A Culturally Relevant Curriculum

When Chinese ELLs (English Language Learners) are included in the mainstream classroom, students face the challenge of having to learn English and academic content simultaneously. Many teachers have limited ideas on how to support these students, especially for teachers who lack of knowledge of Chinese culture. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) is one of the most effective approaches to help teachers teach students with diverse cultural backgrounds. Ladson-Billings (1995) defined CRP by looking at linkages between culture and school. CRP focuses on three critical elements: academic success, cultural competence and critical consciousness. This curriculum project is five units and fifty lessons emphasizing elements of CRP for teachers to support Chinese ELLs in the United States. With the use of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP), the SIOP lesson plan format, and concepts from effective classroom management, the curriculum project was created. This curriculum can be used in ESL or Bilingual classrooms having Chinese ELLs and is aligned with the NYS Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS).