Making it Work: Incorporating A Multicultural Approach into an Existing Curriculum

The goal of the presentation is to show how two groups of teachers are providing an enriched curriculum and structured opportunities for students and teacher from diverse communities and cultures so they may work together to achieve mutual goals.  Through a question and answer period, participants learn that things do not always work on the first try, yet through time and experimentation, coupled with flexibility, infusion of a multicultural curriculum can, and does, succeed.

This session will involve a combination of audience participation through experiential activities, a question and answer period, combined with a display of materials and ideas of integration of a multicultural curriculum into an already existing curriculum.  The participants will:

ü      Participate in Icebreaker/team-building activities.

ü      Participate in question and answer session

ü      View how to help students develop an awareness of community diversity

ü      Discover resources available

ü     Discover ways to “Make it Work”

Participants will see how two groups of teachers, one from a regular sixth grade program, the other from a two way bilingual sixth grade program, from different communities were able to “make it work,” beyond the food, fun and festivities.  Participants will see how, using their district’s curriculum including, but not limited to the following: pen pals and pen pal letter writing, reflection books, school exchanges, shared field trips experiences, joint projects and presentations, such as an “Exploring Our Communities Day,” and the use of various technological advances to enhance the Program.

Phase 1 – “Getting to Know You”

            The first few months of working together dealt mainly with activities, which allowed the groups to get to know more about each other.  Prior to the first meeting, our group of teachers met and plotted our course of action for the year.  Having school calendars available for both groups at the meeting, allowed for tentative dates to be set.  At this meeting, it was decided which group would write the first set of pen pal letters.  These letters would contain information such as, number of siblings, age, birthday, likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests, etc.  The letters were placed in decorated envelopes.  The envelopes were labeled “boy” or “girl” in case it mattered to the members of the other (receiving) class, though many times, it did not.  The numbers, at times, were uneven, one group being larger that the other was.  We just had students double up on one of the pen pals, thus making sure everyone was somehow connected with the other group.  It actually was beneficial if we paired a special needs child or a shy child with a more out going child.  The receiving class would just pick an envelope and write a response, and the connection would begin.

The First Meeting:

            For our first meetings, and subsequent meetings, we would divide the classes up into “groups,” which would rotate through variously planned activities.  The “host” school would be responsible for supplying the materials/activities, unless the “guest” school was asked to bring something along.  We would always be sure to make sure pen pals were together and problem behaviors were separated.

            Upon arrival, we would participate in some type of Icebreaker Activity.  Icebreakers are activities done at the beginning of a joint meeting project, which allows students to get to know each other in a non-threatening environment.  These activities are meant to focus on cooperation, trust and teambuilding.  We were fortunate that, through our grant, we were able to have a “teambuilding” expert come to one of our first as well as our last meetings to lead our groups in these activities.  However, there are resources available, which allow cooperating teachers to lead the groups in these activities.  Mr. Dan Rose, from EastCONN, has provided us with some examples, which we are bale to share with you.  These can be found at the end of your packet.  The following are some samples of Icebreaker activities.

Activities:

c    The Name Game: 

Everyone stands in a circle.  Choose someone in the circle to start, or ask for a volunteer.  That person says their name.  The person next to them says the first person’s name and then introduces him/herself (example: “John, and I am Meghan.”).  Then the next person must say the two previous names and then introduces him or herself (it is sufficient to only use first names).  This continues all the way around the circle until the last person has to name everyone before him/her.  You can do this several times, always starting with someone new.

c    The Tennis Ball Name Game:

Once again, everyone stands in a circle.  You start with one tennis ball and one person.  That person throws the ball across the circle to someone else, but says their name as they do it.  From her on, person #2 will always be receiving the ball from person #1.  Person #2 will toss the ball across the circle to someone else (who becomes person #3) and say their name as they do it.  Now person #2 will always receive the ball from person #1 and will always throw the ball to person #3 (the object is to always receive the ball from the same person and always toss the ball to the same person).  The last person will always toss the ball to person #1.  Walk students through this a few times.  The interesting part is when you start adding more balls (or other soft objects, like rubber chickens, etc.).  When you add more balls, it should not matter whom you start with because the students will always be tossing the ball to the same person and will always be receiving the ball from the same person.  You could possibly have up to 4-5 balls going at one time!!  Be sure to remind students to call out the name of the person who should be receiving the ball before throwing it.  You want to make sure the activity is done with safety in mind.

c    Rotating Activities:

You can decide from something that is curriculum related to do something fun, so as to choose what type of activities the groups will be doing.  We would first find out how long the other school could stay for their visit, factor in lunch and departure times before deciding how long the groups would be at one station.  We used both of the host teachers’ classrooms, as well as possibly outdoors or in one case, the special education teacher’s room for locations.  Some of the types of activities done on our first visits were as follows:

¨      Multicultural Bingo:  A game sort of played like the game we know and love.  However, instead of letters and numbers, there are questions (see sample).  Students then try to fill in as many spaces as they can (in a given amount of time) by getting the signatures /initial of our other students in the rotation.  No student may initial more than two spaces on any one card.

Sample:

¨      Shield/Coat of Arms: Discussion of Coat of Arms and the types of information we get from them.  Students are then given a format to follow and a blank copy of one.  Some of the subject areas included: Something you are good at, Something I would like to be good at, Something I believe in strongly, My most prized material possession, My best memory of last year, My worst memory of last year, something, I would like to do in the next year and an epitaph.  Students then draw pictures/designs or use words to show these subject areas. (See Sample)

¨      Life Sized Us:  Students would work in groups of 2-3 pen pals sets on designing a paper student who exhibits all the characteristics of the people working on it.  First, you would begin by using a large piece of paper, big enough to trace the outline of one of the people in the group.  They would then color or design with pictures words, accessories, etc., their person to show the characteristics of the entire group.  This also allows students to begin to see common interests or similarities they share, even though they are from different town/schools.
 

Phase 2 – The Cultural Exchange

Goals:

To bring about awareness of the various cultures that exists in the school community. To increase student’s knowledge and understanding about their own culture and the cultures of other students. To provide an opportunity for students to communicate their experiences with peers.

Objectives:

·        To discover that each culture is unique but does have some similarities with others

·        To feel that your own culture is valued and appreciated

·        To appreciate and respect the cultures of others

·        To realize that group strength is built upon an appreciation of culture

Materials:

display boards, arts and crafts, maps, books, food, flag, pictures or important facts about country or culture displayed

Procedures:

1.      Discuss with class: What is a cultural exchange?   What is expected when one goes to a cultural exchange?  Make a list of student responses.  From the student list cluster items that are similar together to form categories that might be covered in an exchange.

2.      Then ask students if they were to present in a cultural exchange what types of items would be of interest to them.  List the items mentioned on the board.  Tell students they will be participating in a cultural exchange with their MLTML counter parts and that volunteers for the cultural exchange are needed.  Have the students look at the list and decide if they are able to supply some of the items listed.  Students with similar cultural backgrounds were then grouped together.  In the different groups students discussed what items they each had and could bring to share in the presentation.  The students made a list of each student’s contribution and put it in a folder.  The group was given a bin to put items they would bring for the exchange.

3.      Once the groups were formed, letters were sent to parents to explain the cultural exchange and to request assistance with the presentation.  Parents were welcomed to participate or come for the cultural exchange.

4.      Weeks prior to the cultural exchange students labeled each of the items and their use for the display. The students researched other items during study skills.

5.      Once all items for cultural exchange were in, students wrote a short presentation based on materials available.  Students also provided an activity or game for students to part take in.

6.      A place for the school cultural exchange was found to accommodate all four classes.  (In our case we used an outside location).  We requested chairs, tables and vertical dividers when the place was reserved.

7.      On the day of the cultural exchanges students brought the bins and items needed for display and set up.  Ten chairs were set up as well to accommodate the rotating groups who were not presenting. 

8.      Students rotating were divided into ten groups and were assigned a station to begin.   At each station the presenters had 10-15 minutes to engage the students and teach them about their culture.  When the signal was given the students rotated clockwise to the next station.  The rotations continued until all the groups had an opportunity to experience all the stations.

9.      At the end of the session students were asked, informally, questions about what they learned and how they felt about their experience. 

10.  Once at school all students wrote in their reflective journal regarding the cultural exchange.

Phase 3 - Exploring Other Cultures Beyond the Classroom

Objectives:

·        To further expose students to the cultures that were present at our cultural exchange.

·        To focus on cultures that students were not currently exposed to in their communities and schools.

·        To examine the history of other cultures through dance, music, theatre, and folk tales.

·        To dispel misconceptions that labels bring to ethnic and minority groups by highlighting individual nations within countries.

Activities:

Ø     The International Festival at the Bayside Expo Center in Boston, MA. – October 25^th 2000.

§        This festival is an ongoing celebration that takes students through an educational adventure through cultures of the world.  Within the Expo Center students get an opportunity to explore pavilions that showcased the culture, heritage, and customs of regions of the world.  They do this through country discussions, storytelling, geo-challenges, mini-language lessons, and international games.

Ø     In school visit by Dr. Raouf Mama  - February 2^nd 2001.

§        Dr. Mama is a Professor of English at Eastern Connecticut State University.  He is an author of children’s books and an excellent storyteller.  His stories derive from folktales from his native country of Benin, which is located in Western Africa.

Ø     Renny Harris’s Free Movement and History of Hip Hop – February 27^th 2001.

§        This was a performance presented by a young group of contemporary artists.  Through dance and music, they presented the history of Hip Hop.  The history ranged from the flappers of the 1930’s to Jazz from the 1960’s to America’s current rap culture.

Ø     In school visit by Kevin Bowen, and Nguyen Ba Chung – April 2000.

§        The three individuals that spoke to our students came and brought unique perspectives of friendship.  One was a teacher, one a former Vietnamese soldier, and the other an American Vietnam Veteran.  The bonds formed by these individuals were shown to the students through the poetry that they wrote and the books; Distant Road by Nguyen Duy and Playing Basketball with the Viet Cong by Kevin Bowen.

Ø     Tou Ger Xiong and the Hmong Culture at the University of Hartford – May 5^th 2001

§        The performance by Tou Ger Xiong brought laughter and sadness. His theatrical performance brought laughter as he introduced the Hmong and the comedic clash with the American culture.  His performance also brought serious undertones as he shared his family’s personal struggles during the Communist take over of Laos in 1975 through a verbal history and slideshow.  

Ø     Mashantucket Pequot Museum – May 2001.

§        The Pequot Museum was a trip that allowed our students to learn about nations within our own country that had their own struggles.  It also brought them history and an opportunity to simply see and touch items and lifestyles that are no longer with us.

Ø     Exploring our community with ongoing visits to Convalescent Homes ongoing April – March 2001.

§        Exploring our communities through visits to convalescent homes gave our students to tap a valuable and under utilized gem or information.  Students interviewed, laughed, and even sang with our citizens that too often forgotten in their own communities.

Assessments:

ü      Classroom discussions after each trip and visit.

ü      Unit Activities such as projects, tests, group work, etc.

ü      Cross Curricular connections / Interdisciplinary Units

ü      Reflective Journals

ü     Poetry, Narratives, and Persuasive Essays.

Phase 4:  "Wrap-Up"

With the beginning of any project or activity there comes an end and the ending is just as important as the beginning.  Closure is a crucial part in the assessment of a program and will help you develop a more meaningful program for the future.

This program has grown a great deal since the beginning.  It began as a level one and in four short years developed, with hard work, into a level 3.  This program will continue to develop into a level 4.

 In its first year of implementation there was not a culminating activity nor was there even discussion of one.  We went on a few field trips, class exchanges, and used technology in the classroom.

 Year two was a little better.  There was a culminating activity and we will leave it at that.

In year three changes began to take place due to the development of the program.  During this year we had so many ideas.  We were filled with excitement and enthusiasm.  We wanted to do everything and we almost did until the end of the year came and we ran out of time.  The group decided that we could not just end the year without some culminating activity.  We were disappointed with ourselves because we would not be able have a big finale like we had imagined. Closure was crucial because friendships had been made throughout the year.  Relationships and bonds were made not only with the students but also with the teachers as a group.  We didn't want this to just end but time was running out quickly.  What we decided was that both schools would meet at EASTCONN and have our end of the year visit there.

The students met and the day was divided into rotations.  Rotations were what seemed to work best for us with such large groups. Groups were formed and students were mixed.  With their pen pals, students shared their "All About Me" books or their "Decade" Books. All About Me books, are books that were written by the children.  They are books about themselves and their family. (Please refer to write up enclosed)  Students wrote the "Decade" books about their senior citizen friends.  They were based on information about the decade that their "pal" was born in or lived through.  These books were shared and it gave students an opportunity to learn more about their friends from the other school and it gave them a chance to discuss their senior friend that they visited and compare the way in which they lived.

After the sharing of the books we had a very moving discussion with the students about the entire year.  We asked students what they most enjoyed and what they had learned.  Some of their answers even surprised us.  Since both groups had visited convalescent homes, some students felt that "when you were old, that is where you would go." One student stated that she wished that she was never going to get old because when you are old your family puts you away.  Of course this comment was heartbreaking to the adults in the room.  Another group of students remembered their visit because they played Pokeno.  Others just remembered learning a little about history or making new friends.  These are experiences that we can't take away from these students. 

Others students remembered certain field trips we went on during the year.  During this discussion students brought up things that we, as teachers, even forgot we had done.  Certain students remembered a personal instance or made a special friendship that we would not have even known about.  One thing that was mentioned over and over again was "working as a team."  One student said, " that it didn't make a difference what color or gender you were; everyone was the same in a team. " Everyone was important and if someone needed help the team needed to be there for that person.  Team building was something that we worked on a great deal. 

When you are doing these activities you always wonder if they make a difference and in this discussion, we heard the differences it did make.  This culminating activity gave the students time to reflect on the year and it gave teachers time to assess the program.  Questions we had asked ourselves were:

·        Are we making a difference? 

·        Are the things we are doing effective?

·        Do we continue? Our answers were yes.

Then we needed to ask ourselves what we needed to do differently.  What we needed to do differently is to redefine the program and make our objectives clear.  That is what we did for the next year.

Year four was perhaps the best year.  During this year, our challenge was to be very clear in our expectations of what we wanted and to end the year with a plan.  We needed closure.  This year we knew what we were going to end up with.  We still had "big ideas" but we were going to try to accomplish every one of them.  The biggest idea we had and we still don't know how we did it, was to create a photo quilt- a lasting memento.  We wanted to have a visual of what we did.  We did so much we wanted to be able to see and remember what we did.  The photo quilt represented students from both schools and the activities that we had done together.  It also displays a thumbprint of every student that was involved in the program.  There are two quilts and one will be displayed at each school.  This was an idea from year three.

            All About me books were still completed but these were on display at a school event for the community to see.  Convalescent home visits were also still done.  The culminating event this year was held at one of the schools.  Again we spilt the students into groups that consisted of the four classrooms.  The rotations for that day were as follows:

ü      Team building activities

ü      Planetariums show

ü      Shakespearean workshop with student participation

ü      Finishing up the quilt

The students had a great day and they were able to say good bye to their new friends.  The final piece to this wrap up was the reflective journals.  Here students were able to reflect upon everything that they did during the entire year.  Each time we did something with the students we had them write a brief write up on their thoughts while they were fresh.

This year had a twist to it.  This year we lost our funding.  We tried desperately to keep our funding.  When we told students about this they wanted to write letters to the commissioner. This was nothing new to us because every year we had written letters thanking the state for this opportunity.  This year we asked them to please keep the funding however, it was cut.  We will still find ways to meet with our new friends because we know how important and worth while it is for the students.

How Does This All Fit into Our Curriculum?

            There is always the question as to how all of these activities and trips fit into our curriculums.  It is obvious that there must be a point to all of this.  Why would the school district ever allow classroom teachers to take their students to trips that have no clear objective to them?  Windham Middle School and Killingly Intermediate School both have very diverse student populations that continue to grow and to include many cultures.  Both school districts have goals to ensure that the students are aware that their differences enhance their learning environments rather than impede them.  This is a clear goal and a very clear objective set out by our districts. There are also academic goals and objectives that we, as teachers, are obliged to achieve.

 In the next few pages this question will be answered.  We will be using the sixth grade curriculums of Windham Middle School and Killingly Intermediate School.  It is our hope that through our examples, you may be able to see how multicultural learning can work in your classroom and in your school district.

Windham Middle School Sixth Grade Curriculum:

            Within this booklet you will find a Curriculum Map of the activities that we plan to accomplish from September to June.  You will notice that the curriculum is very diverse in all the subjects that we teach.  The Sixth Grade team focuses heavily on the Social Sciences and on Life Sciences to help create an interdisciplinary approach so that student are able to comprehend difficult content.  As a team, we also try to ensure that we lay enough background knowledge about certain topics so that we can ensure that students are ready to focus on particular objectives when we get to those areas of study in later units.  The following pages will break our curriculum down into the major units we study, and also show how we aligned it with the Mastering Literacy Through Technology and Multicultural Learning program we participated with Killingly.