Issue 7 - Alma Flor Ada

Smiles & Butterflies
Words of inspiration for teachers
Alma Flor Ada & F. Isabel Campoy
•
American Reading Company
Authors in the Classroom
An ABC Book
The alphabet is an excellent structure with which
to organize the content of a book. ABC groupings
can be simple or sophisticated and are valid for
any age group. Consider:
• ABC of the students, grouping all the
students according to letters in their names
• ABC of the class or of the school
• ABC of a given topic (our goals in life, our
dreams for the future, our future professions,
the places we would like to travel)
• ABC of our culture in general, or of a specific
topic (authors, artists, scientists, discoverers,
etc.)
For the theory that informs
this practice, and multiple
examples, see Alma Flor Ada
and F. Isabel Campoy.
Authors in the Classroom:
Transformative Education
Experience. [Allyn & Bacon]
Cultural Enrichment
Some of the most constant and magnificent
contributors to the world of art have been Hispanic.
Muralists such as the Mexican Orozco, Rivera, and
Siqueiros, and artists such as Miró, Picasso and
Dalí from Spain, Botero from Colombia, Frida Kahlo
from Mexico, Wiferdo Lam and Amalia Peláez from
Cuba, and Antonio Martorell from Puerto Rico are
but a few of the many who have brought attention
to the landscape, the faces, and the humanity of our
culture. We invite you to explore with your students
these and the many other names associated with
the art of famous Hispanics in the world.
Home/School Interaction
An ABC of the Family
Create a family ABC book by discussing things that
are significant for the family using each of the letters.
Saltar la cuerda /Jumping Rope
Midday
In the school yard,
Young girls
Meet to play.
Two hold the rope,
One jumps inside
Keeping the rhythm.
All sing at once.
Tarde en la tarde
de verano
en la plaza del pueblo
se reúnen los amigos.
Cada uno tiene una cuerda
cada uno, una canción
todo saltan muy alto
al mismo son.
Late afternoon
On a summer day
In the town plaza
The friends gather.
Each has a rope,
Each has a song,
Up in the air
All jump along.
Volume 1, Issue 7
•
Page 1
“Saltar la cuerda/Jumping Rope”
by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy
from the book Mamá Goose, p.47.
Mediodía
en el patio de la escuela
las niñas
se reúnen a jugar.
Dos sostienen la cuerda
una salta dentro
y las tres mantienen
el mismi compás.
Smiles & Butterflies
•
Volume 1, Issue 6
•
Page 2
Books, CDs, & Videos
Abecedario [In Spanish]
This CD offers a song from each letter of the Spanish alphabet contained in Alma
Flor Ada’s book Abecedario de los animales.
The songs created and sung by Suni Paz offer a joyful opportunity to interact with
the letters from various angles--their shape, the sound they represent, their place in
the alphabet, words that begin with each letter.
Invite children to:
• Write their own letter poems.
• Expand on the letter(s) of their names. For example: What words do they like that
begin with that letter? Whose names begin with the same letter as theirs?
• Create a classroom ABC book, including on each page the names, photos, or drawings of all the children
whose names and/or last names begin with that letter.
Rosa Raposa [In English]
Isabel Campoy retells three adventures of trickster Rosa Raposa, a fox able
to outsmart Jaguar.
Invite students to:
• Compare the three stories to explore how the characters are depicted in
all three.
• Observe the wonderful illustrations by Jose Aruego and discuss why the
illustrators chose to paint the jaguar the color they did.
• Retell the stories with the aid of the illustration, then act them out as skits.
Cristina and the Frog and Cristina y la rana [Separate editions]
Cristina, an only child, would like a playmate. When her mother reads her the fairy
tale “The Princess and the Frog,” Cristina goes out to the garden to find a frog to kiss,
hoping it will turn not into a prince, but into a girl. When Cristina’s parents return
from the hospital with a baby sister, she is sure her magic turned out wrong since this
“froggy thing” is so small!
• Invite students who have siblings to share their sibling stories. Those who don’t
have siblings can make up imaginary stories.
• Have students who can write create pages for a classroom book: What I Would Like
to Do with You. Each can refer to their favorite (or an imaginary) brother or sister.
Explore With Us
Books and CDs by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel
Campoy can be obtained from
www.delsolbooks.com.
Visit www.almaflorada.com and www.
isabelcampoy.com and send Alma Flor and
Isabel your comments on their books, CDs,
and DVDs.
Learn more about enriching the lives of your
students through a wealth of books by visiting
www.americanreading.com.
Inspiring Words
To say the right word is to heal a wound.
Send your friends a kind word!
Alma Flor Ada & F. Isabel Campoy