3. How to Connect With This
Population in the Classroom
• Familiarize yourself
with the culture.
Russians are very
proud of their culture
• Art, Religion,
Traditions, and
Language
4. Russian Art
• Art has always been an
important aspect of the
Russian culture.
• Some forms of art include
literature, classical music,
painting, architecture, ballet,
and animation.
• One idea on how to connect
with your Russian students
is through song.
5. Religious Practices
• Russian Orthodox is the
official religion in Russia.
• Russian Orthodox is similar
to Catholicism
• 20% of Russians practice
Islam while Catholicism,
Protestantism, and Judaism
are not wide spread but have
small roles in Russian
culture.
6. Traditions
• Russia’s national traditions
are deeply rooted not only in
the Orthodox religion but
also in paganism.
• The Russians still celebrate
pagan holidays, many
people believe in numerous
omens and legends.
(Knocking on wood)
• They also celebrate
Christmas and Easter
7. Language
• Of Russia's estimated 150m
population, only 81% speak the
official language of Russian as their
first and only language.
• There are over 100 minority
languages spoken in Russia today,
the most popular of which is Tartar,
spoken by more than 3% of the
country's population.
• Other minority languages
include Ukrainian, Chuvash, Bashir,
Mordvin and Chechen.
9. Clarifying Misconceptions
• All students are “Russian” – NOT TRUE!
• Students come from various republics of the former Soviet Union
(USSR).
• Families might speak Russian at home, but be from a different ethnicity.
• Within this generalized culture, there are different ethnicities, which
have their own traits, even though they share some similarities in their
cultures.
• The Russian language was taught in the schools throughout the
republics when the students’ parents were younger.
10. Mixed Marriage
• There are students who come
from Ukranian, or mixed
Russian/Ukranian marriages.
• Both of their languages belong
to the same Slavic group
• Some word roots are the same,
but the grammar is different
• There are 3 genders: female,
male, & neuter (ex. like in
Spanish language)
• Different grammatical
paradigms (varying endings to
root words)
11. How Learning is Affected
• Some families speak a
mix of Ukrainian &
Russian
• There is an additional
language to the
Ukrainian/Russian mix
with English
• A sort of “slang” is
developed (ex. like
Spanglish)
12. How Learning is Affected
Continued
• Without a good
Standard Russian
Language
background at
home, students
have a more difficult
time adapting in
class academically.
13. Interview By Teresa
• Teacher: Mila
Townsend,
• Grade: Bilingual-
Russian Kinder,
• School: Captain
Gray Early Learning
Center
14. Welcoming Students and
Their Families
• When there are paraeducators who
can communicate with them then
they feel more welcomed in the
school.
• There are volunteer forms sent
home for parents or other family
member to fill out and return and
once cleared they become a
volunteer at the school.
• There is an Open House, where
snacks are provided, and families
can meet their child’s teacher, staff,
and get a tour of the school building.
15. Resources For Student
Learning
• Reading resources are limited in
the class and in general for
students in the Russian-
Bilingual Program
• About 10 yrs ago students
weren’t as prepared for Kinder
and didn’t know as much
academically
• For the last 6 yrs the Pasco
School District received money
to have supplies for students to
prepare at home before entering
Kindergarten.
16. Student Learning Continued
• The school district also gives parents the
opportunity to enroll their child in Early
Start, which last for approximately 3 weeks
in August.
• The Early Start enrollment depends on the
number of teachers available to participate
in the program.
• She has to create a lot of her own materials
to use with her students.
• She does a lot of translating with books,
handouts, and other resources.
• The families of the students are very
supportive of their child’s education.
17. Russian Program at Robert Frost
• Welcoming atmosphere
• Office signs are in English,
Russian and Spanish & the staff
is friendly and helpful
• This year Frost has hired two
new teachers and they now
have four “Russian” classrooms
• Russian is the common
instruction language, but the
demographics are much more
diverse
18. Atmosphere
• There isn’t a lot of
Russian in the halls, but
the classrooms are rich
Russian environments
• Resources are precious
and most of the
materials belong to the
teachers personally
19. School District Resources
• The Pasco School District is
very supportive
• District is willing to buy Russian
materials, but few materials that
are “aligned” are available (The
District bought “National
Geographic for Kids”, translated
into Russian)
• Very hard to find good materials
that are aligned with district
curriculum (Standards and
approach are different)
20. Resources Continued
• In Russian education, materials
are very traditional and
penmanship is very important
• Students don’t start to write
(“publish”) until at least second
grade
• The Russian teachers at Frost
spend an exhausting amount of
time translating district
curriculum, and assessments
21. • Translating caused Miss Babiy
to want to quit in her first year
• Woodburn, Oregon has a
Russian program (Pasco bought
“Bridges in Math” Translated)
• Russian teachers feel that the
district should hire a person to
develop Russian curriculum
Resources Continued
22. Pasco School District
Curriculum
• Russian is very phonetic
• Instruction of “high
frequency” words is not
helpful
• District Phonetics Program
“Fountains & Pinell” is not
translated into Russian
23. Translations
• All district messages are
printed in English, Russian
and Spanish
• Some examples are medical
forms, IEP forms, and district
notices, but not newsletters
(example: lice newsletter),
curriculum, assessments
• Russian teachers are not
always happy with the
translations
24. Community Resources
• Kennewick Mid-Columbia
Library does have some
Russian books, but they are
mostly very traditional
• One can buy some U.S.
books that are translated into
Russian, but they are
expensive (Dr. Seuss & Eric
Carl)
• More Newberry books are
being translated into Russian
25. • This year Mrs. Polyuhk has
26 second grade students
• 60% are Ukrainian
• 30% are Maldivian
• Two families from
Kyrgyzstan
• One family from Azerbaijan
Demographics at Robert Frost
26. Other Ethnicities
• Other ethnicities that
have been in the
program at Frost
include:
• Moldavians
• Belo Russians
27. Russian Parent Input
• The only parent approval
information that was available was
antidotal. Mrs. Polyuhk said that she
believes that the parents are happy
with the program because there are
groups in the class that traditionally
would not have had anything to do
with each other & all are using
Russian which wasn’t welcome in
the past because it was forced upon
ethnic minorities. Also she has had
students that speak English
perfectly whose parents wanted
them to be in the Russian class
anyway.
28. Question
• Working with Second Language
Learners by Stephen Cary Pg.98
• “How do I support a student’s first
language when I don’t speak the
language?”
29. Answer
• Pg. 98
• Establish a classroom community that values and celebrates all
languages
• Encourage parents to develop and maintain primary language at
home
• Offer primary language support through bilingual parent and
community volunteers, peers, cross-age tutors, and extended
day programs
• Learn and use some second language yourself with students
• Understand the difference between supporting and developing
the primary language
30. Question
• Working with Second Language
Learners by Stephen Cary Pg.111
• “How do I minimize communication
conflicts in a multicultural classroom?”
31. Suggestions
• Pg. 111
• “Establish a classroom that values and
celebrates diversity
• Seek out and exploit student common
ground
• Provide frequent opportunities for
meaningful collaborative work “
32. References
• Thanks and appreciation to Tatiana Polyuhk &
Irina Babiy at Robert Frost Elementary for their
assistance with this presentation
• Working with Second Language Learners
Steven Cary
33. References Continued
Live and learn Russian (2010). Retrieved on November 26, 2010 from Live
and Learn Language website:
http://www.liveandlearnlanguages.com/russian.html
Russia : Language, culture, customs and etiquette (2010). Retrieved on
November 26, 2010 from Kwintessential website:
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/russia-
country-profile.html
Russian culture (2010). Retrieved on November 26, 2010 from Wikipedia
website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_culture
Russian traditions (2010). Retrieved on November 26, 2010 from
Advantour Website: http://www.advantour.com/russia/traditions.htm
