Culturally Responsive Classroom in 7th Grade ELA

7th Grade ELA

Sam Fetters

Problem Identified: I noticed that while I was really comfortable talking with students in my classroom about identifying oppression, I struggled, and my students struggled, to see the other side of oppression. They didn’t understand oppressors. This became really apparent during social-emotional lessons (Beyond Differences) and during current events check-ins.

Hypothesis: If we talk about oppressors in class then students will have a better understanding of systemic injustice as measured by observations during class discussions and short responses.

Data Collection: I collected observation notes during socratic seminars, class discussions & turn & talks.

Actionable Step: In your own classroom, it’s important to think about both sides of oppression. For example, it’s useful to talk about Jackie Robinson as a hero and civil rights figure, but students have a more complete picture of Robinson if they understand the specific steps that white organizations took to exclude black players from the MLB.

Overall Findings/Impact: I think this inquiry project was successful. For one, it forced me to re-examine a couple old units--”Fences and the American Dream” and also “Social Issues Book Clubs” to incorporate more information about privilege and inequality. By being able to identify oppressors and not just the oppressed, students were able to have much deeper and more nuanced discussions during current events and social-emotional lessons.