3 Ways to Teach Inclusivity in the Classroom
With Teacher Miss Lisa Watts Lawton
Tolerance and respect are extremely important values for kids to demonstrate in their daily lives. While raising inclusive kids does start at home, this important work can be carried on throughout the school day. Teaching children to be respectful of others is an ongoing process, and school offers so many opportunities to practice inclusiveness. But what are the best methods to get through to kids in the classroom? With many schools resuming next week, we were curious to learn some of the best techniques to encourage inclusivity among students. We spoke to 2nd-grade teacher Miss Lisa Watts Lawton to get her insight on classroom techniques to teach inclusivity.
3 Classroom techniques to teach inclusivity
Books
Workshops
Sharing
1. Books
Stories are the way we get to know each other and see the humanity in each other. We recognise shared experiences when we hear stories, and our views and opinions can be greatly influenced by what we read in books. It’s important for kids of all skin tones to be exposed to stories that include positive representations of people of colour, so that these worthy character portrayals give everyone a voice. By including everyone in the narrative, it becomes harder to see certain people as “other.” For great books featuring the theme of inclusion and community, try Mushroom in the Rain, And to Think That we Thought That We’d Never be Friends , and One of Each. These stories teach kids about sharing, friendship, and looking out for each other.
2. Workshops
Having kids work together in structured ways is a great way to build community. It’s also a wonderful outlet for sharing personal feelings and opinions, and can help students understand that everyone’s view is valid. There are ample opportunities in a classroom to come up with different ways to solve a problem with a variety of solutions. Encouraging kids to value how other people approach a problem teaches them that there’s no one perfect way to do things.
Poems can be a creative conduit for teaching kids about inclusivity. Kids can workshop a poem by reading it together in small groups, then choosing a part that has meaning for them. The other group members share why they think each person selected a particular part of the poem, and then the person who chose it can explain why. This helps kids find beauty in a variety of ways, and appreciate other people’s personal perspectives.
3. Sharing
Sharing personal experiences allows students to feel connected, seen, and heard. Providing opportunities for kids to share more about themselves and their backgrounds can help facilitate inclusiveness and acceptance. A fun way to do this is for each student to bring in a food that represents their heritage, and explain to their peers what it is and how it relates to their family. Maybe there’s a special holiday or memory associated with a particular food, or maybe there’s a specific way to prepare or serve it. Allowing kids to openly communicate about their personal lives will help them learn to trust one another and appreciate how our differences make us unique. It’s easier to be contemptuous or feel frightened of something you don’t know, which is why talking openly about ourselves and sharing our experiences can be so powerful.
Teachers can help to shape our kids into compassionate, generous, kind and inclusive people through these approaches, and it’s crucial that we support them by carrying on this important work at home too. Speaking with Miss Watts-Lawton made us feel encouraged by all the ways kids can practice inclusivity at school, and we are hopeful that kids returning to school will result in increased empathy, teamwork, community and acceptance. Raising inclusive kids is a team effort involving anyone and everyone who influences children, and we all need to do our part.
Lisa Watts Lawton joined the Los Angeles Unified School District and began teaching 2nd grade in March of 1990. In 2012, Lisa began work with a team of teachers and mathematicians writing an online math curriculum called EngageNY, which is a free teaching resource. The nonprofit Great Minds, which produced EngageNY, created a revised version called Eureka Math, where Lisa continues to contribute on the 2nd grade team. Lisa has two daughters, four cats, and a poodle named Mellersh (named after a character in the movie Enchanted April).
Check out Lisa’s classroom projects!