Nurturing Identity Through Latinx Children's Literature in Bilingual Teacher Education

• In Event: Reimagining the Future of Bilingual Teacher Education: Community and Field Visions, Policies, Pedagogies, and Praxis

Abstract

The growing body of authentic Latinx children’s literature is a powerful tool for meaningful teaching and learning. Educators in bilingual teacher education can use rich children’s literature to design Reading-in-Community (Redacted & Author, 2020) lessons, an approach that emphasizes collective engagement with texts that reflect children’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds. This promotes belonging, identity, and dialogue. A Reading-in-Community approach supports language development, literacy skills, and critical thinking while centering the multilayered Latinx experience. It includes a language study component focused on Spanish language variation, expanding linguistic repertoires. This paper explores how I introduce this model in teacher education courses and how it helps future bilingual educators connect literature, identity, and community in ways that are culturally and linguistically sustaining.

Author

• Luz Yadira Herrera, California State University - Dominguez Hills