Unity in Diversity: A Toolkit for Bridging Gaps by Kimberly McBride

ELA

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-01 03:40:41 UTC

Include diverse reading material that includes books and stories from different cultures. Be sure to stock the class library with fiction and non-fiction stories from around the world and books in the different languages present in the class.

Differentiation

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-01 04:35:23 UTC

Differentiated instruction by tailoring content, process, and product according to students’ readiness levels, interests, and needs. Strategies include using flexible grouping, multiple means of representation, and activities with work tiered for behind, on grade level, and above grade level.

Multimodal Instruction

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-01 04:38:13 UTC

Use a multisensory approach to teaching, catering to all learning styles, including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and linguistic learners. Explicit instruction can be paired with a short video, song & dance, or hands-on activity.

Build Relationships

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 03:32:42 UTC

Work to build relationships with students to ensure they feel seen, respected, and valued for who they are. By building these relationships, students then build community within the classroom and with each other. Ways to build relationships include having one-on-one check-ins where the teacher works to know more about the student and their family, their culture, interests, etc. In short, the more in-depth teachers know their students, the more they can build that relationship of trust and respect with them.

Cultural Expression

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 03:33:47 UTC

Art/ music offers a chance to expose students to different forms of visual art and music from cultures around the world. Allow students to explore the different forms of art throughout a variety of cultures. Teach about different artists, styles, and techniques that are specific to or created by a specific culture. In music, teach folk songs of different cultures, listen to short videos of certain instruments specific to a certain culture. Be sure to incorporate artists from the various cultures present in the classroom.

Create Thematic Units

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 03:40:00 UTC

First, choose a universal theme (e.g., relationships, change, power, conflict, justice, identity, and survival) and explore how they are seen in different cultures across different subjects. Then, introduce the theme to the students. Last, integrate the theme and explore how it manifests across different subjects. Encourage critical thinking by facilitating classroom discussions and guiding students in creating generalizations about the theme.

Student-Centered Projects

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 03:41:02 UTC

Student-centered projects can enrich learning experiences, foster empathy, and promote a sense of global citizenship. They can be collaborative research projects to be presented at a multicultural fair or Cultural exploration projects that encourage students to research their heritage or a culture of interest, and present to their peers.

Holiday Celebrations

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 04:18:17 UTC

One way to celebrate and express culture is to create a calendar that identifies different cultural celebrations around the world. When one of these days pops up, the teacher can have a brief lesson and video learning about the different celebrations from around the world.

Guest Speakers

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 04:26:03 UTC

Invite guest speakers from different cultures to come in and talk about their culture. These guests can be local to the community and family members of students. Thanks to the internet, video guests from all over the world can be invited to speak to the class. As a class, students can come up with questions to ask the speaker.

Math

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 04:27:11 UTC

Create problems that connect to real-world situations from different cultures, examine different counting systems of cultures, and spend some time talking about the different contributions of diverse mathematicians.

Social Studies

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 04:30:37 UTC

Incorporate historical perspectives from diverse cultures and regions, rather than focusing solely on traditionally taught viewpoints. Spend some time talking about the contributions of traditionally underrepresented figures from history. Help students find connections to cultures of the past and their communities.

Science

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 04:30:57 UTC

Explore the different contributions from scientists that come from various cultures. Talk about how different cultures approach scientific concepts like astronomy and medicine. Talk about biodiversity and how different cultures interact with each other.

Multicultural Festivals

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 04:43:31 UTC

An evening or a Saturday dedicated to the different cultures of the families in the school. This event should include food from different cultures, music, dance, and different works of art created by students. Additionally, students can work on a small project where they research a country and include things like the geography, flag, traditions, food, or language, and display them on a posterboard at the fair.

STEM Family Nights

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 04:43:51 UTC

STEM family nights include workshops where parents are invited to participate in the learning alongside their child. Some activities that could be included are building structures with toothpicks and gumdrops, conducting science experiments, coding, exploring virtual reality, building a volcano, building rockets, and many more.

Parent Workshops

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 04:44:59 UTC

These workshops can be used to address language barriers and promote effective communication between families and the school. This could include basic language learning sessions in the languages spoken by families in the school community, or offer resources and information on language support services available at school. These sessions can cover topics relevant to child development or learning strategies, such as small math workshops to help parents better understand some of the concepts that they were taught differently.

Service Learning Project

kimmcbride2006 — 2025-08-08 05:04:37 UTC

These projects should address community needs, such as a neighborhood clean-up or a food drive. Work with local organizations and get family members involved in the project. These projects promote the development of civic responsibility and real-world problem-solving.