The Story and an Introduction to Tropical Islands and Puerto Rico
Instructional Objectives:
Time Required:
3 half hour sessions
Advance Preparation and Prerequisites Knowledge/Skills:
Materials/Resources Needed:
StoryBook-
Isla,
written by Arthur Dorros, illustrated by Elisa Kleven. Dutton
Children's BooksWeather
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/graphicsversion/bigmain.html
Vocabulary:
"Isla" and "Abuela" from the Spanish language (the
book contains a glossary of Spanish terms. There are several in the story).
Sparkling, damp, shallow,
soaring,
jewel, scoop up, zooming, colored, harbor,
countryside, snorkeling, syrupy, ripest, chirping.
Procedures:
Session 1 - Video
1. Introduce the video Puerto Rican Heritage, from American Cultures for Children. Schlessinger Video. Tell the students to think about their own experiences and compare them to the children in the video as they watch.
2. Show Video pausing when appropriate for discussion.
3. When the video is over have the students tell about it, discuss the children's ideas and observations with the class, and ask questions as necessary.
4. Explain why they saw this video. This video is an introduction
to Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican Americans. We viewed this film because
the story we will be reading is about Puerto Rican Americans and an imaginary
journey to grandma's island (Puerto Rico).
Session 2 - Story
(This story is in my district's language arts adoption
so I use the Teachers Edition as a tool)
1. Building Background and Concept- Ask the children what they know about tropical islands and make a web with the information that the children come up with.
1a. Quickwrite: write a few sentences about whether or not you would like to live on a tropical island.
2.Get more specific-Use a previously prepared Excel template
of a Tropical Island Chart with 3 columns (one for
animals, one for plants and the other for places)(Brainstorm
Page) to record the children's brainstorm on these items. I like to
use a videoconverter to display the chart on the TV monitor or an LCD projector,
and have one or more of my students fill out the chart as we go. If this
is not available to you you can do it on the board. Another option is to
print out the template and use it as a ditto to have the children fill
out their own. Save these to use with other lessons on map making and storywriting.
3. Vocabulary Strategies- Use vocabulary words in context to have the children figure out the meaning (our district adoption has a transparency with five vocabulary words in context: soaring, jewel, harbor, countryside, sparkling).
3a. Quiz the students on the vocabulary by giving them the definition and having them guess which word it is.
4. Pre-reading strategies-drawing on previous experience.
Tell the students to use what they already know to figure out meaning when
reading the story.
5. Listen to story on tape (if you have it), and have
the students read along with the tape. If you do not have the tape do a
read aloud.
6. Discuss the story. Prompt the students with questions.
7. Reread- have the students read silently or in pairs
for practice.
Session 3 - Internet
1. Talk about what we are doing
2. Go to Puerto Rico sites and discuss-choose several
sites to go to as a class
http://elyunque.com/Photos.htmRainforest
Sample questions: What things can you see at El Yunque?
Is it a rainforest? A town? Both? What are some plants like in this rainforest?
What are some birds like in this rainforest? Which was your favorite picture?
Why?
http://puertorico51.org/imagemap/virtual_tour.htmVirtual
Tour
Temporarily out of service, but a wonderful resource
when up
http://caribbeanchoice.com/tidbits/puertorico/map.htm
How many smaller islands are surrounding the island of
Puerto Rico?
Geography- What is the area of Puerto Rico? What is the
Puerto Rico's climate like? What are some natural hazards?
People- What is the population of Puerto Rico? What languajes
are spoken in Puerto Rico?
Goverment- What is the capital of Puerto Rico?
Economy- What are some of Puerto Rico's industries?
Communications- How many Internet users are they in Puerto
Rico?
Transportation-How many ports and harbors are they in
Puerto Rico? Can you name any?
http://odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rq.html
Fact book
Same types of questions as previous link/site
http://puertoricoinfo.com/
Info
This site is bilingual (Eng/Span) with
lots of different topics.
One of the topics is games. Here you can ask Señorita
Victoria a question and she will give you your fortune.
You can view beautiful photographs of Puerto Rico in
the gallery.
General information on Puerto Rico is available such
as: Arts and Crafts, Sports, Weather, etc.
http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/caribb/pr.htm
World Atlas
What currency (money) is used in Puerto Rico?What are
the major religions in Puerto Rico? What is the highest point in Puerto
Rico? What date and time is it in Puerto Rico?
http://welcome.topuertorico.org/
Welcome to Puerto Rico
Explore Puerto Rico- How many minicipalities are
there in Puerto Rico? What are municipalities?Do we
have municipalities here? What do we have that is similar to a municipality?
Do you know another country that has municipalities? (México)
http://latinworld.com/caribe/puertorico/index.html
Here you can find sites such as Ricky Martin's Fan Club
(music link) and more. This site is a bit commercial,
but it has some good info and links.
Patriotic symbols (in Span) @
http://prtc.net/~migrios/main_frame.htm
http://baker-design.com/html/pr_elyunque.htm
Rainforest (and other) virtual tours
3. Go to aerial views and discuss aerial views and maps and relate to book illustrations
4. Tie it all together.. relate to book
Activities:
Watch a video on Puerto Rican Americans
Read the story "Isla"
Look at Puerto Rico sites
Grow a pineapple from instructions on @ http://lofthouse.com/hobby/garden/pineapple.html
Extensions or Follow-up (related Special Projects,
events):
Write stories about an imaginary journey where you
are flying over your own town. What would you see? What would you do? Illustrate
the stories in the style of Elisa Kleven's artwork. Make a class book called
Flying
Over (your Town). My Sample:
Learn more about the author, Arthur Dorros.
Arthur Dorros home page http://arthurdorros.com/
Bibliography http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/dorrosbib.htm
Fan Club http://allscifi.com/Topics/Info_11596.asp
(Teacher Resources http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/dorros.htm)
Learn more about the illustrator, Elisa Kleven.
Elisa Kleven Home Page http://elisakleven.com/
(Teacher resources http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/kleven.htm)
Elisa Kleven Biography http://penguinputnam.com/Author/AuthorFrame?0000014333
Learn more about islands (types and more), and geographical
features found on tropical islands (see books and videos in resources).
Learn more about the rainforest (See books and videos
in resources).
Learn more about the ocean.
Explore the subject of weather.
Grow a pineapple or other tropical fruit. http://lofthouse.com/hobby/garden/pineapple.html
Homework:
Investigate: Where your ancestors (or grandma) are
from? Bring photographs from home to share with the class, look up the
country (city, town, etc.) on the map. Interview an ancestor and present
the information to the class. Homework
Form
Evaluation:
Homework Evaluation
| Turned in on time | 10 points |
| Asked all questions (complete) | 10 points |
| Clear record of the answers (handwriting, punctuation, grammar) | 10 points |
| Includes photographs, magazine pictures or drawings | 10 points |
| Sharing (telling the class about it) | 10 points |
Illustrative Materials (worksheets, handouts, graphic
organizers, photos, maps, and answer keys):
Homework Form
Brainstorm Page
Student Work Samples:
Illustrations and Stories from the extension activities
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The Story |
Compass Rose |
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Maps |
Island Stories |
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Island Flags |
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Jessica N. Rivera
November 2002