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How to ensure all children get an equal chance to succeed

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52 activities for exploring values differences

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diversophy® is a powerful gaming tool that helps us engage successfully with people of other backgrounds as well as understand the dynamics of our own culture. diversophy® brings people together, not only to learn about each other’s cultures, but to connect in a very human way. Players are enriched by each other’s stories, values, knowledge, and skills. The us-versus-them mindset is replaced with mutual appreciation.

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Games by Thiagi (Sivasailam Thiagarajan, Ph. D.)

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Games by Thiagi (Sivasailam Thiagarajan, Ph. D.)

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Our extensive Resource Library contains a variety of tools, tips, and strategies that help you evaluate and improve the status of inclusive education in your school. Browse by category and get lost in the plethora of inclusion resources right here at your fingertips!

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Inclusive Education Resources | Inclusive Schools Network

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Our inclusion resource library has dozens of tools, tips, and strategies to help you evaluate and improve the status of inclusive education in your school.

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Hundreds of group facilitation activities for workshops, meetings and training sessions. Find the best team building activities, energisers, process facilitation and leadership development techniques.

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By promoting diversity in their classrooms, teachers foster an environment in which students of all backgrounds feel included and supported. In many cases, teachers achieve this by developing classroom activities that celebrate diversity. These diversity activities encourage students to become more open-minded about different cultures and lifestyles.

"When we talk about diversity in a classroom, we're talking about the general makeup of students in the classroom," says Kasey Weaver, EdD, adjunct faculty member in early childhood administration at Purdue University Global. "Diversity encompasses many areas, such as gender, race, background, socioeconomic status, and even your abilities."

Discover why cultural diversity in the classroom matters and how you can incorporate diversity into your K-12 lesson plans and activities.

Why Is Diversity in the Classroom Important?

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that public schools in the U.S. have become more racially diverse over the last decade. However, many students still attend schools where the majority of their peers look like them. According to Pew Research Center, 79% of white students in U.S. public schools attend schools where at least half of their peers are also white. These numbers are disproportionate for other ethnicities, too. Fifty-six percent of Hispanic students and 42% of Black students attend school where more than half of the students share their ethnicity.

With this in mind, it's up to teachers to help students explore cultures that differ from their own. "It's important for us all to honor our differences," says Weaver. "And as the adults in the classroom, teachers have to model what that looks like for our children."

There are several benefits of teaching diversity in the classroom:

Students can learn from each other's perspectives. "When we have discussions in the classroom about diverse experiences, it helps students see things from the point of view of their peers," says Weaver. "We have a lot that we can learn from each other, and diversity-focused lessons allow us to bring in multiple perspectives and insights."

Diverse representation promotes feelings of self-worth among students. A report published in Contemporary Issues in Education Research found that teaching students about the achievements and history of diverse cultural groups can help foster resilience and self-esteem in students who share that cultural background. Bringing in speakers from diverse communities has a similar positive effect. "Diverse activities can really help students develop a sense of self-efficacy," says Weaver.

Working with a diverse group helps students improve problem-solving skills. Weaver explains that diversity within the classroom can actually improve educational outcomes. "Students become better problem solvers when they work with a diverse group of students," she says. "A diverse classroom encourages ideas to be bounced off of each other, allowing students to find creative solutions to problems."

Diversity in education may help reduce prejudice. According to the American Psychological Association, cooperative learning activities are one way to overcome prejudice at school. "By talking about what makes us unique-as opposed to ignoring it-we let students know that it's okay for us to have differences," says Weaver.

Five Activities for Teaching Diversity in the Classroom

Since diversity in education can lead to a number of social and academic benefits, it's no wonder that many teachers are trying to elevate diversity within their lessons. Below are a few recommendations for diversity activities in the classroom.

1. Create a Cultural Passport

One of Weaver's favorite activities for promoting diversity is to create a cultural passport that accompanies virtual field trips. During a virtual field trip, students will be guided through a website that provides educational images, videos, and audio clips. These guides are often focused on a specific place, such as a museum or a national park.

"Virtual field trips are an excellent way to expose children to different cultures around the world, or even cultures that are representative in their own school," says Weaver.

She recommends providing a mock passport that students can fill out as they complete various virtual field trips. "Each page on the passport can feature a different culture. At different points throughout the year, you can visit that culture through a virtual field trip, and have students fill in information about what they learned."

Since these virtual field trips can all be completed online, this is also a great way to support distance learning students.

2. Explore Diverse Literature, Art, and Music

A report by New America found that people of color are still underrepresented in popular children's books.

When choosing books to read aloud in the classroom, Weaver recommends picking stories from a variety of cultures. "Make sure you're choosing books that are from cultures represented in your classroom, as well as from cultures that might not be represented in your classroom," she says. The same advice goes for selecting art and music to share with the classroom.

Keep in mind that diverse stories incorporate more than just racial and ethnic diversity-they also include diversity in gender, religion, age, and more. "The idea is to help expose students to perspectives that might be different from their own," says Weaver. "For example, if you teach at an all-girls school, it's good to incorporate stories that are told from a boy's perspective."

3. Visit Your Library

Your classroom library can only hold so many books. To help your students broaden their horizons, make frequent visits to your school library or local library. "Talk to the librarian to ensure that there are books representative of all cultures and backgrounds," says Weaver. "Oftentimes, librarians can help provide suggestions for titles that explore specific themes."

By visiting your school or local library, you're giving students an opportunity to discover books that explore a wide variety of topics. You could even set up a library scavenger hunt in which students are challenged to find books of different types. For example, a book written by a woman author, a book written in another language, or a book discussing a specific holiday. If you're teaching online, you could conduct a virtual library scavenger hunt using your library's online catalog.

4. Start an Open Dialogue

According to a survey conducted by EducationWeek, the majority of teachers see the importance of discussing complex issues with their students:

79% of teachers agree it's important to discuss race and ethnicity

75% agree it's important to discuss immigration

70% agree it's important to discuss national politics

Despite the fact that many teachers want to have open discussions in their classroom, it can be hard to know how to approach sensitive topics in a way that is age-appropriate and does not make any students feel uncomfortable.

Weaver says that creating an open dialogue starts with encouraging students to ask questions. If you're leading a class discussion around a particular news story or current event, you need to ensure that students are not afraid to speak up. "Not everyone will have the same perspective on a topic, and that's okay. Recognizing our differences helps everybody feel accepted as part of the community," she says.

"We don't want to ignore what makes us different. We want to celebrate it."

5. Build Connections with Other Students

Finally, Weaver recommends building connections with students from other classrooms, or even from other schools. "Having students socialize with their peers is a great way to create a welcoming and inclusive classroom environment," she says.

For example, during story time, lunch, or recess, you might invite kids from the exceptional children or special education program into your classroom. This gives your regular-ed students a chance to socialize with kids they might not have met before. "By allowing your students to make connections with kids from other classrooms, you're creating an environment where everyone feels included. Plus, your students will be exposed to kids who have different backgrounds than them," says Weaver.

Enhance Your Teaching Skills with Online Education Programs

Weaver stresses that teachers should not underestimate their role in creating diverse and inclusive environments. "It's so important for us, as the adults in the room, to model what we want to happen in our schools," she says. "Diversity activities in the classroom are only one piece of the puzzle-as teachers, we need to model empathy and respect for students of all backgrounds."

If you want to grow your teaching skills, Purdue University Global offers several online degree programs in the education field, including Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Administration, Master of Arts in Teaching, and Master of Science in Education programs.

Find out more about our programs by contacting us today.

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Five Activities to Promote Diversity in the Classroom

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By promoting diversity in their classrooms, teachers foster an environment in which students of all backgrounds feel included and supported. In many cases, teachers achieve this by developing classroom activities that celebrate diversity. These diversity activities encourage students to become more open-minded about different cultures and lifestyles.

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Kids can learn a lot about appreciating the differences that make us all unique. You can create opportunities in the classroom to emphasize and celebrate diversity, offering a safe space where all students can express themselves.

Cultivating an inclusive classroom environment will encourage new connections between classmates (and between you and your students) and help engage students of all backgrounds in learning. Check out these 25 classroom activitiy ideas to foster greater appreciation for diversity.

1. Check Teaching Materials - Review your teaching resources with a critical eye and look for ways to increase diversity. Are you sharing a wide range of books and materials that reflect different voices, backgrounds, experiences and ethnicities? If you are using worksheets, do they use clipart and materials that are inclusive? Review your materials and adjust as needed to fairly represent your students.

2. Host a Cultural Fair - Plan a cultural fair where students can share traditional clothes, cultural food, customs, traditions and more. This is a good opportunity to learn about the differences of cultures to better appreciate other cultures.

3. Browse Your Bookshelf - Are you including books that show different cultures and backgrounds? Look for ways to build a more diverse your book collection.

4. Celebrate Names - You will likely have students with names that originate from other languages that may be difficult for other students to pronounce. Encourage everyone to practice until they correctly pronounce all names. Keep it positive and fun.

5. Rotate Music - Do you play music in the background while students work or for transitions? Create a playlist that showcases music from all over the world. Find bilingual songs children's songs that can blend international flavor into a song.

6. Create a Collage - Allow students to share who they are with a collage that they create. Students can present their collages and explain why they selected the elements they did or you can display them all on the wall for everyone to enjoy.

7. Travel Around the World - Be intentional about exploring different parts of the world in your learning units. When studying different countries, use appropriate greetings, learn how to write a few words in that language, and even watch some videos of customs from the region. Exploring various parts of the world is important for teaching kids about other cultures.

8. Choose a Pen Pal - Kids can connect with pen pals through programs such as PenPalWorld.com. This is a great way to practice writing and sharing their own experiences while learning about life in another part of the world.

Keep the classroom stocked with a school supply wish list. View an Example

1. Make a Passport - Create a passport in the beginning of the year that students fill out with each country they "visit." This is great practice for when they do get to travel one day and have an actual passport.

2. Take Virtual Field Trips - Take a virtual field trip to another country or a cultural destination. Check out this list with 30 virtual field trips including the Great Wall of China and The Louvre in France!

3. Do Global Art - Tie in an art project to your world studies curriculum or virtual field trips. Have students create art inspired by a piece from The Louvre or construct a great wall out of sugar cubes and popsicle sticks.

4. Get Cooking - Cooking food from different cultures is an incredible, tactile experience where students will learn about the different spices, ingredients and cooking methods used around the world. Discuss dishes from around the world in class and send home recipes for students to make with their families.

1. Create a World Map - Spend time creating a large world map that explores the prominent and unique features of each area. Have each student find information about their family's origin.

2. Research Money - Many kids enjoy learning about money! Start collecting money from different countries or have students bring in some international forms of currency, if they have access to them from family members. Create a little money museum and allow students to look, feel and respond to questions about each international currency.

3. Create Cultural Art - In this art activity, kids will experience a specific type of cultural art, such as learning origami from Japan, making Native American dreamcatchers, discovering the art of Rangoli sand or doing paper mâché. There are so many types of cultural art to explore!

4. Explore Skin Color - One way to share about differences is to explore skin color. We shouldn't be afraid to discuss and learn about this topic. Allow students to mix a few paint colors to create different skin tones for decorating characters. Or, have the new skin color markers and crayons available by every art station so students can find the color they feel matches them. Look for ways to include skin color in arts and watch as this simple addition helps more students feel welcome.

5. Poetry - Poetry is a powerful and creative way to share our experiences. Reading and writing poetry, from sonnets to slam, offers a rich opportunity to learn about and express different viewpoints.

Organize a poetry reading party with an online sign up. View an Example

1. Celebrate Holidays - Each month, sit down with a calendar and look at the global holidays taking place. Creating a short activity around a few holidays will increase interest and appreciation for other cultures.

2. Encourage Questions - Kids are so perceptive and enjoy asking questions. They'll often ask great questions that will allow you to be a good example and show respect for all people.

3. Allow for Freedom - One way to encourage students to embrace their individuality is to allow freedom and creativity on projects. Rather than defining every element of a project, give them the opportunity to be creative and personalize their work.

4. Bring in Guests - Reach out to your community and welcome diverse special guests who can share or teach something to the class. Your community is a rich resource that you can draw from to help bring people together.

5. Learn a Language - You don't need to learn an entire language. Each week focus on a few words from a particular language. Find fun phrases kids can use around the classroom to practice the language.

6. Stand in Someone Else's Shoes - Help students think about the perspective of someone from a different culture. Ask questions from students on how someone from a different culture might perceive the American culture. As a twist, have students imagine themselves living in a country the class has studied and some of the daily differences and challenges they might encounter.

7. Diversity Through Movement - Explore how people move in different parts of the world such as types of dance, exercise and sports. These activities will also give kids a much-needed brain break as they move their bodies.

8. Play Trivia - Once you've learned about a culture, create a trivia game and test the class to see how much they have learned. Hand out prizes for correct answers to help boost the fun and encourage continued learning.

Promote diversity in the classroom with intention and continue to revisit your plans throughout the year. Over time, you'll be able to transform your curriculum to best reflect your students and the world in which we all live.
Creating these opportunities for kids helps them develop a global mindset. These activities will help your students learn and appreciate differences in other people. Have fun incorporating these ideas and allow them to inspire you to come up with even more of your own.

Erica Jabali is a freelance writer and blogs over at ispyfabulous.com.

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classroom school cultural ethnic diversity

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25 Activities to Teach and Promote Diversity in the Classroom

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Teaching diversity helps build appreciation for the uniqueness of other people and cultures. It's a great way to build unity and respect for all people in the minds of children.

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Teachmint: Integrated School Platform | Smart LMS & ERP

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Our world has a lot of diversified cultures and traditions, and it is essential to make children understand the importance of this Diversity. Therefore, they should be taught this crucial lesson early to realize the importance of Diversity. Diversity is a beautiful concept, as we all are different, yet we fit together perfectly.
Why is it important to teach kids the importance of Diversity?
Children are curious, and the importance of Diversity is an important lesson a kid should learn at an early age. They should be taught that it's fantastic to be different and unique, and it is not something you should be insecure about. Kids should be taught this important lesson to help them accept themselves and everyone else.

We can do many things to promote Diversity among kids at school. Some of these activities are mentioned below, and you can organize these fun activities to teach them the importance of Diversity and having a unique personality.

1. Festivals: Organise small programs in the classroom to celebrate various festivals and traditions. It will help kids realize the importance of their culture and teach other kids about these traditions.

2. Cosplaying with other cultures and religions: Ask kids to dress up to their culture and organize a fancy dress competition. It will help kids to know about various traditions and cultures. You can create a fun activity like this into something educational.

3. Learning a new language: Many schools teach a foreign language to their students. You can ask them to learn a new language of their choice, which will help them understand that culture better.

4. Let them experiment: Ask them to pick a language or tradition they want to learn about and let them experiment. When you allow them to experiment with ideas and their choice, it makes it easier to learn something. So, let them explore on their own.

5. Holidays: Tell kids about various holidays and the reason behind their celebrations. It will teach kids about the different traditional values.

6. Cultural art workshops: Every tradition has its art style. You can try to teach kids these art styles and organize art competitions. It will help them to learn various art styles and various cultural values.

7. Collect various currencies: You can ask kids to collect coins from different countries and learn their names. It will be a fun activity for them, learning about multiple currencies.

8. Creating a world map: You can ask kids to draw a world map. It's a small activity, but it will teach them how every country has a different shape and size, yet they are a part of our world.

9. Diversified food: Ask kids to bring a traditional dish from their culture and share it with their friends. It will allow kids to try different flavors and cuisines.

10. Make a pen pal: This is the best activity out of all, you can start writing letters to someone from a different country. You can exchange notes and learn about each other's language and cultures.

11. Learn about various cultures through music: Listening to the tune of different languages and countries can give you a glimpse of that country's culture.

12. Read books about various cultures: Books are a great way to learn about multiple cultures and traditions, as books describe things well. You can ask kids to choose a book and read it in front of a class or at home and prepare a short report on it.

13. Organise a cultural fair: Cultural fairs are a great way to learn about a culture and its tradition. Fairs consist of food and various items from different cultures.

14. Ask students to create a presentation about their culture and traditions: You can ask kids to prepare a presentation about their practices, traditional dresses, and foods. It will allow them to get creative and prepare a presentation with their perspective of their culture.

15. Music dance party: It's a simple yet fun way to learn about different cultural music. You can collect songs from various cultures and play them at a dance party.

16. Connect with international friends: Apart from writing a letter, you can connect with a friend online. Kids can connect to several international friends online.

17. Drama and skit: You can prepare some drama and performances about various cultures. It will teach kids the basics of acting skills and the values of multiple cultures.

18. Make a homemade passport: You can ask kids to create a homemade passport and their favorite countries and show it in the class. Then, you can ask them why they want to visit that place and their favorite thing about it.

19. Greet each other according to different cultures: Every country and culture has its way of greeting each other. Ask kids to greet their classmates in their traditional way. It will be fun for kids, as it will be like a game.

20. Welcome visitors who belong to various cultures and speak their native language: You can ask people belonging to multiple cultures to visit schools and classrooms and give a description of their culture. These individuals will provide a proper insight into their culture and allow kids to learn from that individual's experience.

21. Ask students to talk in their mother tongue: We can ask them to speak in their mother tongue. It will make kids learn about their own cultures and teach other kids.

22. Organising enjoyable cultural activities like customs and traditions: Every culture has its traditional activities, any business or practice like making rangoli or eating or drinking certain food items on special occasions.

23. Exploring different skin colors: Everyone has different skin types and complexions. Ask kids to look around and check how many skin colors they have in class.

24. Discuss your goals and aims: Diversity isn't just about different traditions and cultures and different personalities. Ask kids to present their dreams and goals in life and what kind of person they want to become when they get older.

25. Create a collage of various people and their traditions: You can ask kids to create a collage or just posters about their friend's culture; it will help them learn about their friend and deepen the relationship. In addition, this activity will make kids interact with each other and make new friends.

It is important to promote inclusivity and diversity in the classroom and the above activities are sure to help you be more inclusive.

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25 Activities to Promote Diversity in The Classroom

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Our world has a lot of diversified cultures and traditions, and it is essential to make children understand the importance of this Diversity. Therefore, they should be taught this crucial lesson early to realize the importance of Diversity. Diversity is a beautiful concept, as we all are different, yet we fit together perfectly.

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It doesn't take an expert to tell you that your students are each different and unique. They come to the classroom with diverse backgrounds, including their cultures, ethnicities, religions, languages, and economic statuses. They have different opinions about politics and pop culture as well as different learning styles and levels of motivation.

As their teacher, you have the opportunity to create a special place where each student feels like he or she belongs. One of the ways you can foster that sense of belonging is by celebrating cultural diversity in the classroom. Whether your students are new to this country or their families have been here for generations, they will enjoy the opportunity to dig into their backgrounds and share information about their cultures.

That said, some students may not recognize their unique cultures. Be sure to point out that every family has things that make it special: traditions, family size or composition, or even activities they enjoy together.

The Benefits of Celebrating Diversity in the Classroom

Implementing diversity activities in the classroom does much more than provide entertainment! The more your students know about other cultures, the better their understanding of the world around them. Let's take a deeper look at the many benefits of celebrating diversity in the classroom.

Academic

A culturally diverse classroom helps students develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Encountering new and different ideas and perspectives makes students evaluate their viewpoints. Through group and partner work, students learn to respect their classmates' differences. Plus, they will likely find things they have in common with each other.

Furthermore, students from diverse classrooms and schools tend to do better academically. Studies show that these students tend to score higher on achievement tests, drop out of school less often, and enroll in college more often.

Social

Students become more empathetic when they encounter other cultures regularly. They're less likely to develop biases and prejudices and more likely to be open to new thoughts, ideas, and opinions as they continue their education.

Planning activities to promote diversity in the classroom helps all students develop their leadership skills and become more self-confident. In addition, your students will have opportunities to develop relationships with people who look, think, act, and speak differently from them.

Future Benefits

All teachers, even in elementary classrooms, are preparing their students to head out into the world. When you prioritize exploring cultural diversity in the classroom, you open them up to a world that's far bigger than their hometown.

Many companies want employees who are comfortable interacting with diverse individuals. When students have the opportunity to encounter other cultures from a young age, they're better prepared to enter the global community as an adult.

Top 11 Ways to Celebrate Cultural Diversity in the Classroom

By celebrating the diversity within your classroom, you can enrich your students' learning experiences and help them expand their social circles. You will probably even benefit yourself in the process! There are many ways to incorporate diversity activities in the classroom. Here are some activities to promote diversity in your classroom.

1. Holiday Celebrations

Create a calendar that highlights celebrations around the world. Choose ones that represent the cultures of the students in your class. When a holiday comes up, take some time to discuss what it's about and find simple ways to celebrate, such as:

Making a relevant craft

Serving a treat from that culture

Reading a book associated with the holiday

Similarly, you can explore how different cultures celebrate the same holiday. For example, Christmas is celebrated in many cultures, but those celebrations can look very different. As major holidays in the U.S. approach, have your students share their favorite family traditions for those holidays.

Thanksgiving is a quintessentially American holiday. Each family represented in your classroom probably celebrates this holiday with its own flair. Invite your students to each share about a Thanksgiving tradition in their family. It may be a special food they eat, a game they play, or a movie they watch. Ask them if they know how this tradition started and what it means to them.

If possible, you could also consider hosting a classroom Thanksgiving meal. Ask students to bring a special dish that their family always eats on Thanksgiving. Have students provide the recipe for their dish, and turn the recipes into a classroom multicultural Thanksgiving cookbook.

2. Music and Art

Another way to promote diversity in the classroom is to partner with the music and art teachers in your school to dive into the music and art of the cultures represented by your students.

Talk about composers, musicians, and singers from each culture. Listen to samples of music, and talk about the similarities and differences your students hear. If there are instruments that are unique to a culture, show pictures of them to your students. Better yet, find the actual instruments for students to see firsthand.

You can also teach students simple folk songs from different cultures. Young students will especially enjoy learning fun songs. Find videos online of other people singing them, but be sure to check that the lyrics are age-appropriate for your students.

Talk about artists and art styles from your students' cultures. Have students make a piece of art in the style of each culture, then display them in your classroom as part of a multicultural bulletin board.

3. Multicultural Library

Another way to promote cultural diversity in the classroom is to build a library that includes books with characters who live in or come from other countries. Include books written by a diverse array of authors as well. Be sure to include age-appropriate biographies of people from a wide variety of cultures.

4. Guest Speakers and Interviews

You can read extensively about another culture, but nothing tops getting information directly from the source. Invite people from different cultures to speak to your class either in person or virtually. By using video conferencing technology, your class can connect with people around your town, state, country, and even across the world!

Have your students prepare questions ahead of time to ask the speaker. Look for people who represent a wide array of life experiences, such as first-generation immigrants, multilingual people, and refugees. An easy place to start is with your students' parents, grandparents, or older siblings.

You can also have your students conduct interviews with someone from a different culture than their own. This could include other students in your class, school staff, neighbors, or friends. Then, allow students to share something they learned from this person with the class.

5. Show and Tell

Ask students to bring in something from home that represents their culture. Then, have them present the item to the class and explain why it's important to them. Have two or three students present each week throughout the school year. Be sure to remind students to ask permission from a parent or guardian before bringing an item to school!

6. Role-Playing

Have students choose an important person from their culture to research. The person can be a current or historical figure. Then, set aside a day for the students to dress like their person and present the information that they found. You could even modify this activity to have students choose a person from outside of their culture.

7. Games From Around the World

Another fun way to celebrate diversity in the classroom is to bring in international games for indoor recess and celebrations. Some easy-to-play games include Mancala, tangrams, and Ludo. Be sure to ask your students what their favorites are and invite them to bring a game from home to play when appropriate.

You can also talk about the sports and games that are popular in the countries your students' families come from. If possible, find opportunities to go outside and play some of the sports and games that are shared.

8. Global Pen Pals

Encourage your students to write to pen pals. If you have students from a wide range of cultures in your class, you can pair students with friends or relatives of other students who live outside of the U.S. If you need ideas to get started, check out this program. It offers project-based opportunities for getting to know other students, schools, countries, and cultures.

9. Cultural Bulletin Board

Dedicate one bulletin board in your classroom to highlighting a different country or region of the world each month. Be sure to include pictures of the country and its location on a map as well as some simple words in the native language. You can even display information about famous people or events related to that country. Get creative!

10. Learn a New Language

Teaching about other languages is a great way to celebrate cultural diversity in the classroom. If you have students who speak languages other than English, allow them to share their languages with the other students. Ask each multilingual student to teach the class a few words in his or her native language. Here are a few simple ideas for words to share:

Greetings and introductions

Numbers from 1 to 20

Months or seasons

Family members

Colors

If a student isn't comfortable in the teacher role, ask him or her to teach you first. Then, you can present the information to the class. Depending on your grade level, you could even have students get into groups to create short skits using the new words they've learned.

11. Multicultural Fair

One of the most popular activities to promote diversity in the classroom is hosting a Multicultural Fair.

Invite students to bring in food, games, crafts, or other items that represent their culture. Extend invitations to family members as well, and invite other classes in your school to attend. You could also partner with other teachers to make a bigger celebration or turn it into a school-wide fair and incorporate the fair into your curriculum.

There are different types of diversity including language, race, ethnicity, religion, family background, and socioeconomic status. Each student in your class, whether they are new to the U.S. or not, has a unique family culture. When you celebrate cultural diversity in your classroom and around the world, your students will become more aware and appreciative of the global community that they're a part of.

Are you looking for expert tips and resources for teaching English Language Learners? Check out our ESL Resource Center.

This blog was originally published on February 9, 2022. It was updated on May 23, 2023.

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11 Ways to Celebrate Cultural Diversity in the Classroom

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Celebrating cultural diversity in the classroom helps students feel confident, accepted, and understanding of the world around them.

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The InDO project aims to make inclusive frameworks such as Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction more accessible to higher education teachers and trainers. Through four main resources - an online course, a compendium of template activities, an app listing digital resources, and a policy recommendation document - we aim to empower educators to put technological solutions at the service of pedagogy and improve their teaching performance, optimising the relevance and effectiveness of educators across Europe.

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Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction for Inclusive Classrooms - InDO - Inclusive Design Objectives

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The InDO project aims to make inclusive frameworks such as Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction more accessible to higher education teachers and trainers. Through four main resources - an online course, a compendium of template activities, an app listing digital resources, and a policy recommendation document - we aim to empower educators to put technological solutions at the service of pedagogy and improve their teaching performance, optimising the relevance and effectiveness of educators across Europe.

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Good Practice Compendium for Creative Classrooms - INACT

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Your Content Goes Here The Good Practice Compendium is expected to provide new ideas, broaden and deepen educators' skill set by showcasing and providing guidance on introducing effective learning and teaching activities in order to teach theoretical knowledge and practical skills as well as developing general key competencies.The

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Your Content Goes Here This Education 4.0 Digital Toolbox empowers educators to rethink your use of technology in the light of new pedagogical approaches, and to become more skilled in the selection and use of digital tools to favour learner inclusion and effective learning.