
I teach in the same rural county where I grew up. The demographics of where I teach is not very diverse, compared to large cities. I would say ninety-five percent of our student population is either white or African American. Most students have families that are county natives. The other part of our students are from a nearby state that are here for a short time. I teach in a Title I school.









However, in reading and watching all of the texts/videos from this week, and really diving into looking at what "Culturally Responsive Teaching" means, we still have cultural differences that are untapped. Teachers seem to overlook that our students still have different backgrounds and experiences that need to be addressed in a student-focused classroom. As defined by Peregoy and Boyle (2008), "Culture is the shared beliefs, values, and rule-governed patterns of behavior that define a group and are required for group membership."
In the video of Chris Gable, a middle school language arts and social studies teacher, he discussed individualized reading and writing with homogeneous groups so that students can read on their own levels. He uses writing activities post reading because it "requires them to crystalize what they are reading and clarifies it through writing." I can use this strategy in my ELA class to increase quality writing opportunities. I will also share "How Readable is Your Writing," at thewriter.com, with my colleagues, to use a free readability checker to assess the reading age of the writer. This will help give appropriate feedback on writing skills.

In two additional videos, I noticed that the two presenters had similar views on how to begin thinking about having a culturally responsive classroom. Dr. Sonia Nieto explained that teachers need to know themselves first. (Expanding Teacher Self-Knowledge). In the Office Chat video with Dr. Newell, she states that to become aware of different cultures, it "requires the teacher to do a self-reflection to see your own biases and prejudices." This would be a great whole school PD opportunity to perform a self reflection, then follow-up with a conversation of how to overcome those biases, now that awareness is present.

Creating a student-focused classroom community means truly working for the students and their families. "Family and community experiences shape the academic identity of students." (Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz, 2017). By including activities that students can relate to, the teacher can teach with a greater effectiveness in reaching the whole child. When viewing the video of Valerie Purdie-Vaughns on Unintentional Bias, Vaughns talks about how it helps teachers stay informed when we have conversations about biases and cultures.
One strategy mentioned on page 55 of Content Area Reading (Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz) focuses on creating a culturally responsive classroom library. This could be thematically organized to include books from topics that will be covered as well as include books based on topics of interest that students expressed on an interest inventory.


In my classroom library, I do not have a vast selection of books that pertain to various cultures. I plan to add books so my students can be exposed to different cultures because they may leave this rural county one day and will need to be able to understand different cultures, languages, and beliefs. "Multicultural literature helps students develop cross-cultural knowledge and skills." (Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz, 55). I also plan to add books related to topics of interest. This will be a huge motivator for students to read books.


When thinking of teaching students using multicultural books, I think about the quantity of books that teachers currently read to their students. Many teachers, including myself, find little time to read to their students due to the demands of the curriculum. However, we have to find that balance of "yes, there are demands of the curriculum" but "there are also ways to integrate multicultural books" so students can hear and read books from diverse topics.

From page 63 of Content Area Reading there is a list of elements that helps to create a classroom learning environment that celebrates languages and cultures. From that list, I want to focus on three strategies that seem effective to me that I can incorporate into my classroom and share with my colleagues to increase culturally responsive instruction in their classes as well.




Inviting students (or family members) to present information or artifacts
Students need that classroom environment that makes them feel included. All of our students have different ways that they learn and have different ways of doing things in their homes and communities. By having students and families share ideas, each student will feel like they belong. Then, more effective learning can begin to happen.

Include different cultures in curriculum topics
By including different cultures in my ELA class, I can teach students different views that authors and characters have, based on their cultures. This will give students a rich collection of literature and nonfiction text to put into their toolboxes.
Put up a daily class schedule and provide a predictable environment for learning
This strategy would help students focus and depend on a routine for learning. This makes the "playing field" equitable because it demonstrates the same schedule and routines for all students.
I had never really thought about the purpose of graphic novels until the reading for this week. It was interesting to see that these novels, "offer particular support for students who lack the ability to visualize as they read." (Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz, p71). This makes perfect sense! Students that are struggling to understand the English language and students struggling with word decoding could definitely benefit from reading graphic novels. I plan to add these to my classroom library as well. I may even showcase these novels for my third grade students that are struggling with word decoding and need those picture cues.

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I teach in the same rural county where I grew up. The demographics of where I teach is not very diverse, compared to large cities. I would say ninety-five percent of our student population is either white or African American. Most students have families that are county natives. The other part of our students are from a nearby state that are here for a short time. I teach in a Title I school.









However, in reading and watching all of the texts/videos from this week, and really diving into looking at what "Culturally Responsive Teaching" means, we still have cultural differences that are untapped. Teachers seem to overlook that our students still have different backgrounds and experiences that need to be addressed in a student-focused classroom. As defined by Peregoy and Boyle (2008), "Culture is the shared beliefs, values, and rule-governed patterns of behavior that define a group and are required for group membership."
In the video of Chris Gable, a middle school language arts and social studies teacher, he discussed individualized reading and writing with homogeneous groups so that students can read on their own levels. He uses writing activities post reading because it "requires them to crystalize what they are reading and clarifies it through writing." I can use this strategy in my ELA class to increase quality writing opportunities. I will also share "How Readable is Your Writing," at thewriter.com, with my colleagues, to use a free readability checker to assess the reading age of the writer. This will help give appropriate feedback on writing skills.

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