Project Recuerdo: Honoring Latinx Families’ Knowledge Within the School
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2021
Abstract
The authors describe a culturally sustaining bilingual family engagement project that draws upon Latinx families’ experiential and cultural wealth and integrates that knowledge within the literacy curriculum of a bilingual fourth grade classroom. Through the use of monthly writing prompts, Project Recuerdo, engages families in sharing stories that demonstrate cultural, linguistic, and historical knowledge with the child, teacher, and wider community. This form of family engagement counters deficit orientations towards diverse families, especially Mexican American families, as problems to fix, and instead honors the wealth of knowledge families have and integrates it within the curriculum. Through the analysis of the bilingual journal entries, related classroom artifacts, and family focal groups, the authors validate the importance of learning with and from diverse families; and detail the process for planning the implementation of the family project. Authors provide suggestions for teacher self-reflection and possible writing prompts to engage families.
Recommended Citation
Lopez, Michelle; Butvilofsky, Sandra A.; Le, Khanh; and Gumina, Deena, "Project Recuerdo: Honoring Latinx Families’ Knowledge Within the School" (2021). Regis University Faculty Publications (comprehensive list). 50.
https://epublications.regis.edu/facultypubs/50