RUNNING HEAD: MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE PROJECT Alvarez 1

Multicultural Literature Project

Veronica Alvarez
Miami Dade College
EDG4376
Professor Glenda Moton
December 11, 2017
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Reading Level: 1280L

Grade level: 10 - 12
Publisher: Plaza & Janés, S.A.
Date of publication: 1982
Characters: Esteban, Clara, Ferula, Blanca, Pedro, Alba
Setting: A big city house and a country plantation, Chile, twentieth century.
Brief Summary/Plot: Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations
are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an
otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has
deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter
Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary
future.

The overarching theme of this novel is family relationships. The House of the Spirits is first and
foremost a family saga spanning four generations. The text examines relationships between
mothers and daughters, fathers and children, brothers and sisters. It also looks at how families
function as a whole unit. Though not always smoothly, there’s something that keeps them all
together. That mysterious glue might be a legal bond (like marriage), biological inheritance,
physical intimacy, co-habitation, or just plain old love. Often it's some combination of those
things. The point of the theme is that it's not always easy to tell what makes two people "family,"
but the bond sure isn't easy to ignore.
Family relationships are something that most students can relate to, especially ELLs. This book
was chosen to highlight the colorful history that families have, as well as to demonstrate a
technique that most Latin American authors use: magical realism. Exposing students to this type
of literature is extremely beneficial, because it opens the student’s eyes to another way of living.
Allende does an incredibly job in highlighting the sociocultural aspects of Chilean society, and
the different positions of the characters. Because of this, some ELL students may feel
represented through this work of literature. They may even see parts of their own culture within
the text; thus, facilitating discussion and enhancing the student’s confidence.
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Instructional Strategies:
Finding the main idea, important facts, and supporting details are all important strategies that
most students learn in the primary grade level. Nevertheless, students may forget and ELL
students may be confused. This would make a great activity for ELL students, and fluent English
speaking students.
Class discussions are somewhat tricky to conduct in a classroom filled with high school students.
Most of them are embarrassed, and this is especially true for ELLs. The beauty of multicultural
literature is precisely the fact that it introduces different lifestyles, countries, and civilizations.
These topics are particularly easy for ELL students to talk about, and truly enrich their learning
experience.
Standards:
LAFS.1112.RL.1.1
LAFS.1112.RL.1.2
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Reading Level: 1000L

Grade Level: 9-12
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Date of Publication: September 27, 1997
Characters: Chiyo, Auntie, Mameha, Hatsumomo
Setting: an okiya house in Japan
Brief Summary/Plot: In the 1920s, 9-year-old Chiyo gets sold to a geisha house. There, she is
forced into servitude, receiving nothing in return until the house's ruling hierarchy determines
if she is of high enough quality to service the clientele -- men who visit and pay for
conversation, dance and song. After rigorous years of training, Chiyo becomes Sayuri, a
geisha of incredible beauty and influence. Life is good for Sayuri, but World War II is about to
disrupt the peace.

Love is the predominant theme found in Memoirs of a Geisha. In fact, love is what motives
Sayuri to eventually become a geisha. However, considering Sayuri’s status as a geisha, loving
someone is not profitable and usually the relationships that geishas have with their danna’s is
seen as simply a business contract that doesn’t involve the geisha to be in love with her protector.
Not only is love a key theme, but duty also plays a big role in the life of a geisha. Even if a
geisha falls in love with someone, she is still bound to her danna and has to relay on his money
and status to survive. Sayuri is aware of the complications that come with loving someone so that
is why, her love or the Chairman remains for a while an ideal, Sayuri keeping her feelings to
herself.
Love and duty are two themes that may have an effect on ELL students. Their families risk their
lives for the love that they have for their children. They sacrifice their jobs, homes, and friends to
come to a new country so their children can have a better life. In Memoirs of a Geisha, Sayuri’s
father has to give her up to an okiya so that she may have a chance at success and financial
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stability. This resonates with ELL students, because a lot of these kids see the sacrifices their
families made for love, and feel that it is their duty to repay them. While the duty of a geisha was
to not fall in love and remain devoted to her danna, ELL students may still sympathize with the
character. Sayuri’s duty was to achieve notoriety, wealth, and beauty. Because her family had to
give her up for a better life, she feels determined to make them proud. This is something that
most ELL students know too well. Making their parents proud and living a fulfilling life are all
that they strive for.
Instructional Strategies:
The teacher may use questions after reading to enhance discussion and understanding. After the
ELLs and/or whole class have completed the reading, the teacher can test their comprehension
with carefully crafted questions, taking care to use simple sentences and key vocabulary from the
text they just read.
Videos provide an immense amount of help for students that aren’t fluent English speakers. In
fact, ELL students rely greatly on visual aids to help them understand the content of a work.
Showing the students a video on geishas could help augment their understanding of the novel,
and the themes within it.
Standards:
LAFS.910.W.3.9
LAFS.910.RI.1.3
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Reading Level: 1100L

Grade Level: 9-12
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Date of Publication: April 12th 2016
Characters: n/a
Setting: United States
Brief Summary/Plot: American attitudes toward immigrants are paradoxical. On the one hand,
we see our country as a haven for the poor and oppressed; anyone, no matter his or her
background, can find freedom here and achieve the “American Dream.” On the other hand,
depending on prevailing economic conditions, fluctuating feelings about race and ethnicity,
and fear of foreign political and labor agitation, we set boundaries and restrictions on who may
come to this country and whether they may stay as citizens. This book explores the way
government policy and popular responses to immigrant groups evolved throughout U.S.
history, particularly between 1800 and 1965. The book concludes with a summary of events up
to contemporary times, as immigration again becomes a hot-button issue. Includes an author’s
note, bibliography, and index.

Leaving home is something that most ELL students know very well. They leave their
possessions and even family in search of a better life in America. This book was chosen because
of its relatable content towards ELL students. The central theme of this book allows fluent
English speakers to connect and sympathize with ELL students. Through this book, a unification
of the classroom begins. This Land is Our Land appeals to the sociocultural aspect of the
students’ lives, and allows the other students to connect culturally with the ELLs.
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Instructional Strategies:
Draw on students' existing knowledge. Students may already possess content knowledge that
they cannot yet demonstrate in English. Look for opportunities to make associations between
students' experiences and new content. Allow students to use their native language with peers for
a quick brainstorm to discover what they know about a topic before presenting their ideas to the
whole class.
Use graphic organizers: Graphic organizers allow ELLs to organize information and ideas
efficiently without using much language. Different types include Venn diagrams, K-W-L charts,
story maps, cause-and-effect charts, and time lines.
Standards:
LAFS.1112.RL.1.3
LAFS.1112.RH.3.9
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Reading Level: 1250L

Grade Level: 10-12
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Date of Publication: October 8, 2013
Characters: Malala
Setting: Pakistan
Brief Summary/Plot: I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global
terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner,
championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who
have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

The main theme in “I Am Malala” is bravery, and the desire to attain an education despite one’s
economic background, culture, or gender. Malala was shot in the face, while fighting for her
right to be educated. As a woman, she wasn’t allowed to pursue an education or even know how
to read. The culture that she was born into had its foundations in extremism, and that was a battle
that she was to fight up until she was shot. While Malala’s was a rare case, teachers must
acknowledge that it takes a tremendous amount of bravery for students to pursue an education in
a country where they don’t even know the language. Most teachers and students don’t realize the
internal and sometimes external struggle that immigrants face. Reading this book as a class will
promote acceptance and awareness to the bravery of ELL students and immigrants as a whole. It
will also guarantee a culturally inclusive classroom breeding love, enrichment, and education.
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Instructional Strategies:
Provide systematic instruction in comprehension skills: Teaching basic comprehension skills,
such as picking out the main idea, recognizing cause and effect, summarizing, and outlining, will
support ELLs' learning in all their classes.
Use outlines to scaffold comprehension: Providing a brief, simple outline of a reading
assignment or an oral discussion in advance helps ELLs pick out the important information as
they listen or read.
Standards:
LAFS.910.RL.1.3
LAFS.910.L.3.4
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References:
Allende, I. (n.d.). The House of the Spirits Themes. Retrieved December 11, 2017, from
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-house-of-the-spirits/study-guide/themes
L. (n.d.). Memoirs of a Geisha Themes. Retrieved December 11, 2017, from
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/memoirs-of-a-geisha/themes
Cervantes, W.D. & Hernandez, D.J. (2011). Children in Immigrant Families: Ensuring
Opportunity for Every Child in America. First Focus: Foundation for Child Development.
Breiseth, L. (2015). What You Need to Know About ELLs: Fast Facts. Retrieved December 11,
2017, from http://www.colorincolorado.org/ell-basics/ell-policy-research/immigration-and-
schools
Tips for Educators of ELLs: Reading in Grades 7-12. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2017, from
http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/tips-educators-ells-reading-grades-7-12