines 108-111, “¿Qué hay, qué existe en el altar?, Y sobre
150 todo, me interesa más el, ¿ por qué?” [Translation: What is there, what is on the altar? And above all, I am most interested in the why?]. He sought to build knowledge that went beyond personal experience to collective significance of the celebration. Mr. Menchaca sought to develop deep understanding rather than simplistic understanding (Sleeter, 2011) of Día de los
Muertos. Sleeter notes that some teachers focus on cultural celebrations but tend to guide students in developing a simplistic understanding. Deeper understanding requires students to conduct research by consulting sources such as nonfiction books, videos, artifacts, parents, and community members.
As the class dove deeper into the topic of Día de los Muertos, Daniel learned that his mother’s family had been active participants in Mexico. In preparation for participating in a community celebration for Día de los Muertos Mr. Menchaca invited parents to help make flores de cempasúchil after school. Daniel and his mom, Señora Rosita, were two of the volunteers.
Through these interactions, Mr. Menchaca learned about Daniel’s mother’s knowledge about the cultural practice and later invited her to present to the class on how she created an altar for Día de los Muertos. This invitation prompted conversations in the home.
Seven days later Daniel identified as an expert, he and his mother (Señora Rosita) each presented to the class how to create altars for Día de los Muertos. Daniel’s presentation focused on creating an altar for children, while Señora Rosita focused on creating an altar for adults.
Señora Rosita shared with the students that it had been years since she had made an altar and talked about reclaiming Día de los Muertos. During these presentations, parents fielded questions from the students. In the following excerpt Marcos, Daniel’s peer, clarifies who creates the altar for children, celebrated on November 1st.
64 Sra. Rosita: No quiero que se pierda esa costumbre,
151 [I do not want to loose that practice]
65 para que mis hijos no pierdan esa tradición….
[so that my children will not loose that tradition….]
66 Esta vez sí vamos hacer uno.
[This time we will make one.]
67 Marcos: Cuando era el día de los ángeles (November 1),
[When it was the Day of the Angles,]
68 ¿Daniel lo hacía o tú lo hacías?
[Did Daniel do it or did you do it?]
69 Sra. Rosita: No, nunca han hecho ellos (mis hijos) Marcos,
[No, my children have never made one Marcos,]
70 pero seria bueno que lo hicieran en la casa
[but it would be good for them to do it at home]
71 para que no pierdan esa tradición.
[so that they will not loose that tradition.]
(Recorded Observation, October 28, 2015)
At this juncture that afforded opportunity for reflection, Señora Rosita acknowledged that in order to reclaim (lines 64-65) Día de los Muertos in the U.S. she must actively celebrate (line 66) the cultural traditions such as creating an altar each year with her children (lines 69-70). Rosaldo
(1993) explains that, “we can learn about other cultures only by reading, listening, or being there.
Cultures are learned, not genetically encoded...” (p. 26). Rosaldo describes the complexity of culture, you are not born with culture and culture is not the traditions, celebrations, language itself, culture is even more complex than that. As noted above, Daniel’s dynamic culture
152 enriched as he interacted with his mother both in the school context and at home. Daniel’s culture evolved from a nonparticipant to a participant as his mother reclaimed the cultural practice of Día de los Muertos. Mr. Menchaca purposely created a pedagogical space where students’ families’ knowledge and lived experiences could be shared; opportunities for students and parents to question, reconsider, reflect, and reclaim cultural practices that may have otherwise continued to remain quiescent.
Through the demonstration presentations, Mr. Menchaca created a space where the minority, vernacular, and contextualized points on the traditionally less powerful side of the content continua (Hornberger, 2003) were used to enrich the read alouds. Señora Rosita’s personal experience (vernacular) of celebrating Día de los Muertos in her country of origin provided the minority perspective of this cultural practice. In addition, she supported the Día de los Muertos Project by contextualizing how this cultural practice takes shape in the students’ community.
Adopting a new cultural practice.
While Sra. Rosita voiced the desire to reclaim a lost tradition, there were parents who were unfamiliar with Día de los Muertos as a cultural practice among Mexicans in particular and
Latinos generally. As a culminating activity for the project, Mr. Menchaca invited parents to a literacy reunion (November 3, 2015) where students shared their work with their parents (literary calaveras and a class created book about Día de los Muertos as celebrated in their communities).
The parents were invited to share their thoughts and experiences in relation to the unit of study through discussion and written responses to prompts provided by Mr. Menchaca. During the written portion of the literacy event, Señora Andrea wrote the following responses in Figure 5.3.
153 Figure 5.3: Me Gustaría Hacerlo (I would like to do it)
él
[Translation: 1. Do you or did you celebrate Día de los Muertos? Why? We do not celebrate Día de los Muertos because I did not know how to do it but today I learned how and I would like to do it and I will do it with my family next year. I liked it and now I will do it because it is something very beautiful to remember your loved ones. My husband did celebrate it in Mexico. I never celebrated it because here in the United States we don’t really celebrate it. 2. What conversations did you have about Día de los Muertos? My husband shared his experience, how he celebrated in Mexico. They would wear costumes, would decorate tombstones and give them food. I would have liked to have been there, to see how they do it. We learned a bit more with what Marcos learned in class because he would comment what you guys would do. This is something new for me and we learned a lot.]
The response to the second prompt in Figure 5.3 sheds light on the learning that
happened throughout course of the unit, as students became teachers of the history and traditions
associated with Día de los Muertos learned at school, “Aprendimos un poco mas con lo que
Marcos aprendio en la clase porque nos comento lo que hacian.” [Translation: We learned a bit
more with what Marcos learned in class because he would comment what you guys would do.]
while also gathering information from parents, “Mi esposo nos comento su experencia como el lo 154 celebraba en Mexico.” [Translation: My husband shared his experience, how he celebrated in
Mexico.] as they interviewed family members at home. According to Sra. Andrea, Marcos played a vital role in linking his father’s cultural knowledge and the school knowledge – a link that Sra. Andrea desired for herself. This bidirectional learning between the school and the home
(Fránquiz, Leija, & Garza, 2015) contextualized Día de los Muertos for Marcos’ mom to the point that she decided to adopt the cultural celebration the following year, “hoy aprendi como y me gustaria hacerlo y lo voy hacer con mi familia para el proximo año.” [Translation: today I learned how and I would like to do it and I will do it with my family next year]. The cultural practice that Marcos’ father experienced in Mexico now spans to the U.S. (Sánchez & Kasun,
2012) and will likely be practiced the following year and continued thereafter. Since Mr.
Menchaca centered learning on a Latino cultural practice, he afforded students and parents an opportunity to learn about and/or identify with the celebration.
Cultural practices and religious beliefs.
For the most part, parents of the second graders in Mr. Menchaca’s classroom either embraced the Día de los Muertos celebration, wanted to reclaim, or adopted the cultural practice.
During the Día de los Muertos Project, Mr. Menchaca created opportunities for students and their families to reclaim dormant cultural practices, take on new cultural practices, and develop a comprehensive understanding of Día de los Muertos. He purposefully made attempts to communicate with parents whom he knew would have reservations about the content of the project. This thoughtful and proactive approach of reaching out to parents whom he knew would question alignment between faith-based beliefs and cultural practices is vital for teachers to consider in planning curriculum.
155 For example, Mr. Menchaca knew that Rosa, and her parents identified as Jehovah
Witnesses and may have reservations about the Día de los Muertos Project. Thus, he made a conscientious effort to communicate many details of the project with them. During a classroom observation, Mr. Menchaca shared with me that Rosa’s parents were comfortable with their daughter participating in the project, as long as she did so willingly. This was reiterated during an interview with Señor Josué, Rosa’s dad, “Nosotros les enseñamos lo que la Biblia dice más que nada, nuestras creencias piden, pero tampoco los forzamos o los castigamos. Si ellos participan en alguna celebración…. Yo los dejo, si ellos quieren participar”(June 15, 2016).
[Translation: More than anything, we teach them what the Bible says, our beliefs ask, but we also don't force them or punish them. If they participate in a celebration....I let them, if they want to participate.] Her parents’ flexible approach was observed throughout the phases of the project as
Rosa participated in read aloud discussions, home interviews, written responses to prompts and other supplementary activities. In addition, she attended an after school gathering where parents and students made papier-mâché marigolds for the community altar at a local Cultural Center.
Día de los Muertos in the Context of the Church and State
The third subtheme relates to tensions expressed during the literacy project, Día de los
Muertos. Although some students and parents who participated in the dissertation study viewed
Día de los Muertos as a cultural celebration that fit within the bounds of multicultural education, other students’ families’ religious beliefs considered Día de los Muertos as a potentially uncomfortable curriculum topic. This reservation is not unique to the Texas school district where the dissertation study took place. For example, in California teachers learn to be careful to plan for the freedom of conscience of all students by learning about the First Amendment rights 156 of students and their families (Hill, 2013).
Rejecting Día de los Muertos as a cultural practice.
Though culturally relevant and responsive practices are important, it is equally important to recognize that no practice is universal and that no culture is monolithic. Consequently, we can find examples in which the teaching of Día de los Muertos was not accepted by all children and their parents. For example, Herminia, a student, whose mom identified as an Evangelical
Christian was an active participant throughout the majority of the project and on the last day, voiced her rejection for the cultural practice.
During the third day of the unit, Mr. Menchaca read aloud in Spanish The Spirit of Tío
Fernando: A Day of the Dead Story/El espíritu de tío Fernando: Una historia del Día de los
Muertos (Levy, 1995) to the whole class. The story is about how Nando (Nandito), tío (uncle)
Fernando’s nephew, prepares for his first Día de los Muertos in his honor (See description of book in Chapter 3). At the end of the story, when Nando felt the presence of his tío Fernando, the following whole class conversation emerged with Herminia summing up the teacher’s thoughts.
369 Cruz: Lo tiene en el corazón Nandito.
[Nandito has him in his heart.]
370 T: Lo que tú me estás diciendo
[What you are telling me]
371 es que el tío lo enterraron
[is that they buried the uncle]
372 pero sigue en el corazón de Nandito, ¿verdad?
157 [but he continues in Nandito’s heart, right?]
373 No es que se terminó todo, sigue en el corazón de Nandito.
[It is not that everything ended, he continues in Nandito’s heart.]
374 ¡Muy buena observación!
[Great observation!]
375 Las personas que se mueren, lo que tú me dices, no es que se terminó.
[People that die, what you are telling me, it is not that it ended.]
376 Son personas que siguen vivas
[They are people that continue to live]
377 y nosotros queremos seguirlos recordando
[and we want to continue remembering them]
378 porque no queremos que se nos olviden.
[because we do not want to forget them.]
379 Herminia: No queremos que se nos olviden nuestros antepasados.
[We do not want to forget our ancestors.]
380 T: Nuestros antepasados,
[Our ancestors,]
381 me gusta como piensa este grupo.
[I like how this group thinks.]
382 Ese es el verdadero significado del Día de los Muertos.
[That is the true meaning of Day of the Dead.]
(Recorded Observation, October 21, 2015)
In this whole group conversation Herminia illustrated that she understood the meaning of Día de
158 los Muertos as noted in line 379 when she repeated Mr. Menchaca’s statement “no queremos que se nos olviden” [Translation: We do not want to forget them] and added, “nuestros antepasados”
[Translation: our ancestors]. The addition of “nuestros antepasados” indicated that she understood the purpose of Día de los Muertos and was confirmed by Mr. Menchaca, “Ese es el verdadero significado del Día de los Muertos” (line 382). By indexing “we” and “ours”, she positioned herself as being part of the community and being accepting of remembering the departed once they are interred.
As the whole class conversation continued, Rosa, whom Mr. Menchaca knew early in the year that her family identified as Jehovah Witnesses, shared that her grandmother had passed away when she was three years old. Later in an interview with her father, I learned that this was a traumatic experience for his daughter and that she would come to associate vomiting with death since that was once of the symptoms her grandmother experienced during the time of her death. During this particular whole class discussion students, including Herminia, chimed in on how to support Rosa in remembering her grandmother.
147 Rosa: Es (the story) igual como mi abuelita... [It (the story) is the same as my grandmother] 148 T: Por ejemplo, tú dices Rosa, que tu quisieras ver a tu abuelita. [For example, Rosa you say, you would want to see your grandmother.]
149 ¿Qué puedes hacer para ver a tu abuelita, [What can you do to see your grandmother,]
150 si ya no la puedes ver físicamente? [if you cannot see her physically?]
151 Herminia: Puede ir al panteón y puede ponerle flores. [She can go to the cemetery and she can place flowers.]
159 152 Rosa: No, pero como aquí no la enterraron, [No, but they didn’t burry her here,]
153 tengo que ir a México. [I have to go to Mexico.]
154 T: Pero, ¿solamente yendo a México es como lo puedes hacer? [But is going to Mexico the only way you can see her?]
155 ¿Qué puedes hacer aquí? [What can you do here?]
156 ¿Qué es lo que Rosa puede hacer aquí? [What can Rosa do here?]
157 Beatriz: Puede hacer un altar. [She can make an altar.]
158 T: Puede ser que sea un altar pero… [It could be that she makes an altar but…] 159 Rosa: Espérenme, [Wait for me]
160 pero como yo no celebro el Día de los Muertos. [but like I do not celebrate Day of the Dead.]
161 T: ...en su casa no celebran el día de los muertos. […they do not celebrate Day of the Dead at her house.]
162 Pero, ¿aun cuando no lo celebras Rosa?… [but even when you do not celebrate it Rosa?] 163 Rosa: Yo tengo una foto de mi abuelita. [I have a photo of my grandmother.]
164 T: Tu puedes tener una foto de tu abuelita. [You can have a photo of your grandmother.]
165 Herminia: Puedes poner en tu mesa… 160 [You can place on your table…]
166 Rosa: Ni me dejan hablar... [You don’t even let me talk…]
167 Herminia: Ella puede poner en una mesa la foto de su abuelita [She can place the photo of her grandmother on a table]
168 y luego puede poner como velas...
[and then she can put like candles…]
169 Rosa: Pero eso es casi como un altar. [But that is almost like an altar.]
170 T: Es casi como un altar [It is almost like an altar]
171 y quizás no le permitan.
[and perhaps that will not be permitted.]
172 Lupe: (inaudible)
173 T: Lupe tiene una gran idea. [Lupe has a grand idea.]
174 Lupe: Puede celebrarlo en su mente y en su corazón. [She can celebrate it in her mind and in her heart.] 175 Herminia: Uh huh. (Recorded Observation, October 21, 2015)
In line 147 Rosa began the conversation by making a personal connection between what the character, Nandito, experienced in remembering his tío Fernando and the loss of her grandmother, “Es (the story) igual como mi abuelita” [Translation: “It (the story) is the same as my grandmother”]. In line 148 Mr. Menchaca referenced a comment Rosa made in a prior conversation and through the questions he posed in lines 149 and 150, it is clear that he meant figuratively and not literally. Herminia then suggested that she could go to the cemetery to take 161 flowers (line 151). At this point in time, Herminia was not yet aware of her family’s religious beliefs in regards to Día de los Muertos. In an interview with Herminia’s mother she shared, that the only purpose in visiting a gravesite is to maintain the look of the grave and that visiting the grave does not have sentimental value.
As the conversation continued, Rosa went on to clarify (lines 152-153) that her grandmother had been buried in Mexico, therefore, taking flowers or visiting the cemetery was out of the question. In lines 154-156 Mr. Menchaca pushed the students to think about what
Rosa could do if she were unable to leave the country. Beatriz, a student, suggested creating an altar (line 157). In line 158 Mr. Menchaca restated Beatriz’s suggestion and ended with a “but” indicating that he understood there were restrictions. Rosa then interrupted the discussion
(line159), “Espérenme,” [Translation: “Wait for me”] and reminded her peers that she was not a participant of the cultural celebration (line 160). Mr. Menchaca then restated her comment (line
161) and added (line 162), “Pero, ¿aun cuando no lo celebras Rosa? [Translation: “but even when you do not celebrate it Rosa?”]. This provided an opportunity for Rosa to consider how she could remember her grandmother while still abiding by her religious beliefs. In line 163
Rosa referenced a photograph that she had of her grandmother and in line 164 Mr. Menchaca commented that the picture is something she could have. Mr. Menchaca understood Rosa’s religious beliefs and knew that a photograph was acceptable. When I interviewed her father, I came to learn that having a photograph of a departed relative is acceptable and that he had one in his bedroom and would reminisce about times with his mother.
Herminia then suggested that the something could be placed on a table (line 165). Rosa went on to reprimand her peers for not giving her time to speak (line 166). In lines 167-168
Herminia suggested that Rosa could place the photograph and candles on a table. Rosa followed
162 by pointing out that doing so would symbolize an altar, which was against her religious beliefs
(line 167). Mr. Menchaca continued the conversation by rephrasing Rosa’s comment (line 169) and added that Lupe, another student, had an idea. In line 174 Lupe stated, “Puede celebrarlo en su mente y en su corazón.” [Translation: She can celebrate it in her mind and in her heart.”].
Herminia followed by voicing her agreement with Lupe’s suggestion in line 175.
In this whole class discussion students worked within the boundaries of religious beliefs in order to help a classmate honor her beloved grandmother who had been interred in Mexico.
Altars are not appropriate symbols for remembering deceased relatives in specific religions such as Evangelical Christians (Marchi, 2009, 2013) and Jehovah Witnesses. In the case of Jehovah
Witnesses, the view of death varies from other Christians because the soul and body cease to exist (Hanegraaff, 2009) therefore altars that honor the continued existence of loved ones would present conflicting faith based beliefs. The beliefs of children from families and communities that differ in religious backgrounds regarding death become visible in varied ways in elementary school classrooms.
As noted in the transcript above, Herminia was one of the most prominent voices in assisting Rosa to adhere to her religious beliefs while also integrating new knowledge from the
Día de los Muertos Project in order to remember her abuelita. Herminia’s contributions continued everyday throughout the project with the exception of the last day. On the eve of this last day, Mr. Menchaca held parent-teacher conferences. These conferences are held in the fall and the spring of each academic year. After the conferences concluded, he shared with me that
Herminia’s mother expressed her opposition to discussing Día de los Muertos when she noticed the altar that had been constructed in the classroom. During the conference she stated to Mr.
Menchaca, “Yo le digo a mi hijo y a mi hija, ‘ya van empezar otra vez, los maestros, hablando de
163 los muertos.’ Dile, ‘que ya los dejen en paz’”. [Translation: ““I tell my son and daughter, “here they go again, the teachers, speaking about the dead.” Tell him, “to leave them in peace already.””] Prior to this interaction, Herminia’s mother had not voiced her opposition to Día de los Muertos, even as inquiry assignments had been sent home in the previous weeks.
After the conference, Herminia’s interactions in the classroom were markedly different.
For example, during the culminating day of the project, where Funny bones: Posada and his Day of the Dead Calaveras (Tonatiuh, 2015) was read aloud in English, Mr. Menchaca shared that people had different customs and beliefs in association with how the dead should be remembered. Herminia added to the conversation that she was told to leave the dead alone.
“”Me dijo mi mamá, “Que ya dejen en paz a los muertos... porque es la naturaleza…”
[Translation: My mom told me, “To leave the dead en peace…because it is nature..” (Recorded
Observation, November 3, 2015). Herminia reiterated her new perspective on death several times as students continued to share their perspective on the importance of remembering loved ones. Her mother reiterated her perception about Día de los Muertos when I interviewed she stated,
Cuando ella me preguntó sobre eso, yo simplemente le dije, que la Biblia decía que los
muertos descansan, duermen. Uno no tiene porque estar perturbando ya los muertos,
muertos están. [Translation: When she asked me about that, I simply told her that the
Bible says that the dead rest, sleep. One does not have a reason to be disturbing the dead,
they are dead.] (Interview, June 24, 2016)
It’s important to note that when learning intersects with religion, students’ perceptions and openness to learning concepts can change drastically. After Herminia learned her religious outlook on death, she was no longer able or willing to engage with the learning of Día de los
164 Muertos.
Attending to parental concerns: "Están jugando con dos mundos".
Although the majority of the parents welcomed the Día de los Muertos Project as an appropriate topic for teaching the language arts through a cultural practice, two families out of the 19 families felt strongly that the celebration should not have a place in the curriculum.
Señora Luz, Willi’s mom and Señora Hermelinda, Herminia’s mom, felt Día de los Muertos should be avoided because they felt it challenged their faith based teachings and doctrine, both families identified as Evangelical Christians.
While this study focused on the classroom interactions, Ek (2005, 2009) explored the socialization processes of Latino youth through language and literacy in the context of the church versus the worldly temptations of the school. In her work Ek illustrated how members of the church were taught to choose between “el camino” (the path) and “el mundo” (the secular world). Similar to Ek’s study, for the parents that opposed Día de los Muertos, the school signified “el mundo” where the practices of placing an offerings for the dead meant venturing into dangerous realms of unknown spiritual forces.
Señora Luz who showed up to the class literacy celebration of Día de los Muertos, expressed her disapproval of the project and left. I followed up with Señora Luz after school had let out for the summer to ask her about her Evangelical Christian beliefs in regards to Día de los
Muertos she shared,
Yo entiendo, porque no le agrada a Dios, porque los muertos tienen su lugar especial.
Como quien dice, el muerto está en un lugar y nosotros estamos vivos. Nosotros
celebramos un Dios vivo, no algo muerto. Nosotros creemos cuando los muertos
165 supuestamente llegan y se toman el agua, llegan y comen, que por eso se les pone esas
cosas. Entonces, si hay alguna manera de que hagan eso, pues ya no son los muertos sino
espíritus malos. (Interview, June 13, 2016)
[Translation: My understanding is that it does not please God, because the dead have their
special place. As they say, the deceased is in one place and we are alive. We celebrate a
living God, not something dead. We believe that when the dead supposedly come and
drink the water, arrive and eat, that is why you place those things. Then, if there is a way
for them to do that, well they are not dead but rather bad spirits.]
Señora Luz’ interpretations of Día de los Muertos had come about through her own biblical and church literacy practices in Nicaragua and the U.S. Being married to a Mexican man, she spoke about understanding the cultural aspect of Día de los Muertos as a primarily Mexican and
Catholic practice but did not wish for her own children to be exposed to the cultural practice.
She added, “no lo celebramos no estoy de acuerdo, por mis costumbres, por mi religión.”
[Translation: we do not celebrate it I am not in agreement, due to my customs, due to my religion.] Señora Luz’ stance on the teaching of Día de los Muertos is echoed by Marchi (2013) who noted that Evangelical Christians do not feel schools are a place for students to learn about the cultural practice and will protest such teachings.
Señora Hermelinda happened to belong to the same religion as Señora Luz. She also spoke of her worry that placing objects to invite the dead to visit would open up other realms.
Es un mundo que ya no nos pertenece a nosotros, los vivos. Lamentablemente, estamos
abriendo puertas no nada más nos están afectando a nosotros, si no a nuestros niños.
Estoy hablando en un sentido trasladante, estoy hablando algo espiritual….Uno no sabe
cómo murieron esas personas. Si esas personas realmente murieron creyendo en
166 Jesucristo. Aunque algún día van a resucitar, pues esas personas están descansando
pero, ¿qué tal de las otras personas? No sabemos cómo fue que murieron. No sabemos si
realmente murieron de alguna enfermedad o de algún accidente o algo….Están jugando
con dos mundos. (Interview, June 24, 2016)
It is a world that no longer belongs to us, the living. Regrettably, we are opening doors
that are not only affecting us, rather our children. In a sense I am talking about
transferring, I am talking about something spiritual…One does not know how those
people died. If those people truly died believing in Jesus Christ. Even though someday
they will rise, well those people are resting but, how about the other people? We do not
know how it is that they died. We do not know if they really died for an illness or from an
accident or something…You are playing with two worlds.]
Señora Hermelinda echoed Señora Luz’ worry that Día de los Muertos opened up a portal for bad spirits to come and ravage the living. Mundos roughly translates to worlds or realms in the case of Señora Hermelinda’s view. Returning here to Ek’s work where the tensions of “el mundo” versus “el camino” (Ek, 2005) played out through the literate and linguistic practices of home and school. Ek’s study showed how literacy was used as “a primary tool for socializing the youth” (2005, p. 81) to a Christian identity through the use of religious texts like the Bible.
For Señora Hermelinda and Señora Luz the school’s literacy practices of reading books around
Día de los Muertos and the activities derived from it were in direct conflict with their own biblical literacy practices.
Mr. Menchaca walked a fine line between separating the church and state, including cultural components into his curriculum but also respecting religious diversity. When asked what he would do differently the following year he noted the importance of knowing his parents,
167 Necesita uno conocerlos, quienes son los que celebran y quienes no. Pues enviar una
carta antes (del proyecto), “Vamos hacer esta unidad, si usted no celebra por favor
comuníquemelo” y luego yo hablar con ellos. Por ejemplo, en las conferencias
recordarme que con ellos tengo que hablar. Para ayudarles entender que es lo que
vamos hacer. Creo que los papás si habla uno con ellos lo entienden, a pesar de que su
religión es muy fuerte. Pero si ellos no lo están tratando de un punto religioso, pues lo
van hacer. Fue lo que pasó con los papás de Rosa… (Interview, June 24, 2016)
[Translation: One needs to know them, which ones celebrate and which ones do not.
Well send a letter prior to (the project), “We are going to do a unit, if you do not
celebrate please communicate with me” and then I will speak to them. For example,
during the conferences remember that I have to speak to them. To help them understand
what it is that we are going to do. I believe that if one speaks to the parents, they
understand in spite of their strong religious beliefs. But if they do not approach it from a
religious perspective, well then they will participate. That is what happened with Rosa’s
parents...]
Mr. Menchaca reflected on the importance of knowing and understanding all of his students’ religious backgrounds. As noted in the last sentence, since he knew that Rosa’s parents identified as Jehovah’s Witnesses, he was proactive in letting them know the project objectives and they were willing to allow their daughter to participate in the class activities and discussions.
Although Mr. Menchaca attempted to be inclusive of all his students’ experiences and cultural practices in the curriculum, this proved to be highly complex due to the religious aspects of Día de los Muertos, such as the church service held by Catholics to complement the holiday. With the multiple intersections that LatCrit encourages us to take into account such as race, class,
168 gender, phenotype and language among others, religion seems to stand out as a source of tension that may need further exploration as we continue to find ways to validate Latino culture in the classroom while being sensitive not to essentialize.
Señora Luz, who identified as Nicaraguan, insisted on the recognition of the diversity of
Latinos: “la mayoría son Mexicanos pero…no todos (los alumnos) son Mexicanos….tenemos diferentes culturas, diferentes maneras de pensar” [Translation: the majority are Mexicans but…not all (the students) are Mexicans….we have different cultures, different ways of thinking]. In this class of 19 students, 17 students identified as Mexican, one Mexican-
Nicaraguan, and one Anglo-Honduran it is vital to take into account Señora Luz’s point reminding us the importance of not essentializing Latino culture as being static or to consider
Latinos to be a monolithic people with parallel experiences and belief systems. Although teachers may be centering their curriculum on the Latino cultural experience, that does not necessarily mean that s/he is fully embracing the complex and nuanced way people from different cultures and religions address the issue of death. Three parents (one Jehovah Witness and two Evangelical Christians) talked about remembering loved ones that had passed away by memories they had experienced or a picture they had of a loved one in their own personal way.
These parents provide a reminder that there are multiple intersecting identities and belief systems that educators must take into account when curricular projects intersect with religion.
Summary
The theme, Recognizing Heterogeneity in Latino Cultural Knowledge, sought to bring forth the complexity of inclusive cultural practices when using children’s literature. The literacy and language practices in Mr. Menchaca’s classroom opened up pedagogical spaces for most
169 students to draw on their own and familial experiences with Día de los Muertos, to interact with the texts read by making text-to-self connections, and incorporate their knowledge into the assignments. The assignments and social celebrations allowed some parents a time to reflect on traditions that were practiced long ago but had fallen out of practice in the U.S. Some parents spoke of the reclamation to Día de los Muertos and the importance of maintaining traditions.
Finally, this unit also created a space for reflection about the diversity in the Latino experience.
In this class of 19 Latino students (17 Mexican, one Mexican-Nicaraguan, and one Anglo-
Honduran), the intergroup variation was attributed to different national origins, religions and, most important, cultural experiences. While the students are linked through a common ethnicity and language, no two students experienced the Día de los Muertos Project in the same exact way.
As suggested by Gutiérrez and Rogoff (2003) teachers of language arts must not ascribe universal traits to race or ethnicity or overgeneralize experiences or traditions as static culture or normative understandings among members of an ethnic group. The 2nd grade students, families, and teacher in this dissertation study demonstrated that Latinos have cultural practices that are dynamic and changing over time (Paris & Alim, 2014), particularly when documented through discourse and writing produced in U.S. schools. In the following chapter I discuss the findings and implications of the study and provide recommendations for teacher education and future research.
170 Chapter VI – Discussion
In chapter VI of the dissertation study I include the following: (a) summary of the study,
(b) findings and implications from the Immigration and Día de los Muertos Projects, (c) recommendations for practice in bilingual classroom, (d) recommendations for teacher education, (e) recommendations for future research, and (f) conclusions.
Summary of the Study
In this dissertation study I investigated the pedagogical practices of a second grade Latino bilingual classroom teacher as he engaged in interactive read alouds across two language arts projects. The process of reading and discussing children’s literature as language and literacy practices were described in the two themes of chapter IV that focused on the Immigration Project and chapter V that focused on the Día de los Muertos Project. The research questions that were examined are: What are the instructional approaches that a bilingual Latino second grade teacher uses during interactive read alouds to teach the language arts? How do those instructional approaches draw from students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge of their communities? For analysis of the research questions, LatCrit theory (Solorzano & Delgado,
2001) and the continua of biliteracy (Hornberger, 2003) were employed. The framework and research questions outlined in the methodology of chapter III helped me make sense of the data collected in the bilingual classroom and through analysis of discussions and activities during and after interactive read alouds intentionally selected to teach about immigration and Día de los
Muertos, findings emerged and are described in chapter IV and V.
171 Purpose.
Latino children encompass the largest enrollment of children in many U.S. schools and this pattern is expected to continue. A sizable number of Latino children have grown up speaking a language other than English, namely Spanish or an indigenous language, and are classified as English language learners or emergent bilinguals (García & Kleifgen, 2010).
Historically emergent bilinguals have not fared well on standardized measures of academic achievement, when compared to the non-ELL population. In fact, emergent bilinguals consistently lag behind their peers in both mathematics and reading according to the NAEP national statistics (Kena et al., 2014; Howard, 2006; Sleeter, 2001). In addition, the demographic imperative of the evolving school demographics is largely paradoxical as the majority of teachers are white female, while the majority of students are Latino children and other children of color.
Coupled with the fact that most teachers do not feel adequately prepared to teach children of color (Ladson-Billings, 1994) it is critical to take into account the potential of Latina/o teachers to inform the educational field about their unique approach to literacy instruction (Ball, Skerrett,
& Martínez, 2011; Rodriguez, 2011; Villegas & Davis, 2008). For these reasons I chose to study the practices of a veteran bilingual Latino teacher and document the oral and written discourse practices in his classroom that can, in due time, be reflected in students’ academic achievements.
Literature review.
In answering Sleeter (2001) and Howard’s (2006) plea for the recognition of race disparities, scholars have initiated an examination of the contributions of teachers of color.
Scholars have noted that teachers of color enact a caring disposition (Dixson & Dingus, 2008), perceived as (an)“other father” (Lynn, 2006), embody a sense of “cariño” and “confianza”
172 (Nieto, 1994; Rueda, Monzó, & Higareda, 2004), are role models (Dee, 2004; Johnson, 2008), hold high and positive expectations (Irvine, 1990; Oates, 2003), possess cultural intuition and a more insightful understanding of their students (Delgado Bernal, 2002; Kauchak & Burback,
2003), and embrace students’ linguistic repertoires (García-Nevarez, 2005). Research has also noted that same race pairing can positively impact the academic achievement of students of color
(Villegas & Davis, 2008).
Several scholars have noted the intentional career choice Latina/o bilingual teachers have made and how their identities as bilingual (Arce, 2004; Cahnmann & Varghese, 2005; Rodriguez
& Cho, 2011), biliterate (Aguilar et al., 2003; Fránquiz, Martínez-Roldán, & Mercado, 2011;
Guerrero, 2003), and bicultural (Fránquiz & Pratt, 2011; Jones et. al, 1999) persons influenced their decision to become teachers. For the most part, Latina/o teachers’ families have played a vital role in teachers being able to maintain their first language (Fitts & Wiseman, 2009;
Guerrero, 2003; Fránquiz & Pratt, 2011). Teachers’ parents have worked against the linguistic violence (Ek, Sánchez, & Quijada Cerecer, 2013) their children experienced in the school environment to overcome the elimination of their first language (Delgado 2008; Fillmore, 2000;
Valenzuela, 1999). The linguistic violence teachers experienced as students, propelled them to become educators (Delgado, 2008; Galindo, 2005; Varghese, 2008; Varghese & Stritikus, 2005).
Because the linguistic violence experienced by many Latina/o teachers during childhood, higher education plays a fundamental role in the language development of teachers, specifically the development of academic Spanish (Arce, 2004; Galindo, 2007; Guerrero, 2003). In addition to reclaiming and developing the heritage language, teachers’ bi/multi cultural identities often need to be foregrounded in professional development (Fránquiz & Pratt, 2011; Jones et. al, 1999).
The mediational tools for Latina/o bilingual teachers’ development of biliteracy skills is
173 linked to research with emerging bilingual students. For example, Mártinez-Roldán’s (2003) work demonstrated how access to Spanish positioned one bilingual child as knowledgeable and as an accomplished reader during literature discussions. By contrast, English-only discussions positioned the same child as both quiet and unable to comprehend. However, bilingual Latina/o teachers who have completed K-16 education in the U.S. often report they are more accomplished reading in English than in their native Spanish. While some teachers report their bilingualism was supported by family (Fránquiz et.al, 2011; Rodriguez, 2011), others through school (Monzó & Rueda, 2001), and for some in higher education (Aguilar et al., 2003;
Fránquiz, Martínez-Roldán, & Mercado, 2011; Guerrero, 2003) many have their dream of teaching deferred because of language loss, avoidance of race and culture in their childhood classrooms, and cultural oppression in schools and society.
Fortunately, scholars are documenting how Latina/o bilingual teachers can work towards enacting culturally relevant practices (Rodriguez et al., 2005; Salinas et al., 2006) and the teaching of literacy (Rodriguez, 2011), draw on their historical positionality when teaching students (Salinas & Castro, 2010), and embody ideological and advocacy stances, through the curriculum to disrupt society’s majoritarian tales (Fránquiz, Salazar, & DeNicolo, 2011). In addition, Latina/o bilingual teachers can build strong relationships with their students (Monzó &
Rueda, 2001), support their students in developing critical consciousness and ethnic-group identity (Arce, 2004) as well as integrate family and community knowledge (Irizarry & Raible,
2011) in to their and their students’ lives.
Read alouds have been noted as a critical component in preparing young students to becoming successful readers (Anderson et. al., 1985; Fisher, Flood, Lapp, & Frey, 2004). Some documented benefits of reading alouds are: motivation (Cunningham, 2005; Fox, 2013),
174 development of oral language (Dickinson, Cote, & Smith, 1993), comprehension skills
(Dickinson & Smith, 1994), and critical literacy (Janks & Vasquez, 2011; Vasquez, 2010).
Other benefits include: acquisition of vocabulary (Penno et. al, 2002) and opportunities to make many different types of connections to the text (Sipe, 2000, 2002). Scholars have also noted the benefits of read alouds for bilingual students such as supporting oral language development
(Cummins, 1994), providing opportunities for bilingual students to acquire vocabulary (Elley,
1989; Krashen, 1985; Lambert, 1991) making cultural connections to the text (Martínez-Roldán,
2003), and drawing on their hybrid language practices and metalinguistic strategies to develop oral language skills (Worthy et. al, 2013).
Teachers’ necessity for tools that can mediate the linguistic and cultural oppressive forces in the wider society and in the proposed policies of the political landscape in 2017 are critical.
Now, as much as ever, Latina/o students and their teachers must thrive. I argue that reading, discussing, visually representing, and writing responses to culturally relevant children’s literature are mediational practices to counter a simplistic focus on bi/multicultural education. These mediational resources and practices provide a forum for enacting a powerful vision of social justice education grounded in the languages, traditions, and experiences of ethnic communities, in this case the Latino community. In the dissertation study I investigated how languages, cultures and teacher and student identities were enacted through classroom interactions and literacy practices during the Immigration and Día de los Muertos Projects.
Methodology.
To answer the research questions I utilized a qualitative research approach (Denzin &
Lincoln, 2005) that is dependent on observing participants in their natural setting over a
175 prolonged period of time. I chose to implement a case study, as it would provide an in-depth description and analysis of the bounded system (Merriam, 2009). In the case of the dissertation study, Mr. Menchaca’s approach to interactive read alouds in a second grade bilingual classroom provided a bounded system in the ways he incorporated students’ linguistic, cultural practices, and experiential knowledge to sustain and develop biliteracy and bilingualism.
Mr. Menchaca was selected for this project through purposeful sampling (Merriam,
2009); he met the characteristics of both a unique and convenient sample. His unique approach to biliteracy instruction was a convenient sample due to the researcher/participant relationship established during his participation in a specialized Masters degree program and as part of a larger study in which he participated.
The data sources included video/audio recordings and participant observations of the interactive read alouds, literature discussions, and extension activities. From February to
November of 2015 there were a total of 42 observations. During this time Mr. Menchaca involved students and their families in an Immigration Project (26 observations) and a Día de lo
Muertos Project (16 observations). I employed a range of ethnographic tools to aid in data collection: prolonged engagement at the research site, ethnographic field notes (Geertz, 1973), classroom observation, semistructured interviews (Merriam, 2009), collection of teacher artifacts including those written by the students and their parents (LeCompte & Preissle, 1993), video recordings (Angrosino & Rosenberg, 2011) and audio recordings, iPhone, picture camera, laptop, spiral notebook, and a pencil. The data was coded by identifying emerging patterns and themes
(Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2013). Triangulation of the data collected was done to establish trustworthiness (Mathison, 1988).
One advantage of in-depth study with Mr. Menchaca was my ability to document his own
176 personal growth and revision of language and literacy practices as he participated in the specialized Masters degree program for veteran bilingual teachers (must have taught five years in bilingual classrooms). Findings from observations were enriched by our conversations of student responses to interactive read alouds. What was most notable by the end of the study is that he no longer subscribed to traditional norms of linguistic, cultural, and one nation-state allegiance that mark the traditional position of immigrants. Instead, he developed and maintained a transnational identity (Ong, 1999; Portes et al., 1999) and literacy practices to reflect this flexible identity (Hornberger, 2007; López & Brochin, 2014; Sánchez, 2007). His newly developed transnational identity affirms biculturalism and privileges cultural orientation over nation-state allegiance. Unfortunately, this transnational orientation and bicultural identity is not always reflected in bilingual classroom curriculum, materials, and literacy practices.
Findings and Implications
The aim of this section is to discuss the three major findings that developed from the research questions: What are the instructional approaches that a bilingual Latino second grade teacher uses during interactive read alouds to teach the language arts? How do those instructional approaches draw from students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge of their communities?
In chapters four and five I demonstrated that, (1) through the use of code switching, teachers and students negotiated conflicting ideologies about strict language separation practices in the classroom; (2) interactive read alouds provided opportunities for the students and the teacher to make text-to-life connections about the immigration experience; (3) through the study of a cultural tradition the teacher developed awareness of the vastness of Latino cultural 177 knowledge and experiences.
Finding 1: Code switching in the bilingual classroom: Negotiating conflicting
ideologies.
While Marschall, Rigby, and Jenkins (2011) showed that Latino teachers working in
“English-only” states were keenly aware of their agency as “street-level bureaucrats” this study illustrates how even states that possess a favorable view toward bilingualism still put pressure on teachers and students to adhere to dominant language ideologies. During the study, students questioned the use of code switching in the text read aloud and their classmate’s use of intersentential and intrasentential code switching (Zentella, 1997). The students drew upon their prior schooling experiences to support their ideological stance; previously, teachers had talked to them about the importance of the separation of two languages. While traditionally, teachers have held “deficit thinking” notions about students of color (Valencia & Black, 2002) and their linguistic practice of code switching, the dissertation illustrated how Latina/o bilingual teachers can position Latina/o students as bilingual speakers who are able to draw on their linguistic repertoires to communicate through the use of two languages simultaneously. The findings concur with Garcia (2009) who stated”…through a Western scholarly lens, monolingualism is routinely accepted as the norm, and bilingualism is accepted only as double monolingualism
(page 141). Fránquiz and de la Luz Reyes (1998) suggested a decade earlier that when teachers are guided by sociocultural understandings of the ways children use language(s), teachers call upon all linguistic and cultural resources for classroom learning, including “a range of language registers and codes (e.g., from standard to more colloquial forms of speech and from monolingual to more mixed language uses)” (p. 213).
178 Mr. Menchaca’s perspective aligned with Garcia (2009) and Fránquiz and de la Luz
Reyes (1998). He saw code switching as a measure of his students’ bilingual competence
(Poplack, 1980; Reyes, 2004). Other researchers have illustrated how schools that abide to the one-teacher one language approach tend to speak and answer student queries in the target language while allowing code switches from students (Lucero, 2015). Alternatively, Mr.
Menchaca accepted code switching as an approach for inclusive participation practices on various levels of language competency (Gort & Sembiante, 2015). Mr. Menchaca drew from his and his students’ code switching linguistic practices (Martínez, 2010) and cultural experiences
(Solórzano & Delgado, 2001) to value the traditionally less powerful (languages spoken and written in students’ homes and communities) points on the development continua of biliteracy and worked towards developing the traditionally more powerful points (English language and literacy) on the development continua of biliteracy (Hornberger & Link 2012).
The writing prompts that stemmed from the interactive read alouds provided opportunities for students to use their linguistic repertoires (Martínez, 2010) in a different modality. In their writing response activities students also drew on their linguistic repertoires to support one another in their writing compositions. Often students co-constructed and scaffolded each other’s language development (Martin-Beltran, 2010). These writing responses provided
Mr. Menchaca with informal assessments of his students’ bilingual writing abilities and development. As he analyzed these informal assessments he would determine students’ strengths as well as areas in need of additional growth in Spanish as well as in English.
Students also used code switching to learn with one another about the literate structure of figurative language. Figurative language is used in social and academic settings (Qualls &
Harris, 1999) and can be especially challenging for emerging bilinguals (Tompkins, 2002) such
179 as the second graders in Mr. Menchaca’s classroom. However, during the Immigration Project students co-constructed a composite testimony story, drew on a parent’s use of figurative language in Spanish about experiences with immigration to the U.S., and discussed with one another ways to use figurative language meaningfully in and through Spanish and English.
Finding 2: Text as a reflective tool.
The interactive read aloud texts provided a mirror and a window (Bishop, 1990) into the immigrant experience (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2008). This work extends recent literature illustrating that children in the early grades can engage with texts covering complex issues. By using prodding questions before, during, and after reading multicultural children’s literature Mr. Menchaca’s students were able to “pose questions, share opinions, and develop critical perspectives on issues related to racial and cultural diversity” (So, 2016, p. 180) as contextualized in read aloud stories. The discussions, afforded students opportunities to make text-to-life connections (Sipe, 2008; Wiseman, 2011) with their personal lived experiences, family members’ experiences, and community members’ experiences. The emerging bilingual students talked about their transnational experiences (Sánchez & Machado-Casas, 2009) and the challenges that come with living in the U.S. as a documented and undocumented immigrant. In addition, the teacher facilitated conversations about microaggressions that students had experienced.
While researchers like Medina (2010) focused on fourth and fifth grade small group ESL literacy instruction using immigration picture books, this study extends the literature by focusing on a one-way dual language class’ study of an Immigration Project. Just as Medina found that it is imperative that educators connect students’ experiential knowledge with language learning,
180 this study complements that literature by including the experiential knowledge of the teacher with his students. In this way teacher and students become co-constructors of meaning during literacy events. Mr. Menchaca, an immigrant himself, shared his personal text-to-life connections about experiences that anchored him to his country of origin. He modeled how readers respond to text that relates to their experiences. In addition, students demonstrated confianza (mutual trust) in being able to ask Mr. Menchaca questions that he had posed to them about their own experiences. In return, Mr. Menchaca was thoughtful and responsive to their queries. Through these interactions, Mr. Menchaca humanized himself to his students and demonstrated that as a transnational immigrant he also faced similar struggles in becoming a transnational citizen.
As a language arts teacher, Mr. Menchaca, also facilitated discussions on complex vocabulary that sometimes involved discussing the multiple meanings of words. Mr.
Menchaca’s students demonstrated a vast understanding of the Latino immigrant experience through study of complex concepts such as papeles. While these second graders learned that papeles had multiple meanings such as paper, business permits, and legal documents, it was the context of each story that was critical for their understanding nuances. Through class discussions before, during, and after read alouds, students negotiated the meanings of targeted vocabulary words in the Immigration Project. In addition to papeles, students learned that coyote not only meant an animal but also a human smuggler. Some students had critical encounters
(Fránquiz & DeNicolo, 2006) with this vocabulary word because of the cruel practices of coyotes to members of their family or neighborhood and their increased awareness that people who seek the help of coyotes risk financial and/or health security. These understandings were demonstrated through discourse analysis of oral discussions and writing responses throughout
181 the Immigration Project.
Use of Latino children’s literature as a tool for discussing meaningful strategies for the teaching of the language arts as well to increase teachers’ and students’ background in and understanding of the diversity of Latino cultures was taken up by Nathenson-Mejía and
Escamilla (2003) and expanded in this dissertation study. While gaps between teachers and students was the focus at the time of the Nathenson-Mejía and Escamilla study in Colorado, this study in Texas examined the affordances of using Latino children’s literature when there is ethnic pairing between teacher and students. In both studies, stories in Latino children’s literature served as important tools for teaching and learning, yet, in the dissertation study the
Latino teacher is also a text to be read and modeled by his Latina/o students.
Finding 3: Recognizing heterogeneity in Latino cultural knowledge.
While the politicization of Chicanos in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s led to the reclamation of Día de los Muertos (Marchi, 2009, 2013) as an important community event, very little has been written about the use of this cultural tradition in U.S. K-12 classrooms. Within the scarce literature there is an exploration (Rowan, 2001), that involves a short unit taught by a white preservice teacher in a combination fourth and fifth grade classroom from a predominantly high socioeconomic status school. There is also a study of how bilingual student teachers used historical thinking with emerging bilinguals through the use of multicultural literature, primary sources (photographs), and key vocabulary activities (Salinas, Fránquiz, & Guberman, 2006).
The paucity of literature on ways teachers examine the tradition of Día de los Muertos with predominantly Latina/o students is addressed by this dissertation study. The ways families can be sources of knowledge in the study of this tradition had also not yet been explored until this
182 study.
The Día de los Muertos Project in Mr. Menchaca’s bilingual second grade classroom created a pedagogical space where he was able to draw on students’ and their families’ experiential knowledge about the cultural practice. Inquiry assignments served as pedagogical tools for increasing parental contributions to their child’s learning. Through the inquiry assignments, Mr. Menchaca learned about students’ families’ experiences and familiarity with
Día de los Muertos. Students shared how their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents celebrated Día de los Muertos in Mexico and some talked about calaveras (poetry verses) that are typically used in Mexico. The inquiry assignment also provided the students an opportunity to share their expertise of the cultural practice as adapted in the U.S. In addition, the inquiry assignments revealed how cultural practices and knowledge spans borders (Sánchez & Kasun,
2012).
In the Día de los Muertos Project some families were prompted to reclaim a cultural practice that had been dormant while they lived in the United States. Paris (2012) calls for educators to join in the cause for sustaining students’ communities’ “cultural and linguistic competence” (p. 95). As Mr. Menchaca worked to sustain students’ cultural practices, the project also caused change for families whom were not participants but desired to learn about the cultural practice. For example, some families talked about how the discussions they had at home
(where one parent had celebrated Día de los Muertos in Mexico) coupled with what their child learned at school, had provided them the knowledge they needed to be able to adopt the cultural practice the following year. In addition, some students whose religious beliefs did not align with the cultural practice of Día de los Muertos were allowed by their parents to participate in the project. For example, a Jehovah’s Witness family allowed their child to participate and
183 throughout the project, the child struggled with how to adhere to her religious beliefs while still remembering her grandmother.
Scholars remind us of the importance in recognizing religious diversity in the classroom as our demographics continue to change (Green & Oldendorf, 2005; Whittaker, Salend &
Elhoweris, 2009). While this study did not necessarily focus on students from different races, it does extend the conversation about Latino diversity. Most of the students in Mr. Menchaca’s classroom were Mexican-American, while one student identified as Mexican-Nicaraguan and the other as Anglo-Honduran. A major finding in this study was the importance of taking into account religion when incorporating culturally relevant practices in the elementary classroom.
Religion played an important role in how families responded to the Día de los Muertos Project.
Two Evangelical Christian families did not believe school was an appropriate place to discuss the cultural practice. In creating an altar they felt that the offerings created a portal to another world, one in which bad spirits could harm children.
When planning for curricular projects such as Día de los Muertos, it is important to keep in mind that Latinos are not one monolithic group with the same experiences, cultural practices, and religious beliefs. These experiences, cultural practices, and religious beliefs influence how students’ families will respond to and participate in projects such as Día de los Muertos. It is important to take into account all the factors that will impact a project like this one, including different families’ views on death. Learning about parents’ beliefs, cultural practices, and experiences before hand will provide educators a clearer understanding of how to approach teaching a project on Día de los Muertos and selecting the appropriate children’s literature for interactive read alouds and supplementary activities. In addition, it is vital that we keep in mind that Latinos are a group of people from many different countries and it is important to provide
184 mirrors and windows into many Latino experiences, cultural practices, and beliefs. One picture book, Where do they go? by a Latina author (Dominican-American), Julia Alvarez (2016), was recently published and is written as a poem. Although it is not particular to the Latino culture, it provides a context to discuss loss and possibilities for remembering. Classroom interactions regarding a more universal experience, before explorations such as the Día de los Muertos
Project, may be appropriate for bilingual classrooms with wider diversity than in the second grade bilingual class that participated in this study.
Recommendations for Practice
The following are a few ways that practitioners may benefit from the findings of this study. As the number of emergent bilinguals continues to grow in the United States it becomes imperative for teachers to take into account hybrid language practices such as code switching as valid tools for the acquisition of language and literacy. Because teachers have the power to act as policy implementers for top-down curriculum requirements, they have to make decisions regarding the value placed on communicative practices such as code switching. Providing choice to students to utilize their complete linguistic and cultural repertoires for making meaning and developing language and literacy may increase their engagement, participation, and achievement. Strict language separation practices promote double monolingualism and damage students’ identification with heritage language, culture, and traditions. Teachers’ examination of majoritarian tales that reinforce deficit views of code switching, mixing, meshing, mashing or translanguaging ought to examine whether these deficit views are dimensions of hegemony in language ideologies. This dissertation conceptualized one of these perceived deficit views, code switching, as a complex metacognitive process that illustrates mastery of both languages and 185 their grammatical complexities.
Another equally important recommendation for practice is for teachers to recognize the value of multicultural children’s literature as a reflective tool for making and revising connections. Research on reading comprehension indicates that a powerful strategy for young learners to understand text is to make connections (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001; Keene &
Zimmermann, 1997). According to Keene and Zimmermann (1997), readers make three types of connections before, during, or after reading: (a) text-to-self connections; (b) text-to-text connections; and (c) text-to-world connections. These connections aid in comprehension of new knowledge and in reflection of prior knowledge that takes the learner to a more advanced or nuanced way of knowing. As a tool, children’s literature provides many affordances for students to make text-to-life connections.
Through culturally relevant texts children are able to see the experience and knowledge of their community, family, and their own experiences mirrored in literature. Through interactive read alouds teachers can highlight and trouble the complexity of the Latino experience in terms of language, culture, immigration, religion, gender, class, race/ethnicity, and so forth. Teachers who can imagine young children as able to engage in complex topics and vocabulary, acknowledge that Latino children possess many forms of community cultural wealth
(Yosso, 2005). Such teachers also recognize the value of students’ and parents’ experiential knowledge as a tool in the classroom to develop bilingualism and biliteracy. Planning for ways to better integrate parents in their child’s education is of utmost importance in order to challenge majoritarian tales about Latino parental involvement in their child’s language and literacy development. In the classroom, teachers can also take advantage of students’ ability to nuance lexical meanings of words and to engage in word play, particularly if given choice to use their
186 various linguistic and cultural repertoires from home and community. Further, teachers can take up educational opportunities in gathering the oral histories of the parents and the community as knowledge for building and refining their curriculum. Lastly, taking into account that not all
Latina/o students exemplify universal characteristics that share a common religion or cultural experience is critical for student success. In order to attend to this distinct variability in the
Latino culture, educators consider what cultural relevance means in the local context in which they teach.
Recommendations for Teacher Education
Teacher educators may benefit from the findings of this study as they prepare future teachers or recruit in-service teachers to graduate programs. The phenomenon of ethnicity or race pairing is not a cut and dry process and it must be approached with a sense of attentiveness to the heterogeneity in the Latino experience. Research is optimistic about the potential for
Latina/o teachers to understand and connect with Latina/o students’ cultural and linguistic practices. Ethnic pairing is rarely considered in higher education except in Hispanic Service
Institutions.
Correspondingly, the potential for a culturally centered curriculum to provide windows and mirrors for future teachers is challenging when state standards are rigidly applied in teacher education courses. Assignments with possibilities to adopt or reclaim cultural practices must also not subscribe to essentialist notions that position Latina/os as a monolithic people. The
Latino experience in the U.S. is not static and varies in terms of immigration status, experience, language, cultural processes, self-identification, and religion. Planning a culturally sustaining curriculum requires premises that do not essentialize, exoticice, and fetishize (Martínez, 2009) 187 linguistic and cultural practices, but instead explore new possibilities for creating connections and counterstories that transform traditional methods classes to the acquisition of humanizing pedagogies for the language arts and literacy curriculum.
Recommendations for Future Research
As the literature review pointed out in this dissertation, more studies need to document the contributions of teachers of color who work with students of color. More qualitative studies of this nature are needed to examine how teachers of color sustain emerging bilingual students’ linguistic and cultural competence while developing their bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism. In addition, curriculum that subordinates or renders invisible Latina/o issues based on immigration status, language, phenotype, culture, and religion need to be further challenged in order to address majoritarian tales proliferating in the wider society.
Limitations
This study was designed to understand how a bilingual Latino second grade teacher drew from students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge during interactive read alouds.
Prior to concluding this chapter I wish to address some limitations and methodological concerns that warrant discussion. A limitation to this study is based on generalizability to the extent of which a researcher can apply the results to another similar setting. Maxwell explains that generalizability for qualitative research “studies are not designed to allow systematic generalizations to some wider population” (2012, p. 141). Instead, Maxwell points out, generalization takes place through the development of theory and the ability to recognize how the results make sense based on the current situation and setting studied with the caveat that the
188 same process in a differed situation may lead to different results.
The study focused on one participant, Mr. Menchaca, in a one-way bilingual language classroom composed primarily of Mexican-American descent students in a large urban city from a state that borders Mexico. The results of ethnic pairing of a Mexican teacher and a classroom with predominantly Mexican-American students in a rural bilingual classroom even within the same state would likely be different. In addition, the participant was selected through purposeful and convenient sampling. My role as an observer, colleague, and friend may have impacted the interactions and observations of the participant and the students.
Conclusion
In this dissertation study, I featured a second grade Latino bilingual teacher, Mr.
Menchaca, and his two classes of emerging bilingual Latina/o second grade students. Through the use of a rigorous language arts and literacy curriculum generally, and interactive read alouds specifically, Mr. Menchaca drew from predominantly Mexican-American students’ and their communities’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge to discuss issues that impact their lives such as immigration and cultural practices like Día de los Muertos. The findings from this study have wider implications and offer new possibilities for ways that teachers can build upon students’ resources and identities within the elementary bilingual classroom. While the study was conducted within a predominantly Latina/o dominant neighborhood school in Central Texas, there are inferences that can be made for classroom teachers and their students in contexts beyond that of Vista Elementary School.
This study offers practical and theoretical information for teachers and researchers who are interested in implementing culturally relevant read alouds related to immigration or cultural
189 traditions in their classrooms or other educational setting for emerging bilingual students. While there are curricula, children’s literature, and lessons available for interactive read aloud enactment, when planning projects, educators need to understand the multiple intersections of ethnicity, class, gender, culture, and religion in all stages of design. Data illustrated how specific picture books afforded various linguistic (bilingual vocabulary development) and literary oriented composition resources (figurative language) to mediate and expand understanding, my analysis also demonstrated that the relationship between culturally specific texts and writing was an important pairing for young children’s biliteracy development.
Lastly, and most important for me is for teachers to consider the existence of master narratives that value the learning of English as the main goal of bilingual instruction. This study showed how both Spanish and English biliteracy development occurs on a continuum where all points matter. Instead of envisioning bilingual classrooms as places where emergent bilingual students must draw from and be measured by ability to remain on the powerful side of English monolingual production of discourse, teachers can do more. Teachers ought to also value and present many opportunities for students to draw from the traditionally less powerful side of the content, media, development, and context continuas of biliteracy in order to sustain emergent bilingual students’ transnational identities and cultures. In this way integrating and not segregating languages and literacies can result in the fruition of bilingualism, biculturalism, and biliteracy.
190 Appendices Appendix A: Sylvia & Aki (3rd Grade Class, September-November, 2012)
Dates Book Writing Response Family Homework Assignment Sept. 17- Harvesting Hope: The ¿Qué pensaron de el libro 21 Story of Cesar Chavez Harvesting Hope? (Krull, 2003) Favorite part… Oct. 1-2 My First Book of Escribe un dicho que se usa Proverbs: Mi Primer en su familia. Libro de Dichos (Gonzalez & Ruiz, 1995) Oct. 5- Sylvia & Aki (Conkling, ¿Qué te llevarías contigo? Preguntarle a tus padres Nov. 5 2011) como llegastes o cómo llegaron a este país. ¿Cuál es la diferencia ¿Si no te dejaron regístrate entre el campamento de en la escuela como te Aki y el que ustedes sentirías? conocen? Si tu estuvieras en la Escribe una conexión que situación de Sylvia que tengas con Sylvia. arias y porque? Letter to Aki and Sylvia Oct. 22 Field Trip- Thomas Rivera Author Celebration ● Students meet author and Sylvia Nov. 5 Social Literacy Event ● Teacher welcomed parents ● Students share their work with their parents ● Picture slideshow prepared by researcher as a form of reciprocity to the parents ● Teacher thank parents for participating in the social literacy event ● Potluck
191 Appendix B: Nacer Bailando, Sylvia & Aki, & Biographies (3rd Grade Class, September- May, 2014)
Week Book Writing Response Family Homework Assignment Sept. 25- Nacer Bailando (Alma Flor ¿Crees tú que ¿Cuál idioma es Oct. 18 Ada, 2013) Margie va a más importante? cambiar? ¿Cómo lo sabes? ¿Por qué?
¿Con respecto a los ¿Qué piensas sobre regalos de Navidad, cómo conservar la qué piensas de Lupe cultura? y de Margie?
Social Literacy Event • Students welcomed parents • Students share their work with their parents • Picture slideshow prepared by researcher as a form of reciprocity to the parents • Parents respond in writing to the following questions o ¿Qué piensan ustedes de ese libro? o ¿Qué hacen ustedes para conservar la cultura de sus hijos? o ¿Ha vido cambios? • Parents share their responses to the questions • Students thank parents for participating in the Social Literacy Event • Potluck Oct. 21-22 My First Book of Proverbs: Mi Ask parents for 1 Primer Libro de Dichos dicho. (Gonzalez & Ruiz, 1995) Oct. 28- Sylvia & Aki (Conkling, 2011) In the letter, let Dec. 19 president Hoover know how you are feeling about what is happening to Aki and her family. Do you think it is fair to evacuate the Japanese people?
En la carta al presidente Hoover escribe como te sientes sobre lo que le esta pasando a la
192 familia de Aki. ¿Piensas que es justo evacuar a la gente de Japón? ¿Por qué? What does, “One kind word can warm three Winter months”? Write a letter to Aki telling her her how you feel about how she is spending fourht of July at the internment camp. Escribe una carta a Aki diciéndole como te sientes que ella esta pasando el 4 de julio en los campamentos de Poston, Arizona. Feb. 12 Social Literacy Event • Students welcomed parents • Students share their work with their parents • Picture slideshow prepared by researcher as a form of reciprocity to the parents • Parents respond in writing to the following questions o ¿Qué piensas acerca del libro? o ¿Haz sido discriminado alguna vez? o ¿Qué hiciste contra la discriminación? • Parents share their responses to the questions • Students thank parents for participating in the Social Literacy Event • Potluck March Conference Presentation (Teacher & Parent Presentation) Jan. 27- Biographies Feb. 7 My Name is Celia/ The Life of ¿Qué piensas de Interview a family Celia Cruz (Brown, 2004) Celia Cruz? ¿Es member and write a importante? ¿Es biography about famosa? ¿Por qué? them. My Name is Gabito/ The Life of Work on Gabriel García Márquez biographies (Brown, 2007)
193 Tito Puente (Brown, 2013) Worked on biographies
May 31 Social Literacy Event • Students welcomed parents • Students share their work with their parents • Parents respond in writing to the following questions o ¿Cuál fue el libro que mas les gusto? o ¿Han visto alguna diferencia en su hijo/a? o ¿Qué piensan sobre el involucramiento de los padres? • Parents share their responses to the questions • Students thank parents for participating in the Social Literacy Event • Potluck
194 Appendix C: Immigration Project (2nd Grade Class, February-March, 2015) Week Spanish Book English Book Interview Family Writing Genre Project Week 1 My Diary from Pancho Rabbit Sra. Amelia Map Thank you Letter Here to There/ and the Coyote Mi diario de aquí hasta allá Week 2 Xochitl and the My Shoes and Sr. y Sra. Family Thank You Letter Flowers/ I Benitez Collage Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores Author: Duncan Tonatiuh Week 3 Friends from Sr. Willie Immigration Thank You Letter the Other Experience Side/Amigos del otro lado Week 4 From North to Waiting for Attended a Persuasive Letter South/ Del Papá/ play at a Norte al Sur Esperando a local Papá theater: Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote Week 5 Class Book: Based on the parent Class Book: Sufrir interviews al Cruzar la Frontera Week 6 Social Literacy Event • Students welcomed parents • Read aloud Sufrir al Cruzar la Frontera • Parents respond in writing to the following questions: o ¿Cuál fue su experiencia al hablar con sus hijos acerca del tema de la inmigración? o ¿Qué piensan sobre los libros que se mandaron a casa? ¿Cuál fue su experiencia? ¿Cuál fue su libro favorito? o ¿Qué piensa sobre involucrar a los padres en la educación de los hijos? • Parents shared their responses to the questions • Read aloud and engaged parents in discussing Recuerdo mis raíces y vivo mis tradiciones/Remembering my Roots and Living my Traditions • Students thanked parents for participating in the Social Literacy Event • Potluck March Conference Presentation (Teacher & Parent Presentation)
195 Appendix D: Immigration Project Book Descriptions
Title of Language(s) Language Genre Description of Book Book of Text of Read Aloud
My Diary Bilingual Spanish Narrative One night Amada overhears her from Here to (Spanish & mother and father talking about There/ Mi English with moving from Juárez, Mexico to Los diario de Spanish code Angeles, California. Since her father aquí hasta switching) will be the first to immigrate to the allá (Pérez, U.S.; Amada, her mom, and siblings 2002) have to live with relatives until they have their legal documents to join her father in the U.S. Amada writes about the challenges and emotional toll she experiences as she leaves her home and friends before joining her father.
Pancho English with English Narrative Pancho Rabbit, his mom, and siblings Rabbit and Spanish code prepare a party for the return of Papá the Coyote switching Rabbit. When Pancho Rabbit’s family (Tonatiuh, falls asleep, he packs food to give to 2013) his father when he meets him, and sneaks out in search of Papá Rabbit. On his journey to find Papá Rabbit, he meets Señor Coyote who promises to help find his dad and asks Pancho Rabbit for food to help strengthen his body. When Pancho Rabbit no longer has food to offer Señor Coyote, Señor Coyote tries to eat him but is saved by Papá Rabbit and his friends.
Xochitl and Bilingual Spanish Narrative Xochitl and her parents recently the Flowers/ (Spanish & immigrant from El Salvador and are Xóchitl, la English with living with her uncle while they adjust Niña de las a few to life in the U.S. Xochitl. Her family Flores Spanish code begins to sell flowers on the streets of (Argueta, switches) San Francisco and one Saturday her
196 2003) father shares that he has leased an apartment with a yard that can be converted into a nursery. When they clean the yard and prepare for the grand opening of their nursery, the landlord interrupts to let them know that he will report them to the authorities. The neighbors, who have become friends with Xochitl’s family, talk the landlord into allowing them to keep the nursery.
My Shoes English with English Narrative Mario, who lives in El Salvador, and I Spanish code received new shoes from his mother in (Colato switches the U.S. Mario shares the journey he, Laínez, his dad, and his new shoes take as they 2010) cross three borders to get to the U.S.
Friends Bilingual Spanish Narrative Prietita becomes friends with Joaquín, from the (Spanish & a recent immigrant form Mexico. Other English with Prietita defends Joaquín one day when Side/Amigos Spanish code he is getting bullied by the local boys. del otro lado switching) One day while playing, they overhear (Anzaldúa, that the migra is coming. Prietita and 1993) Joaquín go get his mother and they all go to the herb woman’s home, where Joaquín and his mother can hide from the patrol officers.
From North Bilingual Spanish Narrative José’s, who lives in California, mother to South/ (Spanish & is deported to Tijuana, Mexico for not Del Norte al English with being able to provide U.S. Sur (Colato Spanish code documentation at work one day. José Laínez, switching) visits his mother at the Centro Madre 2010) Asunto; where she, other adults, and children face similar struggles. Throughout the story, José shares the emotional toll that deportation has had on him as a young child and his family.
197 Waiting for Bilingual English Narrative Beto and his mother were able to Papá/ (Spanish & immigrate to the U.S. because of a war Esperando a English with in El Salvador, but his father stays Papá a few behind. Three years later, a radio host (Colato Spanish code visits Beto’s class and reads the story Laínez, switches) Beto wrote about his dad. The radio 2004) host invites him to the radio station to read his letter on the air. When Beto reads his letter, an immigration lawyer takes interest in Beto’s situation and offers his family help. Beto’s dad later joins them in the U.S.
198 Appendix E: Día de los Muertos Project (Second Grade Class, October-November, 2015)
Week Spanish Book English Book Interview Family Writing Genre Project
Week 1 The Spirit of Pablo Sra. Alicia Inquiry Class Book: Tío Fernando: recuerda: la about Día de ¿Cómo se A Day of the fiesta del Día los Muertos Celebra el Día de Dead Story/El de los Muertos or another los Muertos? espíritu de tío (Ancona, holiday Fernando: Una 1993) historia del Día de los Muertos (Levy, 1995)
Week 2 Un barrilete: Funny bones: Sra. Rosita Calaveras para el Día de Posada and his (partner work) los muertos Day of the (Amado, 1999) Dead Class Book Calaveras Continued: (Tonatiuh, ¿Cómo se 2015) Celebra el Día de los Muertos?
Week 3 Social Literacy Event · Students welcomed parents · Read aloud ¿Cómo se Celebra el Día de los Muertos? · Parents silently read the calaveras students wrote with their partner · Parents respond in writing to the following questions: o ¿Celebran o celebraban el día de los muertos? ¿Por qué? o ¿Qué conversaciones tuvieron acerca del día de los muertos? o Parents watch a Spanish documentary about Día de los Muertos o ¿Qué opinan del video acerca de mantener la cultura o aceptar la cultura de este país? · Parents shared their responses to the questions · Students thanked parents for participating in the social literacy event · Potluck
199 Appendix F: Día de los Muertos Project Book Descriptions Title of Book Language(s) Language of Genre Description of Book of Text Read Aloud
Pablo Spanish Spanish Informational Pablo’s grandmother died two recuerda: la years prior. Pablo takes the fiesta del Día reader through three days de los (October 31st, November 1st, Muertos and November 2nd) of his (Ancona, cultural practice as he prepares 1993) for the Día de los Muertos celebration in honor of his grandmother. He and his family visit the mercado to buy specific items that they will need to prepare a meal and items they will place on an altar in honor of his grandmother. Pablo shares about the eve of October 31st (when children come to visit); All Saints Day, November 1st, (honoring innocent souls, martyrs, and children); and November 2nd, Day of the Dead (honoring adults). On November 2nd, Pablo and his family visit the cemetery, clean his grandmother’s tombstone, and enjoy a meal and the company of fellow neighbors.
The Spirit of Bilingual English Narrative Nando, whose uncle recently Tío (Spanish & passed away, takes the reader Fernando: A English) through his first celebration of Day of the Día de los Muertos as he Dead honors his uncle Fernando. Story/El Nando shares how he and his
200 espíritu de mother prepare an altar for tío tío Fernando, visit the cemetery, Fernando: A and what it means to “meet Day of the Tío Fernando’s spirit”. Dead Story/Una historia del Día de los Muertos (Levy, 1995)
Un barrilete: Spanish Spanish Informational Juan, who lives in Guatemala, para el Día shares how he, his grandfather, de los and siblings used to make muertos barriletes (kites) as a way to (Amado, honor their ancestors on Día 1999) de los Muertos. Now that his grandfather recently passed away, Juan shares how to make a kite as he recalls what he learned from his grandfather. On the Día de los Muertos, Juan and his family visit the cemetery and later fly the kite they have made in honor of his grandfather.
Funny English English Informational/ Through the story Duncan bones: (Spanish code Narrative Tonatiuh, the author, shares Posada and switching, the life story of the Mexican his Day of translation of artist, José Guadalupe Posada. the Dead some words in In Mexico, Posada is well Calaveras the story line, known for his calaveras (Tonatiuh, and Spanish (written and illustrated), they 2015) calaveras became a literary genre and a written by political art form. The José calaveras are a staple of Día Guadalupe de los Muertos. Posada)
201
References
Ada, A. F., & Zubizarreta, G. M. (2013). Nacer Bailando. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for
Young Readers.
Aguilar, J. A., MacGillivray, L., & Walker, N. T. (2003). Latina educators and school
discourse: Dealing with tension on the path to success. Journal of Latinos and
Education, 2(2), 89-100.
Allexsaht-Snider, M. (1996). Windows into diverse worlds the telling and sharing of teachers'
life histories. Education and Urban Society, 29(1), 103-119.
Allor, J. H., & McCathren, R. B. (2003). Developing emergent literacy skills through
storybook reading. Intervention in School and Clinic, 39(2), 72-79.
Alvarez, J., (2016). Where do they go? New York, NY: Seven Stories/Triangle Square Books
for Young Readers
Amado, E. (1999). Un Barrilete para el Día de los Muertos. Toronto: Groundwood
Books/Libros Tigrillo, House of Anansi Press.
Ana, O. S. (1999). Like an animal I was treated': Anti-immigrant metaphor in US public
discourse. Discourse & society, 10(2), 191-224.
Ancona, J. (1993). Pablo Recuerda: La Fiesta del Día de los Muertos. New York: Lothrop,
Lee & Shepard Books.
Anderson, R., Hiebert, E., Scott, J., & Wilkinson, I. (1985). Becoming a nation of readers.
Champaign, IL: University of Illinois. Center for the Study of Reading.
Angrosino, M., & Rosenberg, J. (2011). Observations on observation: Continuities and
202 challenges. In Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds). The Sage handbook of qualitative
research 4th Ed. (pp. 467-478). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Anzaldúa, G. (1993). Friends From the Other Side/Amigos Del Otro Lado. Children's Book
Press.
Arce, J. (2004). Latino bilingual teachers: The struggle to sustain an emancipatory pedagogy in
public schools. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 17(2), 227-
246.
Argüero, C. D. (1996). Ideas infantiles acerca de la ortografía del español. Revista Mexicana de
Investigación Educativa, 1(1), 70-87.
Argueta, J., & Angel, C. (2003). Xochitl and the flowers/Xóchitl, la niña de las flores.
Children's Book Press.
Ariza, E., Morales-Jones, C., Yahya, N., & Zainuddin, H. (2003). Why TESOL?: Theories and
Issues in Teaching English As a Second Language With K-12 Focus. Boca Raton:
Kendall Hunt Pub Co.
Arriola, E. R. (1994). Gendered inequality: Lesbians, gays, and feminist legal theory. Berkeley
Women's LJ, 9, 103.
Arriola, E. R. (1997). LatCrit theory, international human rights, popular culture, and the faces
of despair in INS raids. The University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, 245-262.
Au, K. H. P. (1980). Participation structures in a reading lesson with Hawaiian children:
Analysis of a culturally appropriate instructional event. Anthropology & Education
Quarterly, 11(2), 91-115.
August, D. (2003). Supporting the Development of English Literacy in English Language
Learners: Key Issues and Promising Practices. (Report No. 61). Baltimore, MD: John
203 Hopkins University, Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk.
August, D., & Shanahan, T. (2006). Executive summary: Developing literacy in second-
language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on language-minority children
and youth. Retrieved August 31, 2007.
Ball, A. F., Skerrett, A., & Martinez, R. A. (2011). Research on diverse students in culturally
and linguistically complex language arts classrooms. In Lapp, D., & Fisher, D. (Eds.),
Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts: Co-Sponsored by the
International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English (pp.
22-28). New York: Routledge.
Banks, J. A. (1976). The Emerging States of Ethnicity: Implications for Staff Development.
Educational Leadership, 34(3), 190-193.
Banks, J. A. (1998). The lives and values of researchers: Implications for educating citizens in a
multicultural society. Educational Researcher, 27(7), 4-17.
Barrentine, S. J. (1996). Engaging with reading through interactive read-alouds. The Reading
Teacher, 50(1), 36-43.
Barrera, R. B. (1992). The cultural gap in literature-based literacy instruction. Education and
Urban Society, 24(2), 227-243.
Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2016). Words Their Way Word Sorts
for Within Word Pattern Spellers Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling
Instruction: Prentice Hall.
Bell, D. (1987). And we will not be Saved: The Elusive Quest for Social Justice. New York,
NY: Basic Books.
Bender, S. W., & Aoki, K. (2002). Seekin' the cause: Social justice movements and LatCrit
204 community. Or. L. Rev., 81, 595.
Bernal, D. D. (1998). Using a Chicana feminist epistemology in educational research. Harvard
Educational Review, 68(4), 555-583.
Bernal, D. D. (2001). Learning and living pedagogies of the home: The mestiza consciousness
of Chicana students. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(5),
623-639.
Bernal, D. D. (2002). Critical race theory, Latino critical theory, and critical raced- gendered
epistemologies: Recognizing students of color as holders and creators of knowledge.
Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 105-126.
Beverley, J. (2000). Handbook of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln
(Eds.), Testimonio, Subalternity, and Narrative Authority (pp. 555-565). London Sage.
Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives, 6(3), ix-xi.
Bochner, S., Furnham, A., & Ward, C. (2001). The Psychology of Culture Shock. East Sussex:
Routledge.
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to
Theories and Methods. Boston, Mass.: Pearson A & B
Bourke, R. T. (2008). First graders and fairy tales: One teacher's action research of critical
literacy. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 304-312.
Brown, M. (2004). My name is Celia: the life of Celia Cruz = Me llamo Celia: la vida de Celia
Cruz. Flagstaff, AZ: Luna Rising.
Brown, M. (2007). My name is Gabito: Me llamo Gabito. Flagstaff, AZ: Luna Rising.
Brown, M. (2013). Tito Puente, Mambo King: Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo. New York, NY:
HarperCollins Pub.
205 Bruce-Novoa, J. (1990). RetroSpace: Collected Essays on Chicano Literature, Theory, and
History. Houston, Tex.: Arte Publico Press.
Bustamante, J. (1972). The "wetback”as deviant: An application of labeling theory. American
Journal of Sociology, 77(4), 706-718.
Cahnmann, M., & Varghese, M. M. (2005). Critical advocacy and bilingual education in the
United States. Linguistics and Education, 16(1), 59-73.
Calmore, J. O. (1991). Critical race theory, Archie Shepp, and “fire music” securing an
authentic intellectual life in a multicultural world. S. Cal. L. Rev., 65, 2129.
Campano, G., Ghiso, M. P., & Sánchez, L. (2013). “Nobody knows the... amount of a person":
Elementary students critiquing dehumanization through organic critical literacies.
Research in the Teaching of English, 98-125.
Carmichael, E., & Sayer, C. (1991). The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico:
Trustees of the British Museum.
Carr, P. R., & Klassen, T. R. (1997). Different perceptions of race in education: Racial
minority and white teachers. Canadian Journal of Education/Revue Canadienne de
L'education, 67-81.
Charmaz, K. (2001). Grounded theory. In R. M. Emerson (Ed.), Contemporary field research:
Perspectives and formulations (pp. 335-352). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
Clewell, B. C., Puma, M. J., & McKay, S. A. (2001). Does it Matter if my Teacher looks like
me?: The Impact of Teacher Race and Ethnicity on Student Academic Achievement:
Urban Institute, Education Policy Center.
Collier, V. P. (1989). How long? A synthesis of research on academic achievement in a second
language. TESOL Quarterly, 23(3), 509-531.
206 Collier, V. P., & Thomas, W. P. (2004). The astounding effectiveness of dual language
education for all. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 2(1), 1-20.
Collins, P. H. (1987). The meaning of motherhood in Black culture and Black mother- daughter
relationships. Sage, 4(2), 3.
Conkling, W. (2011). Sylvia & Aki. Berkeley. CA: Tricycle Press.
Crafton, L. K., Brennan, M., & Silvers, P. (2007). Critical inquiry and multiliteracies in a first-
grade classroom. Language Arts, 84(6), 510-518.
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist
critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. U. Chi.
Legal F., 139.
Crenshaw, K., Gotanda, N., Peller, G., & Thomas, K. (1995). Critical Race Theory: The Key
Writings that Formed the Movement: The New Press.
Crenshaw, K. W. (1988). Race, reform, and retrenchment: Transformation and legitimation in
antidiscrimination law. Harvard Law Review, 1331-1387.
Creswell, J. W. (2005). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five
Traditions. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.
Crotty, M. (1998). The Foundations of Social Research: Meaning and Perspective in the
Research Process: Sage.
Cummins, A. (2013). Border crossings: Undocumented migration between Mexico and the
United States in contemporary young adult literature. Children's Literature in
Education, 44(1), 57-73.
Cummins, J. (1979). Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual
children. Review of Educational Research, 49(2), 222-251.
207 Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language development in promoting educational
success for language minority students. Schooling and Language Minority Students: A
Theoretical Framework, 349.
Cummins, J. (1994). Primary language instruction and the education of language minority
students. Schooling and Language Minority Students: A Theoretical Framework (2nd
ed., pp. 3-46)
Cummins, J. (2006). Identity texts: The imaginative construction of self through multiliteracies
pedagogy. In O. Garcia, T. Skutnabb-Kangas, & M. E. Torres-Guzmán (Eds.),
Imagining Multilingual Schools: Languages in Education and Glocalization, 51-68.
Cummins, J., & Swain, M. (1986). Linguistic interdependence: A central principle of bilingual
education. Bilingualism in Education, 80-95.
Cunningham, A. E. (2005). Vocabulary growth through independent reading and reading aloud
to children. Teaching and Learning Vocabulary: Bringing Research to Practice, 45-68.
Dalton, B., Sable, J., & Hoffman, L. (2006). Characteristics of the 100 largest public
elementary and secondary school districts in the United States: 2003-04. Statistical
Analysis Report. NCES 2006-329. National Center for Education Statistics.
Darder, A. (1995). Buscando America: The contributions of critical Latino educators to the
academic development and empowerment of Latino students in the U.S. Multicultural
Education, Critical Pedagogy, and the Politics of Difference, 319- 348. de la Luz Reyes, M. (1991). A process approach to literacy using dialogue journals and
literature logs with second language learners. Research in the Teaching of English, 291-
313.
De La Luz Reyes, M. (1992). Challenging venerable assumptions: Literacy instruction for
208 linguistically different students. Harvard Educational Review, 62(4), 427-447.
De La Luz Reyes, M., & Laliberty, E. A. (1992). A teacher's “Pied Piper”effect on young
authors. Education and Urban Society, 24(2), 263-278. de la Piedra, M. T., & Araujo, B. (2012). Transfronterizo literacies and content in a dual
language classroom. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism,
15(6), 705-721.
Dee, T. S. (2004). Teachers, race, and student achievement in a randomized experiment. Review
of Economics and Statistics, 86(1), 195-210.
Delgado, R. (1988a). Critical legal studies and the realities of race-Does the fundamental
contradiction have a corollary. Harv. CR-CLL Rev., 23, 407.
Delgado, R. (1988b). Derrick Bell and the ideology of racial reform: Will we ever be saved.
Yale LJ, 97, 923.
Delgado, R. (1989). Storytelling for oppositionists and others: A plea for narrative. Michigan
Law Review, 87(8), 2411-2441.
Delgado, R. (1991). Brewer's plea: Critical thoughts on common cause. V and. L. Rev., 44, 1.
Delgado, R. (1995). Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge. Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple
University Press.
Delgado, R. (2008). The instructional dynamics of a bilingual teacher: One teacher's beliefs
about English language learners. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 7(1), 43-53.
Delpit, L. (1988). The silenced dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people's
children. Harvard Educational Review, 58(3), 280-299.
DeNicolo, C. P., & Fránquiz, M. E. (2006). “Do I have to say it?": Critical encounters with
multicultural children's literature. Language Arts, 84(2), 157-170.
209 Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). Handbook of qualitative research. London: Sage
Dick, H. P. (2011). Making immigrants illegal in Small‐Town USA. Journal of Linguistic
Anthropology, 21(s1).
Dickinson, D. K. (2001). Putting the pieces together: Impact of preschool on children's language
and literacy development in kindergarten. In D. K. Dickinson & P. O. Tabors (Eds.),
Beginning Literacy with Language: Young Children Learning at Home and School (pp.
257-287). Baltimore: Brookes.
Dickinson, D. K., Cote, L., & Smith, M. W. (1993). Learning vocabulary in preschool: Social
and discourse contexts affecting vocabulary growth. New Directions for Child and
Adolescent Development, 1993(61), 67-78.
Dickinson, D. K., & Smith, M. W. (1994). Long-term effects of preschool teachers' book
readings on low-income children's vocabulary and story comprehension. Reading
Research Quarterly, 105-122.
Dixson, A., & Dingus, J. E. (2008). In search of our mothers' gardens: Black women teachers
and professional socialization. Teachers College Record, 110(4), 805- 837.
Donato, R. (1997). The other Struggle for Equal Schools: Mexican Americans during the Civil
Rights Era: SUNY Press.
Dragan, P. B. (2001). Literacy from Day One: ERIC.
Dreher, S. (2003). A novel idea: Reading aloud in a high school English classroom. The English
Journal, 93(1), 50-53.
Dugan, J. (1997). Transactional literature discussions: Engaging students in the appreciation
and understanding of literature. The Reading Teacher, 51(2), 86-96.
Ek, L. D. (2005). Staying on God's path: Socializing Latino immigrant youth to a Christian
210 Pentecostal identity in Southern California. Building on strength: Language and
Literacy in Latino Families and Communities, 77-92.
Ek, L. D. (2009). “It's different lives”: A Guatemalan American adolescent's construction of
ethnic and gender identities across educational contexts. Anthropology & Education
Quarterly, 40(4), 405-420.
Ek, L. D., Sánchez, P., & Quijada Cerecer, P. D. (2013). Linguistic violence, insecurity, and
work: Language ideologies of Latina/o bilingual teacher candidates in Texas.
International Multilingual Research Journal, 7(3), 197-219.
Elley, W. B. (1980). A comparison of content-interest and structuralist reading programs in
Niue primary schools. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 15(1), 39- 53.
Elley, W. B. (1989). Vocabulary acquisition from listening to stories. Reading Research
Quarterly, 174-187.
Elley, W. B., & Mangubhai, F. (1983). The impact of reading on second language learning.
Reading Research Quarterly, 53-67.
Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes:
University of Chicago Press.
England, R. E., & Meier, K. J. (1985). From desegregation to integration: Second
generation school discrimination as an institutional impediment. American
Politics Quarterly, 13(2), 227-247.
Erickson, F. (1986). Culture difference and science education. The Urban Review, 18(2), 117-
124.
Erlandson, D. A. (1993). Doing Naturalistic Inquiry: A Guide to Methods: Sage.
Escamilla, K., Aragon, L., & Fránquiz, M. (2009). The transformative potential of a study in 211 Mexico program for US teachers. Journal of Latinos and Education, 8(4), 270-289.
Espinoza, L. G. (1990). Masks and other disguises: Exposing legal academia. Harvard Law
Review, 103(8), 1878-1886.
Evans, M. J. (1993). Stealing away: Black women, outlaw culture and the rhetoric of rights.
Harv. CR-CLL Rev., 28, 263.
Evans, M. O. (1992). An estimate of race and gender role-model effects in teaching high
school. The Journal of Economic Education, 23(3), 209-217.
Fain, J. G. (2008). “Um, they weren't thinking about their thinking”: Children's talk about issues
of oppression. Multicultural Perspectives, 10(4), 201-208.
Farkas, G., Grobe, R. P., Sheehan, D., & Shuan, Y. (1990). Cultural resources and school
success: Gender, ethnicity, and poverty groups within an urban school district. American
sociological review, 127-142.
Fay, B. (1987). Critical social science: Liberation and its limits. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University
Press.
Feitelson, D., Kita, B., & Goldstein, Z. (1986). Effects of listening to series stories on first
graders' comprehension and use of language. Research in the Teaching of English,
339-356.
Ferreiro, E., & Teberosky, A. (1982). Literacy before schooling: ERIC.
Fillmore, L. W. (2000). Loss of family languages: Should educators be concerned? Theory Into
Practice, 39(4), 203-210.
Fisher, D., Flood, J., Lapp, D., & Frey, N. (2004). Interactive read-alouds: Is there a common
set of implementation practices? The Reading Teacher, 58(1), 8-17.
Fitts, S. (2006). Reconstructing the status quo: Linguistic interaction in a dual-language school.
212 Bilingual Research Journal, 30(2), 337-365.
Fitts, S., & Weisman, E. M. (2010). Exploring questions of social justice in bilingual/bicultural
teacher education: Towards a parity of participation. The Urban Review, 42(5), 373-393.
Flores-Duenas, L. (2005). Lessons from la maestra Miriam: Developing literate identities
through early critical literacy teaching. Journal of Latinos and Education, 4(4), 237-
251.
Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Guiding Readers and Writers, Grades 3-6: Teaching
Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy: ERIC.
Fox, M. (2013). What next in the read-aloud battle?: Win or lose? The Reading Teacher, 67(1),
4-8.
Fránquiz, M., Avila, A., & Lewis, B. (2013). Engaging bilingual students in sustained literature
study in Central Texas. Journal of Latino/Latin American Studies, 5(3), 142-155.
Fránquiz, M., Bauer, E., & Gort, M. (2012). Traveling the Biliteracy Highway. New York, NY.:
Routledge.
Fránquiz, M. E. (1999). Learning in the transformational space: Struggling with powerful ideas.
The Journal of Classroom Interaction, 34(2), 30-44.
Fránquiz, M. E. (2002). Caring literacy and identity struggles: The transformation of a Chicano
student. In L. Soto (Ed.), Making a Difference in the Lives of Bilingual/Bicultural
Children (pp. 185-194). New York: Peter Lang.
Fránquiz, M. E. (2012). Key concepts in bilingual education: Identity texts, cultural citizenship,
and humanizing pedagogy. New England Reading Association Journal, 48(1), 32.
Franquiz, M. E., & de la Luz Reyes, M. (1998). Creating inclusive learning communities
through English language arts: From “chanclas” to “canicas”. Language Arts, 75(3),
213 211-220.
Fránquiz, M. E., Leija, M. G., & Garza, I. (2015). “Figuring” bidirectional home and school
connections along the biliteracy continuum. Bilingual Research Journal, 38(2), 152-
171.
Fránquiz, M. E., Martínez-Roldán, C., & Mercado, C. (2011). Teaching Latina/o children’s
literature in multicultural contexts. Handbook of Research on Children’s and Young
Adult Literature, 108-120.
Fránquiz, M. E., & Pratt, E. (2011). Crossing borders with language. Handbook of Research on
Teaching the English Language Arts: Co-Sponsored by the International Reading
Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, 29.
Fránquiz, M. E., Salazar, M. d. C., & DeNicolo, C. P. (2011). Challenging majoritarian tales:
Portraits of bilingual teachers deconstructing deficit views of bilingual learners.
Bilingual Research Journal, 34(3), 279-300.
Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2014). Essential linguistics: What teachers need to know to
teach: Heinemann.
Freire, P., & Macedo, D. (1987). Reading the Word and the World. Westport, CT: Bergin &
Garvey.
Freire, P., & Macedo, D. (1995). A dialogue: Culture, language, and race. Harvard Educational
Review, 65(3), 377-403.
Frey, J. H., & Fontana, A. (2005). The interview: From neutral stance to political involvement.
The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, 695-726.
Fry, E. B. (2000). Dr. Fry's 1000 instant words: The most common words for teaching reading,
writing and spelling. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Resources.
214 Galindo, R. (1996). Reframing the past in the present: Chicana teacher role identity as a
bridging identity. Education and Urban Society, 29(1), 85-102.
Galindo, R. (2007). Voices of identity in a Chicana teacher’s occupational narratives of the self.
The Urban Review, 39(3), 251-280.
Gallo, S. (2016). Humor in Father–Daughter Immigration Narratives of Resistance. Anthropology
& Education Quarterly, 47(3), 279-296.
García, E., E. (2004). Educating Mexican American Students: Past Treatment and Recent
Developments in Theory, Research, Policy, and Practice. In J. A. Banks & C. A. M.
Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education 2nd Ed. (pp. 491-513).
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
García, O. (2004). Lost in transculturation: The case of bilingual education in New York City. In
Fishman, J. A., Neff-van, A. J. A., & Pütz, M. (2006). "Along the routes to power":
Explorations of empowerment through language. (pp. 157-177). Berlin: Mouton de
Gruyter.
García, O. (2005). Positioning heritage languages in the United States. The Modern Language
Journal, 89(4), 601-605.
García, O. (2009). Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective. Malden, MA:
Wiley-Blackwell.
García, O., & Kleifgen, J. A. (2010). Educating emergent bilinguals: Policies, programs, and
practices for English language learners. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education.
Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Garcia, R. J. (1995). Critical race theory and Proposition 187: The racial politics of immigration
215 law. Chicano-Latino Law Review, 17, 118-148.
García-Nevarez, A. G., Stafford, M. E., & Arias, B. (2005). Arizona elementary teachers'
attitudes toward English language learners and the use of Spanish in classroom
instruction. Bilingual Research Journal, 29(2), 295-317.
Gathmann, C. (2008). Effects of enforcement on illegal markets: Evidence from migrant
smuggling along the southwestern border. Journal of Public Economics, 92(10), 1926-
1941.
Gay, G. (2010). Acting on beliefs in teacher education for cultural diversity. Journal of Teacher
Education, 61(1-2), 143-152.
Gay, L., Mills, G., & Airasian, P. (2009). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and
interpretation: Pearson, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Genesee, F., Lindholm-Leary, K., Saunders, W. M., & Christian, D. (2006). Conclusions and
future directions. In Genesee, F. (Ed.). Educating English language learners: A
synthesis of research evidence. (223-234). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gold, R. L. (1958). Roles in sociological field observations. Social forces, 36(3), 217-223..
Gonzales, R. G. (2011). Learning to be illegal undocumented youth and shifting legal contexts
in the transition to adulthood. American sociological review, 76(4), 602- 619.
Gonzalez, R., & Ruiz, A. (1995). My First Book of Proverbs. San Francisco, CA: Children's Book
Press.
Gort, M. (2012). Code-Switching Patterns in the Writing-Related Talk of Young Emergent
Bilinguals. Journal of Literacy Research, 44(1), 45-75.
Gort, M., & Sembiante, S. F. (2015). Navigating Hybridized Language Learning Spaces
216 Through Translanguaging Pedagogy: Dual Language Preschool Teachers’ Languaging
Practices in Support of Emergent Bilingual Children’s Performance of Academic
Discourse. International Multilingual Research Journal, 9(1), 7-25.
Green, C., & Oldendorf, S. B. (2005). Teaching religious diversity through children's literature.
Childhood Education, 81(4), 209-218.
Green, P. E. (2003). The undocumented: Educating the children of migrant workers in America.
Bilingual Research Journal, 27(1), 51-71.
Greene, J. P. (1997). A meta-analysis of the Rossell and Baker review of bilingual education
research. Bilingual Research Journal, 21(2-3), 103-122.
Grosjean, F. (1989). Neurolinguists, beware! The bilingual is not two monolinguals in one
person. Brain and language, 36(1), 3-15.
Guerrero, M. D. (2003). Acquiring and Participating in the Use of Academic Spanish: Four
Novice Latina Bilingual Education Teachers' Stories. Journal of Latinos and Education,
2(3), 159-181.
Gutierrez, I. T., Rosengren, K. S., & Miller, P. J. (2015). Dia de los Muertos: Learning About
Death Through Observing and Pitching In. Advanced Child Development Behavior, 49,
229-249.
Gutiérrez, K. D., & Rogoff, B. (2003). Cultural ways of learning: Individual traits or repertoires
of practice. Educational Researcher, 32(5), 19-25.
Guyton, E., Saxton, R., & Wesche, M. (1996). Experiences of diverse students in teacher
education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 12(6), 643-652.
Hakuta, K. (2011). Educating Language Minority Students and Affirming Their Equal Rights
Research and Practical Perspectives. Educational Researcher, 40(4), 163- 174.
217 Hanegraaff, H. (2009). What happens when we die? Jehovah's Witnesses and the soul of man.
Retrieved from http://www.equip.org/perspectives/what-happens-when- we-die-
jehovahs-witnesses-and-the-soul-of-man/
Haney Lopez, I. (1996). White by law: The legal construction of race. New York, NY:
University Press.
Hanushek, E. A. (1992). The trade-off between child quantity and quality. Journal of political
economy, 100(1), 84-117.
Hargrave, A. C., & Sénéchal, M. (2000). A book reading intervention with preschool children
who have limited vocabularies: The benefits of regular reading and dialogic reading.
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(1), 75-90.
Harris, A. P. (1990). Race and essentialism in feminist legal theory. Stanford Law Review, 42
581-616.
Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words: Language, life and work in communities and
classrooms. Cambridge University Press.
Hernandez-Truyol, B. E. (1997). Borders (en) gendered: Normativities, Latinas, and a LatCrit
paradigm. New York University Law Review, 72, 882-927.
Herrera, J. F. (2003). Super Cilantro Girl/La Superniña del Cilantro. San Francisco, CA:
Children's Book Press.
Hill, M. (2013). California three Rs project: Rights, responsibility and respect. Retrieved from
http://www.ie-stars.net/dayofdead.pdf
Hoffman, J. V., Roser, N. L., & Battle, J. (1993). Reading Aloud in Classrooms: From the
Modal toward a ”Model". The Reading Teacher, 46(6), 496-503.
Holland, K. E. (1993). Journeying: Children Responding to Literature: Portsmouth, NH: 218 Heinemann.
Hollins, E. R. (1982). The Marva Collins story revisited: Implications for regular classroom
instruction. Journal of Teacher Education, 33(1), 37-40.
Hornberger, N. H. (2000). Bilingual education policy and practice in the Andes: Ideological
paradox and intercultural possibility. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 31(2), 173-
201.
Hornberger, N. H. (2003). Continua of biliteracy: An ecological framework for educational
policy, research, and practice in multilingual settings. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Hornberger, N. H. (2007). Biliteracy, transnationalism, multimodality, and identity: Trajectories
across time and space. Linguistics and Education, 8(3-4), 325-334.
Hornberger, N. H., & Link, H. (2012a). Translanguaging and transnational literacies in
multilingual classrooms: A biliteracy lens. International Journal of Bilingual Education
and Bilingualism, 15(3), 261-278.
Hornberger, N. H., & Link, H. (2012b). Translanguaging in Today's Classrooms: A Biliteracy
Lens. Theory Into Practice, 51(4), 239-247.
Hornberger, N. H., & Skilton-Sylvester, E. (2003). Revisiting the continua of biliteracy:
International and critical perspectives: In Hornberger, N. H. (Ed.). Continua of
biliteracy: An ecological framework for educational policy, research, and practice in
multilingual settings. (pp. 35- 70). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Howard, G. R. (2006). We can't teach what we don't know: White teachers, multiracial schools.
New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Huber, L. P. (2008). Building critical race methodologies in educational research: A research
note on critical race testimonio. FIU L. Rev., 4, 159.
219 Huber, L. P. (2009). Disrupting apartheid of knowledge: Testimonio as methodology in
Latina/o critical race research in education. International Journal of Qualitative
Studies in Education, 22(6), 639-654.
Hutchinson, D. L. (1996). Out yet unseen: A racial critique of gay and lesbian legal theory and
political discourse. Conn. L. Rev., 29, 561.
Irizarry, J. G., & Antrop-González, R. (2008). Ricanstructing the discourse and promoting
school success: Extending a theory of culturally responsive pedagogy for diasporicans.
Hispanic Health Care International, 6(4), 172-184.
Irizarry, J. G., & Raible, J. (2011). Beginning With El Barrio: Learning From Exemplary
Teachers of Latino Students. Journal of Latinos and Education, 10(3), 186-203.
Irvine, J. J. (1989). Beyond role models: An examination of cultural influences on the
pedagogical perspectives of Black teachers. Peabody Journal of Education, 66(4), 51-63.
Irvine, J. J. (1990). Black students and school failure. New York, NY: Green.
Irvine, J. J. (1999). The education of children whose nightmares come both day and night.
Journal of Negro Education, 68(3), 244-253.
Irvine, J. J. (2003). Educating teachers for diversity: Seeing with a cultural eye (Vol. 15). New
York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Janks, H., & Vasquez, V. (2011). Editorial: Critical literacy revisited: Writing as critique. English
teaching: Practice and critique, 10(1), 1-6.
Johnson, K. R. (1997). Some thoughts on the future of Latino legal scholarship. Harvard Latino
Law Review, 2, 101-495.
Johnson, L. (2008). What it takes to be a real role model: Perspectives from new teachers of
color and their students. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American
220 Education Research Association, New York City, NY.
Johnston, P. H. (1997). Knowing literacy: constructive literacy assessment. York, ME.:
Stenhouse Publishers.
Jones, E. B., Young, R., & RodriGuez, J. L. (1999). Identity and Career Choice among
Mexican American and Euro-American Preservice Bilingual Teachers. Hispanic
Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 21(4), 431-446.
Justice, L. M., & Piasta, S. (2011). Developing children's print knowledge through adult- child
storybook reading interactions: Print referencing as an instructional practice. Handbook
of early literacy research, 3. (pp. 200-213). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Kanpol, B. (1992). The politics of similarity within difference: A pedagogy for the other. The
Urban Review, 24(2), 105-131.
Karweit, N., & Wasik, B. A. (1996). The effects of story reading programs on literacy and
language development of disadvantaged preschoolers. Journal of Education for
Students Placed at Risk, 1(4), 319-348.
Kauchak, D., & Burbank, M. D. (2003). Voices in the classroom: Case studies of minority
teacher candidates. Action in Teacher Education, 25(1), 63-75.
Keene, E. O., & Zimmermann, S. (1997). Mosaic of thought: Teaching comprehension in a
reader's workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Keller, G. D. (1984). How Chicano authors use bilingual techniques for literary effect. In García,
E. E., Lomelí, F. A., & Ortiz, I. D. (Eds.). Chicano studies: A multidisciplinary approach,
(pp. 171-192). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Kena, G., Aud, S., Johnson, F., Wang, X., Zhang, J., Rathbun, A., . . . Kristapovich, P. (2014).
The condition of education 2014. National Center for Education Statistics, 2014083.
221 Kena, G., Musu-Gillette, L., Robinson, J., Wang, X., Rathbun, A., Zhang, J., . . . Velez, E. D. V.
(2015). The Condition of Education 2015. NCES 2015-144. National Center for
Education Statistics.
Kjolseth, R. (1972). Bilingual education programs in the United States: For assimilation or
pluralism? The language education of minority children. Rowley, MA: Newbury House,
94-121.
Kohli, R., & Solórzano, D. G. (2012). Teachers, please learn our names!: Racial
microagressions and the K-12 classroom. Race Ethnicity and Education, 15(4), 441-
462.
Kozol, J. (1990). The night is dark and I am far from home. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Krashen, S. D. (1985). Inquiries and insights: Second language teaching, immersion, and
bilingual education. Hayward, CA: Literacy, Alenamy Press, Janus Book Publishers,
Krashen, S. D. (2003). Explorations in language acquisition and use. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Kroskrity, P. V. (2004). Language ideologies. In A. Duranti (Ed.), A companion to linguistic
anthropology (pp. 496-517). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Krull, K., & Morales, Y. (2003). Harvesting hope: The story of Cesar Chavez. San Diego, CA:
Harcourt, Inc.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The Dreamkeepers. Successful Teachers of African American
Children: San Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass Inc.
Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers
College Record, 97(1), 47.
Laínez, R. C. (2004). Waiting for Papá/Esperando a Papá: Houston, TX: Piñata Books.
222 Laínez, R. C. (2010). From North to South/Del norte al sur: San Diego, CA: Del Sol Books.
Laínez, R. C. (2010). My Shoes and I: Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
Lambert, J. (1991). The effects of oral story sharing on vocabulary acquisition in English as a
second language. Unpublished manuscript, University of Southern California, Los
Angeles.
Lara, G., & Leija, M. (2014). Discussing Gender Roles and Equality by Reading Max: The
Stubborn Little Wolf. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 27(2), 22-25.
Lara, G. P., & Fránquiz, M. E. (2015). Latino bilingual teachers: Negotiating the figured world
of masculinity. Bilingual Research Journal, 38(2), 207-227.
Lawrence, C. R. (1987). The id, the ego, and equal protection: Reckoning with unconscious
racism. Stanford Law Review, 39, 317-1537.
LeCompte, M. D., & Preissle, J. (1993). Ethnography and qualitative design in educational
research (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Legarreta, D. (1979). The effects of program models on language acquisition by Spanish
speaking children. TESOL Quarterly, 13(4): 521-34.
Leland, C. H., Harste, J. C., & Smith, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first-grade
classroom. Language Arts, 82(4), 257-268.
Levy, J. (1995). The Spirit of Tío Fernando: A Day of the Dead Story/El espíritu de tío
Fernando: Una historia del Día de los Muertos. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman
and Company.
Lewison, M., Flint, A. S., & Van Sluys, K. (2002). Taking on critical literacy: The journey of
newcomers and novices. Language Arts, 79(5), 382-392.
Lewison, M., Leland, C., & Harste, J. C. (2008). Creating critical classrooms: K-8 reading and
223 writing with an edge. New York, NY: L. Erlbaum Associates.
Lewy, S., & Betty, S. (2007). How to expose fourth and fifth graders to religion and
spirituality in a public school classroom. International Journal of Children's
Spirituality, 12(3), 325-330.
Lindholm-Leary, K. (2012). Success and challenges in dual language education. Theory Into
Practice, 51(4), 256-262.
Lippi-Green, R. (2012). English with an Accent: Language, Ideology and Discrimination in the
United States. London: Routledge.
Lipski, J. M. (1982). Spanish-English language switching in speech and literature: theories and
models. Bilingual Review/La Revista Bilingüe, 9(3), 191-212.
López, M. M., & Brochin, C. (2014). Transnational preservice teachers’ literate lives and
writing pedagogy in a digital era. In Ferdig, R. E., & In Pytash, K. E. (Eds.) Exploring
multimodal composition and digital writing. (pp. 298-315) Hershey PA: Information
Science Reference.
Lopez-Flores, J. (2006). Living in two languages: Code -switching in picture and chapter books
authored by chicanos and latinos. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses. Dissertation Abstracts International, A: The Humanities and
Social Sciences, Vol. 67(07) (Accession Order No. [0419-4209])
López-Robertson, J. (2012). “Esta página me recordó”: Young Latinas Using Personal Life
Stories as Tools for Meaning-Making. Bilingual Research Journal, 35(2), 217-233.
doi:10.1080/15235882.2012.703634
Lozano, F. A., & Lopez, M. J. (2013). Border enforcement and selection of Mexican
immigrants in the United States. Feminist Economics, 19 (1), 76-110.
224 Lucero, A. (2015). Who’s Holding El Marcador? Peer Linguistic Mediation Gone Awry in a
Dual Language Classroom. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 14 (4), 219-
236.
Lynn, M. (2006). Education for the community: Exploring the culturally relevant practices of
Black male teachers. Teachers College Record, 108 (12), 2497.
Lynn, M., Yosso, T. J., Solorzano, D. G., & Parker, L. (2002). Critical Race Theory and
Education: Qualitative Research in the New Millennium. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 3-6.
Macedo, D. (1994). Literacies of power. Boulder, CO: Westview.
MacKinnon, C. A. (1991). From practice to theory, or what is a white woman anyway. Yale JL &
Feminism, 4, 13-22.
Maloch, B., & Beutel, D. D. (2010). "Big loud voice. You have important things to say": The
Nature of Student Initiations During One Teacher's Interactive Read-Alouds. The
Journal of Classroom Interaction, 45 (2), 20-29.
Marchi, R. (2013). Hybridity and Authenticity in US Day of the Dead Celebrations. Journal of
American Folklore, 126 (501), 272-301.
Marchi, R. M. (2009). Day of the Dead in the USA: The Migration and Transformation of a
Cultural Phenomenon. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Marschall, M. J., Rigby, E., & Jenkins, J. (2011). Do state policies constrain local actors? The
impact of English only laws on language instruction in public schools. Publius: The
Journal of Federalism, 41(4), 586-609.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2006). Designing qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Martin-Beltrán, M. (2010). The Two‐Way Language Bridge: Co‐Constructing Bilingual
225 Language Learning Opportunities. The Modern Language Journal, 94(2), 254-277.
Martinez, G. A. (1994). Legal Indeterminacy, Judicial Discretion and the Mexican- American
Litigation Experience. UC Davis Law Review, 27(3), 1930-1980.
Martinez, R. A. (2009). Spanglish is spoken here: Making sense of Spanish-English code-
switching and language ideologies in a sixth-grade English language arts classroom:
University of California, Los Angeles.
Martínez, R. A. (2010). “Spanglish” as Literacy Tool: Toward an Understanding of the
Potential Role of Spanish-English Code-Switching in the Development of Academic
Literacy. Research in the Teaching of English, 45 (2), 124-149.
Martínez, R. A. (2013). Reading the world in Spanglish: Hybrid language practices and
ideological contestation in a sixth-grade English language arts classroom. Linguistics
and Education, 24(3), 276-288.
Martínez, R. A., Hikida, M., & Durán, L. (2015). Unpacking Ideologies of Linguistic Purism:
How Dual Language Teachers Make Sense of Everyday Translanguaging. International
Multilingual Research Journal, 9(1), 26-42.
Martínez-Roldán, C., M. (2005). The inquiry acts of bilingual children in literature discussions.
Language Arts, 83(1), 22-32.
Martínez-Roldán, C. M. (2003). Building worlds and identities: A case study of the role of
narratives in bilingual literature discussions. Research in the Teaching of English, 37,
491-526.
Martínez -Roldan, C. M., & Lopez-Robertson, J. M. (1999). Initiating literature circles in a
first-grade bilingual classroom. The Reading Teacher, 53(4), 270-281.
Martínez-Roldán, C. M., & Newcomer, S. (2011). “Reading between the Pictures": Immigrant
226 Students' Interpretations of The Arrival. Language Arts, 88(3), 188- 197.
Mathison, S. (1988). Why triangulate? Educational Researcher, 17(2), 13-17.
Matsuda, M. J. (1989). Public response to racist speech: Considering the victim's story.
Michigan Law Review, 87(8), 2320-2381.
Matsuda, M. J. (1991). Voices of America: Accent, antidiscrimination law, and a jurisprudence
for the last reconstruction. Yale Law Journal, 100, 1329-1407.
Maxwell, J. A. (2012). Qualitative research design: an interactive approach. Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE.
McDonald, K. B. (1997). Black Activist Mothering: A Historical Intersection of Race, Gender,
and Class. Gender and Society, 11 (6), 773-795.
McGee Banks, C. A., & Banks, J. A. (1995). Equity pedagogy: An essential component of
multicultural education. Theory Into Practice, 34 (3), 152-158.
McGee, L. M., & Schickedanz, J. A. (2007). Repeated Interactive Read-Alouds in Preschool
and Kindergarten. The Reading Teacher, 60 (8), 742-751.
McKeown, M. G., & Beck, I. L. (2004). Direct and rich vocabulary instruction. Vocabulary
instruction: Research to practice, 13-27.
Medina, C. (2010). “Reading across communities” in biliteracy practices: Examining translocal
discourses and cultural flows in literature discussions. Reading Research Quarterly, 45
(1), 40-60.
Mendelberg, H. E. (1986). Identity conflict in Mexican-American adolescents. Adolescence, 21
(81), 215-224.
Mendoza-Denton, N. (2014). Homegirls: Language and cultural practice among Latina youth
gangs. Wiley-Blackwell.
227 Menken, K., & García, O. (2010). Negotiating language education policies: Educators as
policymakers. New York, NY: Routledge.
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Michael, P. (2006). Reading Instruction that Works: The Case for Balanced Training. New York,
NY: The Guildford Press.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods
sourcebook. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Milner, H. R. (2012). Beyond a Test Score: Explaining Opportunity Gaps in Educational
Practice. Journal of Black Studies, 43(6), 693-718.
Milner, H. R. (2010). Culture, curriculum, and identity in education Culture, curriculum, and
identity in education. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan
Mohatt, G., & Erickson, F. (1981). Cultural differences in teaching styles in an Odawa school:
A sociolinguistic approach. In Trueba, H. T., Guthrie, G. P., & Au, K. H. P. (Eds.).
Culture and the bilingual classroom: Studies in classroom ethnography (pp. 105-119).
Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers
Moll, L. C. (1988). Some key issues in teaching Latino students. Language Arts, 65 (5), 465-
472.
Moller, K. J. (2002). Providing support for dialogue in literature discussions about social
justice. Language Arts, 79 (6), 467.
Montoya, M. E. (1994). Mascaras, trenzas, y greñas: Un/masking the self while un/braiding
Latina stories and legal discourse. Harvard Women’s Law Journal, 15, 1-36.
Monzó, L. D., & Rueda, R. S. (2001). Professional roles, caring, and scaffolds: Latino teachers'
228 and paraeducators' interactions with Latino students. American Journal of Education,
109 (4), 438-471.
Morrow, L. M. (1990). Preparing the classroom environment to promote literacy during play.
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 5(4), 537-554.
Mutua, A. D. (1999). Shifting Bottoms and Rotating Centers: Reflections on LatCrit III and the
Black/White Paradigm. University Miami Law Review, 53, 1177-1217.
Nathenson-Mejía, S., & Escamilla, K. (2003). Connecting With Latino Children: Bridging
Cultural Gaps with Children's Literature. Bilingual Research Journal, 27(1), 101-116.
Nieto, S. (1994). Lessons from students on creating a chance to dream. Harvard Educational
Review, 64(4), 392-427.
Nieto, S. (1998). Symposium: Fact and Fiction: Stories of Puerto Ricans in US Schools. Harvard
Educational Review, 68(2), 133-164.
Nieto, S. (1999). The light in their eyes: creating multicultural learning communities. New York,
NY: Teachers College Press.
Oates, G. L. S. C. (2003). Teacher‐student racial congruence, teacher perceptions, and test
performance. Social Science Quarterly, 84(3), 508-525.
Ochoa, G. (2007). Learning from Latino teachers. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Olivas, M. A. (1990). The chronicles, my grandfather's stories, and immigration law: the slave
traders chronicle as racial history. (A Forum on Derrick Bell's Civil Rights Chronicles).
Saint Louis University Law Journal, 34(3), 425-441.
Ong, A. (1999). Flexible Citizenship: the cultural logics of transnationality. London : Duke
University Press
Orellana, M. F., Reynolds, J., Dorner, L., & Meza, M. (2003). In other words: Translating or
229 “para‐phrasing”as a family literacy practice in immigrant households. Reading Research
Quarterly, 38(1), 12-34.
Orfield, G., & Yun, J. T. (1999). Resegregation in American schools. Cambridge, MA: Civil
Rights Project. Harvard University.
Osorio, S. L. (2016). Border stories: using critical race and Latino critical theories to
understand the experiences of Latino/a children. Race Ethnicity and Education, 1- 13.
Ovando, C. J., & Combs, M. C. (2012). Bilingual and ESL classrooms: teaching in
multicultural contexts. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Palmer, B. M., & Codling, R. M. (1994). In their own words: What elementary students have to
say about motivation to read. The Reading Teacher, 48(2), 176-178.
Pantaleo, S. (2004). Young children and radical change characteristics in picture books. The
Reading Teacher, 58(2), 178-187.
Pantaleo, S. (2007). Interthinking: Young Children Using Language to Think Collectively During
Interactive Read-alouds. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(6), 439-447.
Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy a needed change in stance, terminology, and
practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93-97.
Paris, D., & Alim, H. S. (2014). What are we seeking to sustain through culturally sustaining
pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 85-100.
Paz, O. (1985). The Labyrinth of Solitude: And the Other Mexico; Return to the Labyrinth of
Solitude; Mexico and the United States; The Philanthropic Ogre (Vol. 13): New York,
NY: Grove Press.
Peck, J. (1989). Using storytelling to promote language and literacy development. The Reading
Teacher, 43(2), 138-141.
230 Pedersen, P. (1995). The five stages of culture shock: critical incidents around the world.
Westport, CN: Greenwood Press.
Penno, J. F., Wilkinson, I. A. G., & Moore, D. W. (2002). Vocabulary acquisition from
teacher explanation and repeated listening to stories: Do they overcome the Matthew
effect? Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(1), 23-33.
Perea, J. F. (1997). The Black/White Binary Paradigm of Race: The “Normal Science” of
American Racial Thought. California Law Review, 1213-1258.
Pérez, A. I. (2002). My Diary from Here to There/Mi Diario de Aquí hasta allá. San Francisco,
CA: Children's Book Press.
Pérez, B. (1994). Spanish literacy development: A descriptive study of four bilingual
whole-language classrooms. Journal of Literacy Research, 26(1), 75-94.
Pérez, B., & Torres-Guzmán, M. E. (2002). Learning in two worlds: an integrated
Spanish/English biliteracy approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Perez, J. (2011). Reasonably suspicious of being mojado: The legal derogation of Latinos in
immigration enforcement. Tex. Hisp. JL & Pol'y, 17, 99.
Poplack, S. (1980). Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in Spanish y termino en español: toward a
typology of code-switching. Linguistics, 18(7-8), 581-618.
Portes, A., Guarnizo, L. E., & Landolt, P. (1999). The study of transnationalism: pitfalls and
promise of an emergent research field. Ethnic and racial studies, 22(2), 217- 237.
Qualls, C. D., & Harris, J. L. (1999). Effects of familiarity on idiom comprehension in African
American and European American fifth graders. Language, Speech, and Hearing
Services in Schools, 30(2), 141-151.
Quiocho, A., & Rios, F. (2000). The Power of Their Presence: Minority Group Teachers and
231 Schooling. Review of Educational Research, 70(4), 485-528.
Ramos, J. (2005). Morir en el intento: la peor tragedia de inmigrantes en la historia entre
México y Estados Unidos/Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American
History. New York, NY, Harper Collins Publishers, Rayo.
Reyes, I. (2004). Functions of code switching in schoolchildren's conversations. Bilingual
Research Journal, 28(1), 77-98.
Reyes, I. (2006). Exploring connections between emergent biliteracy and bilingualism. Journal of
Early Childhood Literacy, 6(3), 267-292.
Reyes, M. (1987). Comprehension of content area passages: A study of Spanish/English readers
in third and fourth grade. In S. Goldman & H. Trueba (Eds.), Becoming literate in
English as a second language (pp. 107-126). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Reyes, M., Goldman, S. R., & Trueba, H. T. (1987). Comprehension of content area passages:
A study of Spanish/English readers in third and fourth grade. In Goldman, S. R., &
Trueba, H. T. (Eds.) Becoming literate in English as a second language (pp. 107-126).
Norwood, NJ: Ablex Pub. Corp
Reyes, M. d. l. L. (2001). "Unleashing possibilities: Biliteracy in the primary grades". In M. d. l.
L. Reyes & J. J. Halcón (Eds.), The Best for Our Children: Critical Perspectives on
Literacy for Latino Students. Language and Literacy Series (pp. 96-121). New York, NY:
Teachers College Press.
Ríos, F., & Montecinos, C. (1999). Advocating social justice and cultural affirmation:
Ethnically diverse preservice teachers’ perspectives on multicultural education. Equity
& Excellence, 32(3), 66-76.
Robbins, C., & Ehri, L. C. (1994). Reading storybooks to kindergartners helps them learn new
232 vocabulary words. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(1), 54.
Robinson, R. K. (2008). Perceptual segregation. Columbia Law Review, 108(5), 1093-1180.
Rodríguez, H. M., Salinas, C., & Guberman, S. (2005). Creating Opportunities for Historical
Thinking with Bilingual Students. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 18(2), 9-13.
Rodriguez, T. L. (2011). Stories of self, stories of practice: enacting a vision of socially just
pedagogy for Latino youth. Teaching Education, 22(3), 239-254.
Rodriguez, T. L., & Cho, H. S. (2011). Eliciting critical literacy narratives of bi/multilingual
teacher candidates across U.S. teacher education contexts. Teaching and Teacher
Education, 27(3), 496-504.
Rosaldo, R. (1993). Culture & truth: the remaking of social analysis. Boston: Beacon Press.
Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self. New York, NY: Basic.
Rowan, S. (2001). Delving Deeper: Teaching Culture as an Integral Element of Second-
Language Learning. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues
and Ideas, 74(5), 238-241.
Rueda, R., Monzó, L. D., & Higareda, I. (2004). Appropriating the Sociocultural Resources of
Latino Paraeducators for Effective Instruction with Latino Students Promise and
Problems. Urban Education, 39(1), 52-90.
Russell, M. M. (1991). Entering great America: Reflections on race and the convergence of
progressive legal theory and practice. Hastings L.J., 43, 749-767.
Ryan, C. (2013). Language use in the United States: 2011. American community survey reports,
22, 1-16.
Ryan, P. M. (2002). Esperanza rising. New York, NY: Scholastic Signature.
Salinas, C., & Castro, A. J. (2010). Disrupting the official curriculum: Cultural biography and
233 the curriculum decision making of Latino preservice teachers. Theory & Research in
Social Education, 38(3), 428-463.
Salinas, C., Fránquiz, M. E., & Guberman, S. (2006). Introducing historical thinking to
second language learners: Exploring what students know and what they want to know.
The Social Studies, 97(5), 203-207.
Salinas, C. S., Fránquiz, M. E., & Rodríguez, N. N. (2016). Writing Latina/o Historical
Narratives: Narratives at the Intersection of Critical Historical Inquiry and LatCrit. The
Urban Review, 48(3), 419-439.
San Miguel, G. (1987). "Let All of Them Take Heed": Mexican Americans and the Campaign
for Educational Equality in Texas, 1910-1981. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Sánchez, P. (2001). Adopting Transnationalism Theory and Discourse: Making space for a
transnational Chicana. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 22(3),
375-381.
Sánchez, P. (2007). Urban immigrant students: How transnationalism shapes their world
learning. The Urban Review, 39(5), 489-517.
Sánchez, P., & Kasun, G. S. (2012). Connecting transnationalism to the classroom and to
theories of immigrant student adaptation. Berkeley Review of Education, 3(1), 71-93.
Sánchez, P., & Machado-Casas, M. (2009). At the intersection of transnationalism, Latina/o
immigrants, and education. The High School Journal, 92(4), 3-15.
Santoro, L. E., Chard, D. J., Howard, L., & Baker, S. K. (2008). Making the Very Most of
Classroom Read-Alouds to Promote Comprehension and Vocabulary. The Reading
Teacher, 61(5), 396-408.
Sayer, P. (2008). Demystifying language mixing: Spanglish in school. Journal of Latinos and
234 Education, 7(2), 94-112.
Sénéchal, M. (1997). The differential effect of storybook reading on preschoolers' acquisition of
expressive and receptive vocabulary. Journal of Child language, 24(01), 123-138.
Shannon, S. M. (1995). The hegemony of English: A case study of one bilingual classroom as a
site of resistance. Linguistics and Education, 7(3), 175-200.
Short, K. (1993). Making connections across literature and life. In Holland, K. E., Hungerford, R.
A., & Ernst, S. B. (Eds.), Journeying: Children responding to literature. Literature (pp.
284-301). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Sipe, L., & Constable, S. (1996). A chart of four contemporary research paradigms: Metaphors
for the modes of inquiry. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 1(Spring), 153-
163.
Sipe, L. R. (2000). The construction of literary understanding by first and second graders in
oral response to picture storybook read‐alouds. Reading Research Quarterly, 35(2),
252-275.
Sipe, L. R. (2002). Talking back and taking over: Young children's expressive engagement
during storybook read-alouds. The Reading Teacher, 55(5), 476-483.
Sipe, L. R. (2007). Storytime: Young Children's Literary Understanding in the Classroom:
ERIC.
Sipe, L. R. (2008). Storytime: young children's literary understanding in the classroom. New
York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Sipe, L. R., & Brightman, A. (2006). Teacher scaffolding of first-graders’ literary
understanding during readalouds of fairytale variants. Paper presented at the National
Reading Conference Yearbook.
235 Slack, J. (2016) Captive bodies: Migrant kidnapping and deportation in Mexico. Area. 48(3):
271–277.
Sleeter, C. (2011). An agenda to strengthen culturally responsive pedagogy. English Teaching,
10(2), 7.
Sleeter, C. E. (2001). Preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools research and the
overwhelming presence of whiteness. Journal of Teacher Education, 52(2), 94- 106.
Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London:
Zed books.
Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young
children committee on the prevention of reading difficulties in young children.
Washington, DC: National Research Council.
Solórzano, D., & Yosso, T. (2000). Toward a critical race theory of Chicana and Chicano
education. In Martínez, C., Leonardo, Z., & Tejeda, C. (Eds). Charting new terrains of
Chicana(o)/Latina(o) education (pp. 35-65). Cresskill, N.J: Hampton Press.
Solórzano, D. G. (1997). Images and words that wound: Critical race theory, racial stereotyping,
and teacher education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 24(3), 5-19.
Solórzano, D. G. (1998). Critical race theory, race and gender microaggressions, and the
experience of Chicana and Chicano scholars. International Journal of Qualitative
Studies in Education, 11(1), 121-136.
Solórzano, D. G., & Bernal, D. D. (2001). Examining Transformational Resistance Through a
Critical Race and Latcrit Theory Framework: Chicana and Chicano Students in an
Urban Context. Urban Education, 36(3), 308-342.
Solórzano, D., Ceja, M., & Yosso, T. (2000). Critical Race Theory, Racial Microaggressions,
236 and Campus Racial Climate: The Experiences of African American College Students.
The Journal of Negro Education, 69(1/2), 60-73.
Solórzano, D. G., & Yosso, T. J. (2001). Critical race and LatCrit theory and method: Counter-
storytelling. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(4), 471-495.
Solórzano, D. G., & Yosso, T. J. (2002). Critical race methodology: Counter-storytelling as
an analytical framework for education research. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 23- 44.
Souto-Manning, M. (2009). Negotiating culturally responsive pedagogy through multicultural
children's literature: Towards critical democratic literacy practices in a first grade
classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 9(1), 50-74.
Spener, D. (2009). Clandestine crossings: Migrants and coyotes on the Texas-Mexico border:
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. In Denzin, N.K., Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds). The Sage
handbook of qualitative research, 3rd ed. (pp. 443-466). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications Ltd.
Strachan, S. L. (2015). Kindergarten students’ social studies and content literacy learning from
interactive read-alouds. The Journal of Social Studies Research, 39(4), 207- 223.
Street, B. (1995). Social Literacies. London: Longman.
Street, B. (2003). What’s “new”in New Literacy Studies? Critical approaches to literacy in
theory and practice. Current issues in comparative education, 5(2), 77-91.
Su, J. Z. (1994). Who will teach our children: Implications for the teaching profession. The
Professional Educator, 16(2), 1-10.
Suárez -Orozco, C., Suárez -Orozco, M., & Harvard University, P. (2002). Children of
immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
237 Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suárez-Orozco, M. (1995). Transformations: immigration, family life
and achievement motivation among Latino adolescents. Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press.
Suárez-Orozco, C., Suárez-Orozco, M. M., & Todorova, I. (2008). Learning a new land:
immigrant students in American society. Cambridge, ME: Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press
Suárez-Orozco, C., Yoshikawa, H., Teranishi, R., & Suárez-Orozco, M. (2011). Growing up in
the shadows: The developmental implications of unauthorized status. Harvard
Educational Review, 81(3), 438-473.
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1998). Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent
French immersion students working together. The Modern Language Journal, 82(3),
320-337.
Tate IV, W. F. (1997). Chapter 4: Critical race theory and education: History, theory, and
implications. Review of Research in Education, 22(1), 195-247.
Teal, T. (2003). Strategies to enhance vocabulary development. ERIC Document 479128.
Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. Retrieved
from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED479128.pdf
Thompson, A. (2004). Caring and Colortalk: Childhood Innocence in White and Black. In V. S.
Walker & J. R. Snarey (Eds.), Race-ing moral formation African American perspectives
on care and justice (pp. 23–37). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Tierney, W. G. (1993). Building communities of difference: Higher education in the
twenty-first century. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Tompkins, G. E. (2002). Language arts: Content and teaching strategies. Toronto:
238 Prentice Hall.
Tonatiuh, D. (2013). Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale. New York, NY: Abrams
Books for Young Readers.
Tonatiuh, D. (2015). Funny bones: Posada and his Day of the Dead calaveras. New York, NY:
Abrams Books for Young Readers.
Tschida, C. M., Ryan, C. L., & Ticknor, A. S. (2014). Building on windows and mirrors:
Encouraging the disruption of”single stories”through children's literature. Journal of
Children's Literature, 40(1), 28.
Tuan, M. (1998). Forever foreigners or honorary whites?: the Asian ethnic experience today.
New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Urrieta, L. Jr. (2003). Las identidades también lloran, identities also cry: Exploring the human
side of indigenous Latina/o identities. Educational Studies, 34(2), 148- 168.
Urrieta, L. Jr. (2009). Working from within: Chicana and Chicano activist educators in
whitestream schools. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.
Urrieta, L. Jr. (2007). Orchestrating habitus and figured worlds. In J. A. Van Galen & G. W.
Noblit (Eds.), Late to class: Social class and schooling in the new economy (pp. 113-
140). Albany NY: State University of New York Press.
Vaca, J. (1983). Ortografía y significado. Lectura y vida, 4(1), 4-9.
Valdes, F. (1996). Latina/o Ethnicities, Critical Race Theory, and Post-Identity Politics in
Postmodern Legal Culture: From Practices to Possibilities. La Raza Law Journal, 9, 1.
Valdes, F. (1997). Foreword: Poised at the Cusp: LatCrit Theory Outsider Jurisprudence and
Latina/o Self-Empowerment. Harvard Latino Law Review, 2, 1.
Valdes, F. (1998). LatCrit: Latinas/os and the law. La Raza Law Journal, 10(1), 1-600.
239 Valdes, F., Culp, J. M., & Harris, A. (Eds.). (2002). Crossroads, directions and a new critical
race theory. Philadelphia, PA: University Press.
Valdes, G. (1991). Background knowledge and minority students: Some implications for
literacy-based instruction. Paper presented at the American Educational Research
Association Conference, Chicago, IL.
Valencia, R. R., & Black, M. S. (2002). "Mexican Americans Don't Value Education!”On the
Basis of the Myth, Mythmaking, and Debunking. Journal of Latinos and Education,
1(2), 81-103.
Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive Schooling: US-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring.
Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Van den Broek, P. (2001). The Role of Television Viewing in the Development of Reading
Comprehension. (Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement Archive
Report No. 01-02). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
Varghese, M. M. (2008). Using Cultural Models to Unravel How Bilingual Teachers Enact
Language Policies. Language and Education, 22(5), 289-306.
Varghese, M. M., & Stritikus, T. T. (2005). "Nadie Me Dijo [Nobody Told Me]": Language
Policy Negotiation and Implications for Teacher Education. Journal of Teacher
Education, 56(1), 73-87.
Vasquez, V. M. (2007). Using the Everyday to Engage in Critical Literacy with Young
Children. New England Reading Association Journal, 43(2), 6-11.
Vasquez, V. M. (2010). Getting beyond "I like the book”: creating space for critical literacy in
K-6 classrooms. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Vasquez, V. M. (2014). Negotiating critical literacies with young children. London:
240 Routledge.
Vélez-Ibañez, C. (1988). Networks of Exchange among Mexicans in the U.S. and Mexico:
Local Level Mediating Responses to National and International Transformations.
Urban Anthropology, 17(1), 27-51.
Vélez-Ibañez, C. G. (1997). Border visions: Mexican cultures of the Southwest United States.
Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press.
Villegas, A. M., & Davis, D. E. (2008). Preparing teachers of color to confront racial/ethnic
disparities in educational outcomes. In Cochran-Smith, M. (Ed.). Handbook of research
on teacher education: Enduring questions in changing contexts (pp. 583-605). London:
Routledge.
Villegas, A. M., & Irvine, J. J. (2010). Diversifying the Teaching Force: An Examination of
Major Arguments. The Urban Review, 42(3), 175-192.
Villenas, S., & Deyhle, D. (1999). Critical Race Theory and Ethnographies Challenging the
Stereotypes: Latino Families, Schooling, Resilience and Resistance (Vol. 29, pp. 413-
445). Oxford, UK and Boston, USA.
Villenas, S., Godinez, F., Delgado Bernal, D., & Elenes, A. (2006). Chicanas/Latinas Building
Bridges: An Introduction. In Delgado, B. D. (Ed.). Chicana/Latina education in
everyday life: Feminista perspectives on pedagogy and epistemology (pp. 1-9). Albany,
NY: State University of New York Press.
Volk, D., & Angelova, M. (2007). Language ideology and the mediation of language choice in
peer interactions in a dual-language first grade. Journal of Language, Identity, and
Education, 6(3), 177-199.
Wasik, B. A., & Bond, M. A. (2001). Beyond the pages of a book: Interactive book reading and
241 language development in preschool classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology,
93(2), 243-250.
Whittaker, C. R., Salend, S., & Elhoweris, H. (2009). Religious diversity in schools:
Addressing the issues. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44(5), 314-319.
Wing, A. K. (1997). Critical race feminism: A reader. New York, NY: New York University
Press.
Wiseman, A. (2011). Interactive Read Alouds: Teachers and Students Constructing
Knowledge and Literacy Together. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38(6), 431-
438.
Woolard, K. A., & Schieffelin, B. B. (1994). Language ideology. Annual review of
anthropology, 23(1), 55-82.
Worthy, J., Chamberlain, K., Peterson, K., Sharp, C., & Shih, P. Y. (2012). The importance of
read-aloud and dialogue in an era of narrowed curriculum: An examination of literature
discussions in a second-grade classroom. Literacy Research and Instruction, 51(4), 308-
322.
Worthy, J., Durán, L., Hikida, M., Pruitt, A., & Peterson, K. (2013). Spaces for Dynamic
Bilingualism in Read-Aloud Discussions: Developing and Strengthening Bilingual and
Academic Skills. Bilingual Research Journal, 36(3), 311-328.
Yin, R. (2009). Case study research design and methods (Fourth Ed.): London: SAGE
Publications Ltd.
Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community
cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69-91.
Zentella, A. C. (1997). Growing up bilingual: Puerto Rican children in New York. Malden, MA:
242 Blackwell Publishers.
Zwiers, J. (2014). Building academic language: Meeting Common Core Standards across
disciplines, grades 5-12. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
243