The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature

	Introduction

	Lesson Plan 1

	Lesson Plan 2


		Explore two poems using four approaches.

		Share your views on the discussion board.

This section includes summaries of the lessons featured in the in the video programs. The lessons explore the literature through an inquiry approach.

Lesson Plans

Session 4: Inquiry: Tomás Rivera

Jorge Arredondo uses an inquiry-based approach to the study of ...y no se lo tragó la tierra... (And the Earth Did Not Devour Him) by Tomás Rivera. With his guidance, students question the book's translator, conduct Internet research, and interview Mexican immigrants who work in their school. The process of searching for answers to their own questions helps students increase their research skills.

Session 4: Inquiry: Esmeralda Santiago

Bo Wu uses an inquiry approach to explore Esmeralda Santiago's memoir When I Was Puerto Rican. The students engage in a dramatic reading of several sections of the chapter "The American Invasion of Macún" and discuss Santiago's usage of dialogue and descriptive language. Sparked by their personal interests, the students develop and research topics based on the chapter. Using Santiago's work as a model, the students create timelines of their lives and write their own memoirs.

Lesson Plan 1

The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature