Cultivating Diversity and Inclusion

Cultivating Diversity and Inclusion is a beacon for educators, guiding us in the essential journey of assisting students in their early years to cultivate and comprehend diversity and inclusion while fostering an appreciation for these concepts. Saine skillfully and successfully engages teachers and their students in unique cross-cultural experience with new book titles and increased content for grades 4-5 using modern tools that students find enjoyable and relatable, such as social media platforms. The book's comprehensive approach to global regions and its deep connection to literacy, culture, and digital technology is exactly what teachers need to examine their personal biases and experiences to ensure they don't hinder their students' growth and academic experiences. Saine encourages educators to be mindful of curriculum and cultural flaws that perpetuate marginalization, misrepresentation, and invisibility. --Pagia Keys George, Special Education teacher, Alice Ponder Elementary School, Mansfield, Texas & author of Just the Way My Brain Works and Chinedu, Chinedu, Where Are You? Dr. Paula Saine offers and walks us through day-to-day literacy practices that catapult young readers into a culturally relevant and sustaining literacy experience and a global view of the multicultural world. --Nathaniel Bryan, Ph.D, University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas Teachers and librarians interested in introducing their K-3 students to global literature and digital technologies will find Cultivating Diversity and Inclusion to be solid gold! The lists of children's trade books and resources alone make the text worth owning. It is a virtual instructional treasure chest brimming with literacy best practice activities and digital learning strategies. Moreover, the author presents a model that can be applied to books set in additional countries. --Terrell A. Young, Ph.D, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah The communities we, and our children, live in are becoming increasingly global. A comprehensive and contemporary education requires students to develop an understanding of the diverse and complex world they inhabit. Paula Saine provides teachers with an eminently usable resource for helping teachers deliver culturally focused instruction within the context of the school literature and literacy curricula. Readers will find her book chock full of wonderful books for sharing, useful information worth presenting to students, and engaging instructional ideas and activities that are sure to deepen students' awareness of and appreciation for other peoples and cultures from around the world. --Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D, State University, Kent, Ohio, Member, International Reading Hall of Fame