Journey to Excellence

Ideas and Goals for Integrating Diversity

Teacher Instructional Goals for Diversity Awareness:

  • Throughout the curriculum acknowledge the experiences and contributions of individuals of diverse backgrounds
  • Utilize pedagogical modalities that lead to higher achievement for students of all diverse backgrounds
  • Integrate activities in lessons that reduce prejudice, helping students to develop positive attitudes about different people groups
  • Establish an organized calendar of activities within the subject areas that focus on diversity
  • Utilize community resources people, parents and others, as guest speakers and presenters to highlight diversity within the curriculum
  • Prepare bulletin boards and artifact displays that celebrate diversity within the subject area
  • Create writing projects and utilize case studies that incorporate a focus on differences within subject area assignments
  • Promote a diversity of viewpoints in class discussions and writing assignments
  • Model respect for all differences and avoid stereotypical generalizations
  • Review textbooks and instructional resources for stereotypical images
  • Accommodate learning differences and create support systems for all students
  • Teaching strategies should accommodate cultural learning differences.
  • Teachers should model respect for all cultures.
  • Teachers should promote diversity of viewpoints.
  • Teachers should avoid stereotypes and generalizations.

Ideas that Work:

  • Content Integration: Expanding the curriculum to acknowledge the experiences and contributions of diverse groups.
  • Pedagogy: Using strategies, such as cooperative learning and graphic organizers that lead to higher achievement for students of all cultures.
  • Prejudice Reduction: Helping students develop more positive attitudes about people different from themselves.
  • Awareness day: Establish a daylong opportunity to “challenge abilities” in a maze requiring the use of wheelchairs, mittens, or completely dark glasses to simulate the obstacles faced by the physically challenged.
  • Heritage classes: Parents from the community hold classes explaining their heritage.
  • Provide a support system for ESL students.
  • Poster contest highlighting unity in diversity.
  • Traditional dress contest.
  • Contact local AIDS foundations to bring in a speaker to “put a face on” the disease of AIDS.
  • Contact area colleges for speakers on diversity.
  • Decorate school buildings by having students or individual classrooms prepare bulletin boards in celebration of human rights and diversity.
  • Sponsor an essay contest in cooperation with the English or Social Studies departments.

Subject-Specific Ideas and Lesson Plans:

English and Language Arts

Fine Arts

Mathematics

Religion

Science

Social Studies

Other Subjects

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