Culturally Responsive Teaching in Diverse Classrooms By Kenny and Maria CHAPTER 3

“We may all have come from different ships, but we are all in the same boat.” Martin Luther King Jr.

OBJECTIVES Help teachers successfully respond to linguistic and cultural differences in their classroom Promote academic achievement for all learners

Teaching and learning in multicultural classrooms The latest census projections show that by 2020 half of all public schools students will be from minority backgrounds. How are teachers to mange this increasingly multicultural society?

* Be sensitive to cultural and language differences. *Explore differences critically and openly.

Teaching for cultural understanding 1) Contribution Approach: teachers emphasize culturally specific and celebrations within the curriculum, but do not make provisions for in-depth study of deeper elements 2)The additive Approach: Issues are integrated into the curriculum through the development of thematic units of study, but basic curriculum remains the same. 3)The transformative Approach: Understanding of different cultures comes from ongoing opportunities to read, make judgments, think critically, and form personal opinions about cultural perspectives and diverse ethnicities. 4) The decision-making/social action Approach: Engage students in activities and projects related to cultural issues

Ways of knowing in a culturally diverse classroom Be aware that students from diverse cultural backgrounds bring different ways of knowing, different styles of questioning, and different patterns of interaction. Different cultures place different emphasis and value, cognitive activities, and styles of questioning. TEACHERS MUST PLAN DIFFERECIATED INSTRUCTION AND PLAN FOR THE INCLUSION OF RELEVANT INFORMATION IN THEIR CONTENT AREA

FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE Students from different cultural backgrounds come with rich “built in "resources that teachers need to tap into. Teachers must : 1) understand the kinds of knowledge diverse students bring to learning situations 2) adjust curriculum to their socio-cultural strengths: 3) Involve family/parents. 4) Utilize occupationally related skills unique to the family. 5) Culturally diverse students can share the special meaning of their names, holidays, traditions.

Characteristics of culturally responsive instruction HIGH EXPETATIONS POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES CULTURAL SESNITIVITY ACTIVE TEACHINF METHODS TEACHERS AS FACILITATORS STUDENT CONTROL OF PORTIONS OF THE LESSON USE GROUPS AND PAIRS TO REDUCE ANXIETY

Linguistic differences in today’s schools Teachers should view linguistically diverse students as DIFFERENT not DEFICIENT. All should understand how cultural contexts influence what we read, write, hear, say and view. Teachers should use diverse students’ language as a tool for learning

PROGRAMS ~ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING (EL’s) For students who speak English as a non-native language. ~BILINGUAL designed to teach English and provide instruction in the students’ native language. ~ESL curriculum is taught in English only. The task of bridging the language gap rests on the teacher. ~SHELTERED INTRUCTION FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS does not focus on second language development, but use a variety of instructional aids

APPLICATIONS - 1) take a closer look to multicultural books: - Multicultural books encompass every genre (picture books, poetry, fiction and non-fiction) -multicultural books provide both the diverse student and the mainstream student with opportunities to learn about each other’s cultures. - Multicultural books help students understand norms related to family, morality, sex roles, dress, and values from each culture. - Multicultural books bring people of a particular group into focus and help students realize that, despite our differences, we share many commonalities. (emotions, dreams, and hopes for the future.

2)Integrate multicultural literature in the classroom: -Is this book good literature? -Are setting, theme and style well developed? -Is the book culturally accurate? -Is the book rich in cultural details? -Are cultural issues dealt with enough depth? -Are minorities relevant? -Are dialogue and relationships culturally relevant?

3) Looking at books for English learners: ( REMEMBER EL LEARNERS HAVE LANGUAGE, NOT COGNITIVE OSBTACLES) English learners face a triple challenge Learn academic content Develop native like English proficiency Achieve comfort with American culture.

-FIND BOOKS WITH GRAPHICS: ~use popular books to encourage independent reading. ~ combine words with pictures to provide context clues, develop comprehension, and increase vocabulary.

4) THE S I O P MODEL (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) Def: “sheltering” English learners is similar to scaffolding instruction for all students who need instructional support.. It has been adapted for 2 types of instructional contexts; A )In mainstreamed, core curriculum in classrooms made up of speakers and non-native speakers with an intermediate level of language proficiency. B) In ESL classrooms made up of non-native speakers who have similar levels of language proficiency.

Use the S I O P model: ~ Provides blueprint for designing lessons that integrate content learning with additional language support. ~ Enhances instructional delivery. ~ Provides an observational framework for rating teachers in “sheltered classrooms

5) Adapting instruction in Content Classrooms: 1)Provide comprehensible input: simplify language and directions 2) Use strategies for vocabulary Development: teach key terms in depth; build meaning for important concept terms, help student recognize and use relationships between cognate and the text, approximate meaning through word structure, concept development by use of graphic organizers, and the (+) Plus strategy(making connections with parallel concepts). 3) Differentiate between EXTENSIVE and INTENSIVE reading; not all texts need to be read and understood at the same level. 4) Use the Repeated Reading streategy:1) First reading concentrates on breaking down linguistic barriers. 2) Second reading centers on the ideas expressed in the text. 3) Third reading helps to have an overview of the text. 5) Use strategies for active engagement; 1) make a poster to visually represent main ideas. 2) share the poster with a group. 3) Whole class sharing session; each student could present main ideas of own reading, and writing. 6) Use writing strategies: students using a variety of writing strategies will come