- What are some of the characteristics of culturally responsive teaching? Give examples from the lessons in which you participated, witnessed, heard about during your interviews with students, or gleaned from the Elders?
- The focus this week has been on CRT strategies in math and science. Even if you are not a math and science teacher, what are some ways these CRT strategies can be extrapolated to social studies, music, English, or other content areas? If you are a math or science teacher, how might you integrate other disciplines into your CRT lessons?
Some characteristics of CRT are including the local places, people, history, and linguistic uniquities of the region. From the Math Trail, we did math using the space and cultural symbols around us. In the science lab, we analyzed an indigenous form of diapers as it correlated to modern variations.
Cultural material for CRT can be used in social studies by incorporating local history and current events into the curriculum. Local music can be analyzed for meter, syncopation, dynamics, and phonics. Legends can be compared and contrasted with Western folklore in the English content area.
If I were a math or science teacher, I could incorporate other disciplines to help create a larger picture of the culture aspect the students were studying.
Update: New information
Scott Christian shared with our class a project he collaborated on with other teachers in Nikiski. The 2-month unit included various subjects using the local surroundings and people. The culmination of the unit was a booklet the students produced and printed. It appeared that the students were more involved in the work as they were in their local environs and were producing something tangible they could distribute to community members.
A fine lady named Alberta visited us and brought books! We explored some children books and thought about how we could incorporate our book into our subject area. There are myriad resources available at the Friends of the Library, as teachers can take (some) books for free!
Hi Shaun,
Yeah, I really appreciated Scott’s presentation of his Nikiski unit as well. I was really blown away by the quality of the poetry that he was able to get out of his middle schoolers. I think that is because he tied it to their local environment, as well as letting them find/choose their own poetic form and voice.