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Social Inclusion

One way to promote a culturally inclusive classroom is to teach your students to value the diversity of their peers. At the beginning of the school year, take time to introduce yourself to your students. Share information about yourself such as your ethnic background, where you grew up and your interests. After you have introduced yourself to your students, do a Diversity Scavenger Hunt. A questionnaire with interview questions will get students talking to one another and learning about each other's unique qualities. Students will go around and talk to each other to find out where other students are from, how many siblings they have, if they speak more than one language, etc.

Another popular activity to do at the start of the school year is All About Me Posters. Ask students to bring in a photo of themselves and get them to fill out an All About Me Poster. The poster could have questions about favourite things, family or religious traditions and more. Turn completed posters into an All About Us bulletin board display that shows all of the similarities and uniqueness found in your classroom community.

Another way to promote the value of diversity is to make sure your classroom decorations and learning materials include all different kinds of children and are bias-free. Look for bulletin board sets that include children of different abilities, ages, races and genders. Also, choose dolls, books and puzzles that represent children and adults with different abilities and ethnicities.

Chances are you will have students in your classroom who speak more than one language. Consider pairing up your students who are learning English with a peer tutor that may be able to provide them with support. Encourage your English Language Learners to teach their peer tutor some phrases from their other language, such as “good morning” or “please and thank-you.”

If you have students in your classroom who are new to Canada, it is possible that their parents may not speak English very well, or at all. Consider having your communications home translated into other languages. Perhaps you have a fellow colleague who speaks another language who will be able to help you. If not, there are many online resources that will help you to translate your messages. Being able to take communications home in their families’ language will strengthen your students’ sense of their differences being valued.

There are lots of simple things you can do in your classroom to promote a socially inclusive environment. Remember to look for ways to remind your students that they are valued for their uniqueness and help them find ways to celebrate each other’s differences.

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