ERIC Number: EJ831988
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Nov
Pages: 10
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1521-0960
EISSN: N/A
Using Students' Cultural Heritage to Improve Academic Achievement in Writing
Mendez, Gilbert
Multicultural Perspectives, v8 n4 p29-38 Nov 2006
This article discusses an approach to teaching used at Calexico Unified School District, a California-Mexican border high school, by a group of teachers working to make teaching and learning more relevant to Chicano and Mexican students' lives and to improve their academic achievement in writing. An off-shoot of a training program for English Language Development students, the project started with four teachers across diverse disciplines in the humanities who integrated their curricula based on Chicano themes history, and literature. Four teachers-researchers planned the curriculum to integrate Chicano literature and themes across four subjects. They used the first essay at the beginning of the school year as a base to compare the other subsequent essays. The essays were evaluated using a six-point district writing rubric, which was based on the California language arts standards. Comparisons of the first and last essays for each class were conducted. The students involved in the project classes improved in writing. Using the school districts writing assessment rubric, which was based on the California language arts content standards, students improved between the first essay and the last. (Contains 3 tables.)
Descriptors: Writing Evaluation, Language Arts, Writing Tests, Academic Achievement, Scoring Rubrics, Educational Change, Essays, Internet, Cultural Background, Humanities, High Schools, School Districts, Mexican Americans, State Standards, Writing Improvement
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California; Mexico
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A