myPerspectives is a student-centered English Language Arts program that

embraces culturally responsive learning through diverse representation of

literature, authors, characters, cultures, and themes. The program uniquely

provides many opportunities for students to use their voices as they share their

lived experiences, allows them to make choices in their learning, and gives them

the opportunity to ask critical questions of the texts, the teacher, and each other.

myPerspectives is built on the foundation of culturally responsive instruction in

that the program focuses on what we do with students and how they interact

with and learn from each other.

Ernest Morrell, Ph.D., helped inform the development of myPerspectives to

ensure the program fosters a polyvocal classroom that encourages students

to talk with each other, learn from each other, and more importantly, bring

knowledge from their different backgrounds and cultures to enrich critical literacy

in the classroom. The texts, Essential Questions, and learning tasks encourage

discussions that allow students to draw upon their prior experiences, diverse

identities, varied experiences, and the richness of their cultural backgrounds. This

active learning environment brings students together as they develop intercultural

competence, learn from each other, and gain the confidence that allows them to

be agents of change.

myPerspectives honors student

choice and voice as students

respond to activities using their

own experiences, perform research

in response to a prompt or task

that they choose, and complete

project-based tasks in a format of

their choosing. Allowing students

to make decisions in their learning

and apply their experiences affirms

cultural identities, fosters positive

outcomes, and encourages growth

and achievement through critical

thinking and application.

We hope your students enjoy using

this program as they develop their

own perspectives and learn from

each other.

Welcome!

When I think of culturally

responsive instruction, I think of

three pillars: there’s representation, there’s

intercultural understanding, and there’s

voice. The representation in terms of

multicultural literature is a key component,

but I really think what we want is to just

give students access to a wide range of literature, and we

want them to be able to ask critical questions. We also want

to think about how we give students a voice. How do we let

them choose the projects that they want to do? How do we

let them ask real questions of the world that can be portals

into becoming world changers? By allowing them to read

literature, ask questions, and move forward on ideas that

really inspire them and that they choose to pursue further...

that is what gives you the best chance of having a culturally

responsive learning ecology.”

—Dr. Ernest Morrell

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