What to Look for in a Culturally Responsive Environment

Chapter 5 Exploring Your Role, Jalongo & Isenberg, Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.

Classroom Climate

Children’s artwork is visually present and displayed.Centers and play areas have ethnically diverse materials.Classroom atmosphere and displays represent the families of the children.Displays acknowledge and celebrate every child’s efforts

Chapter 5 Exploring Your Role, Jalongo & Isenberg, Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.

Materials

Books explore a variety of cultural traditions and a range of culturally diverse literature.Toys and materials reflect the cultural backgrounds of the children.Content area materials represent the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the children in your classroom and of other major cultures.Learning materials depict a variety of cultures, roles, family lifestyles, and disabilities.Chapter 5 Exploring Your Role, Jalongo & Isenberg, Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.

Teacher’s RoleTeachers support children’s home language and many different ways to communicate.Teachers provide a range of books and songs that represent the children’s home languages.Teachers invite families to share traditions and stories of their home cultures.Teachers take time to understand cultures other than their own.Teachers plan multicultural learning experiences.

Chapter 5 Exploring Your Role, Jalongo & Isenberg, Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.

Learning ExperiencesChildren have rich oral language experiences in their home language.Learning experiences reflect family traditions, such as family recipes, family photos, and cooking utensils used in the home.Children are encouraged to learn about others’ cultures through such activities as family-facts games, family cookbooks, and video exchange.Children engage in interactive learning experiences to interact with one another.Children use the internet to communicate in their native language with children from similar linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Chapter 5 Exploring Your Role, Jalongo & Isenberg, Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.

Sources: Adapted from Patricia Corson (2000), “Laying the foundation for literacy: An anti-bias approach,” Childhood Education, 385-389; Winifred Montgomery (2001), “Creating culturally responsive, inclusive classrooms,” Teaching Exceptional Children, 4-9.

Chapter 5 Exploring Your Role, Jalongo & Isenberg, Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.