This book is a story about Juan Sebastian. It is a bilingual book meaning it has the option of reading it in English and Spanish. Children hear a story of the famed Juan Sebastian told by their grandmother. During the Mexican Revolution, Sebastian fights with a General Zapata. He died fighting for Mexico’s Freedom. I would use this book not only to tell students a great story but it has potential to teach them about the history of the Mexican Revolution. It would be useful for families who want their child to learn English and are themselves Spanish speakers whom immigrated from a Spanish speaking country. They would be able to learn English with their child or read it to them in Spanish

Mooney, Carol Garhart. “Theories of Childhood.” An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky. Redleaf Press, 2000. 

The author of “Theories of Childhood”, Carol Garhart Mooney introduces five theorists in early childhood education: John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky. She shares the life and history of these five people in relation to their contribution to the development of early childhood education and the role they play in today’s child care practices. 

York, Stacey. Roots and Wings: Affirming Culture in Early Childhood Programs. Redleaf Press, 2003. 

This book discusses culturally relevant and anti-bias approaches to teaching in early education. It includes definitions and stresses the importance of learning about prejudice, racism, inequality, and cultural differences. It then provides strategies for effectively implementing these practices in the classroom. For each topic, it also gives a list of external resources. There are also multi-cultural lesson plans. 

 

In the Article “A cultural communities approach to understanding Head Start teachers’ beliefs about language use with dual language learners: Implications for practice” Garrity and Guerra explore the effects of language and cultural influence in the classroom. How does promoting English as the dominant language influence learners and how does cultural beliefs determine teachers instructional style in the classroom.