Multicultural Unit

Giana Dente

Multicultural

Five Strategies to Use for Multicultural Students

① Predictable Routines- (Krashen, Terrel 1983)- continuous routines, expectations are made clear, signals are set in place, consistent (lights out), greet students at the beginning of the day, have a morning routine, recognize and encourage responsible behavior, positive reinforcement, speak slowly, sub ground names build community (days of the week Monday, Tuesday, etc.), total physical response and repetition

Visual Scaffolding

② Visual Scaffolding- (Genesee, 1999)- Using Google images and graphic organizers such as KWL chart, concept word maps, word wall

Realia

③Realia - Pre-teach vocabulary using realia- make connections between their lives and materials

Example: When introducing a topic to the class the teacher can use objects. For example teaching students about a desert the teacher can bring in objects such as a cactus, sand, etc. for the ELL learners to familiarize and relate to the objects, and teach the class what it means in their language.

Modeled Talk

④ The total physical response model (Asher, 1982)

- to show students how to complete tasks or activities, and learn the step process in order to

- repeating questions, having the students chiming or chanting in, and choral reading

Interactive Writing/Scripting

⑤ Interactive Writing- (Krashen, 1988)-Scaffolding, build sentences

together - counting words adding adjectives

- interactive writing- magic tape - “act out” the dialogue in

scripts of situations that can relate to the students

Five Multicultural Books1 Spanish- Hairs/Pelitos by Sandra Cisneros, illustrated by Terry Ybáñez.

Dragonfly Books, 1997. (Latino)2 Chinese- Halmoni and the Picnic by Sook Nyul Choi, illustrated by Karen

Dugan. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 1993. (Asian Pacific American3 American Indian- Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning

Message by Jake Swamp, illustrated by Erwin Printup, Jr. Lee & Low Books, 1997. (American Indian)

4 African American- Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children by Sandra L. Pinkney, photographs by Myles C. Pinkney. Scholastic, 2000. (African American

5 Jewish- Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco (Bantam, 1992). This heartwarming story chronicles friendship between a lonely Jewish widow and a young African- American boy.

How to Setup your Classroom

• Vocabulary Walls• English word wall including other languages words• The library should include multicultural books, and

books to help the students learn about English (Bilingual books)

• Have pictures with labels around the room• Incorporate a technology center where the

students can learn from subtitles of movies, music, or APPs on the smart board, iPhone, etc.

Parent Involvement • Send home pictures and updates of their children in their

language and in English• “Show and Tell” of valuables in their culture, (realia) where

the students speak in English• Family Recipe book of specialties from all of the students

cultures within the class • “Buddy Families” where bilingual parents are recruited to

help new parents understand, so they can become more involved in the classroom

• Have parents receive a tour of the school from students or an interpreter that is bilingual in the school

Parent Volunteers

• Invite family members to come in and teach about their culture

• Invite parents to come in and read a story in their language with subtitles in English

• Have parents read picture books to students• Have the parents volunteer to help out with

school• Provide material from class in the parents’ native

language so they can help their children

Integrating Technology in Your Classroom

• Use the TV to show movies with subtitles for the students to follow along and learn the language easier

• Have translation services (google)• Put vocabulary on the Smart Board • Incorporate music into the classroom (alphabet songs,

animal songs, calendar, weather, and seasons songs, etc.)

• APPs for the Smart Board, Iphone, Ipad, etc. (Simplex Phonics, Word Bingo, Sentence Builder, Preposition Builder, and so much more!)

Differentiate Instruction

• Model Fluent Reading • Utilize Graphic Organizers• Have your students be paired with reading partners• Guided reading• Encourage evaluation• Role playing • Retelling stories• Completing dialogue or conversation through

written prompts

Content, Process, and ProductExample:

• Content- Learning about the deserts and what is found in the desert as the teacher reads a story.

• Process- Have students label objects in the desert that the teacher has brought in (realia). The students can demonstrate what these objects are used for by pointing to them or demonstrating.

• Product- Have the students place the objects in order of how they were used in the story. This will teach the students sequence of events in a story through the objects of what was used first, second, and third.