DURING A LESSON Incorporate Relevant Content It is essential that students feel that the content they are learning is relevant to their lives. Basically, if students see a purpose for what they are learning they will be more willing to invest their time and effort and will remain engaged in the lesson. You can find ways to incorporate students' interests , such as music, art , TV shows. or particular sports and hobbies, into your lectures discussion, and activities. In a multicultural classroom , additional effort should be made to incorpo rate curricular materials that represent and discuss issues that are relevant to all races, ethnicities, and religions Some possible ideas include the following: Build a multicultural library that includes books that feature characters that look similar to your students. Read literature by authors from other cultures. Have students research and write about different aspects of their culture or traditions shared by their families. Assign students research projects that focus on issues that apply to their own community or cultural group. Have students share and write about artifacts from home that reflect their culture. Read local community newspapers and use the current happenings as a springboard for lessons that day. 66 Effective Classroom Management -The Essentials Use the linguistic diversity in your classroom as a springboard for a study of language and communication patterns.