Teaching Different Cultural Backgrounds

How would I effectively teach students from different cultural backgrounds? First, I would need to get to know my students. That is the most important strategy. You can’t teach effectively your students without knowing them! How else would you know that Student A has a birthday next week but doesn't celebrate it? Or that Student B speaks only Spanish at home? Next, I would make sure that I incorporated each of their cultural backgrounds into lessons. This way, I can be intentional about it instead of just throwing something in to lesson plans at the last minute! It's easy to throw something together. It's more difficult to develop relationships based on really getting to know someone. The latter is the best and most rewarding.