Using the framework of multicultural education, this article presents an analysis of multicultural picture books that depict the features of assimilation ideology. The findings suggest that assimilationist ideas are presented through the main characters' identities in the resolution of the story and through the portrayal of a glorified dominant culture. These findings contribute to the literature by exploring the assumptions that multicultural texts are indeed “multicultural” and that they promote cultural pluralism. Additional criteria for selecting multicultural texts that critically examine underlying ideologies are included, as well as suggestions for promoting critical reading practices to support multicultural education.

In this global era, the importance of promoting global and cross‐cultural perspectives is receiving more attention in the field of literacy education. A specific instructional framework that teachers can use across the curriculum is crucial for adolescents’ literacy learning and life. However, the details on how to promote these perspectives to enact adolescents’ agency as critically conscious global citizens are severely lacking. This article responds to the gap by providing diverse instructional classroom examples guided by a newly developed instructional framework of critical global literacies. The authors aim to move literacy education toward global literacy education with a critical lens in this dynamic interconnected society.

This article shares key steps in how to negotiate writing Readers Theatre scripts with English learners or any small group of students. The author aims to help promote language and literacy development and encourage critical thinking and engagement through the powerful modality of Readers Theatre.

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