Embedding Inclusion into Curriculum

Equity and Social Justice

What is Inclusion

Inclusive Education: Education that is based on the principles of acceptance and inclusion of all students. Students see themselves reflected in their curriculum, their physical surroundings, and the broader environment, in which diversity is honoured and all individuals are respected.

Realizing the Promise of Diversity, 2009

What is an Inclusive Curriculum?

The goal of an inclusive curriculum is to create a learning environment that reflects, affirms, and validates the diversity and complexity of human experiences.

Part of an inclusive curriculum is creating tasks that have varying levels of cognitive, linguistic, and cultural demands.

This makes tasks accessible for many students in your classroom.

Know your learner:

"I am from poem"

Directions:

Background

Writers and artists are “storytellers” as they notice and celebrate the details of daily life that communicate the richness of cultural heritage and identity. Levi Romero, a New Mexican poet and teacher, found inspiration in a poem by George Ella Lyon to celebrate his own Hispanic cultural heritage. Romero then created a writing model for students of all ages to explore, identify and express their own personal heritage.

Writing about cultural heritage

1. As a group, brainstorm the elements of life that define culture. The list will probably include place, language, beliefs, foods, clothing, music, jokes and stories

2.There are two poems for you to read aloud. The first one is by George Ella Lyon, adapted Levi Romero to reflect his personal heritage. Pay special attention to how Levi Romero substituted his own experience in George Ella Lyon’s poem. You can read the additional poems by Hispanic poets and youth that are available from the National Hispanic Cultural Center at natinationalhispaniccenter.org

3. It is the details that illustrate family and cultural communities. Have students write a list of personal and cultural details which include: their birthplace, description of their home, birthplaces of their parents, names of family members, languages they hear and speak, common statements by parents and grandparents, everyday items, everyday foods, foods for special occasions, songs and family stories.

4. Using the list of details and the reproducible writing activity included on this poster, ask each student to write their own “I am from…” poem

(Extension activity) Using a digital or disposable camera, have students take photos of 10 items, places or people mentioned in their poem. Using these photos in print or digital form to illustrate this version of “I am from…,” Students can create a simple book, slide show or a digital story in order to share their cultural heritage with classmates, friends and family.

Where I’m from

By George Ella Lyon

I am from clothespins,

from Clorox and carbon tetrachloride.

I am from the dirt under the back porch.

(Black, glistening

It tasted like beets.)

I am from the forsythia bush,

The Dutch elm

Whose long gone limbs I remember

As if they were my own.

I’m from fudge and eyeglasses,

from Imogene and Alafair.

I’m from the know-it-alls

and the pass-it-ons,

from Perk up and Pipe down!

I’m from He restoreth my soul

with a cottonball lamb

and ten verses I can say myself

I’m from artemus and Billie’s Branch,

Fried corn and strong coffee.

From the finger my grandfather lost

to the auger,

The eye my father shut to keep his sight.

Under my bed was a dress box

Spilling old pictures,

A sift of lost faces

To drift beneath my dreams.

I am from those moments

Snapped before I budded

Leaf-fall from the family tree

George Ella Lyon

De donde yo soy

(Where I am from)

By Levi Romero

Inspired by “Where I’m from…” by George Ella Lyon

Levi Romero, poet, writer, and architect from Dixon, New Mexico, now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and teaches poetry and creative writing at the University of New Mexico

I am from leche de jarro

From Morrell manteca and Gold Medal flour

I am from acequias, viviendas, dispensas, y

el Rosario recited on Radio ¿Qué Dice?

I am from the irises drooping like teardrops

In grammita’s abandoned flower bed

Y las Barras de San José

Whose long gone limbs I remember

As if they were my own

I’m from ojos verdes and travesuras y avergonzadas

From mis primos Peter and Jondas de La Villita

I’m from no friegues conmigo and que Dios te bendiga

From dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres

I’m from iportate bien, repartete con tu hermano

Y no seas malcriado!

I’m from Santos, velas, and lo que sera, sera

I’m from aquel vallecito de lagrimas

Soy de Romero, Atencio, Valdez, y Duran

Vengo de hablan cuando no deben de hablar

Y son callados cuando deben de decir algo

Soy de atole, frijolitos, papas con carne, y chile Colorado

From tu abuelo, Jaun andrés, murio en la borrega en Monte vista y tu otro abuelo, Silviares, viajaba

vendiendo fruta desde el Embudo hasta Raton

Los retratos de mis antepasados

Los traigo en mi corazon

Yo soy un manito del Norte

Me rio por no llorar

Soy de aquel mestizaje floreciendo

Como el rocio en el amanecer

Levi Romero

I am from…

Fill in the blanks and share your own story.

I am from ____________________________________________
(an everyday item) in your home)

From ____________________ and _______________________
(products or everyday) items in your home)

I am from the ________________________________________
(description) of your home)

_________________________________________________
(a detail about your home—a smell, taste, or feel)

I am from the ________________________________________
(plant, flower, natural item)

The ________________________________________________
(plant or tree near your home)

whose long gone limbs I remember,

as if they were my own.

I’m from __________________ and ___________________________
(a family tradition and family trait)

From ______________________ and __________________________
(family members)

and from _____________________ and ________________________ (a family habit)

I’m from ____________________ and _________________________
(things you were told as a child)

and _____________________________________________________
(a song or saying you learned as a child)

I’m from _________________________________________________
(a family tradition)

I’m from _________________ (place of birth) and ________________
(family ancestry, nationality or place) _________________________ and ____________________________ (family roots)

From ____________________________________________________
(a story about a family member)

_________________________________________________________
(detail about the story or person)

___________________________________________
(description of family mementos, pictures or treasures)

_____________________________________ (location of mementos—under my bed, on the wall, in my heart)

_________________________________________________________
(more description if needed)

By (student’s name) _________________________________ Date _______________________________

How do we create task that challenges the cognitive demand of our learners while

respecting linguistic and cultural demand?

Cognitive Demand

The cognitive demand of a task is the sum total of what a student needs to know, understand and be able to do in order to solve a problem or complete a task successfully.

The level of cognitive demand depends not only on the task, but also on the prior knowledge of the students.

Building Definitions What is Linguistic Demand?

What is Cultural Demand?

How do we create task that challenges the cognitive demand of our learners while respecting linguistic and cultural demand.

Cultural Demands

We all come from diverse background:

Cultural Demand

Cultural demand of a cognitive task is important for all students from diverse backgrounds, whether they are proficient in English or not. Diversity of culture and language provides individually distinctive as well as interactive qualities in an individual’s ability to perform culturally demanding tasks. * This is particularly relevant to assessment practices, as an individual’s unique combination of cultural and linguistic characteristics may have an impact on the results.

Linguistic Demand

Task (e.g. solving a math/word problem)

Read words, comprehend sentences, search text, identify computations, perform computations, infer meaning and apply information.

Cognitive Demand

Cognitive demand of a task is the sum total of what a student needs to know, understand and be able to doing order to solve a problem or complete a task successfully. The level of cognitive demand depends not only on the task, but also on the prior knowledge of the students.

Consider these 2 math tasks:
Think about cognitive, linguistic, and cultural demands

•Analyse each task for cognitive, linguistic, and cultural demand.

•

•This can be done individually or in conversation with others.

•

•Highlighters, stickies and other tools are available.

Task 1

Find the surface area and volume of a rectangular prism that measures 2”x4”x24.”

Task 2

Out of This World Candies plans to sell Starburst candies in a new package containing 24 individually wrapped Starbursts. Your challenge is to find the dimensions of the least expensive box that can hold exactly 24 Starbursts. Each wrapped Starburst has a square shape that measures 2cm on a side and 1cm high.

Write a report including the dimensions for all the possible boxes we can use to package 24 Starbursts, the dimensions of the least expensive box, and explain how you know your answer is correct.

If you want English Language Learners to engage in high level mathematics and become successful mathematical thinkers, reasoners, problems solvers and communicators which task would you use Task 1 or Task 2 ?

English As Second Language Halton

Friday 2 March 2012

Cognitively Demanding Tasks for English Language Learners

Cultural Demands

Cultural Demand

Linguistic Demand

Cognitive Demand