Culturally Relevant Lesson Reflection (Analysis of Enacted Lesson):

This semester, one of the most important things that I learned was that in order to support

students in thinking about global issues, teachers need to engage them in thinking about social

issues that are present in their own lives and the area around them. The article titled, Planting

Seeds of Solidarity, said that before students can even begin to empathize with others around

the world, they need opportunities to see that similar issues exist in their own neighborhoods,

and even their schools. As I thought about what type of social issue to discuss with my third

graders, my mentor teacher told me that one type lesson that can not be taught enough is on

anti-bullying/kindness. Even though bullying is talked about frequently in schools, children need

to truly understand the effects that it can have on people, if they want to be productive citizens

one day.

After reflecting on the lesson, I am very glad that I chose the topic of kindness, because

I believe that my students got to think about bullying in a new way. While the lesson was only 30

minutes long, putting this type of lesson into action also taught me that combining essential

standards with relevant topic is not only possible, but it is more engaging for children. During the

lesson, students participated very well and were engaged with the text by reacting to it and

saying things like, Thats not fair, and Why are those kids being so mean to her? She just

wants a friend. they also considered each others responses. The students were appalled at the

bullying that occurred in this book, and I hope that it left an impression in their minds and

encouraged them to think twice before they speak.

One of the successes of this lesson was that students responses in the discussion after

reading the text. I was encouraged to see that the students were able to talk about the underlying
lesson that the book was trying to teach. One student said, Its kind of like that saying about

treat others the way you want to be treated. This student related a saying they had heard before

in their life to the experiences of the characters, which showed me they comprehended the text

by engaging their schema. Another student stated, One lesson could be to forgive yourself,

because sometimes people mess up, but it is okay if you know you need to do better next time.

This response greatly impressed me, and hearing it made me glad that I chose to include a group

discussion after the book, because students can learn from hearing what other people took away.

Another success of the lesson was using my paper people as a visual model. When I asked

students how the paper people visual related to the character that was bullied in the story, one

student said, The little crumples in our people show that Maya was bullied by Chloe. When we

tried to smooth out the people, they dont look the same. That means that Chloe can try to say

she is sorry, but she cant take her words back. To extend the lesson, I had students brainstorm

ways to prevent bullying in their own school. Some of the suggestions included, If someone

needs a friend on the playground, ask them to play, If the teacher tells us to find a partner to

work with you and you see someone who doesnt have a partner, you should ask them to work

with you. Students were also able to make connections to other texts that have a similar theme,

like Mean Jean the Recess Queen.

Overall, I am pleased with how this lesson turned out, but there were several challenges

in facilitating this lesson that I would need to figure out if I were to teach it again. Although the

paper people were an effective visual, it was difficult trying to make sure that students were on

task with them. Next time, I would put more rules into place as I introduced them to students,

and say that if I saw them tearing them for no reason, I would have to take them away. Another
challenge was since I did not have students individually write down responses, it was difficult to

measure whether or not everyone had the same takeaways, or if they were just agreeing with

other students. To fix this, I would have students write down their initial reactions to the book on

a slip of paper, and then have a group discussion following that. Doing this would allow me to

see students thoughts before they were influenced by others, as well as give shy students a

chance to prepare their thoughts before sharing them out in a whole group setting.

After teaching this lesson and reflecting on it, I am encouraged to use more culturally

relevant lessons in the future. I learned that it is easy to incorporate a culturally relevant text into

any subject throughout the day. ELA time in particular does not just have to involve irrelevant

passages and answering questions on worksheets. During my short lesson, the students not only

got to hear a text that elicited emotions and thoughtfulness, but students also worked on an

important reading standard. The reading standard that I incorporated into this lesson will be

relevant on their upcoming EOG. Also, students were able to pick out the theme of the book, and

answer questions about the characters, but the most incredible thing to watch was what students

decided to do on their own accord. Once the lesson ended, students lined up their paper people

side by side and made them hold hands so they could be friends. Although this action was

brief, it showed me that the students sense of classroom community was increasing. I may not

have taught students about a far off foreign country on this day, but they will be more prepared

to learn about them one day if they can empathize with others first.
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