Teaching with Mirrors: How I Modify Curriculum to Reflect My Students’ Lives

 

 

Centering student identity in language development

When you walk into my 7th-grade ELD classroom, you’ll hear students talking about their families, their favorite foods, and the stories that shape who they are. That’s intentional. Language learning is never just about grammar or vocabulary, it’s about identity. That’s why when I design a unit, I ask myself: Where do my students see themselves in this lesson?

In this post, I’ll share how I adapted a typical middle school English language curriculum to better serve my multilingual learners, students from Mexico, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and beyond by making the content culturally relevant, emotionally engaging, and identity-affirming.

Starting with Purpose: SMART Objectives for ELD

As part of my instructional planning, I use the WIDA English Language Development standards to guide student outcomes. For this unit, themed “Voices of My Community,” I created these SMART goals:

Speaking: Students will express opinions clearly using sentence frames like “I think ___ because ___” during group discussions.

Writing: Students will summarize a grade-level text using transition words (“first,” “then,” “finally”) with supporting details.

Listening & Directions: Students will follow and give clear instructions for a classroom task, demonstrating independence.

These goals keep us grounded, but it’s the theme that gives students the space to tell their stories.

Why “Voices of My Community”?

This theme invites students to bring their cultures into the classroom. It’s about celebrating who they are and where they come from. Through it, students can:

Share traditions and family stories

Learn from each other’s backgrounds

Take pride in their identities

In my experience, once students realize that their stories are valid and valued, their confidence grows, and so does their language use.

Reviewing the Curriculum: Vista & Newsela

I chose two instructional resources to support this unit:

1.        Vista Higher Learning’s “Get Ready!” Grades 6–8

2.        Newsela’s English Learners Collection

Both offered useful materials—but neither was perfect out of the box. Vista had positive visuals but leaned heavily on U.S.-centric content like Thanksgiving. Newsela provided global perspectives, but sometimes simplified texts lost cultural depth. So, I made changes.

How I Modified the Materials

With Vista, I:

• Replaced U.S. holidays with ones relevant to my students, like Día de los Muertos or Ramadan
• Switched out generic names (e.g., "Emma") for student-representative names like Luis, Fatima, and Mohammed
• Created an activity where students teach a cultural practice, like cooking a traditional dish or explaining a holiday

With Newsela, I:

• Selected articles about immigration, activism, and youth from diverse backgrounds
• Designed prompts asking, “How does this remind you of your own experience?”
• Facilitated structured discussions comparing stories to students’ lives

Why It Matters

When students see their own experiences reflected in the curriculum, something powerful happens, they stop being passive learners and become experts in their own narratives. They speak up more. They feel proud. They teach each other. They grow.

These modifications weren’t about political correctness, they were about human connection. My students aren’t just learning English. They’re learning how to tell their stories, assert their identities, and recognize their value in a multicultural society.

As I continue to grow as an educator and leader, this kind of curriculum work reminds me why I teach. Language is more than skill, it’s belonging. And when students feel they belong, they thrive.

References

Vista Higher Learning. (n.d.). Get Ready! Grades 6–8 Student Book.

Newsela. (n.d.). Supporting English Language Learners.