Students in the United States come from a large and increasing number of racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse families. As a classroom teacher I may have several different cultures and backgrounds represented in my classroom every day. This means that I need to think about and change the way that I teach in order to reach every student in my classroom. 

Please continue reading to find out about some of the instructional models and strategies that I believe could be effective in today's culturally responsive classrooms. 

One of the first things that comes to mind when one thinks of cultural differences is language. This is also where many schools make the first mistake in not being culturally responsive. :"Language differences should not be mistaken for language deficits among culturally diverse students." (Vacca, pg. 65)  From the beginning, ELL students are viewed as being behind instead of having something to offer academically. They are often offered compensatory education rather than challenging curriculum. Their first language should be viewed as a positive rather than a negative. We have to change our mindset first!

Things can't just change at the school level, however. Teachers must also be aware of their own thoughts and feelings about different cultures. It was mentioned in the video "Expanding Teacher Self Knowledge" that teachers need to know themselves before they go into the classroom. We need to find out our own biases before beginning teaching. We should not go into a classroom without knowing our students either. 

As teachers we need to try and understand the powerful role that culture plays in shaping students' behaviors and their background knowledge. "The concept of funds of knowledge provides a framework to recognize a student's interests and the background knowledge that he or she brings to content area concepts." (Vacca, pg. 60) These resources are rarely tapped into, but could be a game-changer for many students and how successful they are in learning. 

To help us with finding out about students' cultures and to help with getting to know the students themselves, teachers can take steps to make students feel more comfortable. In the video "Office Chat: Culturally Responsive Teaching:" Dr. Newell suggests teachers make their classroom environment inviting. Label objects in different languages to help with student interactions; encourage students to bring in artifacts and relevant symbols to tell more about themselves and their home lives; and have quality multicultural literature available in the classroom so that students can explore, discuss, and learn about cultures different from their own.

I especially liked the idea of students writing and sharing their own personal autobiographies during the video "Culturally Responsive Teaching in Kindergarten: Sharing Autobiographies." I believe this could be very informative and helpful in fourth grade as well. We would approach it a little differently, of course, by perhaps having students work with a writing partner and sharing our progress along the way, but it would still be a wonderful opportunity for us to learn about each other and grow as a community.