HOW CAN WE TRANSFORM CULTURAL DIVERSITY INTO VALUABLE RESOURCES AT HOME?
MAKING A COMIC: TEACHER ORANISES GROUPS
The first activity was making the textballon of a comic’s vignette. My group had two papers, so we made two textballons. It wasn’t easy to find an interesting and funny sentence.
Finally we chose:
1. See guys; that’s what happens when you do drugs!
2. Wow! How did you do that?
The first one is quite negative and the last one is positive.
I liked when all the class shared their dialogues because we could laugh together. These are some dialogues that I liked:
- Hey guys, we have to get that guy for our basketball team.
- Longlegs (like Bigfoot)
- What are you trying to adapt to?
In this funny activity we were mixed twice by a number system. It could be nice if you want to include everyone: integrating trough laugh.
With this cartoon you can see if pupils integrate diversity as a positive or negative thing, what their opinions are, etc. so it’s a good exercise.
DIVERSITY LINE
The second activity it was really interesting. We made a line and teacher made questions with two possible answers: Yes I do or No i don’t. If your answer was affirmative you had to step up; and if your answer was negative you had to step back. So after 5 questions there was a lot of different positions: diversity. It’s interesting to make pupils aware of that phenomenon.
FILM: NEW BOY
After that, we saw a film about a new boy in an English class. Then we answered two questions with our group:
-What do you think of what teacher did?
-What could the teacher have done to support the new boy?
In my opinion the teacher didn’t do anything to integrate the new boy. And also we could see that she had favouritisms (for example, with a little girl). She just pushed him into the class and that was all.
We were talking about different solutions to support a new boy in a new class.
- All the class was interested in the new boy, so the first step could use that interest: giving the opportunity to introduce/present himself and give the class the opportunity to introduce itself. So we could make a kind of interview; everybody makes and answers questions.
- Also we thought it’d be good, to give the news to the class some days before.
- Moreover it could be nice doing a welcome’s party.
- Finishing the class with a funny game of integration, before the break. If they laugh, they feel comfortable and it’s the beginning to start to play.
- Find some people who want to play with him.
- Finding common points between the new boy and some pupils of the class.
- It could be important make they aware of the differences and equalities.
FILM: MULTILINGUAL SCHOOL
I think it was very interesting know another way to integrate people. That film shows how to do it in a right way. Never forgetting the background of the pupils, their own culture, language, etc. If you want that they respect your culture first you should respect their culture.
I think it was very interesting know another way to integrate people. That film shows how to do it in a right way. Never forgetting the background of the pupils, their own culture, language, etc. If you want that they respect your culture first you should respect their culture.
That school is amazing, so I’ll try to make a summary of the main points:
- School opens the doors to parents to understand the learning process. They create a school community.
- On the walls are flags, names, drawings about themselves...
- They can use her/his own language; in fact there are books in different languages and English. These help to learn English.
- There are activities, drama, etc. to listen children to each other.
- Learning library; where parents can learn English and share it with their children.
- Parents and children work and learn together at home, for example, reading.
- Parents ask for books of 5 years old.
- It’s open on Fridays.
- We could observe only mums in the library. (Pakistan mums)
- There is a specialist in charge of managing diversity and integration.
MULTILINGUE STORY
I loved this activity. I think is very interesting doing it with a lot of languages and different nationalities. They’ll have a common language, English for example, and they’ll use it to get an agreement and make the order of the story. After that, each one has to explain his/her part in her/his own language.
BANKS’S LEVELS OF INTEGRATION
INTEGRATION ACTIVITIES
- Making a poster with all hands of the class together. Each one has to have name, nationality, likes, languages...
- Making a puzzle-picture. Then, each group pint a piece. Finally all together built the picture.
- Making questions; who has the same answer à in the same group.
- Presentation of country, food, dances, traditions...
- In a map: putting the name of children in their countries.
- Picture of hands or heads to see different colours of skin and hair.
- Making a big picture: each pupil has a colour and has to pint whatever he/she wants (in the same paper).
- Making paper figures and drawing/writing inside personal things.
BANKS’S LEVELS OF INTEGRATION
The way of integration is not easy, because it plays a lot of different factors and you can’t control all of these. Anyway there are some things you can do to guarantee a good integration. The most important is observation and monitoring of the new pupil.
In Spain we have high percentage of immigration. The principal problem is the language; but we should change the point of view and seeing it as a positive thing, as a rich cultural.
I think the best option is putting the new pupil in the class as long as possible, but do a complementary education to work on communication. It’s not correct decreasing the level or expectations. As Vygotsky said we have to demand one step up of the pupil’s level; to get on the ZPD and make they learn.
POSTER FOR CHILDREN TO APPRECIATE DIVERSITY
I think the best option is make a map/poster together. Working all the different tastes, what they like, etc. First the food, second languages, interests... and finally make a poster with all that information of our class. It'd be a good way to know each other, sharing, find common points, accept differences, etc.
POSTER FOR CHILDREN TO APPRECIATE DIVERSITY
I think the best option is make a map/poster together. Working all the different tastes, what they like, etc. First the food, second languages, interests... and finally make a poster with all that information of our class. It'd be a good way to know each other, sharing, find common points, accept differences, etc.
