Areli Is A  Dreamer

Written by Areli Morales

Illustrated by Luisa Uribe

Dreamers

Written by Yuyi Morales

illustrated by Yuyi Morales

Kindness Is My Superpower

Written By Alicia Ortego

Illustrated by Alicia Ortego

My Two Border Towns

Written by David Bowles

Illustrated by Erika Meza

My Two Border Towns is about a boy and his father who every other Saturday take a trip to “the other side” which is a town in Mexico that borders Texas where they live. While in Mexico they visit family members, run errands, and pick up various supplies.  As the boy and his father are getting ready to head back over the border to Texas they stop right before the border to help people who are camping out because they have not been accepted into the U.S. and Mexico states that they cannot take them either.  The boy becomes upset that the immigrant families he has made friends with must live in such harsh conditions and hopes they are finally granted access to the U.S. where they can be reunited.

Areli Is A Dreamer is about a girl named Areli and her brother Alex who live in Mexico with their Abuela. Areli’s parents live in the United States where they will eventually be reunited. Areli is the last one to join her family in New York City and initially has a hard time fitting in with her classmates. She even becomes afraid that she will be deported back to Mexico.  Her classmates taunt her lack of ability to speak English and even call her Illegal. However, a class trip to Ellis Island helps her see her immigration to the U.S. as something bigger and brighter and gives her confidence to find her purpose in her new country.

Kindness is my Superpower is about a boy named Lucas who sometimes makes mistakes. One day Lucas was in a bad mood so he teased his friend Lisa for having glasses which made her cry. After school, he was greeted by his disappointed mother. His mother spoke to him about the importance of kindness and Lucas was determined to show kindness the next day at school.

Dreamers is about a mother and child who bravely immigrate to a new country. At first they make several mistakes and struggle to understand the language. Over time they come across a library where they learn how to read and write in the language of  their new country and  overtime make a home of their own. 

I would use the story Kindness Is My Superpower to create a classroom culture that promotes kindness. I would have students help list all of the different acts of kindness the character does in the story and then have them brainstorm additional acts of kindness that could be done in their everyday lives. I would post the acts of kindness in the classroom for students to reference throughout the school year.

I would use the story My Two Border Towns to emphasize the importance of utilizing illustrations as a text feature. I would do this by having printed copies of all of the illustrations presented in the text and have students find the sentences from the text that are supported by the illustrations. I also think this text could be used to talk about the Social Standards; why people move to the United States and the difference between immigration and migration. 

I will use the story Dreamers in my classroom at the beginning of the year to spark students’ passion for learning. I think this book is a great example of how anyone can accomplish their dreams with a little hard work. This book also shows that you can learn anything you want to if you just try. I would have students think and write down their dreams for when they grow. Then I would have students brainstorm and write down the different ways they can accomplish those dreams. Additionally, I would stress the importance of resilience and have students think of ways they have shown resilience and their life so far. 

I will use the story Areli Is A Dreamer to teach about diversity and the importance of being inclusive and not exclusive. This book will help me teach my students about empathy for the hardships others may experience. I will do this by having students write down their family’s cultural traditions and what makes them unique. Students will share this information and I will post it around the classroom. Additionally, I will have students reflect on a time when they may have felt excluded and brainstorm ways they can prevent others from experiencing that. 

I would use the book Areli Is A Dreamer to create a social literacy-rich environment by having students routinely grow through a sequence of steps that help them ask and answer questions  about the text, as well as relate the text to their own lives. Students would always begin by reading the book from cover to cover and then providing a brief summary either written or verbally. Next, students would think about how the story made them feel and how they could relate their life to the characters in the story. Lastly, students will create questions that could be answered from the text. This routine could be done using partner reading, small groups based on academic ability, or done independently. Students would find a place in the classroom where these routine questions are already prepared for them to use. 

I would use the book Dreamers to create a social literacy-rich environment by having students work in partners to read the entire story and write a brief summary. Then students will write about a time they faced something difficult and were resilient. They will create a drawing to go along with the situation they described. Their descriptions and drawings will be posted around the classroom to be referenced.  

I would use the book My Two Border Towns to create a social literacy-rich environment by having students work in groups to first read the book by taking turns to read each page aloud for their group. I would have students collaboratively sequence the events in the story and then have them write their individual opinions on if they would want to live in a transnational community and why. I would post their opinions around the classroom to be referenced.

I would use the book Kindness Is My Superpower to create a social literacy-rich environment by having students work in partners or groups to read the text. Students will create posters that describe Lucas' problem and the ways in which he shows kindness. Each student will list on the poster how being shown kindness or showing kindness to others make them feel. Last, students will brainstorm different ways they can be kind at school, at home, and in their neighborhood. The posters will be presented to the class and posted  around the classroom to be referenced throughout the school year.