"The term multicultural implies a goal: challenging the existing canon by expanding the curriculum to include literature from a wide range of cultural groups" -Bishop & Cai, 1994
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/8/6/23866894/6290008.jpeg?223)
"If the World Were a Village"
By: David J. Smith
About this story:
This book takes you through the scenario that our planet earth is compromised of just one small village made up of just one hundred people. Within these one hundred people, you find that they come from all different ethnicities, religious backgrounds, ages, financial statuses, education, and so on. At first you just get straight facts about these people--where they come from, what their religion is, and the like--the things that define their person. But after a few pages, you get more in-depth information about them. You see that there are some people in the village who are doing very well financially and some who are barely making it through the day. You find that a lot of people are doing just fine when it comes to electricity, access to clean water and air, and food, but that the other percentage of these people's needs are not met. It also makes the connection of what our planet used to be like and the history it came from, and also gives fresh ideas about where our world is headed in the next few decades based on our statistics now.
What comes from this book:
After being introduced to this multicultural story, your kids will get the opportunity to see the world with a new perspective. They get to ask questions like "If there's enough food for everyone all the time, how come there are still some people not getting enough to eat?" and then connect those questions to our world today. They get the opportunity to realize that there are people of all sorts of backgrounds on our planet that all live differently.
Classroom uses for this book:
Sharing this book to a class full of new students would be a great way for teachers of grades seven and below to start out the school year. For younger children, it's a good eye-opener to all the different types of people they see next to them and also gives them a new perspective to real-world events. For older children, it's a great way to remind them that the different backgrounds people come from don't define them or what struggles they have.
Further information about this book:
Smith, David J., and Shelagh Armstrong. If the World Were a Village. London: A. & C. Black, 2004 ISBN: 1-55074-779-7
By: David J. Smith
About this story:
This book takes you through the scenario that our planet earth is compromised of just one small village made up of just one hundred people. Within these one hundred people, you find that they come from all different ethnicities, religious backgrounds, ages, financial statuses, education, and so on. At first you just get straight facts about these people--where they come from, what their religion is, and the like--the things that define their person. But after a few pages, you get more in-depth information about them. You see that there are some people in the village who are doing very well financially and some who are barely making it through the day. You find that a lot of people are doing just fine when it comes to electricity, access to clean water and air, and food, but that the other percentage of these people's needs are not met. It also makes the connection of what our planet used to be like and the history it came from, and also gives fresh ideas about where our world is headed in the next few decades based on our statistics now.
What comes from this book:
After being introduced to this multicultural story, your kids will get the opportunity to see the world with a new perspective. They get to ask questions like "If there's enough food for everyone all the time, how come there are still some people not getting enough to eat?" and then connect those questions to our world today. They get the opportunity to realize that there are people of all sorts of backgrounds on our planet that all live differently.
Classroom uses for this book:
Sharing this book to a class full of new students would be a great way for teachers of grades seven and below to start out the school year. For younger children, it's a good eye-opener to all the different types of people they see next to them and also gives them a new perspective to real-world events. For older children, it's a great way to remind them that the different backgrounds people come from don't define them or what struggles they have.
Further information about this book:
Smith, David J., and Shelagh Armstrong. If the World Were a Village. London: A. & C. Black, 2004 ISBN: 1-55074-779-7
Find other books with specific cultural identities in the tabs at the top of the home page