Multicultural literature is used as a resource for understanding perspectives.
Students are regarded as active knowledge generators. Classroom dialogue is a fundamental aspect of classroom discourse. Classrooms are framed as an inviting space for exploration, learning, and dialogue among peers, students, and adults. The authors describe what the first three characteristics looked like in practice using examples of student writings, drawings, and voice. Students conducted interviews of family members and friends in their communities, read a wide but focused range of multicultural literature to serve as a bridge between their experiences and those of others, and conducted and presented their findings on research topics of interest to them.