What to Look for in a Culturally Responsive Environment

1. What to Look for in a Culturally Responsive Environment Chapter 5 Exploring Your Role, Jalongo & Isenberg, Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Teacher’s Role • Teachers 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.

5. Learning Experiences • Children 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.

6. 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.