1. “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our
inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those
differences”
-Audre Lorde
Maripili Ortiz
2nd Grade Teacher at
Hawthorn School of Dual Language
Vernon Hills, IL

2. Learning from One Another
Take a moment to…
Introduce yourself to someone
Share a special family tradition
Why is this tradition so special?
Let’s Share!

3. Why We Should Integrate Cultures
 Students must be exposed to various
cultures in order to develop further
understanding of diverse backgrounds.
(Ford 2014).
 Diverse learners will feel appreciated,
valued, and represented when their culture
is represented.

4. Importance of Culture
 Multicultural Education encourages critical
and analytical thinking.
 Cultural lessons, literature, and resources
should be integrated throughout the
curriculum. (Ford 2014).
 Student population is much more diverse,
therefore; we must make an effort to meet
their academic needs through culture.

5. Ways to Build a Culturally Sensitive
Enviroment
 Culturally Responsive Teaching:
Educators take notice of the similarities and differences of
cultural backgrounds in their classes. Use this information
to incorporate their students’ backgrounds in daily lessons.
(Chenowith 2014).
“Culturally relevant pedagogy includes methods of
teaching that connect student experiential knowledge
and cultural backgrounds to curriculum as a means of
achieving social and educational goals. (p.39)

6. Building a Culturally Sensitive
Environment cont.
Using ELL Strategies
 Color visual aids for student reference
 Word banks on worksheets, writing, and
projects
 Vocabulary with photos to help with
definitions
 Word Walls (sight words, cognates, content
area)
 Provide sentence starters

7. A Culturally Sensitive Environment
Integrating Culturally Diverse Literature
Selecting books with diverse characters from various
cultural backgrounds. Students will feel valued
and appreciated.
“And with careful selection of
excellent books for children and
young adults, teachers and teacher
educators can prepare students for
creating and maintaining a better
world,” (Boyd et al., 2014, p. 379).

8. A Culturally Sensitive Environment
Traditions
Take an inventory of the various cultures
within your class. Then try to integrate their
customs, traditions or celebrations to the
curriculum.
Winter Holiday Mini Unit
Introduce a few Winter Holidays from around the world. For example:
Kwanzaa from Africa Chinese New Year Las Posadas from Mexico

9. Writing a Friendly Letter
 The book Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin by
Duncan Tonatiuh is about a 2 cousins writing back to
one another about how their lives are different yet the
same.
 After reading the story, list the similarities and
differences using a T-chart.
 Now you’ll write a letter to a child from a different
school in the United States.

10. Now it’s
YOUR turn!!
Think of lesson, activity or book you
can accommodate to make it more
culturally sensitive.
Let’s Share!

11. Questions and Thank You!
Any questions, comments, or concerns?
Thank you for listening!

12. References
Boyd, F.B. (2014). Culturally diverse literature:
Enriching variety in an era of common core state
standards. The Reading Teacher, 68(5), 378-387.
Chenowith, N.H. (2013). Culturally responsive pedagogy
and cultural scaffolding in literacy education. The
Ohio Journal of Teacher Education, 44(1), 35-40.
Ford, D.Y. (2014). Why education must be multicultural: Addressing a few
misperceptions with counterarguments. Gifted Child Today, 37(1),
59-62.