Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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Each student brings something new and distinct to the classroom, including backgrounds,
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
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
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
LINTHICUM’S MASTER PORTFOLIO
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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
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
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
Banks, J.A. & McGree Banks, C.A. (2013) Multicultural education: Issues and
Harvey, S. & Goudvis, A. (2007) Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for
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-