Jouanah-A Hmong Cinderella Adapted by: Jewell Reinhart Coburn with Tzexa Cherta Lee

Genre: Multicultural Literature

"Jouanah" is the Hmong version of the traditional Cinderella story. I decided to create a graphic organizer using "Kidspiration" which compares the two versions of this world renowned tale. 

Diary of a Worm by: Doreen Cronin

Genre: Fiction

In this book, a young worm tells about his daily encounters and what it is like to be a worm in his diary. It is an extremely comical read because the worm is given human characteristics. For my response, I wrote three entries of what a diary of a bird might look like. 

The King's Chessboard by: David Birch

Genre: Multicultural Literature


This book is a great way to incorporate literature and mathematics into the same lesson. For my response, I had to first figure out the the wise man's formula in the book: each day the grains of rice were multiplied by two. I then created an Excel file and listed 1-64 in the first column for the number of squares in a chessboard. I then inserted the formula (SUM(B1*2)= in B2 and dragged the formula to the last number. In the program Comic Life, I created 64 individual squares and filled in every other square with black so that I could create a "chessboard". For each square I created a text box and wrote in each of the calculations. Through this activity, I learned more about the program Excel and the mathematical formula used in the book. It also made the book more meaningful for me since I could see how clever the wise man's plan was (he received ALOT of rice in the end!)

Volcanoes and Earthquakes by: Robin Kerrod

Genre: Non-fiction

I think it is important to have books that are about all the subject areas in a classroom library. I chose this book to incorporate the subject of Science. In my response, I categorized the different types of volcanic rocks that were discussed in the book. I found six pictures of each rock and used the information found in the book to describe them. 

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by: Laura Joffe Numeroff

Genre: Fiction

Vincent Van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars by: Brad Bucks and Joan Holub

Genre: Non-fiction  (Biography)

Las Cartas de Alain by: Enrique Perez Dias

Genre: International Literature

Chapter Book

In the article we read in class about "Book Floods" I learned that a classroom library should contain books that are in the language of ESL students in the class. It is important that ESL students continue to become literate in their first language while they are learning a second. It also instills confidence in students that their language is appreciated and builds classroom community since other students witness that literature from their peers' culture are incorporated in the library. 

I read a book in Spanish called "Las Cartas de Alain". It is about a boy named Arturo who receives letters from his friend Alain. Arturo has not seen his friend Alain in over a year since he left with his family from Cuba to the United States. The reader learns in the book that his friend Alain passed away during his dangerous oceanic journey and that the letters Arturo believes to be real are in his imagination. 

I found a website that helps students learn how to construct letters and I showed the step by step instructions below. In order to write the letter I had to research the time period of the Cuban revolution and look up a map to find a city in Cuba that is near the ocean (where this story takes place). I translated one of the letters into English which could be an activity for a more advanced ESL student, but I think it would also be effective if the student wrote their letter in Spanish just so they can grasp the concept of writing letters.