Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies and Resources

I've been teaching English learners for nearly 20 years in over 20 countries. I have a Masters in Curriculum Instruction ESL and earned my CELTA certification while teaching refugees in Athens, Greece. Currently, I am an ESL Specialist for the US Embassy and Georgetown University, the Social Media Manager for American TESOL, and an elementary teacher in Texas. I have organized MOOCs for INTEF/EducaLab to train teachers worldwide. I am also somewhat fluent in both Spanish and German. Below find resources for Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies.

Learn with me in my accredited online graduate course, Methodologies and Best Practices for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages! Click here for the In-service course link and here for the Graduate course link.

CRT Strategies 2025 SK12 by Shelly Terrell

According to Brown University’s Education Alliance, “Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning” (Ladson-Billings,1994).
Culturally Responsive Teaching has 7 characteristics, which include high expectations, knowledge of learners’ cultures, student-centered teaching, teachers as facilitators, culturally mediated instruction, parent partnerships and reshaping the curriculum to be more diverse and culturally inclusive (Brown University’s Education Alliance).
The websites below have culturally diverse lesson plans, tips, and resources:
- Edutopia
- The Goals Project- Connect and collaborate with students worldwide on their projects based on the United Nations Sustainable Goals to improve the world!
- PBS Precious Children
- Teaching Tolerance
- Taking It Global
These websites help you connect with other classrooms or guest experts around the world:

Let's Connect!