Connecting Students to Culturally Relevant Texts

After reading the packet over culturally relevant texts, I became aware of the need for students to read texts that they can relate to. I found it interesting to note that "Freeman reports on research she conducted with students in Arizona when she used miscue analysis to compare students' reading of a culturally relevant book, that had little cultural relevance." The students who read the culturally relevant texts ended up more able to produce a better retelling. It becomes apparent that students are able to retain more information when they feel they can relate to the subject on a higher level. In the aritcle, the author spoke of Francisco, who chose to read books that he felt connected with his background and cultures. Through such books, his "English profiencey" became better. It is important to understand that not all books about different races are necessarily relevant to one's culture. The articles reads that "culturally relevant books connect to student's lives, not just to their cultural heritage." Teachers must include culturally relevant texts in their classroom library, as it helps the students engage more in the reading process, as well as open up their eyes to the world.