Lesson: Culture in the Classroom Halmoni and the Picnic.
Age or Grade Level: 3rd grade.
Goals: • Students will able to explore and talk about immigrant family experiences.
• Help all students appreciate the knowledge and resources their families can contribute to their learning experiences.
• Support students from immigrant backgrounds in exploring the challenges, strengths, and meaning of their multicultural identities.
• Encourage students from immigrant backgrounds to make connections between home, school, and community in their learning.
• Nonimmigrant students will understand the value of multiculturalism.
What are strengths this unit?
Halmoni and the Picnic is a story in our unit of study. This is a story that most students enjoy reading year after every year. My additions to the lesson to the reading lesson are in italics to show how I could make the lesson more multicultural. The unit demonstrates how school is not only a separate sphere of development in a students’ life, but also a place where connections take place every day among families, teachers, and community members. The teacher reaches out to her
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1-After reading allow the students to talk about some vocabulary words used all through the story. The words reported by students are embarrassed, disturb, dignified, cautiously, and …show more content…
I will try to ensure that each one of my students is treated just like everyone else. I know it will be hard to work to facilitate each of my student’s needs based on their strengths and weaknesses, but I will do my best. I will try to incorporate each of my student’s ethnic and culture beliefs into lessons. I believe that students will appreciate knowing stuff about one another and family heritage, having students who are struggling with a disability in the classroom. I will find ways that will make it easier in the
As Tienda and Haskins (2011) noted, “Immigrant children are more likely than native children to face circumstances such as low family income, poor parental education, and language barriers that place them at risk for developmental delay and poor academic performance once they enter school” (p. 7). At the school where I teach, the circumstances holding back the immigrant family are clearly visible. A few years ago, I had a student in class whose family had recently immigrated to the United States from Mexico. Language barriers initially set him back followed by poor attendance because he was working nights to help support his family. As his English teacher, I felt ill-equipped to support his success. Many of the issues impacting his academic success were out of both his control and mine. Overall, schools, especially rural schools in Iowa, need to pay closer attention to the diverse lifestyles of their multicultural students and
A multicultural perspective is an understanding of the similarities and differences across culture, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and more. In short, it is a perspective that encapsulates an open-minded and yet holistic view of other individuals that limits (and hopefully eliminates) one’s own biases in their perception of others. The majority of students come from diverse backgrounds (culturally, ethnically, economically, etc.), and thus it is important to not only bring awareness of the dominant culture’s presence, but also make room for other cultures that are less dominant. With the constant stream of subliminal messages being sent to children, it is important to empower students who do not see their identities in popular culture. Even if children see their identities represented, it is often times a stereotypical representation which can perpetuate a negative sense of self. Additionally, a multicultural perspective is not only for children who are not part of the dominant culture. It is also essential for students
Next, model for students how they would share the vocabulary word they found with their group. Use the word cur for example. Say, “if I was the vocabulary vulture and cur was the word I wanted to share with my group, I would ask everyone to turn to page 4 paragraph 2. I would then read the sentence out loud. Next, I would ask if anyone knows what the word means based off of the paragraph. Then I would share the definition and make sure it made sense with the sentence in the book. Then, I would show everyone my sketch to help them remember the definition.”
---. "Immigrant Students and Public Schools: A Fluent Fit - Public School Review." Public School Review - Profiles of USA Public Schools. 15 Apr. 2010. Web. 01 Feb. 2011.
Convertino, C., Levinson, B. A., & González, N. (2013). Culture, teaching, and learning. In J. A. Banks & C. M. McGee Banks (Eds.). Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives (pp. 25-41). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Although we see many immigrants who drop out of school and have a challenging time adjusting to their new lives it is up to the teacher to help and inspire these kids to be the best they can be. Some of the ways teachers can do this are to learn about communication, the culture the student has, and using a support system through the school and with the children’s families. It is a difficult task to comprehend what these children have been through and even harder to make a connection with them. That is why all teachers need these resources and the drive to see children like Enrique succeed in education and throughout
The findings and recommendations point to the conclusion that social and structural support for immigrant students should be embedded in curricula where appropriate and systematically included in school and university processes starting before the school experience, continuing through the university and extending up to higher level of education from it.
It is imperative that all children learn that being different is a good thing, since this is not a natural characteristic of human behavior, this must be taught to America’s youth. Second, all educators must become familiar with all of their students backgrounds by learning how to support learners of more than one language, foster bicultural identities, identify connecting points with their students, and assist those students with cultural straddling. This will aid in the socio-emotional development of the immigrant child, which in turn will directly impact their cognitive abilities, increasing their chances to meet
I feel that as minority it is very important for me to complete my teaching degree, there is a small percentage of minority teachers in the state of West Virginia. I feel that I will be a role model for children of my nationality and for all nationalities, by making a difference in their lives and showing them on a daily basis how important a good education is for all, and especially for minorities. From interacting with children and people in general, I know that most people learn easier from hands on interaction. When I become a teacher most of my lessons will deal with hands on learning. When you are doing something, it is easier to remember and it makes learning a lot more fun. I will also make sure that my classroom is very relaxed and stress free, I have been in school for many years and I know from experience that it is harder for children to learn when the teacher is mean and there is always tension in the classroom, this prevents students from asking questions, and asking for help, which means that it prevents them from learning.
Schools throughout America have seen an increase in the cultural diversity of their student population. Census results from the 1990’s indicate that more children from other countries have immigrated into the United States than ever before. Results seem to indicate that the current move and increase in cultural diversity will soon lead to more than 50 percent of the student population being culturally diverse according to Mid-continental Research for Educational Learning. This increase in diverse population should certainly prompt us to develop educational practices that address these students’ needs.
Cultural diversity has been a major issue of concern for several decades, and it has affected institutions of learning, where facilitators have to balance the family and school involvement in enhancing learning. Establishing a meaningful environment for students with diverse backgrounds enhances positive performance in their academic, personal, and professional objectives. A healthy relationship with family members involves identifying the needs of each family’s cultural stand; this is because a culture may play a major role in defining a family’s responsiveness to a school’s involvement. The globalization aspect has facilitated the creation of a multicultural society, and hence the need for an education system that addresses the need to foster a conducive environment for learning. It is imperative to define the essence of family involvement and collaboration in schools’ activities, especially where cultural diversity is concerned.
There has been a major change in the past thirty years regarding the amount of immigrants coming to the United States. The impact the immigrants have had on education and diversity is unbelievable. There are many factors which contribute to the element of diversity in education, such as each student 's culture, the different languages each student speaks, promoting gender equality amongst students, and working with students who have exceptionalities. As today 's educators, teachers must understand diversity from an omniscient perspective and the influence it has on students, making the process of getting an education as equal and pleasant as possible for all students.
Tong, V.M., Huang, C.W. & Mclyntyre, T. (2006). Promoting a positive cross-cultural identity: Reaching immigrant students. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 14(4), 203-208.
Students in the United States experience varying degrees of Multicultural Education. To my benefit, I was brought up in a learning environment that was culturally accepting and engaging. I was enrolled in the Franklin Pierce School District for my entire public education career and at Pierce College during my last two years of high school. Since the beginning of my academic career, I’ve been exposed to a learning environment filled with a rich amount of diversity among students which in turn produced well-roundedness in myself. In my experience as a FPSD student, I’ve shared experiences with fellow peers of different races, cultures, and socioeconomic standings. Pierce College boasts an even more specific type of diversity within the student
Garcia, E. (2002). Student cultural diversity: Understanding and meeting the challenge (3rd Ed.). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.