This book will help you understand some of the most powerful cultural differences that can lead to classroom conflict for many students and how you can actually capitalize on these differences to make your classroom a harmonious, productive environment. Drawing from a seven-year action research study of elementary classrooms with high percentages of immigrant students, the authors describe a two-part framework that makes many cultural differences understandable and easier to bridge. Discover how the home culture of Latino immigrant students often differs from the "mainstream" culture of U.S. schools. Learn how to take advantage of cultural strengths to improve classroom management, student performance, and school-parent relations. And explore ways to use the "power of the group" to maintain a focus on instruction. Throughout the book there are lots of teacher-developed strategies for tackling the total spectrum of problems you encounter: from organizing the classroom to grouping students, from establishing rules to motivating reluctant learners, from conferencing with parents to rewarding progress.