Approaching Cultural Responsiveness in ELA
Sarah Swenson (2010, Mississippi Delta) worked last summer as a lab teacher for 6th grade English/Language Arts. Although she was there to provide a model for new teachers to learn from, she was also very interested in her own development as a teacher. In particular, she was interested in finding ways to put students' lives and experiences at the heart of her classroom from the very beginning of the summer.
As part of a unit plan she developed and taught over the summer, Sarah prioritized building student-to-student and student-to-teacher relationships during the first week of school through writing about themselves and reading one another’s writing. Sarah and her students wrote about an important memory in their lives, and what this memory demonstrated about their values and identity. Sarah also blogged about her experience. Take a look at the blog entries and resources below to consider what she did, why she did it, and the impact this had on both her students and her.
As part of a unit plan she developed and taught over the summer, Sarah prioritized building student-to-student and student-to-teacher relationships during the first week of school through writing about themselves and reading one another’s writing. Sarah and her students wrote about an important memory in their lives, and what this memory demonstrated about their values and identity. Sarah also blogged about her experience. Take a look at the blog entries and resources below to consider what she did, why she did it, and the impact this had on both her students and her.
Resources and Materials
Many thanks to Kendall Surfus, Managing Director of Design for Secondary ELA, for these resources and reflections!
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Reflection Questions
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