As a teacher of color, from two different cultures, I try to celebrate diversity with all my students. Not only that, but I work in one of the most culturally diverse school districts in the nation.

To give you an idea, there are 130 languages spoken by families at the school district I work at right outside of Seattle.

Growing up, I never celebrated diversity. I remember in elementary school, we learned about Martin Luther King Jr and Jackie Robinson.

In 7th grade, my class read Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry and in 9th grade, To Kill a Mockingbird…of course, but that was it! My entire 12 years of education, that was it!

What’s really upsetting is, I lived in a city that was close to 50% Hispanic and we were less than 10 miles from an Indian Reservation. To think about it now is just sad that the curriculum lacked diversity and it seemed to go without notice.

In reality, my educational output would have changed. I probably would have tried more and felt like somebody cared about the direction I was heading.

On my own, I sought out various pieces of literature to celebrate more people that looked like me. Most of what I read told a different story than the ones that learned in school. In time, it changed my educational perspective completely.

Now, in my teaching profession, when people ask me why I teach. I always tell them I want to be the teacher I never had. I strive to do this every day.

My only purpose is with my students in mind. If I can show them that celebrating who they are is important, then maybe they can become a teacher too or another civil servant.

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Celebrate Classroom Diversity

Two easy options that I use to celebrate diversity with my students is using a monthly cultural biography worksheet and/or a monthly cultural board.

Both activities will depend on the resources you have and the age of students you teach.  You can easily pick one over the other but I have tried both and each give students ownership of celebrated diversity in the classroom.

Monthly Cultural Biography Worksheet

The first activity I decided to use to celebrate diversity is with a monthly cultural biography worksheet. Each month I would give the class a culture that we would focus on based on the Observances reserved from the Library of Congress.

Get an easy to read copy of my: Diversity Calendar.

Every month, I would compile a list of 30 names of people in history-past or present that represent that given culture for the month. I also include various celebrities which really engages each student.

I take the names and into a bowl. Then I would go around the room and have students draw a name out of the bowl. The name they draw is the person they will be researching for that month.

For example, if it was Black History Month, a student can pick Michael Jordan from the list. They will then research him throughout the month using their biography worksheet.

In my district, students get a district-issued laptop as a 1:1 initiative so this makes it easy for students to do their research on their own time.

At the end of the month, their worksheets are due. I always give students an extra credit option to present to the class before they turn in their worksheet. And I will put a few images on the smart board for the class as a visual while they are presenting.

This lesson has been great for “filler” activities for students to work on. If students are completed early with their independent work or when they have a guest teacher. It’s easy to say, “Work on your biography worksheet” because they already have prior instructions and it is self-guided work. Most of the time, students would opt for it instead of SSR (silent sustained reading).

Monthly Diversity Cultural Board

The monthly cultural board is a class bulletin board that focuses on a culture every month. I try to pair texts that we are reading at the time with the authors and book covers on the board.

For example, we were reading vignettes from the House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros to practice the connection strategy.

It gives students an awesome visual throughout the entire school year to see their culture on the board. It also gives students the opportunity to get involved. You can invite students to share or add to the board, pictures, poems, or books they feel represent their culture.

Students can’t wait for their month to come up and share. Students learn new cultural resources from their peers. And you will see the less engaged student engaged, not matter what their background.

Final Thoughts

These are two ways that I have celebrated diversity in the classroom. Both activities have helped me connect with students from all backgrounds. It helped build a classroom relationship of openness and respect for one another.

Here are some more ways for instructional practices to build classroom culture!

Please let me know if you tried either of these activities or if there is something new I should try in my classroom! I’m always on the hunt to try new ideas.