Teaching Techniques for Teaching Culture & Diversity

Teaching culture and diversity might arise in a history classroom. It might be a special class offered in the school where you teach. In any case, using certain techniques and activities to teach the subject matter will engage your students in the material.

Diversity Calendar

As part of an ongoing unit or section, set up a diversity calendar in your classroom. Instead of a traditional calendar, find or create one that lists of all of the various holidays, celebrations and festivals that occur within a particular month from all over the world. Of course, it would be impossible to celebrate every holiday in the classroom. However, select a day every week, every other week or every month where you learn about the holiday of the day.

Knowing the Community

Have students sit around in a circle. Ask them to share what their ethnic and religious backgrounds are, where their parents are from and how many generations their family has been living in the United States for. Have them tell the class one custom or tradition their family participates in due to religious or ethnic backgrounds. You might want to let students know that they will be doing this in advance, so they can find out their ethnic background if needed.

Multicuturalism Awareness Quiz

Students need to be aware of the differences that exist amongst cultures before they can truly begin to understand them. For younger students, give them a quiz about different holidays or customs that various cultures and religious observe. If you are teaching more advanced students or at the college level, provide a quiz that focuses on the tougher issues of culture such as equal rights for diverse groups, cultural and poverty or sexism. Do not grade these quizzes, rather use them as platforms for discussion.

Proverbs, Stories, and Quotations

For homework, ask students to find a proverb, story or a quotation that relates to their identity. For example, a Christian student might bring in a parable that Jesus told, and a Native American student might bring in a story about the origins of a particular natural phenomenon. Have them share their stories out loud, and then ask the students -- either as a whole class or in small groups -- to discuss what they can learn from the stories even if they are not of that background.