Culturally Responsive Teaching {Chapter 14 Synthesis}

What I Do Right...

Culturally responsive teaching is very important in today's world. Students come from all varieties of backgrounds, and it is important that teachers include practices in the classroom that will help all students learn to the best of their abilities. As a second grade teacher, I strive to foster a classroom environment where ALL my students feel like a welcomed and important member of our family. It is important to me that each child feels safe and valued in my classroom.

Relevance 
I try to incorporate lessons that are relevant. Our social studies regions tour is a perfect example. We "tour" the country from our very own classroom through virtual tours, read alouds, and project based learning. These tours help my students to build background knowledge and actually EXPERIENCE our social studies curriculum. Each phase of the tour {Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West} highlights different cultures that have influenced our nation. In the Northeast while visiting New York City, students researched immigrant groups that came through Ellis Island. They worked together to make a "pizza." This "Culture Pizza" was a great way to celebrate cultures from around the world. 

 This activity liked to our science unit on matter {students make the pizza by changing a solid through bending, cutting, stretching, and tearing}. 

 This activity was completed during reading and writing time. They had to work together to make the inside of their pizza and research the elements of the immigrant group's culture {language, food, dress, and celebrations}.

Collaborating

I try to incorporate cooperative learning into my lessons. One such example was during our weather unit in science and Midwest tour in social studies. While in the Midwest, we learned about the Mall of America and supply and demand. Students were divided into teams and asked to design a store full of things {supply} that would be needed {demand} during a particular season. {Sorry for the tilted picture again}.  

 Winter Season Store

Our Family 

I also try to promote a sense of family in my classroom. One such method is a song that we sing. This song sends the message that we all should care for each other and value each other because our class is one big family.  {Sung to the tune of We are Family by Sister Sledge.}

We also have a STAR of the WEEK. One student is selected each week to decorate a bulletin board with favorite pictures and their favorite things. Their families are asked to send in a secret letter that I read to the class, they bring their favorite book that I read to the class, their parents are invited to have lunch with them one day that week, and they bring something special in to share with the class. 

 {star of the week share time}

I also read Have You Filled a Bucket Today? at the beginning of the school year. Students work hard throughout the year to fill our class bucket by being kind and sharing. Any time I see them performing an act of kindness, they add two sparkles to the bucket {two because when you are kind to someone else, it makes you feel good, too}. When our bucket gets full, we will have a KINDNESS PARTY. During this party, we will complete a service learning activity to spread kindness outside of our school building. {I have not done this yet, so I am still gathering ideas because our bucket is almost full. I am thinking of having the kids put together care packages for people in a nursing home. I think that it will really help the kids see that they can do something good for others.}

What I Do Wrong...

I still need to work on learning more about specific cultures. I want to make sure that my teaching style matches the learning styles of all of my students. As the chapter mentioned, gaps in achievement of minority students could be due to the fact that teachers do not change their teaching styles to meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds. I think that all teachers are in danger of getting STUCK in a rut for many reasons, and I need to make sure that I am constantly reflecting on my instruction to students that are culturally diverse. I think that I need to allow for more music, movement, debates, and share time for the students in my classroom. 

How I'm Going to Fix It...

I would like to research more about the cultures of my culturally diverse students. I think that the chart on page 323 in the text is a powerful resource for teachers to use when planning lessons to ensure that a variety of strategies are being incorporated into daily classroom activities. I have taught students of Mexican, Chinese, and Haitian descent. I think that a chart should be available for teachers to use for students from varied cultures. These charts would include ideas for teachers to use so that BEST practices of instruction are incorporated into lessons. This type of chart would ensure that culturally diverse students are not left behind, and gaps in achievement could be narrowed.