Building Culturally Responsive Classrooms

"Concha Delgado Gaitan has provided a wonderful resource to all educators. The topics used to structure the chapters provide the reader with an orderly consideration of the school as a cultural entity itself. Most important, each chapter provides the reader with clear theoretical applications in a hands-on manner that is meaningful and easy to use." --Randall B. Lindsey, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles Principal Associate, The Robins Group "Concha Delgado Gaitan brings a wealth of personal experience and years of research to Building Culturally Responsive Classrooms. It is thought provoking and challenges us to get to know and understand how culture affects students in order to foster the best working and learning environment." --Judy M. Alva, Elementary Vice Principal Lodi Unified School District, CA Allow your classroom setting and instruction to reflect the rich diversity and values of your students! Teachers today are faced with the enormous responsibility of respecting students′ various cultures while creating learning settings that challenge them academically. Concha Delgado Gaitan shows how teachers honoring real culture can transform the context and content within their classroom and become culturally responsive to all their students. This invaluable resource covers the topics of classroom discipline, classroom arrangement, and parent and community involvement in order to create a culturally inclusive learning setting. In addition, Gaitan explains how teachers can use instructional strategies that are culturally responsive to teach literacy, mathematics, science, and more. Each accessible, user-friendly chapter contains: A personal reflection from a teacher The latest research and best practices A rich case example Guiding questions, reflective questions, and classroom applications Based on the author′s firsthand research, this handbook is ideal for individual teachers, mentoring pairs, and study groups.