Unit 7: Creativity

A Multicultural View

Unit 7 OverviewThe early childhood educator sets the tone in a multicultural classroom by accepting children with respect for their worth as human beings, encouraging them to respect one another, and by creating and maintaining an environment that says everyone is welcome. A creative, multicultural curriculum involves providing planned activities and a classroom that includes materials depicting people from many different places doing many different things and living everyday normal lives.

After completing this unit you will be able to:

Explain why multicultural education is important in the early childhood setting and the role of the teacher in the multicultural classroom

Define deficit and transformational curricula perspectives and examine how to use common bonds curriculum themes in planning an early childhood multicultural curriculum

Explain how art and aesthetics advance multicultural learning

Explain how to plan creative multicultural activities for young children

Describe how children’s books can be used in a creative multicultural curriculum

Project: The Impact of Human Expression on Culture

GEL-1.1: Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard American English

GEL-5.2: Analyze the impact of human expression on culture.Art, music, and dance are cultural expressions that have demonstrated

the feelings, thoughts, and many times strife and hardship of its people. Most of our ancestors came to this country from another land bringing their culture, and even if you are a Native American art and music have long been a part of your heritage and culture.

In this unit’s readings you read about teaching culture and global awareness through the arts. You have also read throughout your text about the family’s role in creative arts along with ways to incorporate diversity and multicultural creative arts activities into your curriculum. You will now write a two-part essay that explores the impact of human expression on culture and describes strategies to integrate cultural expressions into curriculum.

Project: Part 1Reflect on your own culture and how its art, music, and dance have

become important to understanding yourself and others. Then consider the following questions when explaining what you will do to support the expression of the diverse cultures in your classroom through art, music, and dance.

How has your own creativity been enhanced as a result of learning about your culture and the culture of others?

How can you make sure the young children you work with remain connected to their own culture?

What creative opportunities can you provide for young children to assure they can participate in your program as well as develop an understanding of the cultures of those in their class?

How will you involve families to support your effort in the classroom as well as in the home?

Project: Part 2

Describe several examples of art, music, and dance activities that support the developmental needs of children and include the artistic expressions of their culture. Chose one learning activity you think best represents inclusion of art or music in a classroom for a mixed age and culturally diverse population and explain with details its pedagogical significance. Finally, include an explanation, or rationale, for the learning activity of your choice with details, examples and a minimum of two sources.

Project InfoYour paper should be 2-3 pages long, written in Standard American English, and in a 12-point font size

(Arial or Times New Roman) with one-inch margins. You must include a title page and a reference page (but these do not count in the 2-3 page guideline) as well as an introductory and closing paragraph. Be sure to do a spell and grammar check of your work before you turn it in. For help with citations/references please refer to the APA Quick Reference Guide under Course Home and also visit the KU Writing Center. The grading rubric that will be used to evaluate your final project is located in your class syllabus. Submit your completed project to the Unit 7: Project Dropbox. If you need help using the Dropbox, see the Guide located in the Academic Tools tab.

Web Resources:Responding to Linguistic and Cultural DiversityRecommendations for Effective Early Childhood Education

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSDIV98.PDF Teaching Culture through the Arts

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=524 Teaching Global Awareness with Arts & Craftshttp://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=307 Folk Dancing for Young Childrenhttp://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=301Connecting Children to Their Cultures and Communitieshttp://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=220

Read Project Directions & Check Project

Rubric• Thoroughly read the project directions

• Check the grading rubric

• Connect with classmates for support

• Ask questions

• Don’t procrastinate; turn your project in on time

Creativity, Diversity, and the Early Childhood Program

The teacher sets the tone in a multicultural classroom by accepting children with respect to their worth as human beings and encouraging them to respect one another. The multicultural curriculum is much more than just a simple celebration every now and then in the early childhood program. It involves providing a classroom that includes materials depicting people from many different places doing many different things. It’s creating and maintaining an environment that says everyone is welcome.

common bonds curriculum learning centers deficit perspective transformational perspective

Creative Multicultural Curriculum Ideas

SQ #1: What is the difference between a deficit perspective and transformational perspective? Explain their importance in a multicultural classroom.

Deficit perspective – a distorted vision that views differences as deficits. Failure in schools is attributed to children of color, children who speak a non-English language, and children whose families are poor or working class.

Transformational perspective – a view that sees communities as possessing “funds ofknowledge, reservoirs of knowledge andskills shared by community members. Thisknowledge can be built on and expanded into the early childhood curriculum.

SQ #2: Why is it important to use common bonds themes in planning a multicultural curriculum? What would make the multicultural curriculum inappropriate for young children?

avoid activities that teach children to be tourists by focusing on countries, artifacts, and ceremonies

avoid including facts and historical information avoid eccentric representation of ethnic groups which encourage children to believe in

stereotypes avoid too many visual displays others?

SQ #3: What types of materials would you use and how would you go about gathering them for your curriculum?

NAEYC Pier 1 World Bazaar Websites Books Please share!

Role of Art and Picture Books

Artuse familiar art activitiesadd posters with images from around the worldprovide multicultural treasure chestBooksintroduces children to other

cultures in a natural, enjoyable way

developmentally appropriateinclude bilingual storybooks

SQ #5: Explain the relationship between a developmentally appropriate multicultural curriculum and NAEYC’s Statement on Ethical Conduct

Ideals To ensure that each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family

structure are recognized and valued in the program. To provide all children with experiences in a language that they

know, as well as support children in maintaining the use of their home language and in learning English.

Principles We shall not participate in practices that discriminate against

children by denying benefits, giving special advantages, or excluding them from programs or activities on the basis of their sex, race, national origin, religious beliefs, medical condition, disability, or the marital status/family structure, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs or other affiliations of their families. (Aspects of this principle do not apply in programs that have a lawful mandate to provide services to a particular population of children.)

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

Field TripVisit a true multicultural school in Israel at

http://explore.org/videos/player/me-oasis-of-peaceRead about a multicultural preschool in Colorado at

http://www.sunflowerpreschoolboulder.com/multicultural.html

View a video of a cooking school that teaches low income children healthy cooking and multiple culturalism.

http://explore.org/videos/player/la-common-threads

Share other multicultural curriculum ideas or resources you have discovered with your classmates

Complete the Readings

Participate in Discussion

Attend SeminarComplete the Project

To Do List

Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes