Turning on Learning: Five Approaches for Multicultural Teaching Plans for Race, Class, Gender and Disability

When I saw the price for this textbook, I thought it was a joke. My options were paying an average of $87. But I got it for under $10. When it arrives it was in the best condition. I could've asked for anything better. It was hard to tell that this interactive textbook/workbook was ever used. Being a proscrastinator, I was also pleasantly surprised that it arrived to my home in less than 72 hours. Thanks again.

Carl Grant and Christine Sleeter contribute to the scholarship of culturally responsive teaching in the writing of this book. A revision of their original work covering race, class and gender, Turning On Learning gives useful advice to teachers seeking to create a more inclusive classroom. The authors have centered the book on the task of developing cultural competency in teachers -- a vital component for any educator seeking to approach instruction in a manner that attempts to include all learners. The authors give guidelines on ways inclusivity can be accomplished, as well as techniques in writing lesson plans that focus on reconstructionism (or "telling the story" from a multitude of perspectives, rather than the more traditional one-sided view). The book even includes a cultural literacy test that readers will find quite interesting! I rate this book highly because as a trainer in culturally responsive teaching, it has been very useful in bridging the gaps of understanding for teachers across various disciplines. The authors use lesson plans from social studies, math, science, language arts, art and a few other areas to paint the picture that inclusivity is really more of a function of the teacher's understanding of his or her students than it is a matter of trying to simply treat all students the same. Differences are acknowledged and celebrated. My single point of contention with this book occurs early in the first chapter. The authors define "culturally different" as a student characteristic; a student is culturally different when his or her culture differs from that of the teacher. To me, this teacher-centered view is a bit of a throwback to essentialism; being more of a progressivist, I tend to believe that cultural difference exists when more than one cultural perspective is present in the classroom. In other words, I believe that teachers can be culturally different, too. And in my experience dealing with urban schools, it is much more often the case that it is the teacher who represents the significant cultural difference. On this point, I think that the student-centered approach is more appropriate. In all, if you want good information about revising lesson plans, or creating instructional plans that reflect the diversity present in your classroom, school and community -- this book is an excellent buy!

This book is a very practical resource for classroom teachers. I used it this summer in my course entitled "Pedagogy for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms"- a Teacher Education course. As the title says, it presents five different approaches to multicultural teaching-- but the best part is the "before" and "after" lesson plans- the before lessons are good lessons, but the after lessons turn them into multicultural lessons. Also very useful are many Action Research Activities (several in each chapter) that really help the classroom teacher learn more about his/her students and school community. Overall, a very useful, easy-to-read book.