How to be More Culturally Responsive

Being "culturally responsive" is a big buzz word in teaching, but what is it exactly? To me, it means that I am respectful of others and do not make assumptions based upon race or ethnicity. For example, when I speak with my Hispanic students, I recognize that some are from Guatemala and Spanish is not even their first language. I remind them that they are learning English as their third language and it is okay to be frustrated sometimes. When the students have a misconception about the meaning of a word that sounds like a word in their heritage language, I ask them to teach me about the word and let them be the expert so they know that their language and culture is valued.

Here are some other ideas I have learned from other teachers and my coursework at American College of Education:

Include books from other cultures in your classroom library. Kids want to read books that feature characters that look like them and it's important that they know they matter. This will take a conscious effort, since I recently read that there are more main characters in kids' books that are animals that people of color. Here are some good lists to get you started:

• Edutopia
• Inclusive Schools Network
• Curriculum Associates

One of the best ways to be culturally responsive is to get to know your students as individuals. I have to admit I have been guilty of making assumptions and thinking stereotypes are true when I had no knowledge to confirm them. For example, we were recently discussing this topic in my literacy class and admitted that one preconceived idea I have around ELL students is that their families will not be able to support their education at home due to a language barrier. I have found that to be true for some families, but some parents will take their child to our Parent Resource Center or to their church for free tutoring. We have started some after school academic camps and I used to only invite the students at our Extended Day program, because I assumed other students would not have transportation. Last year I started working with our Parent Liaison and we found that parents will find a way to get their children to educational opportunities, even if they have to carpool. Now when I am planning any after-school event I include all students who will benefit.

Take the time to really get to know your students and families. I think learning more is the key to altering stereotypes and biases. Just simply reaching out to those in the community can really teach you a lot about them and change your mind and assumptions.

The last idea I had is being more mindful. Wait, before you start snickering, hear me out. I have been listening to the wonderful Dr. Laurie Santos and her podcast, The Happiness Lab, and she promotes mindfulness as being one path to being more happier. I think that we can apply that to our teaching practice, too. I found an article from the website mindful.org that supports the idea of using mindfulness to combat bias. Here are some suggestions from the article:

• Emotional Awareness: Be aware of your emotions when dealing with students. Acknowledge your emotions. Think, “when dealing with this student, I sometimes feel …” Be aware of any feelings of judgement, apathy, or fear.
• Decenter from Negative Thought Patterns: When you feel negative thoughts, think about whether the thoughts are grounded in reality or perception. Our negative thoughts do not define us and are not permanent.
• Mindful Listening and Speech: Focus on really listening to the student who is causing negative emotions. Repeat back what they are saying to clarify. Focus on moving forward instead of fixating on what has happened to cause the emotional reaction.

I hope this ideas help you and I would love to hear your ideas about fighting bias and stereotyping in the classroom. Please leave a comment and share your ideas!

My Love/Hate Relationship with Teachers Pay Teachers

 

Mention Teachers Pay Teachers, the online marketplace where teachers sell each other resources that are supposedly original creations, and you will get a reaction of excitement to disgust, depending on who you are talking to. Administrators are known to discourage its use while some teachers swear that purchasing resources from the site is a necessary evil. I suppose I fall somewhere in the middle and I will explain why:

• Some materials are cute, but not connected to any standards. Some creators provide standards along with their products, but I have often found them vague and not accurate.
• Some materials are copied from other resources. Retyping a workbook page and adding cute graphics does not make the content original. If the content looks like it was lifted, I will look for the original creator and purchase it from them.
•  Some materials are not research-based. If a creator claims that a resource can be used for intervention, it should be research-based. 

Those are my concerns, but here is why I can't seem to stay away completely from the site:

• Fonts and graphics. The stuff is cuter than I am willing to spend my time looking for or creating on my own. I cannot draw in the slightest, so the original graphics just amaze me sometimes.
• Everything is in one place. We are doing themes each week for summer school and I selected a read aloud for each week based upon the theme. Teachers Pay Teachers was where I found companions to each book, with vocabulary activities, plot and character analysis discussion questions, and ideas for celebrations. Each novel study was reasonably priced. I also found literacy and math centers for the younger students with games that matched my theme, like shark-themed word or math games for shark week. 
• I am purchasing from other teachers. We teachers work really hard, and it seems like everyone else profits from it: the test-making companies, the textbook companies, the lobbyists, the politicians, etc. If I can give some money back to a hard-working teacher instead of them, I am all for it.

What do you think? Do you use Teachers Pay Teachers or do you stick with the provided curriculum? Did I miss any pros or cons?

Interventions for Upper Elementary Students

 

I love working with students in small groups. I can really build relationships by connecting with students in a small group each day, and I can hold them accountable in ways that their classroom teacher may not have time to. Also, I can really focus in on what that student needs to succeed and work on specific skills. These are a few of my favorite intervention programs to use with upper elementary students:

Fountas and Pinnell's Leveled Literacy Intervention is my go-to intervention because it offers so much. It has highly engaging texts, alternating between an instructional level text and an independent level so students feel successful when reading independently. They also offer lessons related to the text in word study, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and writing about reading. It has exactly what your student needs and you skip the rest. The best part is students really like the fiction and nonfiction texts so they don't mind reading!

Guided reading is small group instruction where like LLI, each student reads the same text. The teacher introduces the text, calling attention to meaning and language, and then each student reads silently, with the teacher listening in to individual students and prompting when necessary. After reading, the students discuss the text and the teacher gives a teaching point. Finding good texts is important to a guided reading program. Texts should be at a student's instructional level so the student can practice using reading strategies under the direction of the teacher. Scholastic has a great article about Guided Reading HERE. 

Words Their Way is a good intervention for upper elementary students who need phonics work. The concept is that students are given a list of words that they cut out and manipulate. The teacher teaches the patterns in their words and students sort them accordingly. The main negative I have heard about Words Their Way is that there is no transfer from sorting the words into reading the words in texts, so I make sure that I include texts every day that support the patterns students are learning. You also need to vary the activities so that they are engaging and not repetitive. I used this program with 4th and 5th grade ELL students and I saw a lot of success. 

What is your favorite go-to intervention for your upper elementary students? I would love to hear about your ideas for helping your struggling students!

Reluctant Boys Reading Suggestions

 

I have worked as a third grade teacher, literacy coach, and intervention teacher and getting boys to actually read has been one of my biggest challenges. I have found some sure-fire winners that could get the most reluctant boy to read and I wanted to share them with you.

Stink is the first book I give to a third grade boy who is ready for a chapter book but can’t find anything to stick with. Stink is funny and silly and acts like a typical boy. Stink is a fun series and not too serious. My son was reading some books off a book list one year and did not like how depressing the books were. One book had a kid whose parents divorced and another had a kid whose parent had died. I told him to try one more and the dog ended up dying and he threw the book at me and said, “that’s it! No more!” So I really think about the seriousness when recommending books for kids. Some kids like serious books but some kids just want something fun and entertaining. So if you have a kid who wants their books light-hearted, Stink is for you. This book’s reading level is around the end of second grade or beginning of third grade so it is perfect for a kid who has been reading say magic treehouse and is ready for something else. Stink is a series book so if your kid likes it, you can just keep feeding them to him. Also, his bossy older sister Judy Moody has HER own series of books that are slightly higher in level so you can keep your kid reading for a long time!

Say you have an older reader who has stalled out on books? I would try the Percy Jackson series. My son liked Harry Potter but when we watched the movies they were too scary so I was so happy when he found this series. It has a lot of action and adventure, but there is a lot of humor woven in and it is not quite as scary. All of the mythological references are cool and get kids interested in learning more. Percy Jackson is great for an older reader, like grade 4 or 5. I like that there is a movie, too. Movies that are made from books are great bait for reluctant readers. 

Roald Dahl is a great author for reluctant readers. His books are hysterical and fast-moving, first off. But the kids in his books have to deal with horrible adults and really dive into the feelings kids have about being small and powerless. The kids often discover they have power themselves and I think it is a great lesson for kids to encourage them to be self-reliant and independent. I also like that there are books that are short and fast for younger readers and then more meatier for older ones. If a kid gets hooked on Roald Dahl, there are lots of titles to choose from and many have been made into movies!

Boys like adventure and the “I Survived” series bring it. These popular books are each set in a disaster, which is told through a kid’s perspective. So the reader really experiences the historical event through the kid’s eyes.

There are a lot of titles in this series and some are at higher levels than others, so I wouldn’t stress out about that. Because these are real events, it might spur an interest in history.

Another popular series is 39 clues, written by Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan, which is a series about two kids who travel around the world trying to solve a family mystery. This is a great series to get kids hooked on because it combines mystery, adventure, history, and geography. It also has trading cards and there is talk of a movie as well. It is great for readers who have moved on from Magic Treehouse books, but like the format. 

The next book on my list is the cutest for real. It is a series book about a class pet hamster who has a faulty lock on his cage. Mayhem and adventures ensue, of course. Kids love this adorable hamster and love that the story is told from his perspective. This is a great book for reluctant readers because it is super cute and fun. It is written at a third grade level so it is perfect for those boys who can’t seem to get out of Dogman or Captain Underpants.

My last book combines two things boys really like: sports and mysteries. The Ballpark Mysteries are similar to A to Z Mysteries but the setting is at a baseball park. Each mystery is at a different ballpark so that is interesting, too. 

Like A to Z Mysteries, these are written for grades 2-3 readers and are fast with not much character development. But there are a lot of titles and they are a good fit for a kid ready for chapter books but can’t find anything. Mysteries are addictive and if they are a baseball fan, this series will be a winner.

What do you think? Did I leave a great book out? Please tell me in the comments below if you have a book that should be on this list. 

I wanted to give some tips about recommending books to reluctant readers, boys or girls. You can’t just throw a book at a kid and say “I heard this was good.” Kids like to feel involved in the selection process, but too many choices can be overwhelming. I like to give them 3-5 choices max and let them decide which one from there. And don’t get freaked out about what level or lexile they are. If they can read it and understand the story that is more important than they stay boxed into a certain level. I remember reading Animal Farm when I was in elementary school. I enjoyed the story, even though I didn’t “get” it until I reread it in high school. The most important thing is they are reading. They can always reread it later to get what they missed the first time. You also might need to sell the book a little. It sounds corny, but if you approach them with excitement they will be more likely to try it. I like saying, “I just read this book and thought it would be perfect for you!” Also, studies show that when you make reading a social thing, kids will more likely be engaged and stick with it. When my kids were little, I would read a page and then they would read one. Even to this day, my son will tell me to read or watch something and then he’ll want to talk about it with me. Talking about what they are reading is a great way to stay connected, especially as kids get older and they don’t need you as much. My last tip is not to freak out if he wants to abandon the book. We have all had a book that didn’t fit: whether it was too hard, too easy, or just boring. I usually ask them to finish the first chapter before deciding, which is what I would do if I encountered a book that wasn’t for me.

Thanks for reading and happy reading!

ELLs in Upper Elementary

 

I have had many teachers come to me panicked about a new student who doesn't speak any English. I have found these tips are helpful:

• Pair with a buddy. This requires some thought and you want to consider personalities when pairing students. You want a helpful and patient student, but not one who will do everything for your new student. I have seen students "mother" a new ELL student and take over all tasks for them. 

• Do not be discouraged if your students doesn't speak. Students understand more than they are able to talk at first so be patient if a student is quiet or only talks to friends at recess. 

• Model what is expected. The more they can see and hear what is expected, the more they will know. Use nonverbal cues, like pointing when you are modeling what to do.

• Involve your ELL students, even if they are nonverbal. Have them sit and listen even if it appears they don't understand. Encourage participation when they are able.

• Allow for wait time. ELL students need processing time, so don't jump in. Allow them the time to think.

• Try Visualizing and Verbalizing. This is a program I used with all of my third graders, and I could see it pay off for my ELL and ESE students. We sat in a circle at the beginning of the day and I read through some prompts and they imagined what I was saying. Then we shared what we imagined if we were comfortable. At first, only a few students shared, and then I saw my students get more comfortable and feel safe. They all were able to try to visualize and talk about what they imagined. 

• Look at the WIDA Can-Do Descriptors, which outlines what students can do at their level of language development. These can help guide you in what is appropriate to ask your student to do and what is out of reach for them at their level of development. 

What do you think? What are your favorite strategies when working with English Language Learners? I would love to hear your ideas!