Term
Summer 2019
Capstone
Capstone Project
Degree Name
MAT
Facilitator(s)
Melissa Erickson
Content Expert
Charlene Witherell
Abstract
Statistics indicate that urban students often underperform in testing for literacy competency and educators have argued that literacy is crucial to narrowing the achievement gap. This project was guided by the research question: What is a more effective approach for delivering literacy strategies and content instruction to urban students in a secondary social studies classroom? Research has shown that the more effective teachers of urban students build positive classroom environments based on restorative behavioral practices, asset perspectives and strong relationships. To answer the guiding question, three areas of focus drove the research: literacy comprehension, culturally relevant pedagogy and authentic social studies pedagogy. Authors focused on culturally relevant pedagogy, Ladson-Billings, Landsman and Lewis, and Weiner, were critical to the research. For the literacy component, Teale provided a wealth of information on urban students and strategies to improve literacy comprehension. Saye’s authentic pedagogy provided the backdrop for utilizing literacy strategies and culturally relevant pedagogy within a social studies classroom. The project chosen was a curriculum unit for the U.S. civil rights movement following the UbD backwards design format by Wiggins and McTighe. Using this design, the unit’s main goal was to test the literacy growth of students within a social studies framework that is founded in culturally relevant pedagogy. This work includes the research for the project, the methodology utilized and the major learnings from the project’s creation and implementation.
Keywords
At-risk Students, Literacy, Multicultural Education, Social Justice
Recommended Citation
Engelen, Jeffrey, "Do Believe The Hype: Teaching Literacy To Urban Students In A Secondary Social Studies Classroom With Culturally Relevant Pedagogy" (2019). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects. 342.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_cp/342
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
School of Education Student Capstone Projects