EDUC 5240 Discussion Forum Unit 8

Start off by stating the grade level/subject you teach or intend to teach. Brainstorm and explain one activity you could use in yourclassroom that embraces the concept of multiculturalism, and one activity you could use in your classroom that utilizesdifferentiation. Provide a rationale for choosing these activities and be sure to support them with citations from your readingresources.

Today I want to talk about my experience of teaching English in the second grade at an international school in Almaty. Thepupils had to master three curricula in four years of primary school as the school integrated the Cambridge ExaminationPreparation Program, the International Baccalaureate Program and the Kazakhstan teaching standards.

In Year 2, my colleagues and I used English World 1 and 2, English Fun for Starters and project work IB. One such project wasthe obligatory Friendship of Peoples Festival, for which pupils usually prepared throughout the year.

Each child conducted research into their ethnicity, looking for national costumes, recipes for national dishes, souvenirs or tales,peculiar symbols and even folkloric elements such as songs, poems and dances. Afterwards, pupils with the same culture weregrouped together and prepared a small exhibition of their group, where they could look at outfits, taste different foods andmarvel at unusual objects.

This kind of research helps to develop a harmonious personality, one that embraces the vast cultural strata of its ancestors anddiscovers a certain set of permanent features and unique characteristics that are specific to that individual. (Edunote)

In addition to understanding their culture, their characteristics, the child sees how different others may be from their ownfamiliar world and world view, and this generates curiosity. Only yesterday his classmates were wearing the same uniform,doing similar tasks, following the same rules, and here they are completely different, realising themselves differently andsharing the treasures of their culture.

However, multiculturalism is not only about belonging to a particular group with its centuries-old traditions and customs; it isalso about self-identification, religion, a certain preference in dress and other differences in one way or another from others.

(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Therefore, senior or junior students could also be asked to work on a project called "Everything you need to know about me",including preferences, fears, hopes, desires and taboos.

The results of this work can be presented in the form of an exhibition, in which students can learn about the self-expression oftheir classmates.

Edunote. Personality: Characteristics, Factors, Roles, Theories of Personality

https://www.iedunote.com/personality#:~:text=In%20the%20field%20of%20organizational,to%20different%20situations%20and
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Multiculturalism

First published Fri Sep 24, 2010; substantive revision Wed Sep 9, 2020

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/multiculturalism/