Multicultural books...

So I was already on a journey to find more French immersion First Nations content for our school library when I heard this moving presentation about how everyone benefits when they can find themselves represented in stories.  Here is Chimananda Adichie talking about the danger of a single story. 

This video encouraged me to look for stories of other cultures (in today's times) that students in French immersion would read.  For primary books the images are important to show students, that people of their heritage are in books too.  For intermediate stories I wanted to find both immigration stories but also stories of children and teens in current situations that students in my school can relate to.
Well I found this quest really challenging.  So if you have any more suggestions I would really appreciate them!

Here is the few that I have found so far:

Primary:

• AMÉ by  Massicotte, Sylvie (3 books in this series) (African) ISBN 9782896512096 
•  Emma by Nelson, Sandra  (2 books in this series) isbn 9782081253896
• Comme elle ressemble à mon papa par Pili Mandelbaum (an adopted daughter from another country) ISBN 978221101091

• Another title is Tutti frutti in the " À pas de souris" series .
• There are some titles in the Scholastic  "Je veux lire" series like Le nouveau bébé.  And more titles in the new series "toujours parfait".
•  Huit Jours: un enfant À HAÏTI  by Danticat, Edwidge.  ISBN 9781443106740 (Amerique du Sud)
• Le kimono du Suki  ISBN ) 0439975077 (Japanese)

  

Intermediate: (still looking hard for books)

• Ping  by Poulin, ANDRÉE (2 titles - an adopted Chinese child in a regular family in Quebec.  Well written). 
• Qu'est-ce qui fait courir Mamadi? par  Étienne Poirier (African child in a refugee campt) ISBN 9782924279045

Aboriginal french immersion resources for the new curriculum in BC

I have been working with Amber the Aboriginal Education Worker in my school to compile a list of our french language resources that fit with the new curriculum.  Both of us have busy schedules so we have been working for about 1/2 hour a day once a week.  It has taken us several months to complete this project to support the teachers in our school.  Amber and I have also benefited by having the opportunity to see the variety of resources we have in our library.

We have created a google doc for our list. Check it out here.
As we reviewed the french language resources not only for fit with the new curriculum by topic, but also by language level.  In keeping with aboriginal sense of place and how that is important for any learning we have identified the First Nation (s) of the author of the work.

We did team up with some other librarians and started an "English language" list but they did not have the time to complete this column.  The English column is more a list of works that are available in French and English (i.e. the translated titles).

I learned a lot from Amber about First Nations culture, for example I was unaware of the significance of the "red road".  This project is a small step in my journey of inclusiveness.

Presentation at the BCTLA in October 2015


I was honoured to be asked to present at the BCTLA conference in 2015.  I felt that I had been on my library journey long enough to share some of what I have learned about french immersion resources.

I titled my presentation: Developing an elementary French Immersion Learning Commons to promote literacy

My presentation covered: considerations when selecting french immersion resources, sources for book reviews (and how to adjust them for immersion), books and authors for students (students that start reading like to read series or authors), book resources for teachers ( to promote literacy, or sources of questions for literature circles).  Some of the information I have already shared in my blog.
My handout can be found on the BCTLA conference link above.

What I enjoyed the most was the sharing between the audience and myself.  When I introduced an idea, a number of the audience members shared their knowledge about the topic.  Ideas that were shared included: authors that were beloved in their school, other sites for book reviews and ways to encourage reading in french.

Thanks to the BCTLA for this opportunity!