The effects of multicultural links on reading and writing performance and cultural awareness of fourth and fifth graders

摘要

This exploratory study was designed to examine the effects of a hypermedia program, Multicultural Links, on vocabulary development, reading and writing performance, and attitudes toward writing, culture, and computers. The major objectives of the study were to determine whether fourth and fifth graders using Multicultural Links with the Multicultural Literacy Program (a) improve their vocabulary development, reading performance, and writing performance; and (b) improve their attitudes toward writing, culture, and computers more than fourth and fifth graders using either the Multicultural Literacy Program alone or a traditional reading program. The Multicultural Literacy Program, which was funded by a grant through the Department of Education, Funds for Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching, is a program that integrates multicultural literature and literature-based activities with the reading/writing curriculum. Examples of multicultural literature-based activities might include: interactive reading and writing activities; choral reading; readers' theater; semantic mapping and knowledge-generating activities; writing responses to literature; interactive discussion; cooperative literacy learning activities; thematic learning approaches; and creative responses to literature through drama, art, music, and folk dancing (for more information about the program, see Diamond & Moore, 1995).