Entry #5 - challenges in setting and vocabulary

For this assignment I reviewed Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and Dona Flor by Pat Mora.  I chose one book that I thought might be problematic for non-native English students and one book that might be problematic for non-native Latino students.  I wanted to showcase how students can use their own culture and experiences to teach others. 

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type (2001 Caldecott Honor) tells the story of Farmer Brown's cows, who find an old typewritter in the barn and proceed to write letters to Farmer Brown, listing various demands.  The elements I feel would affect student comprehension are: the barn setting, the types of animals you would find on a farm, the use of a typewritter, and the idea of making demands and ultimatums. Not all cultures have farms and barnyard animals, which could be a challenge for comprehension.  Instruction for ELLs could include using pictures and songs (Old MacDonald) to teach about farm animals.  Typewritters have become almost obsolete, so this vocabulary would have to be explicitly taught so students would understand what is happening in the story.  You could compare a typewritter to a computer and the sounds of the keys clicking and clacking to the sounds of a computer keyboard.  I also know that some cultures find the idea of ultimatums offensive, especially when talking about a fictitious situation such as animals giving an ultimatum to a human.  I felt many ELL students might struggle with various aspects of this story.

Dona Flor is a giant lady who lives in a tiny village in the American Southwest.  Popular with her neighbors, she can often be found reading aloud to the children.  One day, all the villagers hear a terrifying noise.  Everyone is afraid, but not Flor.  She sets off to find what is making the noise.  She discovers the small secret behind the great big noise.  The elements I felt would affect English speaking students are: the number of Spanish words used in the story, the idea of oral storytelling across generations, the types of houses and building materials of the area, and the process of making and uses for tortillas.  I felt this story would present an opportunity for Spanish speaking students to be leaders and help their English speaking classmates learn a bit about their culture.  I felt the English speaking students would struggle with the Spanish vocabulary used in the story.  One instructional strategy would be to have Spanish speakers translate words for the English only speakers.  You could also teach students to infer meaning from the text around the Spanish words.  Oral storytelling is a big part of the Latino community that might be hard for English only students to understand.  Having Latino students share stories that have been passed down through generations would help English only speakers understand this concept.  The setting of the Southwest can present many differences in building materials and uses of houses than what we see in cities.  Looking at pictures of houses in the Southwest and houses in cities and comparing and contrasting them would help students understand the setting and visualize parts of the story.  While our English only students probably know what a tortilla is, they most likely have no idea how to make one (and why it needs to be dried in the sun, like in the story).  You could have Latino students share different uses for tortillas and explain the process of making tortillas.  I actually used this story in my class and my Spanish speaking students loved being able to help their English only classmates.  They felt empowered that they finally knew something their classmates did not.  Too often, it is the other way around.