Kelsey Barrett

1/28/2019

ELED 424

Nina Ballew

Text Set & Interactive Read Aloud Project

First Grade Text Set – Theme on Mirrors and Windows into different diversities with a focus on family

1) Yo Soy Muslim by Mark Gonzales: This book is written as a father’s letter to his daughter, the whole
book is from the father’s point of view. From the beginning, the father makes comparisons between
skyscrapers and Mayan pyramids which connect to the character’s diversity. The father introduces the
idea that everyone has questions, and that others will often ask what you are, and where you are from.
He even mentions how there will come a day that others will not be kind. The father introduces his
daughter to the Spanish and Arabic languages that their ancestors spoke. The father explains the
different jobs that the ancestors did. After every page, the father tells the daughter to say “Yo Soy
Muslim”, which helps the daughter identify her lineage with the stories her father is telling. This book
uses uplifting and beautiful vocabulary and is accompanied by amazing illustration.

2) Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Mendez: This book is written from the viewpoint of a young
girl, who always gets asked the question “where are you from?”. She often gets asked if her mom or her
dad are from here as well. She decides to turn to her Abuelo because he looks different in the same way
she does. She asks him if he could tell her where they are from, and he brings her on an explanatory
adventure to the Pampas. He makes many comparisons on what it looks like there, and what the people
are like there. He explains the animals and the environment that is there and the variations in the
scenery. He explains roles of grandparents and children, and how all of the family is connected. This
book is extremely colorful and enlightening.

3) Dreamers – Yuyi Morales: This book is a story about a mother and her son. This book is written from
the viewpoint of the mother. The story starts with them packing a bag and crossing a bridge, into a
whole new country and saying goodbye to Corazon. When they made it to the other side of the bridge,
they became immigrants. The environment around them and languages being spoken were unlike their
home. There were so many new things to the mother and son, and they made a lot of mistakes in their
new home. One day, the mother and son wondered into a library and their lives were changed. They
were in awe with the books and the possibilities. They learned how to speak, read and write and to
express themselves in their new home thanks to the library. The mother expresses how they now have
two languages and two places that they love. This books illustrations are captivating, and the story truly
touches ones heart.

This text set is designed for first grade students. Any students in the primary grades could
benefit from interacting with this text set. I chose to design this text set for first grade because the
theme of family is the focus social studies education in first grade. Each book has a consistent theme of
the importance of family. This text set has a majority of language that a first grade student most likely
has the ability to comprehend. Each book has a reasonable amount of vocabulary that may be unknown
to the student. For example, each book contains words in Spanish. This variation of known and unknown
vocabulary in addition to a few words in a different language than English exposes students to reading
content that is above their current reading capabilities.

Each of the books has its own unique story, but there are multiple parallels between the stories.
The theme of the text set is not just focused on families, but to allow students mirrors and windows into
different diversities, that are likely different than their own. The books all have the theme of family that
originates from different places. The elders in each book are able to explain where the family came
from. In each book, especially the first two in the text series, really focus on the differences in the
environment between where they come from and where they are now. This helps students start to
imagine and comprehend where the characters are from. All of the books mention in some way that
they look different from everyone else. When the characters find out where they are from, and about
their ancestors, it allows the inquiring child to identify with the stories that are told. I chose to put Yo
Soy Muslim first because it is written in a flowing poetry-style. Near the end of the book, it provides
important messages about how the love of people was there before any borders are. There are a lot of
messages in this book that help students on their moral development and understanding of one
another. I felt like reading Yo Soy Muslim was a introduction to Where Are You From?. This book was
more of a fiction story that shows an elder explaining where they are from. In Yo Soy Muslim, the father
tells his daughter that there are many questions that people may ask about where you come from, and
that they may not be very kind about it. In Where Are You From?, the young girl deals with this
predicament and turns to her Abuela to help her understand where she is from. I chose Dreamers as the
last book in the text set, because this book is about a mother and a young son coming to the new
country, rather than a family that has already been there. This book explains struggles, trials and
tribulations that the two faced in the new country and how they were able to settle with the help of the
library.

Interactive Read Aloud Plan:

Scripted Introduction:

 “The title of this book is called “Dreamers”, written by Yuyi Morales

 Show the class the cover with back and front of the book showing to see the whole picture of
the woman and son
 “This is a woman and her son, these are the dreamers that we are going to read about in the
story!”…”Think to yourself what they could be dreaming about”…..wait a few seconds
 Read the inside cover which directly scrips questions for the students listening about dreaming
of a new life in a new country.

This is the scripted introduction, I chose to keep it short and to the point. The text in the inside cover
is quite long, and conveniently serves as a solid scripted introduction into the text. It leads students
to introspect on ideas that they have had, and feelings that they have possibly felt. The inside cover
is quite captivating.

5 stopping points:

1. Pg. 3: Engage with students and question them to look what is in the backpack, what items they
chose to pack. Hone in on the illustration.
 2. Pg. 4: Inquire student to come up with an idea in their own head of where they thing the long
bridge is going.
3. Pg. 6: Stop and take a second to think about their future.
4. Pg. 10 Comment on what they are doing and how they made a mistake
5. Pg. 20: Inquire how their life was changed.

Structure post reading discussion:

I think that this discussion has a lot of possibilities, and can go so many ways. I would make the focal
point of the discussion how the characters life was before finding the library and after finding the library,
and how the library changed their lives. A think-pair-share would be a successful model to have students
engage in the post reading discussion.

Question for individual evaluation:

1. Did everyone show that they were thinking about the story and the pictures?

I chose this single question for self-evaluation because it covers the demands that I am expecting of the
students. Their mind and eyes are expected to be attentive of the story and pictures at all times,
especially during the five designated stop times. This self-evaluation allows the student to assess their
behavior during this interactive read aloud aligned with the expectations.

Record of reading for the text set:

As suggested in the course text, the most effective record of reading records genres, good leads, authors
and illustrator style, themes and topics. Creating a chart where all of the books can be recorded with the
mentioned features. The record of reading serves as a useful data collection tool to monitor the
elements of books read with the class.

Possibilities for written or artistic response:

For an artistic response, I would prompt the kids to make their own illustration of the mother or son (or
them together) learning something in the library! Before the artistic response, I would brainstorm ideas
of things that they could be learning in the library. This would help students extend their thinking of the
possibilities of what they two could be learning. (About animals, about the roads, about food, etc.)

Citations:

Gonzales, M. (2017). Yo soy Muslim: a fathers letter to his daughter. New York: Salaam Readers,
an imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens.

Méndez Yamile Saied, & Kim, J. (2019). Where are you from? New York, NY: Harper, an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers

Morales, Y., & Sananes, A. (2019). Dreamers. Solon, OH: Findaway World, LLC.