Culturally Responsive Teaching
Books have the power to push our understanding of the world and ourselves. This reality is often recognized for adult literature, but frequently overlooked in children’s literature. At the start of my teaching career, I believed the simple texts my county provided were suitable for my first graders because they were just that, simple. However, my coursework has shown me the significant impact student literature can have on students’ sense of self. The texts students are exposed to can elicit new ideas and inspire students to ask questions about their own experience (Who Am I, 2014). It is my responsibility as a teacher to provide opportunities for my students to read and experience books that act as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. When students see themselves in classroom books or learn about an experience different than their own, they are able to ask and answer questions about their own identity in a way that honors and validates diverse world views and experiences (Reading Rockets, 2019). I no longer feel limited by the curriculum presented at my school or what other teachers I know are doing. I recognize how vital it is that I find materials to help my students as they explore their identities.
The curriculum at my school does not include texts and lessons that are responsive and reflective to and of my students’ lived experience. Research shows that students are better able to connect to material when they are able to see themselves in it. Providing students with texts and learning opportunities that reflect their lived experience also validates their humanity and shows that they are important. The most rewarding aspect of creating a culturally responsive classroom for my students has been seeing them feel represented in our reading. I read books that reflect the lived experiences of my students, and their enthusiasm to make text-to-self connections is amazing to see. The ability to make these connections also helps students develop higher order thinking skills, which is vital to success in school and in the world outside the classroom (Teaching Tolerance, n.d.). I had a student from last year recently come talk to me about a Black History Month research project she was participating in. She was reading Marley Dias’ book and recognized many of the books from our classroom last year. She was so excited to share this and clearly had made strong connections to the books while we read them in class. Students have also been excited to think of how their learning has impacted their own life. We have been learning about environmental justice, and my students have been incredibly engaged in conversations about what they can do to help the Earth. The Universal Design for Learning explains that a culturally responsive classroom makes learning relevant for students (2018). Doing so has had a significant impact on my students’ engagement.
Culturally Responsive Lessons
In the document shown here, I have analyzed two cycles from the county's mandated literacy curriculum. I identify the lack of representation and culturally responsive practices, as well as identify ways in which I have and can make adjustments to fix this.
I created the lesson plan here as a direct result of the analysis shown above. In order to make the lesson culturally responsive, I connected our literacy work to social justice initiatives, I selected a text that featured a family from Japan, and I integrated literacy and science to increase rigor.
The picture shown here is of a student who self-selected a book during the library center. I noticed she was looking at the author's biography so I asked her to explain what she noticed. The transcript is the conversation we had about what she noticed. She was excited that she was seeing someone who looked like her mom not just in a book, but writing the book.
The lack of culturally responsive curriculum at my school goes beyond the academic lessons. The first grade health curriculum does not give students access to important lessons on self-regulation, empathy, or self-love. As the curriculum stands, students are not being told or shown that their experience, their viewpoint, their identity matters. In order to ensure my students develop health self-esteem and strategies to promote positive self-talk, I worked with my colleagues to create lessons to directly address this gap. These lessons have helped my students develop a stronger sense of self, more pride in their identity, and a greater willingness to take risks and try new things in the classroom.
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Without these lessons, my students would not be explicitly taught the social skills they need to be empathetic and globally-aware citizens and community members. The NCSS Task Force report states that this, along with the development of an understanding of the social and political systems they are apart of, are primary purposes of social studies in elementary school (1989). Seefeldt, Castle, and Falconer support this purpose by stating it will help students develop the mindsets and foundational understandings necessary for their future social studies as well as their interactions with the world (2013). By integrating these lessons into the curriculum, I am opening doors for students to establish a better understanding of their role in society and how they can fully participate in the democracy in a way that is founded in empathy.
Socio-Emotional Lessons
This document is the extent of the health curriculum provided by the county. They do tell teachers to teach communication skills and different feelings students will experience. However, they do not give space for socio-emotional lessons to teach empathetic communication, which helps students develop into empathetic leaders. They also do not teach emotional regulation strategies which is a vital skill in navigating the world within and beyond school.
This powerpoint is a lesson plan I used to teach my students about self-confidence and self-love. The above health curriculum does not provide an opportunity for students to develop this. By adding this lesson to my classroom teaching, I am opening the door for students to develop life skills and positive mindsets that will benefit their socio-emotional health throughout their lives. During this lesson, students practiced self-love by looking in a mirror and saying something they love about themselves.
The videos below show students reading their paragraphs describing something they love about themselves. This activity helped students build their self-confidence and practice self-love. In the first video, a student reads his writing about why he loves his eyes. He says he loves his eyes because they are the same color as his cousin's, they allow him to see, and that they are brown. The second video shows a student reading his writing about why he loves his hair. He says he likes his hair because he can get a haircut. He also shares that he feels proud of his hair. In our curriculum, there are only three books that feature an African or African-American main character. In our society, one prominent example of racism is hair discrimination against African-American hair and hairstyles. I have introduced books such as Hair Love and I Love My Hair as ways to promote self-love and cultural pride in my classroom. This student is from Africa and has experienced racism in the past. His work shows that he takes pride in his hair and recognizes its beauty. Giving my students the opportunity to see themselves represented in the texts we read gives them the opportunity to see aspects of their identity celebrated.
One significant step I took to address the lack of culturally responsive curriculum at my school is to create a culturally responsive Read Across America week. When I learned about Dr. Seuss’ racist history and the lack of representation in his books, I worked with my colleagues to educate myself and my school about better alternatives (Kid, 2018). After the success of this venture in my second year of teaching, the administration formed a Culturally Responsive Committee to help bring these materials to the whole school. As a leading member of the committee, I worked with my colleagues to create a school-wide plan, and explain the plan to the staff at a school-wide staff meeting.
Culturally Responsive Read Across America
The first email shown below documents the way in which we reached out to the administration at our school to share what we learned and inform them that we will not be celebrating Dr. Seuss in our classrooms. This email led to further discussions and the creation of our school’s first culturally responsive committee at my school. The second email is from my school’s reading specialist, sharing a message from the NEA regarding the discontinuation of their association with Dr. Seuss. She also asked us on the culturally responsive committee to create a school-wide plan for the week.
The agenda below shows the staff meeting agenda that I led along with the Culturally Responsive Committee to introduce the plan to teachers. We provided every teacher with the books they need, and all the copies of materials they will need to successful participate in the week. We also created a Padlet for teachers to ask questions for us to respond to. The presentation below shows the slide show we use to introduce the week to teachers.
The first lesson plan shown below is the primary lesson plan sent to all primary teachers at my school. This is the lesson plan I use during Read Across America week. The second lesson plan is the lesson plan for intermediate classrooms. The activities presented below show how students will engage with the learning they do throughout Read Across America week.
The emails below are from teachers after the professional development presentation. Both teachers reached out to share their excitement about the plan and their appreciation for the work that was put into it. This shows that teachers at our school are taking advantage of the opportunity I helped present. When teachers are enthusiastic and excited to participate, their enthusiasm will translate to the students at our school, ensuring they are also able to take advantage o the opportunity.
This is the parent newsletter that is sent home prior to Read Across America. The document includes each day's topic, the book that will be read, and suggested discussion questions to help parents continue the important conversations at home. This document ensures student learning continues outside of the classroom and that parents are able to take full advantage of this opportunity.
The student work below shows examples of the activities completed on day one and day five of the plan. On day one, students wrote about their home country on a notecard. I then attached the notecard with a string to their country on a map this showed the true diversity we are fortunate to have in our classroom community. The note cards show students explaining what they love about their country. One student shared she loves Mexico because it is where her grandmother lives and it never rains. Another said he loves Mexico because he had many pets when he lived there. This helps facilitate a deeper development of cultural pride. The pencil writings show how students internalized what they learned about social justice to think about the problems in the world they would try to solve if they had a magic pencil like Malala imagined. The first student writes about how she would use her pencil to ensure all children to have access to school. The second student writes about how he would use his pencil to ensure all children to have access to food. The lesson plans above show additional work that students would complete during the week.
The document shown here is a transcript of a conversation I had with students during a Lunch Bunch meeting after Read Across America week. Each number represents a different student speaking. In the conversation, the students describe their favorite book, why they loved it, and how it impacted them. In the transcript, the students explain that they like having books that are mirrors for them because it makes the books more interesting to read, they are able to have conversations about the books with their families, and they would like to be friends with the characters. The students were clearly engaged with the texts and excited about the learning they had completed because they were able to make personal connections.
Integrating culturally responsive lessons into my county's curriculum is an opportunity for my students to see themselves reflected in their education, as well as an opportunity to learn about different cultures and experiences. The lessons I teach my students provide them the opportunity to become self-reflective and think about their own experience in the context of a more empathetic world view. Students are able to take full advantage of this opportunity as they engage in responsive learning activities that support their learning. Families are able to take advantage of this opportunity as they partner with teachers to continue these conversations at home.
References
Kid, T. C. (2018, February 18). "The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books". Retrieved from https://www.theconsciouskid.org/blog/2018/2/18/a-critical-race-reading-of-dr-seuss
Reading Rockets. (2019). Teaching reading: Expert interviews: A video interview with Rudine Sims Bishop, Ph.D. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/experts/rudine-sims-bishop
Seefeldt, C., Castle, S., & Falconer, R. C. (2013). Social studies for the preschool/primary child. (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Social studies for early childhood and elementary school children preparing for the 21st century. (1989). Social Education, 53(1), 14. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/210606187?accountid=11752
Teach For America. (2011). The all-important role of diagnostics in the quest for literacy. Elementary literacy (pp. 21–29). Retrieved from http://www.teachingasleadership.org/sites/default/files/Related-Readings/EL_2011.pdf
Teaching Tolerance. Instruction. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/critical-practices-for-antibias-education/instruction
Who am I: Can children's books make you question your identity? (2014, August 26). The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/aug/26/childrens-books-question-identity-amnesty-teen-takeover-2014