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Here
are some ideas to incorporate multiculturalism in your classroom.
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What is a multicultural
classroom? |
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A multicultural classroom is one
in which both the students and the teacher are accepting of all races,
cultures, and religions. This acceptance is evidenced by the
books that are read, the activities that are completed, and the lessons
that are taught. |
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What is the best way to
incorporate multiculturalism into the classroom? |
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The best way to incorporate
multiculturalism into your classroom is to make a conscious effort to
include books in your curriculum and class library that feature
multicultural characters as much as possible. Many teachers
believe that a Christmas Around the World, or a Passport Around the
World unit is "multicultural", but this method is exclusive
and/or signals out one culture, religion, or minority group as being
different. Also, if we teach multiculturalism as a unit, it is
confined to one or two weeks of our students lives and will have
little if any impact on their understanding and acceptance of other
cultures in the long run. As a rule of thumb, steer clear of
"multicultural units" and focus instead on incorporating multicultural
literature into your daily routine. Use those "teachable
moments" to discuss differences and similarities as they arise during
your large group. |
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Is it necessary to have
multicultural students to have a multicultural classroom? |
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NO. This is a common
misconception, in fact, if you have a homogenous classroom is it
especially important to emphasize multiculturalism because the only
exposure your students may get to other cultures is through the
activities, books, and lessons that you provide them with.
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Why is multiculturalism so
important? |
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Because the world is changing
every day. We must learn to accept and get along with all
cultures, races, and religions in order to become productive citizens
of the world. It is our job as teachers to prepare our students
for the real world, and the real world is a multicultural one.
We have the opportunity to teach our students love and acceptance NOW,
even if it is not being taught at home. Chances are, by
the time the students in your classroom reach the real world it will
be a very multicultural place and we need to prepare them for that.
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What can I do to make my
classroom more multicultural? |
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Provide books in the classroom
library that feature children of many different races. These are
easily found in the Scholastic, Troll, or Trumpet book orders.
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Place posters or artwork on the wall that
feature a variety of multicultural children. |
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Discuss differences and
similarities in cultures with your students openly, but stress
the similarities. |
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Provide students with
multicultural paint, paper, and crayons as often as possible and allow
students to choose the color of paint, paper, or crayons they want to
use. |
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Find an international pen pal for
your class. |
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Read multicultural books to your
class (see book list below). |
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If you discuss one holiday in
class, make sure to discuss them all. For example, don't
focus only on Christmas, make sure to cover and give equal time to
Hanukkah and Kwanzaa too. Make sure to discuss the Lunar New
Year, Ramadan, and Diwalii when the time comes too.
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Photos of my
classroom
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(click on
thumbnail to get a larger view) |
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This bulletin
board features a Children Around the World cloth wall hanging
purchased from Hammett's. Underneath the wall hanging I have
displayed the books What a Wonderful World, We All Sing
In the Same Voice, Hello, and What is Your Language?
There are also several Save the Children bean bag dolls and flags
from around the world.
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(click on
thumbnail to get a larger view) |
| Above is our
What a Wonderful World bulletin board that we make on the
very first day of school. I give each child a multicultural
die cut (from school supply store) and they decorate it with
crayons. I allow them to choose their skin color. We
place the little paper children around the world holding hands to
show that we are all friends. The earth was made by cutting
and pasting large blue and green sheets of butcher paper together
and laminating. This display stays up all year. Above
the display you can see a banner that reads "We Are All
Americans", purchased from Hammett's. |
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Multicultural
Resources
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