(NAME-MCE) Multicultural Lesson Plans Celebrate Language and Cultural Diversity

[Language Lizard - A. Forzani]

Multicultural Lesson Plans Celebrate Language and Cultural Diversity
Unique curriculum units and activities available on-line

by Heather Leaman and Anneke Forzani

As students bring a rich diversity of language experience into  
schools, teachers and children can benefit from an awareness of  
languages and cultures that may be new to them. Yet language  
diversity can result in an initial fear for new teachers who are  
unfamiliar with languages beyond their primary language.  Teachers  
may also find it challenging to secure quality resources and develop  
lessons that encourage children to learn about and appreciate the  
diverse nature of our communities.

In order to help teachers celebrate and incorporate language and  
cultural awareness in the classroom, Language Lizard, LLC joined  
students and faculty from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in  
a project to bridge language diversity, cultural appreciation and  
classroom learning.

During the project, eleven student teachers in the Elementary  
Education Teacher Preparation program at West Chester University  
designed five creative units of instruction for use in grades 2-5.   
Each unit includes a set of integrated lessons that can be  
implemented in classrooms.

The five units are titled:
·    Cultures and Customs

·    Cultures and Folklore

·    Understanding and Appreciating Cultural Differences

·    Building Community in the Classroom

·    Appreciating Diverse Cultures and Religions

Each unit uses Language Lizard’s bilingual children’s books and CDs  
to teach about diversity of culture and language.  The lessons  
highlight languages including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Czech,  
English, French, Gujarati, Japanese, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish,  
Turkish, Urdu and Yoruba, giving both students and teachers  
experience with a variety of languages spoken in the United States  
and world wide.

The units can be implemented as designed or adapted to meet the needs  
of a particular student body or grade level.  Teachers may choose to  
adjust the languages introduced in the lessons to better reflect  
their own diverse communities. Families can also use the activities  
presented in the lessons to help their children learn more about the  
world around them.

Language Lizard titles used include popular world folk tales  
(Dragon's Tears, Giant Turnip), faith stories (Samira’s Eid, The  
Swirling Hijaab, All Kinds of Beliefs), and other stories that  
introduce different cultural traditions and promote an acceptance of  
diversity (That's My Mum, Floppy, Floppy's Friends, The Wibbly Wobbly  
Tooth, Mei Ling's Hiccups, Welcome to the World Baby).

Curriculum units can be accessed through the Language Lizard Website  
at http://www.languagelizard.com/lessonplans.htm.

Heather Leaman is an Assistant Professor in the Elementary Education  
Department at West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a special  
interest in incorporating diversity education in elementary school  
curriculums.  She also spent eleven years teaching sixth grade social  
studies.

Anneke Forzani is President and Founder of Language Lizard, LLC.   
Language Lizard offers bilingual children’s books in over 40  
languages and a complimentary e-newsletter to help parents and  
teachers expose children to other languages and cultures at http:// 
www.LanguageLizard.com.

© Language Lizard, LLC. 2007