Culturally Responsive Teaching Article Review
Sydney Fontenot
School of Education, Liberty University
EDUC 410
May 5, 2025
Summary of Article One
Danielle Hilaski’s Addressing the Mismatch through Culturally Responsive Literacy
Instruction (2020) talks about how different literacy programs such as Reading Recovery can
potentially have better effects for culturally diverse students and even their language
development. This article really shines a light on the clear separation among the traditional
instruction for literacy and the real life experiences that children from different backgrounds
experience. The author talks about how observation, conversation, and instruction are three
major informational shifts that allow teachers to be more receptive to the different cultures in
the classroom. The students were able to provide the teachers in the study with a different
perspective into the cultural and social backgrounds that their students have to offer. This
changed perspective then allowed teachers to adapt their lessons to make literacy learning
more personal and interesting. The main point of the article is the importance of deliberate
teaching practices that correspond to the interests and needs of the students in the room to
promote an inclusive and safe space for students.
Summary of Article Two
Taylor Morgan Dunn and Sherry Cherup’s article, Storytelling and Success: How
Storytelling can be Used to Promote Diversity, Cross-Cultural Understanding, and Confidence in
the Classroom (2022), breaks down the positive impact that storytelling has in education. They
go on to compare storytelling to a bridge with the way that it forms connections between
cultures while also encouraging empathy and compassion among students that may come from
different cultures or social backgrounds. Storytelling gives students a platform to share their
experiences or ideas which in turn supports their confidence. Stories are a way to preserve the
traditions of many cultures and teach the world about them in an exciting and engaging way.
The main point of this article to share the importance of storytelling and the connections it
shares with culture, community, and diversity.
Comparison and Contrast
Based on the summaries, one can see that both articles have a focus on teaching
practices that include focusing on different cultures, but they use different practices to prove
their point. Hilaski (2020) uses a specific literary approach that involves teachers focusing on
observation of students, talking to students, and adapting their lesson based on what they
learned from their students. This allows students to build a connection between their cultural
background and their language background in reading and writing. Dunn and Chreup (2022)
focus on the storytelling aspect to allow students the opportunity to share their individual
stories while also learning about others around them. They say that storytelling “helps students
to express their true identities”. Hilaski focuses more on the reading strategies in the classroom,
whereas Dunn and Cherup focus more on the confidence building and connections.
Justification and Importance
The information that both articles present can be extremely useful to teachers that value
being culturally responsive in their classroom or are wanting to try to switch up their learning
style. Hilaski (202) provides a great explanation into the way that teachers can adapt their
teaching methods to be more student focused and driven. This provides students with the sense
of importance and makes learning more engaging and meaningful. Dunn and Cherup (2022)
describe how a teacher can use storytelling to build their students’ confidence level while also
learning about the backgrounds of the students in the room. Both articles make connections on
the importance of including students in on the lesson planning by connecting to their interests
and cultures. These teaching methods allow teachers to form real connections and positive
relationships with each of their students individually.
References
Dunn, T. M., & Cherup, S. (2021). Storytelling and Success: How Storytelling Can be Used to
Promote Diversity, Cross-Cultural Understanding, and Confidence in the
Classroom. Journal of Education, 203(3), 002205742110323.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00220574211032309
Hilaski, D. (2018). Addressing the mismatch through culturally responsive literacy instruction.
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 20(2), 146879841876530.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798418765304
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