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Each student brings something new and distinct to the classroom, including backgrounds,

experiences, cultural contexts, abilities, preferences, personalities, etc. It is essential for me to

make sure that students feel like they are welcome and that they belong in the classroom as this

maximizes the effectiveness of the learning process. I bring diversity into the classroom by

getting to know each individual student’s strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. Each

student learns in different ways; this is why it is important for me to incorporate different

teaching styles into my classroom to meet students’ individual needs. It is equally important to

include teaching material that represents the rich diversity of our local community and the world

around us. “Students learn best and are more highly motivated when the school curriculum

reflects their cultures, experiences, and perspectives”. (Banks, 2013, p.182).

When I first started my teaching journey, I taught a literacy lesson to a first grade class,

where I read “The Giant Cabbage” by Cherie B. Stihler and incorporated local Alaskan culture

into the lesson. The book talked about the Alaska State Fair, the giant cabbage contest, and

growing your own food. I incorporated literacy standards such as using illustrations to describe

characters, events, and settings along with cultural standards such integrating and connecting

traditions, values, and practices with new content to develop the lesson. In this lesson, I chose

teaching material and activities that emphasized our local community events and culture. Studies

show that, “local history and local culture studies, no matter how they are focused, provide

students with a reason to gain insight and confidence in discovering who, why, and what they

are: and finally provide students with interest and excitement that motivates them to continue

learning and discovering” (Townsend & McAbee,1992, p. 1-2).

Being a culturally responsive teacher means that you take the time to learn about

students’ backgrounds and incorporate them into lessons. When I taught the lesson above, I
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engaged students in learning by integrating the local traditions and culture. The Alaska State Fair

is very popular in our state as well as growing your own vegetables. I wanted to link what I was

teaching with illustrations to describe characters, setting, and details to student’s everyday lives.

The lesson went really well and was very engaging to all students involved as they seemed to

really enjoy connecting content to local traditions and customs. I finished the lesson by passing

around different types of home canned vegetables and fish for students to try and guess the

contents which provided a hands on activity that student’s really enjoyed.

Cultural backgrounds may include attitudes, values, norms, traditions, and goals that

describe a particular group. I have observed that when teachers take the time to learn about their

students’ culture, they make a personal connection that opens doors to successful learning.

According to Sousa &Tomlinson (2011), “culture is a dominant force in people’s lives and that

we need to teach with an awareness and an appreciation of cultural variance and in ways that

affirm and draw on all the cultures of our students (p. 142).

Providing equal access for each individual student to participate and contribute to what is

going on in the classroom is also very important. In the lesson above, I made sure to choose a

picture book and hands on materials so students who are learning English along with students

with intensive needs were able to connect easier to the topic. “When kids are able to view

illustrations and photographs in relation to the language, they have a better shot at making sense

of the ideas, story lines, and information in the text” (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007, p. 67).

Incorporating anchor charts, Kagan strategies (Kagan & Kagan, 2009), hands on manipulatives,

and modeling are also great ways to provide equal access for each individual to participate and

contribute in classroom activities.

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As a second year teacher, I realize that my journey has just begun. I look forward to

learning new and effective practices of teaching diverse students. Collaborating and reaching out

to colleagues that specialize in English Language Learners and Intensive Needs Teachers are

proving to be excellent resources for effective practices for me this year. One of my future goals

is to start reaching out to my local community and finding ways to connect diverse community

members with my local school and classroom.

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References:

Banks, J.A. & McGree Banks, C.A. (2013) Multicultural education: Issues and

perspectives (8th Ed.). ISBN 978-1118-36008-8

Harvey, S. & Goudvis, A. (2007) Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for

understanding and engagement. Portland, MI: Stenhouse Publishers

Kagan, S. & Kagan, M. (2009) Kagan cooperative learning. San Clemente, CA: Kagan

Publishing

Sousa, D., Tomlinson, C. (2011). Differentiation and the brain. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree

Press.

Townsend, C. & McAbee, P. (1992) Incorporating local culture into the classroom: An in-

service for teachers. Savannah Valley Cultural Conservation Consortium.

Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED350247.pdf