Resources for K-8 Educators

University of Arizona Regents Professor Kathy G. Short works with K-8 educators to internationalize their curriculum, with the Worlds of Words Center of Global Literacies and Literatures (WOW). Her various CERCLL projects began with the creation of CERCLL in 2006, and the production of language and culture kits that are sent into regional schools, often with international consultants that train teachers in their application in the classroom. Through research associated with this work, Dr. Short has collaborated on several free publications, and additional collections of resources. The publications include:

Global Literacy Communities: Creating Curriculum That Is Intercultural

A free guide by Cynthia K. Ryman and Kathy G. Short.

This publication provides examples of how PreK-12 teachers worked together to integrate global literature into their classrooms, particularly around a curriculum framework that encourages students to develop intercultural understanding. The guide includes links to teacher vignettes that provide rich details of classroom engagements and books that encourage intercultural perspectives.

Globalizing Text Exemplar Lists: Globalizing Reading Lists

To globalize the text exemplar lists included in standards documents that guide instruction in many states and countries, we developed global book lists of fiction and nonfiction books organized by grade level bands and measures of complexity. These lists include books paired by theme and complexity with the exemplars from Common Core standards as well as lists of additional recommended global books. These lists are updated on an annual basis to include new books and to remove others that are out of print. The goal is to provide a valuable resource for educators searching for books that they can access to globalize their classrooms and libraries.

The resource includes a Users Guide for educators accessing the Global Reading Lists, and lists for K-12 grades, as well as lists specifically for short story collections and poetry books. The collection was updated for 2023.

Exploring International and Intercultural Understanding through Global Literatures

This publication by Susan Corapi and Kathy Short, provides examples of how K-12 teachers work together in study groups to integrate global children’s and adolescent literature in their schools. The guide includes links to teacher vignettes that provide rich details of classroom experiences and books that encourage global perspectives along with structures for teacher study groups