CRS Resource Repository

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Community Walks Create Bonds of Understanding

This author calls on teachers to start collecting "street data" to inform their culturally responsive teaching practices. Street data is fine-grained and only possible to collect through one-on-one interviews with students, shadowing students to see schooling from their perspective, or asking students for feedback on your teaching. It is impossible to know if culturally responsive schooling is truly supporting students without listening to and learning from them.

Engaging Students in Physical Education: Key Challenges and Opportunities for Physical Educators in Urban Settings

This article describes community walks as student-led with a reading and learning component, using input from students and families. These walks can help build relationships between students, teachers, and the wider community, and lead to greater understanding and empathy.

The Gift of Education: How Indigenous Knowledges Can Transform the Future of Public Education

This article pushes for Indigenous Knowledges—the culture and experiences of Indigeneous people—to be incorporated into the public school curriculum. The authors outline the value of Indigeneous Knowledges in education research, the history of statewide efforts to integrate Indigenous Knowledges into curricula, and the paradigm shift necessary to view Indigeneous Knowledges as a gift to education, rather than a hurdle. Indigenous Knowledges not only protect the rights of Indigeneous people to pass their culture and knowledge to subsequent generations, but they also enrich public education for all students by offering new perspectives and challenging Eurocentric assumptions.

Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching

Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching (CLRT) is an approach that recognizes and values students' diverse cultural backgrounds and home languages to create inclusive and effective learning environments. It emphasizes high expectations, meaningful relationships, and relevant curriculum to support the academic success of all learners.

Interrupting Hate & Bias in School

This webinar equips teachers with strategies to interrupt bias in the classroom. Teachers should first acknowledge their positionality, overcome their fear of speaking up when they witness hate or bias in the classroom, and create a safe and brave environment for their students. The webinar includes language for teachers to use when they hear an offensive remark, and strategies to facilitate a strong sense of community in the classroom.

Equitable Classroom Practices Observation Checklist

This California Department of Education webpage highlights eight culturally responsive teaching competencies for educators, cited from a New America article. These include highlighting students' cultures in the classroom and collaborating with students' families and the community. Ultimately, these practices encourage teachers to make use of the cultural tools their students add to the classroom.

Principle 1: A Welcoming and Affirming Environment

This is a set of activities for teachers to complete to create warm and affirming environments and affirm all cultural identities both in the classroom and virtually. There are links to four external resources such as an article on family engagement strategies and a video on building a belonging classroom, each followed by reflection questions and pointers.

Nonverbal Communication in Diverse Classrooms: Intercultural Competence Considerations for Supporting English Learners With Significant Cognitive Disabilities

This brief contains a set of reminders for teachers serving English learners with cognitive disabilities. It stresses the importance of respecting culture through nonverbal communication, such as the tone, touch, eye contact, and gestures exchanged between teachers and students. Taking the cultural differences of nonverbal interactions into consideration will strengthen the overall communication between teachers and their students.

Establishing Learning Environments That Support and Affirm All Students

This article suggests seven strategies for schools to rebuild or newly build welcoming and belonging environments for their students following the Covid-19 pandemic. Suggestions include calling and visiting students at home to listen to their needs, introducing restorative practices in place of harsh disciplinary measures, and offering virtual learning options. School and district leaders should use the return to the classroom after Covid-19 as an opportunity to build warm, affirming environments that can equitably serve all students.

Culturally Responsive Practices

This article defines diversity in the classroom, why it is important, and ways teachers and administrators can support their diverse classrooms. Ideas include re-evaluating teaching materials to identify where certain voices are missing, and making an effort to connect with students' families and the broader community.

The Culturally Responsive Learning Environment

This is a collection of four self-work tips for teachers to construct a culturally responsive learning environment. These include being transparent and intentional about culture, taking an appreciative stance, providing mirrors and windows, and educating about and for social justice. Each of these four tips have examples, including designing flexible seating to take an appreciative stance and honor students' power as much as your own, and being intentional about culture by co-creating class norms with students.

7 Powerful Ways to Promote Equity in the Classroom

This article defines equity in the classroom, why it is important, and how to reinforce it. Teachers should consider taking on "hard" conversations about equity, adapting to different learning styles, and urging all students to participate, even if it is not verbally in front of the whole class.

Environments Filled With Safety and Belonging

This brief denotes how school leaders can create safe and belonging school environments, using El Puente Academy in New York City as an exemplary model. Teachers are encouraged to co-develop classroom norms with students, incorporate daily community meetings where the class comes together in a non-academic fashion, and institute ways to appreciate one another, such as through an affirmation wall.

Educating the Whole Child: Improving School Climate to Support Student Success

This academic report offers school leaders research-based recommendations on how to achieve a whole-child education, starting with building a positive school environment. The authors suggest implementing restorative practices rather than zero-tolerance policies, engaging with students' families, and creating multi-tiered systems of support to target all student needs.

How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment for ELLs

This resource offers teachers several strategies to create a welcoming and affirming classroom environment for ELL students. These strategies fall under four categories: getting to know students, welcoming students' language and culture, engendering success in the classroom, and creating a shared classroom culture. Each section includes specific examples as well as videos to learn more.

Toolkit: Systemic Implementation of Equity

This toolkit serves as a guide for district leaders in prioritizing equity in their district. Following definitions of various forms of inequity, such as socioeconomic and cultural, it offers concrete strategies for upholding equitable practices in a district. These strategies include organizing an equity team, gathering data on equity practices, creating an equity theory of change, and more. Each suggestion includes examples or templates, explanations or relevant literature, and guiding questions to help steer leaders in the right direction.

Create a Welcoming Environment that Engages Students and Families

This toolkit breaks down creating a welcoming environment into four strategies: motivate students to attend by forging positive relationships with each student and family, engage in effective attendance messaging, recognize good and improved attendance, and emphasize attendance at strategic points throughout the year. Each strategy includes instructional videos, sample handouts and communications, and other interactive tools.

Getting to Know Students Deeply

This article offers ways in which technology can facilitate relationship building both between teachers and between students and their teachers. In order for teachers to learn from one another, they can use tools like Twitter to exchange ideas and learn for other teachers' experiences. For student-teacher relationships, teachers can offer after-school opportunities to meet with students online for office hours or additional support. With a significant number of teachers and students preferring online learning to face-to-face, it is worthwhile to use technology in a way that helps foster relationships.

Steps to Make Classrooms More Culturally Responsive

This article seeks to answer the question: What are specific ways to make lessons more culturally responsive and culturally sustaining? The author provides several answers, from critically examining classroom books to ensure they are diverse, to organizing student-led class meetings where students can discuss their goals or engage in a bonding activity.

Culturally Responsive Practices Glossary

This glossary provides a list of 24 terms designed to provide foundational context related to cultural diversity as well as represent some of the challenges that can arise in diverse school contexts (e.g., privilege, power differences, inequitable distribution of resources, and classism). These terms can help familiarize all stakeholders with CRS terms and help teachers incoporate CRS practices in the classroom.

Nonverbal communication: A quiet path to children’s engagement

This brief exemplifies how nonverbal communication creates certain effects in the classroom. For example, a teacher speaking in a calm voice can make students more trusting of them and erase any feelings of judgement or ridicule. Using body language, such as modelling instructions with your arms, can help ELL students follow along. Nonverbal communication is a critical component of culturally responsive teaching as it facilitates student engagement and enhances learning potential for all students, particularly those who struggle to understand verbal communication.

Bill Advocacy Toolkit

Culturally Responsive Teaching in Today’s Classrooms

This article introduces seven culturally responsive teaching tips that help facilitate a whole-child learning environment. These include tapping into student cultures, surveying the physical classroom environment, creating a student-centered classroom, pronouncing names correctly, learning a few words in students' native languages, communicating goals with students, and embracing an asset-based mindset.

How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms can Benefit All Students

What does a Culturally Responsive Classroom Look, Sound, and Feel Like?

This article breaks down culturally responsive classrooms into three specificities: how they look, sound, and feel. Educators are encourage to analyze how their classroom is perceived (whether the materials present reflect student identities), how the classroom sounds (the language used and whether there are ongoing student and teacher conversations), and how the classroom feels, which should be safe and welcoming for all students.

Differentiation strategies and examples for grades k - 12

This resource explores how racially diverse schools and classrooms can benefit all students. It discusses how diverse learning environments can enhance critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills, while also reducing prejudice and promoting cross-cultural understanding. The authors suggest that addressing issues of segregation, inequity, and bias in educational policies and practices is crucial to fully realize the benefits of school diversity.

Creating a Culturally Responsive Learning Environment

This article summarizes a webinar on creating a culturally responsive environment. It is told from the perspective of an immigrant and prior ELL student who is now a teacher. She emphasizes that culturally responsive teaching is ongoing, not a quick fix for educational equity. She offers teaching strategies such as embracing and utilizing students' native languages, building relationships with students by getting to know their culture, connecting with ELL families by including their home languages around the classroom, and above all, maintaining an asset-based mindset when considering the cultural diversity of your students.

Essential Components of MTSS

This checklist provides a framework for educators to observe and reflect on their classroom practices in order to promote equity and inclusivity. It includes key areas such as classroom environment, instructional materials, and teaching strategies, and provides specific indicators that highlight equitable practices.

Culturally Responsive Teaching Guide (+10 Examples)

To help teachers introduce culturally responsive teaching concepts and tactics into their classroom, this is a breakdown of culturally responsive teaching and ten examples of CRT being implemented in schools. These examples include deeply learning about students and their backgrounds, using students' cultures in lessons, experimenting with peer-to-peer teaching, and involving parents in lessons when possible.

A Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching

The framework includes four dimensions, which are cultural awareness, knowledge of students' cultural backgrounds, culturally responsive curriculum and instruction, and empowering students. The resource provides practical strategies for implementing culturally responsive teaching, such as using culturally relevant materials, building strong relationships with students, and fostering a positive classroom culture. The article emphasizes the importance of understanding the cultural context of students' lives and creating a classroom environment that promotes equity and inclusivity.

Responsive Teaching and Learning

A teacher shares four culturally responsive teaching methods she has found successful in her classroom. These include building a positive classroom culture, getting to know students and families, providing opportunities for students to see themselves in learning, and setting high expectations for all students.

Talk Less So Students Learn More

This article highlights the importance of productive struggle in student learning. The article suggests that when educators talk less and allow students to struggle with content, it can lead to better retention of learning. It provides examples of productive struggle, such as problem-solving, questioning, and group work. The article emphasizes the importance of creating a safe and supportive learning environment, where students are encouraged to take risks and engage in productive struggle.

Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Strategies

This brief defines culturally responsive classroom management (CRCM) as an approach to running a classroom that serves all students with equitable learning opportunities. Further, it defines five components of CRCM: recognition of one's own cultural lens and biases; knowledge of students' cultural backgrounds; awareness of the broader, social, economic and political context; ability and willingness to use culturally appropriate management strategies; and committment to creating caring classroom communities. Under each component are practical examples from outside resources to help guide educators.

A Classroom Where Everyone Feels Welcome

The article provides six practical strategies for building a welcoming and inclusive classroom community, such as creating a shared vision and norms, getting to know students' backgrounds and cultures, incorporating student experiences and perspectives in the curriculum, and creating a safe and supportive learning environment. The resource also emphasizes the importance of building trusting relationships with families and communities and involving them in the education process.

How to Build Strong Relationships with Students Using Culturally Responsive Teaching

This article informs teachers how to use culturally responsive teaching as a way to build strong relationships with students. They cite successful examples from several schools across the country, such as creating targeted support networks for students, engaging with the community to foster student growth, and adopting an asset-based mindset.

Building Relationships With Colleagues and Students in a High-Tech World

This is an article that explores the role of technology in building relationships with colleagues and students. The resource emphasizes that while technology can be a useful tool for communication and collaboration, it cannot replace the importance of one-on-one interactions in building strong relationships. This article provides practical strategies for educators to use technology to enhance, rather than replace, face-to-face interactions, such as using digital tools to facilitate communication, collaboration, and community building. It also highlights the importance of creating a positive school culture that fosters positive relationships among colleagues and students, and provides tips for building strong relationships with students, such as getting to know them as individuals, listening actively to their perspectives, and providing opportunities for student voice and choice.

A Checklist for a Welcoming and Inclusive School Environment

School leaders and teachers can use this checklist to evaluate their school environment and make changes to ensure it is a welcoming and affirming environment. There are guiding questions that fall under the categories: Inclusive Language, Stopping Mean Words and Actions, Diverse Books and Images, and School and Classroom Climate – Setting a Positive, Inclusive Tone for All.

A Guide to Integrating Academics, Well-Being &
Anti-Racism in Student Experiences

The article provides a framework for teachers to create equitable classrooms that prioritize student learning and success. The framework consists of four components: creating a culture of high expectations, establishing a supportive learning environment, designing rigorous and relevant instruction, and using data to drive continuous improvement. The framework encourages teachers to differentiate their instruction to meet the needs of all learners and to use data to guide their decision-making.

Everyday SEL Exit Tickets

These reflective writing prompts, in the form of exit tickets, can help young people internalize, sort, or articulate their thoughts and feelings after a lesson. A great tool for personal reflection, exit tickets provide a prompt to bring thoughts to a close before moving out the door. Designed to be handed to the facilitator as a "ticket" out the door, they may also be kept private if someone doesn't want to share their thoughts in the moment.

Culturally Responsive
Curriculum Scorecard

The article discusses the use of cultural responsiveness in educational settings and presents a scorecard to help teachers and administrators assess their level of cultural responsiveness. The scorecard is designed to evaluate four areas: knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors. It provides a range of questions that assess a person's ability to recognize and respect cultural differences, incorporate diverse perspectives into instruction, and create inclusive learning environments. It serves as a tool to help educators reflect on their practices and identify areas for growth, and it encourages ongoing professional development and collaboration with colleagues to promote cultural responsiveness in schools.

Culturally Responsive PedagogyTeaching Like Our Students' Lives Matter

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Teaching Like Our Students' Lives Matter emphasizes the importance of educators affirming students' cultural identities, experiences, and community knowledge in the classroom. It encourages teachers to actively challenge systemic inequities and adopt teaching practices that center student voice, foster critical thinking, and promote social justice.

THE CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE-SUSTAINING
STEAM CURRICULUM SCORECARD

The article presents a scorecard for integrating culturally responsive teaching and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education in K-12 classrooms. The scorecard is designed to help teachers and administrators assess their ability to incorporate culturally responsive teaching practices into STEAM instruction. It consists of four domains: knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors. It includes a range of questions that assess a person's ability to recognize and respect cultural differences, incorporate diverse perspectives into STEAM instruction, and create inclusive learning environments. It serves as a tool to help educators reflect on their practices and identify areas for growth, and it encourages ongoing professional development and collaboration with colleagues to promote culturally responsive STEAM education in schools.

Curriculum Design That Supports Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning

This page from the i-Ready website describes how this online educational platform supports culturally responsive teaching and learning. Examples are provided of how cultural responsiveness is integrated into their products such as mathematics in multicultural contexts and a lesson on American Sign Language.

Creating a Culturally Responsive Curriculum (Ep. 129)

This podcast episode discusses the importance for art teachers to create culturally responsive curriculum that avoids cultural approproation. Art teacher Tasha Newton and assistant professor Dr. Heather Ann Moody talk about their collaboration that resulted in a consequential, meaningful, and thoughtful curriculum.

Educating from Difference: Perspectives on Black Cultural Art Educators’ Experiences with Culturally Responsive Teaching

The book discusses the importance of creating an inclusive curriculum that is responsive to the diverse backgrounds of students and provides guidance on how to develop and implement such a curriculum. The authors also emphasize the importance of culturally-responsive assessment practices in ensuring that all students have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Overall, this book is a valuable resource for educators and administrators seeking to promote equity and inclusivity in education through culturally-responsive practices.

Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual LearnersTools for Equity

Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity provides educators with practical strategies to create inclusive, affirming classrooms that honor the cultural and linguistic assets of multilingual students. The book emphasizes equity-focused teaching, offering tools to support language development while addressing systemic barriers that impact multilingual learners.

Guidance for Identifying High-Quality Instructional Materials

The website provides courses and resources to help teachers develop their skills in inquiry-based teaching and learning. It is designed to support educators in creating engaging and effective learning experiences for their students. It offers a range of courses that cover topics such as lesson planning, assessment, and differentiation. It also provides access to a community of educators who share ideas and best practices for inquiry-based teaching. To access the courses and resources, users need to create an account and log in.

Resources for Teachers and Instructional Leaders

North Carolina's Department of Public Instruction provides culturally responsive resources for teaching about American Indians through this site. The resources include recommended texts, related publications, and other teaching tools.

Culturally Responsive Curriculum
(Teaching Today)

​In the Teaching Today podcast episode titled "Culturally Responsive Curriculum," Dr. Marcelle Mentor from Teachers College, Columbia University, discusses the critical need for integrating culturally relevant materials into traditional curricula to better reflect and celebrate students' diverse identities and lived experiences. The episode emphasizes that culturally responsive and sustaining curricula are essential for improving academic outcomes among students of color by bridging the gap between curriculum and culture.

Assessment in Special and Inclusive Education

The book provides guidance on how to create an inclusive curriculum that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of students. It provides practical strategies for creating an inclusive and culturally-responsive learning environment that supports the academic success of all students.

Teaching Black History in Culturally Responsive Ways

In Culturally Responsive Teaching: Teaching Black History in Culturally Responsive Ways, Rann Miller argues that Black history is integral to American history and should be woven throughout the curriculum year-round. He emphasizes that teaching Black history through a culturally responsive lens empowers students, challenges dominant narratives, and fosters a more accurate and inclusive understanding of the past.

Learning for Justice

The website "Learning for Justice" provides a wide range of resources and tools for educators to promote equity and inclusion in K-12 schools. It offers free resources such as lesson plans, articles, and webinars that focus on topics such as anti-bias education, social and emotional learning, and culturally responsive teaching. The resources are designed to help educators create classrooms that value diversity and support the needs of all students.

Social Studies in Action: A Teaching Practices Library, K-12

This site provides video lessons that address ways to embrace diversity and unity in a social studies classroom. The lessons reflect themes of culture, change, enviornments, institutions, power, global connections, and civic ideals. The purpose of the video lessons is to offer specific classroom activities and strategies that educators can use to incorporate diversity and unity into their own lessons.

Working Toward Culturally Responsive Assessment Practices

This blog post addresses ways to rethink and reimagine student assessments in order to make them more culturally responsive. Specific methods such as creating rubrics and collaborating with students and their families are discussed.

The Theory and Practice of Culturally Relevant Education: A Synthesis of Research Across Content Areas

This article synthesizes research findings on culturally relevant education across various content areas. The authors argue that culturally relevant education is essential in promoting equity and inclusivity in education and provide a comprehensive overview of the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of this approach. It identifies common features of effective culturally relevant education practices, such as engaging with students' cultures, building on students' prior knowledge, and promoting critical consciousness. It also provide recommendations for incorporating culturally relevant education into classroom practice.

Culturally Responsive Instruction for Native American Students

​The "Culturally Responsive Instruction for Native American Students" learning module by WestEd offers educators a framework centered on experiential, active, and student-centered teaching that integrates Native students' cultural knowledge and community values. Rather than prescribing specific lessons, it guides teachers in adapting their instruction to honor Native traditions, promote student agency, and foster academic success through culturally grounded practices

Facilitating Critical Conversations With Students

"Let's Talk: Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students" is a publication from "Learning for Justice" that provides guidance and strategies for educators to facilitate discussions on race, racism, and other difficult topics with their students. It also offers a set of practical strategies and activities for engaging students in these conversations and promoting critical thinking and reflection.

Student Choice as a Vehicle for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

This article outlines how student choice can be utilized in the classroom to promote culturally responsive ideals. It explains using choice of what, choice of how, and choice of assessment as strategies to bring more student voice, and by extension inclusion and diversity, into the learning experience.

A Culturally Responsive Classroom Assessment Framework

This blog post builds off Stembridge’s (2020) six themes of CRE to present a conceptual framework for the design and evaluation of classroom formative and summative assessments that follow from culturally responsive teaching and learning experiences.

Is Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Enough? Toward Culturally “Real”-evant Curriculum. A Response to "Democratic Foundations for Spiritually Responsive Pedagogy"

It provides practical information on how to implement critical literacy in the classroom, including the use of diverse texts and perspectives, critical questioning, and meaningful dialogue. The article also highlights the importance of teachers engaging in critical literacy themselves to model the process for their students.

Culturally Responsive-Sustaining
Education Framework

The CR-S framework helps educators create student-centered learning environments that affirm racial, linguistic and cultural identities; prepare students for rigor and independent learning, develop students’ abilities to connect across lines of difference; elevate historically marginalized voices; and empower students as agents of social change. It is grounded in the four principles of welcoming and affirming enviornments, high expectations and rigourous instruction, inclusive curriculum and assessment, and ongoing professional learning.

A Framework for Anti-Bias Education

The "Social Justice Standards" framework provided by "Learning for Justice" is designed to help educators create inclusive and equitable learning environments for all students. The framework consists of a set of guiding principles and learning outcomes that promote social justice education and equity. The standards are organized into four domains: Identity, Diversity, Justice, and Action. Each domain includes a set of standards that outline what students should know and be able to do in order to become socially responsible and active members of their communities.

50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should know

This resource created by the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) provides a list of 50 multicultural books for children. Accompanying the listed books are related resources, guides, and lessons to use in teaching these books.

Keeping Students at the Center with Culturally Relevant Performance Assessments

This article outlines how to use a student-centered learning approach in the context of assessments. The article highlights the importance of relationships, students' stories, and community civic engagement in informing how to make performance assessments culturally responsive. Examples such as high school senior student portfolio assessments are used as a model.

Culturally Relevant Leadership in Gifted Education: A Systematic Literature Review

This article explores the importance of leadership that is culturally responsive in the context of gifted education. The authors analyze existing literature and argue that leaders in this field should have a deep understanding of diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences to provide an inclusive and equitable learning environment for gifted students. The article provides insights and recommendations for educators and leaders to foster culturally relevant practices in gifted education.

How to Get the Most Out of a Diverse Classroom Library

This article outlines strategies for educuators to incoporate diverse texts into their teaching practice. These strategies include discussing the importance of perspective, building background knowledge, taking on another point of view, comparing and contrasting, and connecting to the world now.

Teaching with Culturally Responsive Practices

The CRP program focuses on creating inclusive and equitable learning environments for all students, with an emphasis on cultural responsiveness and social justice education. It offers a range of resources, including workshops, coaching, and online resources, to support educators in integrating CRP into their teaching practice. It also provides guidance on how to address common challenges that educators may face when implementing CRP, such as creating a safe and respectful learning environment and managing classroom discussions on difficult topics.

Culturally Responsive ELA Curriculum Scorecard

NYU Metro Center designed these scorecard tools to help stakeholders determine the extent to which their schools’ English Language Arts, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) curricula are (or are not) culturally responsive. The seven steps for completing the scorecard are outlined and a toolbox is provided to address next steps.

The Ongoing Quest for Culturally-Responsive Assessment for Indigenous Students in the U.S.

This research-backed article discusses obstacles to culturally-responsive assessment for Indigenous students, describes examples of efforts in the U.S. and elsewhere to improve assessment for Indigenous students, explores the concept of “culturally-valid assessment,” and interleaves recommendations for going forward constructively within various sections of the paper.

PBIS cultural responsiveness field guide: Resources for trainers and coaches

It provides practical information on how teachers can implement culturally responsive teaching practices, including building positive relationships with students and their families, incorporating diverse perspectives and experiences into the curriculum, and adapting instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners. The article also provides insights into the potential benefits of culturally responsive teaching, such as improved academic outcomes and increased student engagement.

Research Brief & Discussion Guide - Culturally Responsive Curriculum

This article decribes eight meaningful classroom practices to promote equity in order to ensure that students of all identities and backgrounds can succeed. These practices include starting with yourself, modeling equity, being flexibile with online learning, addressing inappropriate remarks, creating equitable classroom enviornments, accomodating for differing learning styles, examining teaching materials, and giving students a voice.

Culturally Responsive Curriculum at a Glance

This Learning for Justice webpage outlines the importance of culturally responsive curriculum and provides resources to implement it. Included on their website are articles, lessons, films, webinars, and frameworks that can help foster shared learning and reflection for educators, young people, caregivers and community members.

A Guide to Evidence-Based
Practices for Teaching All
Students Equitably

The article provides examples of culturally responsive teaching strategies and offers guidance on how educators can implement these strategies in their classrooms.

Culturally Responsive Education Resources for Federal, State, and Local Stakeholders

This article outlines the importance of culturally responsive teaching practices and provides related resources. For example there are materials for supporting LBGTQ-inclusive teaching, materials for promoting cultural responsiveness at the district and state levels, and reflection guides for teachers.

Continuing the Journey to Reposition Culture and Cultural Context in Evaluation Theory and Practice

It provides insights into the potential benefits of inclusive curriculum and assessment practices, such as increased engagement, improved academic outcomes, and a more positive school climate. The authors also discuss the challenges of implementing these practices, such as the need for adequate teacher training and support.

Essential Components for Ensuring Local Comprehensive Assessment Systems are Culturally Relevant and Equitable

This document serves to support supervisory unions and/or school districts (SUs/SDs) as they define their local comprehensive assessment systems (LCAS) to ensure assessments are equitable and culturally relevant. The essential components listed should be used to guide conversations around equity and provide opportunities for system leaders and educators to intentionally use culturally responsive practices in assessment development.

Culturally Responsive Curriculum Ideas

This module outlines culturally responsive curriculum ideas that aim to embrace student diversity. Multiple examples of activities are included such as writing a biography on a community member, show and tell with cultural artifacts, and creating a world map of where students are from.

Talking to Kids about Racial Sterotypes

Since the media can often perpetuate racial stereotypes, this guide points to tips on how teachers can make their students more aware of these offensive generalizations. This list includes probing questions to ask children how they see differents races represented on a show, and encourages teachers to take moments to explain why media can be deceiving and biased. These practices will hopefully make children more distrustful of bias and racialization.

Kindergarten Teachers' Perspectives on Culturally Responsive Education

It provides information on how educators can apply insights from neuroscience to create a more culturally responsive approach to teaching, including the importance of building positive relationships with students, incorporating culturally relevant materials and experiences into the curriculum, and providing opportunities for students to engage in hands-on and experiential learning.

Tips for Choosing Culturally Appropriate Native Books and Resources

This article provides guidelines for evaluating and incorportaing materials related to Native Americans into the classroom, with a focus on native book choices. Additional resources on teaching Native American culture are included.

Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies: Importance, Benefits & Tips.

This American University blog post provides both an understanding of the benefits of culturally responsive teaching and ways to create a culturally responsive classroom. The methods described aim to build trust; encourage collaboration; improve communication; and create a supportive, respectful atmosphere where every student can thrive.

The dispositions for culturally responsive pedagogy scale

This article presents a new scale for measuring teachers' dispositions towards culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) in K-12 classrooms. The article emphasizes the importance of CRP in promoting equity and inclusivity in education and outlines the process of developing and validating the scale through multiple stages of item development and pilot testing. The scale can be a useful tool for assessing teachers' readiness to implement CRP practices in the classroom.

Confronting the Marginalization of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Provides information on how educators can implement CRT in their classrooms, including building positive relationships with students and their families, incorporating diverse perspectives and experiences into the curriculum, and adapting instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Reading Diversity

Reading Diversity is a text selection tool that prioritizes crictical literacy, cultural responsiveness, and complexity to include diverse voices into K-12 classrooms. Included are two editable PDF selection tools along with corresponding samples.

NEED: Providing Culturally Responsive Curriculum and Instruction

This webpage from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction outlines eight strategies with corresponding, linked resources for providing culturally responsive curriculum and instruction. These strategies primarily focus on working with Native American students.

System-Wide Leadership for Culturally-Responsive Education

This chapter in the Handbook of Leadership and Administration for Special Education provides guidance for leaders seeking to implement culturally-responsive practices at the system-wide level. The authors argue that culturally-responsive education is critical in promoting equity and access for students from diverse backgrounds. They provide specific strategies for creating a culturally-responsive system, including building cultural competence, engaging families and communities, and creating a culturally-responsive curriculum. The chapter is a valuable resource for educators and administrators seeking to promote equity and inclusivity in education through culturally-responsive practices.

Providing Culturally Responsive Teaching in Field-Based and Student Teaching Experiences: A Case Study

implementing CRT in classrooms to better serve African American students, including developing a deep understanding of their cultural backgrounds, incorporating their cultural perspectives and experiences into the curriculum, and creating a classroom environment that is affirming and supportive of their cultural identity.

Anti Bias Curriculum Considerations with HHRC

​The video "Anti Bias Curriculum Considerations with HHRC," produced by the Maine Department of Education in collaboration with the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine (HHRC), offers guidance for educators on implementing anti-bias curricula in schools. It emphasizes the importance of integrating diverse perspectives, fostering critical thinking, and creating inclusive learning environments that reflect the experiences and histories of all students

Culturally Responsive Curriculum
and Assessment

This document created by NYU Steinhardt outlines how to implement culturally responsive curriculum and assessment through the steps of curriculum evaluation, development, and assessment. Additional resorces, as well as information specific to cultural responsiveness in the wake of Covid-19 are provided.

Implementing culturally sensitive assessment tools for the inclusion of Roma children in mainstream schools

This resource provides guidance and specific strategies for creating a culturally-responsive system, such as building cultural competence, engaging families and communities, and creating a culturally-responsive curriculum. The chapter is a useful resource for educators and administrators who seek to promote equity and inclusivity in education through culturally-responsive practices.

Supporting Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices

​The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) emphasizes the importance of culturally and linguistically sustaining practices to create affirming educational environments that honor and reflect the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of all students. These practices involve integrating students' identities and experiences into the curriculum, promoting high expectations, and providing targeted support. DESE's educational vision aims for all students, particularly those from historically underserved communities, to have equitable opportunities to excel through engaging, relevant, and interactive learning experiences that connect to their backgrounds and utilize evidence-based practices.

3 Ways to Make the Library More Useful to Multilingual Learners

The article by Tasha Squires eplores three ways to make the the library more useful to multilingual students. These strategies include: Showing all students that they are welcome in the library; Ask students what formates they prefer, and validate their choices; Present diverse characters and formats in booktalks.

Radical Math

Radical Math is a free math curriculum that integrates middle and high school math content with real-world applications through a social justice and equity-oriented lens. Through comprehensive and research-based lessons, teachers are empowered to integrate culturally-relevant conversations into their math curriculum. Note: the website has not been updated since 2021, but lessons can be used and adapted for current events.

Characteristics of Professional Learning Communities in
Mathematics

The research article is a literature review of 32 studies. It examines different models of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) in Maths to expand understanding of how PLC in Maths can be structured. The study reveals three strategies namely, developing norms for collaboration, developing teachers' understanding about Maths and its teaching, and developing teachers' repertoire of teaching actions.

A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators

Offers practical resources to help educators address systemic racism and promote equity in schools. The guide includes lesson plans, videos, and strategies to support teachers in creating inclusive classrooms that affirm students' identities and challenge inequities.

6 Picture Books to Help Newcomer Students Build a Sense of Belonging

Tatiane Rigonati recommends six book publications with pictures that offer strategies to students and inspire them to welcome and honor newcomer children's languages and culture. The books are; Where are You From by Yamile Saied Mendez, We Laugh Alike by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand; My Favorite Memories by Sepideh Sarihi; Mina Belongs Here by Sandra Niebuhr-Siebert; Tomatoes in My Lunchbox by Costantia Manoli; and My America by Karen Katz.

Would You Rather Math

Would You Rather? Math is a free math resource for grades K-12 promoting critical thinking, mathematical reasoning, and classroom discussion based in real-world examples. Educators can incorporate activities provided by Would You Rather? Math as warm-ups, brain breaks, cool-downs, and more within any given curriculum, while simultaneously promoting student-student interaction and community building.

TrillEDU: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Jeffrey Dessources presents ways school leaders and educators can do to ensure their schools and lessons are culturally responsive. Some of his ideas include raising authentic communication, collaboration and risk taking, innovating or reshaping the curriculum, and redefining the role of an educator.

Who Do You Call On? Rooting Out Implicit Bias

Who Do You Call On? Rooting Out Implicit Bias," highlights how unconscious biases can influence classroom interactions, such as favoring certain students based on seating position or perceived background. To mitigate these biases, educators are encouraged to employ strategies like using participation cards, equity sticks, thumbs-up responses, and tactical pauses to ensure all students have equal opportunities to engage and contribute. ​

Knowing and Valuing Every Learner:
Culturally Responsive
Mathematics Teaching

Professor Mark Ellis of California State University discusses Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching(CRMT) which is a framework requiring teachers to create learning environments focused on Mathematical sense making in which students feel valued for who they are, for their ways of engaging in mathmatical reasoning, and for their contributions to the collective success of those within the classroom. He suggests that CRMT requires teachers to (re)consider the mathematics learning environment they've created and how well it reflects the following four elements: supporting deep learning; engaging and valuing identities; sharing authority; and Applying mathematics.

Math Teacher Lounge Podcast

Math Teacher Lounge, hosted by Bethany Lockhart Johnson (former elementary school educator) and Dan Meyer (former math educator and current Desmos Chief Academic Officer), is a podcast primarily designed for math educators, providing tips and discussions about teaching strategies, math pedagogy, and real-world applications of math.

How English-Speaking Teachers Can Create a Welcoming Environment that Allows Students to Maintain and Utilize their Language through Translanguaging:

The article analyzes how English speaking teachers created a welcoming environment to allow students to maintain and utilize their first language through translanguaging in a high school class of English Language Learners.

Culturally Responsive Instruction through Technology

​The New York State Education Department's resource on Culturally Responsive Instruction through Technology emphasizes the role of educational technology in creating inclusive and equitable learning environments. It highlights how technology can support personalized learning, strengthen family-school connections, and develop culturally relevant curricula that reflect students' diverse backgrounds. Additionally, technology facilitates collaborative projects, enhances instructional strategies to accommodate various learning styles, and enables communication with diverse audiences, thereby promoting a more inclusive educational experience.

6 Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Strategies to Boost Student Engagement

This article discusses culturally responsive pedagogy strategies to boost students engagement. The author, Carine Marette, defines Culturally Responsive pedagogy as one which depends on student-centred teaching approach. She suggests inclusion, positive attitude, enhance meaning, and creating competence as some of the conditions necessary for culturally responsive teaching. She further discusses the six culturally responsive pedagogy strategies including: student-centric course; making room for differences, encouraging grou interaction in class, validating multiple perspectives in class, a culturally responsive curriculum and connecting school learning with students' real life experiences. She cocludes her article by highlighting som of the benefits of culturally responsive strategy i.e. facilitates brain processing, strengthens students' sense of belonging and identity, makes learning more meaningful for students and promotes a sense of safety and support among students.

Promoting SEL Through Music Education

​The article highlights how music educators integrate social and emotional learning (SEL) into their classrooms by aligning musical activities with SEL competencies. Through examples from elementary to high school, it showcases strategies like emotion-based music discussions, student-led reflections, and leadership opportunities within ensembles to foster students' self-awareness, empathy, and collaboration skills.​

Culturally Responsive School Leadership

The audio book by Muhamad Khalifa identifies tenets of culturally responsive school leadership. It assist school leaders in designing culturally responsive pedagogical tools that can be incorporated and adapted to advance students educational, social and cultural tneeds.

Supporting Culturally Responsive Pedagogy with IM K–5 Math™

This blog post by Dionne Aminata provides strategies for K-5 Math teachers can incorporate culturaally responsive pedagogy giving some grade-level based lesson examples. She calls educators to build their cultural knowledge of their students, and use that knowledge to provide instruction that allows all students to effectively learn and process information. On this basis, she suggests building cultural knowledge, provision of opportunities for effective meaning-making, , and building relational trust as the strategies teachers can incorporate to support culturally responsive pedagogy.

5 Keys to Challenging Implicit Bias

​Edutopia's article "5 Keys to Challenging Implicit Bias" offers actionable strategies for educators to identify and address unconscious biases in the classroom.

Twelve Ways to Make Math More Culturally Responsive

Discusses curturally responsive teaching, describing it, how it can be applied in Math lessons such as use of recipes, use of small group collaboration, use of maniputives etc. The panelists also discuss some of the mistakes math teachers make when incorporating culturally responsive lessons.

Culturally Responsive Teaching (Video)

The video presents strategies teachers can use to create a more inclusive learning environment. the strategies include; know the students, have a high academic expectations, display student cultures in the room, have a multicutural curriculum, incorporate visual aides, hear their stories, build relationship with parents, and get their names right.

Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Math Classroom | Math Conference 2023

This is a video recordin of a virtual conference session hosted by Charles Mohler and Kristen DeRoche training Math teachers on Culturally responsive teaching. They discussed the concepts culture, responsiveness, school culture, culturl discontinuity,, cultural responsive teaching and other concepts. They discussed Berry's Model of Response, identifying multicultural components of US schools and the implications. Culturally responsive math teaching icludes cognitively engaging tasks, sourcing math inquiry from student culture and community, and outcmes that promote individual and collective ownership.

Enacting Social Justice in Early Language Classrooms through Critical Cultural Awareness

Explores how educators can integrate social justice principles and critical cultural awareness into early language instruction. It provides strategies for fostering inclusive, equitable learning environments that challenge stereotypes and promote social equity among young learners.

What to do first: Creating a welcoming ELL classroom environment

The 7minute video is a work of American Federation of Teachers, demonstrating how teahers can help ELL students in the classrooms for a welcoming environment. It suggests creating comfortable environment, creating vocabularly accessible resources, being open to students cultures, etc.

5 Tips for Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Math Classroom

Elizabeth Canavan writes about five ways to implement culturally relevant pedagogy in the Math classroom. She suggests that research on Culturally Responsive Practices (CRP), reflecting on one's own experience, adopting teaching strategies to highlight and support student voices in the classroom, beginning with units that connect to students' lives and building relationships with school communities are the five ways to implement culturally relevant pedagogy.

Cultural Responsiveness in the Classroom: An Essential Guide for Teachers

The website provides instructional strategies list for culturally responsive teaching in the classroom. The current page has content on what culturally responsive in the classroom is, why it is important and strategies for creating a culturally responsive classroom environment, culturally responsive teaching strategies, ways of adressing cultural differences and cultural responsive assessment practices.

Culturally Relevant Math Tasks in the Classroom

This webinar for Math teachers, three authors of Engaging in Culturally Relevant Math Tasks, explore how teachers can find, adapt, and implement math tasks that engage and empower students by helping them learn and understnd math more deeply and make connections to themselves, their communities, and the world around them.

A PORTRAIT OF A
CULTURALLY
RESPONSIVE SCHOOL

A Portrait of a Culturally Responsive School" outlines eight key action areas for school leaders to cultivate environments where all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, language, or identity, can achieve academic, social, and emotional success. These areas encompass fostering high expectations, cultural competence, sociopolitical awareness, equitable access, inclusive curriculum, supportive learning environments, professional development, and community engagement

Motivation and engagement in mathematics: a qualitative framework for teacher-student interactions

This is a 2017 qualitative research article published in Mathematics Education Research Journal authored by Durksen Tracy, Way Jennifer, Bobis Jannette and others. It explores ways teachers can use to motivate and engage middle year students in Mathematics. The overall finding was that effective classroom organization is a priority in motivating and engaging students in mathematics. Four indicators namely, confidence, climate, contact and connection are very important for motivation and engagement in Math.

Modeling Emotional Regulation to Support Students’ Grow

Matt Pitman explores the reasons why emotional modeling is important in the classroom. he also discusses five ways to model emotional regulation in the classroom and how leaders can use emotional regulation.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

This book by Zaretta Hammond draws on a cutting-edge nueroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsible instruction. In the three sections of the book, she includes information on how one's culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships. She also discusses ten key moves to build students' learners operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners. She also offers prompts for actions and valuable self-reflections.

Re-imagining Mathematics Education. Session 4: Culturally Responsive Mathematics Assessment Series.

This is a fourth webinar session involving teachers at all levels discussing and sharing mathematics education through culture, community, and teaching for social and ecological justice. The three speakers, focused on Culturally Responsive Math Assessment exploring ways of teaching and learning Math through place, and how indigenous storywork can guide math education for respectful and relational engagement in community; developing approaches and contexts for learning maths to understand, and transform the world.

A Brief Guide to Making Your
Schools More Culturally Responsive

Offers practical steps for creating a more inclusive and responsive educational environment by focusing on diverse curricula, school climate, teacher recruitment, and family engagement. It emphasizes the importance of reflecting cultural diversity in all aspects of the school experience to ensure equitable learning opportunities for all students.

How Parents Can Help Their Children in Math

This video offers strategies parents can use to create a safe and fun math learning environment for their students. The four approaches are; positive attitude, being patient and non-judgmental, balancing practice and play such as games, and giving meaningful feedback.

Washington SEL Implementation Brief: Focus on Culturally Responsive Practices

This brief discusses the intersection of cultural responsiveness and social and emotional learning (SEL), offering three opportunities for equity-focused SEL practices: self-awareness and social awareness; self-management and social management; and self-efficacy and social management. Each domain is separated into two categories: strategies to support students and strategies to support educators.

Math at the Core: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Math

This is a document also provides recommendation for incorporating culturally responsive teaching strategies in Math. The recommendations include consideration of students idenities in the classroom, starting with essential questions, representing Math and engaging students with Math in diverse ways and ending with a student-directed projects.

15 Culturally-Relevant Teaching Strategies and Examples

A list of fifteen culturally responsive teaching strategies and their examples. It includes such strateies as gamifying lessons, learning about your students, interviewing the students, intergrating relevant word problems, using learning stations, bringing in guest speakers, among many others.

Creating Culturally Affirming Spaces: School and Classroom Practices (Webinar 1) (REL West)

The webinar Creating Culturally Affirming Spaces: School and Classroom Practices by REL West emphasizes the importance of fostering school environments that proactively affirm students' cultural identities, thereby enhancing their academic and social-emotional well-being. It highlights practical strategies such as correctly pronouncing students' names, speaking positively about families and communities, and sharing personal intercultural experiences to create inclusive and supportive learning spaces.

9 Teacher-Tested Apps to Enhance Math Instruction

The article recommends 9 digital innovations for teaching maths. They are digital apps for teaching elementary to high school maths. They include Blooket, Reflex, PearDeck, PolyPad, Prodigy, DeltaMath, Desmos, IXL and EdPuzzle. They can be useful to Math teachers in explanations and help students build foundational skills as they arouse curiosity in the lessons.

Ethical and Professional
Dilemmas
for Educators
Supplemental Scenarios

A professional development resource from the Connecticut State Department of Education. It presents real-world scenarios designed to help educators reflect on implicit and explicit biases, cultural competence, and ethical decision-making in diverse classroom settings. Through guided discussions, educators are encouraged to examine how their judgments and actions can impact students' sense of belonging and equity, fostering culturally responsive practices that affirm and respect all students.

Impact of Identity in K-12 Mathematics: Rethinking Equity-Based Practices, Expanded Editionn

In this publication, the three authors discusses the intricate relationship between Mathematics education and student identity emphasizing the need for teachers to engage in critical reflection and embrace equity-based practices

Culturally Responsive Teaching: Definition, Strategies & Examples

Marcus Guido writes about culturally responsive teaching in this article covering e description what CRT is, how it is implemented, conditions for creating a culturally responsive classroom and offers the fifteen strategies for doing so as summarized in the resource tool kit above.

National Association for
Multicultural Education

​The National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), established in 1990, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing equity, inclusion, diversity, and justice in education. It offers resources, conferences, and professional development opportunities to support educators in implementing culturally responsive and socially just practices across all educational levels.

Teachers Set the Agenda for This Math PD Program.

This article by Sarah Schwartz describes a collaborative teacher professional development initiative in West Virginia. The initiative involved teacher coaching and professional development systems which connected teachers with others in their subjects and grade levels. The initiative is said to be beneficial to students as it increased class participation and yielded better math test scores.

Culturally Responsive School Leadership Framework - University of Minnesota

Outlines how school leaders can foster equity and inclusion by critically reflecting on their practices, developing culturally responsive teachers, and creating inclusive school environments. It emphasizes using community voices, equity audits, culturally responsive professional development, and local cultural contexts to challenge dominant narratives and uplift marginalized students, particularly through data-driven decisions, authentic relationships, and social justice leadership.

5 Culturally Responsive Family Engagement Strategies

The article Authored by Ari Gerzon-Kessler discusses five culturally responsive family engagement strategies: Making communications accessible for all families; Making consistent efforts to learn about families' cultures, identities, beliefs, and rich histories; Making it easy for families to participate in events and share their input; Help all students and families see themselves reflected in the school community; and Help families support their children's learning at home.

Equity Literacy Institute

​The Equity Literacy Institute is dedicated to helping educators and institutions develop the knowledge, skills, and commitment needed to identify, respond to, and eliminate inequities in educational settings. They offer a range of services, including customized professional development, equity coaching, policy analysis, and facilitator training, all grounded in their comprehensive equity literacy framework.

Making Math Matter

The 15-minute video is an example how continuous professional learning has helped the Math teacher to incorporate participatory, and relevant concrete examples to students experiences to enable them understand intergers.

How to use culturally responsive teaching in the classroom

This article lists four important guidelines on how to use culturally responsive teaching in the classroom. Teachers and school learders are instructed to identify students assets such as language, culture and cultural values, students prior knowledge, interests, strengths; examine the curriculum, creating supportive classroom environment. The authors also urges the teachers to continue their own learning.

5 ways parents can help children with the ‘new’ math

This gives some of the strategies parents can use to help students assimilate Mathematics concepts in real life experiences. These strategies include, identifying math opportunities in everyday experiences, play board and card games with them, break the math down, step by step, draw connections from familiar experiences and avoid negative maths attitude.

Interrupting Hate & Bias in School (Led by Dr. Tina Ellsworth)

​In the video Interrupting Hate & Bias in School, Dr. Tina Ellsworth discusses strategies for educators to recognize and address hate and bias within educational settings. She emphasizes the importance of creating inclusive environments, promoting equity, and implementing culturally responsive teaching practices to support all students.

Using open educational resources to create a culturally relevant classroom

Dr. Ruanda Garth-McCullough and Dr. Richard Sebastian highlight how open educational resources (OER) can support culturally relevant teaching by allowing instructors to center diverse student experiences, build on prior knowledge, and challenge deficit-based ideologies. OER provides flexible, adaptable content that enables educators to create inclusive, equity-minded classrooms that reflect and affirm students' cultural identities.

Culturally Responsive First Day of School Activity

This all-grade activity uses puzzle pieces to help students share their culture and traditions, promoting a culturally responsive classroom community.

Culturally Responsive Data Literacy: Transforming Data and Information into Action

Fouses on transforming data into actionable insights by considering students' cultural backgrounds and life experiences, such as personal strengths and challenges. This approach extends beyond academic performance, emphasizing a holistic view of students to avoid deficit thinking and reduce implicit bias. CRDL encourages educators to gather and interpret diverse data, including informal observations and contextual factors, to support equity and inclusion in the classroom. Educators can enhance CRDL by integrating it into teacher preparation programs, using it to create more responsive and culturally relevant teaching practices.

GUIDANCE ON CULTURALLY RESPONSIVESUSTAINING REMOTE EDUCATION

In this brief article, Dr David E. Kirkland offers guidance on culturally responsive-sustaining remote education. The guidelines are for teachers, families, school leaders and students. Key amongst them are the four principles of culturally responsive-sustaiing remote education.

Culturally Responsive Lessons and Activities for the Classroom

Offers free, downloadable teaching units for grades 1–6, designed to integrate students' cultural backgrounds into the learning process. These units include nonfiction and fiction stories, creative writing prompts, and project-based activities that encourage students to share personal experiences and explore diverse perspectives, fostering a sense of belonging and community in the classroom.

Creating an Inclusive and Diverse Space with Classroom Media Content

In their presentation, Rachel Hanley and Ebony Wrenn emphasize the powerful impact of classroom visuals on children’s perceptions and the importance of selecting media content intentionally to foster inclusion and affirm student identities. They offer best practices for representing diverse backgrounds and call on educators to expand their exposure to different perspectives while reflecting on their own biases.

Creating Community: Culturally Responsive Icebreakers

This article highlights the importance of using culturally responsive icebreakers to build an inclusive classroom community from the first day. It offers practical examples—like the “Name Story” and “#Ricebreaker”—that help students and school staff share their identities, foster belonging, and encourage meaningful connections in both in-person and online settings.

Integrating Culturally Responsive Teaching and Trauma-Informed Practices

Integrating Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) and Trauma-Informed Practices (TIP) helps create supportive and inclusive classroom environments, especially for students from marginalized backgrounds. CRT values students' cultural identities and adapts teaching methods to foster belonging, while TIP focuses on recognizing and addressing the impact of trauma on students' learning and behavior. Combining both approaches creates safe, engaging classrooms where students feel validated and empowered. Key strategies include creating safe spaces, building trust, integrating diverse learning materials, and fostering emotional regulation skills. Teachers also need to maintain positive language, encourage restorative practices, and collaborate with families to understand and support students' needs.

More than ever, schools need to be a “welcoming and affirming” space — especially for students of color

This is a blog by edtrust New York. It explains the principle; students have social emotional support and access to a culturally responsive, antiracist, restorative learning environment. It is a story of one Gail Joyner-White, a principal of a school who provided a student centred solution to an inclusion challenge through creation of a program for girls called My Sister's KeepHer after girls at her school questioned the reasons behind a program for boys only called My Brother's Keeper.

Our Diversity Makes Us Stronger | Read Aloud by Reading Pioneers Academy

The video "Our Diversity Makes Us Stronger" is a children's read-aloud of the picture book by Elizabeth Cole. It follows a young boy named Nick who feels self-conscious about wearing new glasses but learns to embrace his uniqueness and appreciate the diversity around him. The story encourages themes of self-acceptance, kindness, and the strength found in our differences

Diversity-Related Teaching Resources

The Psychological Sciences department's diversity-related teaching resources page offers a wide range of tools to help educators integrate social justice, intersectionality, and anti-prejudice work into their classrooms. It features award-winning action teaching examples, inclusive pedagogical strategies, syllabi, classroom activities, and links to national organizations like Teaching Tolerance and GLSEN, all aimed at fostering equitable, inclusive learning environments.

The principles of culturally responsive teaching

This article published on education hub website discusses the principles of culturally responsive teaching. The author Dr Vicki Hargraves describes culturally responsive teaching and provides a justification for incorporating culture for educational achievement. She suggests the following as principles for culturally responsive teaching : teachers should reflect on their own cultural knowledge and teaching assumptions related to culture, teachers should learn about their students, teachers should use students' cultural knowledge, perspective and skills as a resource for teaching, teachers must present a safe and supportive environmet and build strong relationships; teachers must encourage discursive curriculum and enable student self-determination, connecting with families, and communities.

10 Ways to Foster a More Culturally Responsive English Class

​The article "10 Ways to Foster a More Culturally Responsive English Class" from Education Week provides strategies for educators to create inclusive and engaging English classrooms by acknowledging and valuing students' diverse cultural backgrounds. The piece emphasizes the importance of self-reflection on personal biases, integrating diverse perspectives into lessons, and fostering a sense of belonging among students. ​

Cultural responsiveness: is music optional?

In this podcast, Amy Halpern-Laff and Jon Moscow speaks to Ann Smith on Music education. Using a case study of her own experience with a family that was concerned of their daughter learning music in the classroom, she talks about culturally responsive teaching as applied to music teaching. She suggests the importance of conversation between professionals and families for culturally responsive pedagogy. Ann also advocates using art to educate and promote equity and calls teachers to articulate why they teach what they are teaching - such as music, climate change, life sciences etc.

3 online resources for kids that promote diversity and equality

​The video "highlights three educational platforms designed to teach children about diversity and inclusion:​ Sesame Street's "Coming Together" Initiative, PBS Kids and Queer Kid Stuff.

The Parent’s Guide to Teaching Kids About Diversity

The guide provides strategies to teach children ages 3-13 about diversity through books, media, and open conversations. It encourages parents to foster inclusivity, address stereotypes, and engage with diverse perspectives while supporting critical thinking and donating multicultural books to schools.

Culturally Responsive Education Facing Pushback

This is a handout by Coalition for Education Justice of New York. It suggests strategies Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) advocates can use to respond to the doubts, attacks and pushbacks they may face when they talk about CRE to the community, schools, and elected leaders. some of the pushbacks includes embedded racism, financial resource constraints, overburdening teachers responsibilities, the pressure to meet the Common Core etc

18 Ways to Make Social Studies Class More Culturally Responsive

The article provides educators with practical strategies to enhance cultural responsiveness in social studies classrooms. These methods include crafting lessons that reflect students' cultural backgrounds, analyzing diverse perspectives and historical figures, and integrating culturally relevant materials to foster a more inclusive and engaging learning environment.

Designing a model of culturally responsive mathematics education: place, relationships and storywork

This article by Cynthia Nicol, Jo-ann Archibald & Jeff Baker was published in Mathematics Education Research Journal. It discusses mathematics education focusing on the intersection of mathematics education, teacher education, and explores the nature of culturally responsive teaching for practising teachers. It is a product of a qualitative research exploring the nature and sustenance of culturally responsive mathematics education

The Power of Parent Feedback

The Arizona K12 Center's article emphasizes the importance of incorporating parent perspectives into educators' end-of-year reflections. Parents offer unique insights into their child's educational experience, which can help teachers enhance communication, adjust teaching strategies, and strengthen family engagement. To effectively gather this feedback, the article recommends simplifying the process for parents and focusing questions on areas where their input is most valuable. This approach not only fosters a collaborative relationship between educators and families but also contributes to improved student outcomes.

Teaching kids about diversity and inclusion: A parent’s guide

The guide highlights the importance of teaching kids about diversity and inclusion from an early age, using activities, books, and open conversations. It emphasizes talking about stereotypes and discrimination, modeling inclusive behavior, supporting diverse events, and celebrating differences to create a more accepting and understanding society.

Culturally Responsive
Curriculum Scorecard Toolkit

This toolkit provides resources and guidance for students, parents, communities, educators and administrators on next steps to make classrooms and schools more culturally responsive after the culturally responsive curriculum.

Culturally Responsive Teaching Though a Historical
Lens: Will History Repeat Itself?

​The article "Culturally Responsive Teaching Through a Historical Lens: Will History Repeat Itself?" by Deborah A. Harmon examines the evolution and significance of culturally responsive pedagogy, particularly in the context of African American education. It emphasizes the importance of integrating cultural knowledge, personal experiences, and historical perspectives into teaching practices to empower students and address educational inequities

A Framework for School &
School System Leaders

This is a publication by The Leadership Academy discussing eight (8) culturally responsive leadership actions. The actions can be used to support school systems in developing and integrating their vision for equity into the day to day work of leadership, to coach education leaders in developing the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary for equity-focused leadership, and to develop professional learning plans for individual leaders or groups of system leaders based on specific needs or developmental priorities.

Building Parent-Teacher Relationships

Explores how gathering and using parent feedback helps teachers better support students and build stronger school-home connections. Simple tools and thoughtful questions make feedback more meaningful and actionable.

Talking to Young Children About Race and Racism

​PBS offers a comprehensive guide for parents to engage young children in conversations about race and racism. The resource provides age-appropriate strategies, including introducing diversity concepts early, discussing stereotypes and discrimination, modeling inclusive behavior, supporting diversity-focused events, and celebrating differences. Additionally, PBS KIDS features a special episode titled "PBS KIDS Talk About: Race and Racism," where real families have honest discussions on race and racial justice in an age-appropriate manner.

Culturally Responsive Teaching: 4 Misconceptions

The article/podcasts Zarretta Hammond talks about four misconceptions about Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT). She discusses these four as follows: CRT is the same as Multicultural or Social Justice education, CRT must start with addressing implicit biases, CRT is all about building relationships and self esteem, and CRT is about choosing the right strategies.

Using Local Place Names to Teach History

Place-based history lessons engage high school students by connecting classroom content to local history and community landmarks. This approach deepens students' understanding of their surroundings and fosters a sense of belonging.

Creating Culturally
Responsive Schools

In their article, Barbara Bazron, David Osher, and Steve Fleischman outline how school leaders can create culturally responsive schools by aligning instruction with students' cultural norms, adjusting classroom practices, and supporting both students and families in navigating cultural differences. They emphasize the importance of respectful approaches in character education, social skills instruction, and discipline.

Culturally Responsive Valentine's Day Empathy and Kindness Social Emotional FREE

Celebrate Valentine’s Day in a culturally inclusive way by focusing on empathy and kindness. This free resource includes an anchor chart, a read-aloud with an activity, and an exit ticket to help students understand and practice empathy.

Respect Diversity Foundation

The website offers a collection of resources for kids and teens focused on important social issues like bullying, human rights, and diversity. It includes platforms such as Kids Against Bullying, Teens Against Bullying, The Trevor Project, Youth for Human Rights, and Teaching Tolerance, along with resources from organizations like The Matthew Shepard Foundation, The United Nations, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, all aimed at fostering inclusion, education, and social justice.

CULTURALLY RELEVANT PEDAGOGY IN MATHEMATICS: A CRITICAL NEED

A presentation by Dr Shelly Jones on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Math. She describes a culturally relevant pedagogy as one that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes. She states that culturally relevant teaching criteria ensures academic success (attainment) to students, students and teachers get cultural competence, and children develop a critical consciousness.

12 Great Ways to Use the Community as a Resource in Project-Based Learning

​The article emphasizes the importance of integrating community involvement into project-based learning (PBL). It suggests strategies such as having students shadow community experts, inviting professionals to teach skills, and organizing field trips to connect classroom learning with real-world experiences. These approaches aim to enhance student engagement, develop 21st-century skills, and create meaningful learning opportunities

Culturally and Lignusticually
Responsive Teaching & Learning

Dr. Hollie Sharroky’s book offers a universal framework to shift educators' mindsets around students’ cultural and linguistic identities, while providing practical strategies to embed culturally and linguistically responsive teaching into instruction. The first two chapters focus on equity, race, culture, and language, while the rest of the book emphasizes transforming pedagogy through specific classroom practices in management, literacy, vocabulary, language instruction, and creating inclusive learning environments.

Culturally Responsive Book Companion Lesson Plans

This resource offers 10 culturally responsive lesson plans to accompany diversity-themed books in your classroom library. Each plan includes vocabulary, discussion questions, and engaging activities to support meaningful reading experiences.

Diverse and Inclusive Books to Inspire Young Adults

Scholastic offers a curated list of diverse and inclusive young adult books that explore themes such as race, ethnicity, social justice, LGBTQIA+ issues, mental health, immigration, neurodiversity, and physical disabilities. These titles aim to reflect and celebrate a wide range of human experiences, helping readers see themselves and others in stories that promote empathy and understanding.

5 Ways Culturally Responsive Teaching Benefits Learners

An article by Jenny Muniz in Education Policy discusses five benefits of culturally responsive teaching to students. These benefits include facilitates brain processing, motivates and engages students, cultivates critical thinking and problem solving skills, strengthens students racial and ethnic identities, and promotes a sense of safety and belonging.

Bringing the Community Into the Classroom

​The Edutopia article highlights how Hood River Middle School in Oregon collaborates with local experts to enhance student learning. By involving professionals like geologists, chefs, and engineers, students gain real-world insights and inspiration, making their education more relevant and engaging. This approach not only enriches the curriculum but also broadens students' career perspectives and aspirations. ​

Culturally Responsive School Leadership: A Synthesis of the Literature

This research article by Muhamad A. Khalifa, Mark Anthony Gooden and James Earl Davis is a comprehensive review providing a framework for expanding body of literatre that seeks to make not only teaching, but rather the entire school environment, responsive to the school needs of minoritized students.. it describes such concepts as critical self-wareness, CRSL and teacher preparation, CRSL and school environments, and CRSL and community advocacy.

Culturally Responsive Literary Text Genre Anchor Charts

Brighten your classroom with culturally responsive anchor charts that highlight a variety of literary genres. This free resource includes genres like fiction, poetry, folktale, and more, designed to support early learners in identifying and understanding different types of texts.

Books That Promote Diversity and Inclusion

The list of books that promote diversity and inclusion highlights how literature helps foster empathy by allowing readers to experience different perspectives. These books cover topics such as bullying, physical and mental challenges, love, and adventures, all while reflecting a diverse world. They encourage understanding and connection through characters of various backgrounds and experiences. For more suggestions, the list also recommends books with characters of color and those that teach empathy.

Teaching Toward Consciousness

The article was written by Joshua Block. It offers guidelines based on Paolo Friere's work on how educators can create equity in schools. He argues that educators need to validate and acknowledge students, exposes and reveal the unseen, encourage questioning, and facilitate reflection in order to creaate equity in schools.

Using the local community/environment as a resource

​The Open University's OpenLearn Create platform offers educators guidance on integrating local community and environmental resources into their teaching. This approach enhances student engagement by connecting classroom learning with real-world experiences and diverse cultural perspectives

Equity-centered school leaders

James C. Eslinger outlines how he developed an equity-focused leadership pipeline in Columbus City Schools to prepare principals who can address educational and social disparities. The program supports emerging leaders and emphasizes six critical dispositions—such as self-reflection, confronting inequity, and creating equity-centered systems—based on the New York Leadership Academy framework.

20 Culturally Responsive Strategies in Special Education

This comprehensive resource offers 20 culturally responsive strategies tailored for special education, helping educators create inclusive, supportive classrooms for diverse learners. It includes over 100 pages of actionable frameworks, tools, and justifications for building cultural awareness, differentiating instruction, and fostering equity and access.

Culturally Responsive Book List for High School

​The "Culturally Responsive Book List for High School" on Goodreads features 64 titles by diverse authors, aiming to celebrate rich cultural experiences and histories. These books provide students with perspectives that foster empathy and understanding across various backgrounds.

Relevant: Beyond the Basics

This article by Jacqueline Jordan Irvine discusses cultural relevant pedagogy. She describes what cultural relevant pedagogy (CRP) is by using an experience of a teacher, Monica Edwards. CRP is a term used to describe effective teaching in cultural diverse classrooms. The author also discusses how and why CRP works for all students.

Creating Welcoming Schools: A Practical Guide to Home-School Partners with Diverse Families

"Creating Welcoming Schools: A Practical Guide to Home-School Partnerships with Diverse Families" by JoBeth Allen offers strategies for educators and parents to build effective partnerships that enhance student learning. The book emphasizes storytelling, cultural memoirs, and collaborative projects to foster genuine dialogue and engagement between schools and diverse families.

The Principal’s Guide
to Building Culturally
Responsive Schools

This is a guide developed by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. It discusses four ways principals can build culturally responsive schools. The guides include, advancing culturally responsive leadership, diversifying student and adult capacity to transform schools, utilizing assets to ensure culturally responsive teaching and learning, and developing awareness and leading the charge to provide diverse opportunities for all students. Accompanied in these guides are actionable recommendations at the end of each guide.

Cultural Diversity Training: Creating a Culturally Responsive Classroom

This professional development PowerPoint helps educators and parents deepen their understanding of cultural diversity and build culturally responsive classrooms. It covers key topics like implicit bias, white privilege, stereotype threat, and inclusive curriculum design, making it ideal for both group and individual training.

Using Data to Promote Culturally
Responsive Teaching

The "Using Data to Promote Culturally Responsive Teaching" workshop series, hosted by the Institute of Education Sciences, focuses on integrating data literacy with culturally responsive teaching (CRT) to enhance educational equity. The first session introduces the concept of culturally responsive data literacy (CRDL), emphasizing the importance of understanding students' cultural backgrounds and experiences to inform teaching practices. It outlines a five-step iterative inquiry process for educators: identifying a problem, using data, transforming data into information, making decisions, and evaluating outcomes. The session also highlights the need for teacher preparation programs to incorporate CRDL into their curricula to better support diverse student populations.

Culturally Responsive
Instruction Observation
Protocol (CRIOP)
Professional Development

A 2013-2014 CRIOP Evaluation Report by Susan Chambers Cantrell and others examines the Professional Development activities of the Center for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy funded through National Professional Development Program Grant from the US DoE. The report covers components of the Professional Development, its effects and components of the Teacher Education Component. Amongst many effects, it reports increased student achievement in math and ELA from teachers who received the professional development in culturally responsive instruction, and increased implementation of culturally responsive instruction by teachers, among many effects.

How Leaders Can Support Culturally Responsive Instruction

​The article "How Leaders Can Support Culturally Responsive Instruction" from ASCD emphasizes the importance of empowering teachers, especially educators of color, to adapt curricula that reflect diverse perspectives and counter-narratives. It highlights that fostering teacher agency is crucial for creating inclusive learning environments and reducing turnover among teachers of color

FOR STUDENTS OF COLOR, Relationship Centered Schools

This is an inforgraphic chart describes Relationship Centred schools that integrate social emotional learning into school life. it champions such strategies as investing in staff, valuing students voices, and creating spaces for relationship building.