Independent Reflection 6- Yes We Are Latinos by Alma Flor Ada and F.

Isabel Campoy

Yes we are Latinos is a poetry story about different Latino kids living their lives in

America. The first child, Jose Miguel, deals with prejudices and stereotyping at school. His

family owns a taco shop and the kids make fun of him for that. His teachers tell him his name is

too hard to pronounce. Then there is Lili and Michiko, they are both Asian and Latina. They also

deal with prejudice and stereotypes based on the fact that they both speak Spanish as a first

language, but look physically Asian. These two girls are very good friends because of their

cultural backgrounds. It is told in verse poetry, a non-traditional style of poetry that does not

rhyme or look or read like poetry that many people are used to seeing.

I thought this was a really cool book! The style of poetry was unique and very cool to

read. It also was not only eye-opening to the prejudices that people in America still face every

day, but it was also informative. When each child said where they were from, there was a map

showing where those places were. It had small sections where it would define words that

students may not know, and it also had pictures on every page that exactly matched the text (to

help give more of an idea on what they were mentioning). The illustrations were cute and age

appropriate along with still being enticing and fun to look at. The story itself did not follow

typical story structure (mostly because it was written in poetry verse) so there was no real plot,

but each new child had their own mini plot about their lives, which I thought was really cool.

I would use this book to mostly teach about culture and poetry. I think it could also be

used to launch a discussion with older kids about prejudices and how to avoid stereotypes. It

could even be incorporated into an SEL lesson on bullying, sticking up for others, and accepting

diverse people. For culture, I would love to have students bring in things that are important to

their family culture or traditions. They could then write a cultural personal narrative about the
item (or items) they brought in, and why they brought them in. If you knew your students and

knew they could handle a bit more complex task, you could have them work with a partner who

has a different culture or tradition than they do, and then they could do a research project or

writing based on their partner’s culture or tradition (would work best in a highly diverse group!)

As for teaching poetry, students could work on pieces that are non-traditional forms of poetry,

similar to this story. It would not have to rhyme or follow a certain structure, but would still be a

form of poetry. When I was in middle school I was in a creative writing class and we wrote

non-traditional poetry. Then, we invited staff and family to come watch us have a small mock

“poetry slam”. We had snacks and drinks and spent all week preparing for it. I think I was 11 or

12 at the time, so you could use this book to launch a project like that for upper elementary

students.

I think this is an important book to read to get a better understanding of both poetry and

different cultures. Students may see themselves in this story and be able to relate, making it all

the better. This is definitely one I will include in my classroom library! I really enjoyed it and

think it can be used to create many teachable moments.