It's a big world out there. Classrooms are becoming increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to educational equity gaps across the country, and it's important for teachers to be prepared to teach such diverse classrooms.

There are countless strategies for teachers to adopt in an attempt to create a more equitable classroom for diverse learners. In this book, we discuss a few of these great strategies!

Metacognition - Let's Think!

     Chris Gable is a dedicated, intentional educator. He likes to assign his students readings that expand across different curriculums and are based on each student's reading capabilities. He calls this practice 'three color reading,' and discusses how after reading passages he expects students to write about what they learned and thinking about what it means. By asking themselves open-ended Blooms Taxonomy questions, they evaluate materials and develop critical thinking skills, drawing connections between reading and writing, as well as school and the world around them. As a result, his students are engaged, confident learners ready to participate in the classroom - every teacher's dream!

"As diverse learners become more engaged, they are motivated to focus on topics, complete assignments, and contribute to the classroom community with thoughtful questions and appropriate comments. "

-Vacca et. al (2017) 

Metacognition in the Classroom

Assign students reading passages ahead of time

Have students process what they read by journaling

discuss what you are reading and writing as a classroom community

According to Vacca et al., journaling can also make students question the hows and whys of their thinking (p. 93). 

In my own classroom, I can encourage students to think about their reading and writing by having them do quick writes, argumentative or research based reading responses, and Socratic seminars.

This will also help students understanding that writing can be centered in community...