Urban Discussion

Date: November 24, 2008

Grade: 11

Teacher Names: Sandi Stupica and Zach Thompson

Subject: English

Topic: Urban Education Content: Lessons that will appeal to an urban English class Goal: Aims/Outcomes: 1. To show the class that culturally responsive teaching is an appropriate approach used in urban schools. 2. To expand the classes understanding of how to relate to students through personalizing the lesson plan. 3. To build the classes’ confidence with working in an urban school setting. Objectives: 1. Students’ participation in dialogic discussion will indicate their understanding of how and why culturally responsive teaching is used. 2. Completion of the journal entry and short assignment will help the class to realize how to allure and attract urban students’ participation in a lesson. Material and Aids: a handout that includes a brief summary of the Harlem Renaissance, a handout with Langston Hughes poetry and paintings by artists of the Harlem Renaissance, and a handout describing the activity. Procedures/Methods 1. Introduction • The class will be asked to write a journal entry about “a time where they felt discriminated.” If they have never experienced discrimination, then they can respond to a moment where they have witnessed discrimination or a time in history when discrimination occurred. (5 minutes) • Next, relate what the class wrote to urban students.’ According to the article, Culturally Responsive Teaching: The Harlem Renaissance in an Urban English Class, factors that characterize urban schools include “…the greatest concentration of poor, immigrant students who experience hunger, homelessness, and violence in their everyday lives.” Whereas, the smallest, wealthiest schools possess none of those characteristics. • Begin the dialogic discussion with questions such as, “How do these factors influence students’ education?” “What are some ways teachers can overcome these factors to still educate the students?” (5 minutes) 2. Development • Explain that one effective way to appeal to urban English students is through the method of culturally responsive teaching. “…culturally responsive teachers make explicit the issues of race, ethnicity, and culture as central to teaching, learning, and schooling, a stance not often evident in more homogenous, suburban teaching contexts.”

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Make clear that the next activity is an example of culturally responsive teaching. Handouts will be distributed. Ask for a volunteer to read the handout describing the Harlem Renaissance. (5 minutes) 3. Independent Practice • Next, in pairs (preferably working with the person next to them) students can analyze a Langston Hughes poem or the paintings. The questions that students will answer are on the handout. • Provide at least 5-10 minutes for discussion amongst the pairs. • Ask for volunteers about how they answered the questions regarding the poem or artwork. (5 minutes) • Debrief Checking for Understanding: We can confirm that the class learned the objectives depending on the dialogic discussion and the class’s ability to incorporate the activity in an urban English classroom setting.