The essential guide for classroom teachers working with urban learners, underprivileged learners, and English language learners to close the achievement gap! This compact volume offers teachers a comprehensive introduction to the basics of working with diverse learners. Topics include: Influences--past, present, and future The urban achievement gap: separating fact from fiction and identifying what teachers can do to close the gap Understanding diversity in terms of modalities, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and more Recognizing the signs of bias, including linguistic bias, stereotyping, exclusion, selectivity, and isolation Choosing the teaching strategies that make the most difference, focusing on the learner′s attention, cognition, memory, and self-system Setting high expectations for learners A Teacher′s Checklist for working with diversity in the classroom, school, community, state, and nation Vocabulary pre-test, post-test, and summary Bibliography and Index