Using Autobiographies to Celebrate Diversity
"The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it." ~Benjamin Disraeli
A frequent lecturer on diversity and multiculturalism, Dr. Carlos Cortes will present the Early Bird Keynote, "A Conversation with Alana: One Boy's Multicultural Rite of Passage" at the TEPSA Summer Conference.
According to Cortes, "Classroom opportunities abound for using autobiography. Engaging students in the writing of their own stories and the stories of their families. Using autobiography and family history to improve language, to enrich the social studies, to introduce students to oral history, and to involve students in the creative arts. Raising such topics as respect, inclusion, interpersonal relations, and the ethics of personal privacy if they get involved in family history."
Download the_alana_odyssey.doc
Classroom Resources
From the International Reading Association:
- Alphabiography Project: Totally You (6-8)
- Childhood Remembrances: Life and Art Intersect in Nikki Giovanni’s “Nikki-Rosa” (6-8)
- Creating Family Timelines: Graphing Family Memories and Significant Events (3-5)
- Exploring and Sharing Family Stories (6-8)
- Family Message Journals Teach Many Purposes for Writing (K-2)
- Family Ties: Making Connections to Improve Reading Comprehension (K-2)
- From Little House to My House: Exploring History and Family Roles (K-2)
- Getting to Know You: Developing Short Biographies to Build Community (3-5)
- Graphic Life Map (6-8)
- Investigating Names to Explore Personal History and Cultural Traditions (6-8)
- Involving Students and Families in Ongoing Reflection and Assessment (K-2)
- It’s Okay to Be Different: Teaching Diversity with Todd Parr (K-2)
- Making Personal and Cultural Connections Using A Girl Named Disaster (6-8)
- My Family Traditions: A Class Book and a Potluck Lunch (3-5)
- My Life/Your Life: A Look at Your Parents’ Past (6-8)
- Telling a Story About Me: Young Children Write Autobiographies (K-2)
- When I Was Young In…A Literature to Language Experience (6-8)
- Writing and Assessing an Autobiographical Incident (3-5)
Education World:
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