Sounds of Our Cultures Narrative Input

1. Once there were three sisters, Maria, Esperenza, and Amalia that lived in a lovely village in Mexico. They had many friends that lived near them and they loved learning in school.

2. One summer day their father came home and announced to the family that they will finally be joining the rest of their family in the United States. Although the girls were excited to live near their family again and go on their first plane ride, they were nervous about how different their life would be living in a foreign country.

3. In the fall, Amalia started third grade and Maria started first grade at Hawthorne Elementary near their new home in Everett, WA while their younger sister stayed home with their mom. Both Amalia and Maria were excited to be in school again because they both loved learning. They both soon realized that school in America was very different than in Mexico. No matter how hard they tried, it was difficult for them to understand their teachers and the other students.

4. The teacher, Miss Smith, tried her best to help Amalia understand how to do her work. Amalia listened thoughtfully and tried to make connections to things she had learned before.

5. Amalia’s favorite class was music with Miss Filipek because even though she couldn’t understand everything Miss Filipek said, the music reminded her of her homeland. One day, Miss Filipek showed a map of the world and pointed to many places, including Mexico. She also heard her say percussion, which sounded to Amalia like the Spanish word, percusion, she began to wonder if they would be learning about drums. When Amalia got home that evening, she shared with her younger sisters and parents the exciting new things she would be learning in her music class.

6. The next time she had music class with Miss Filipek, Amalia was excited to see something that looked and sounded like a drum.

7. Amalia couldn’t wait for her next music class, she wondered if they would get to play some of the percussion instruments Miss Filipek had in the classroom! When she got their, she discovered that they would get to try many different types of drums. Some you played by tapping your hands and others that you struck with wooden sticks to make the sound. Amalia discovered the harder she hit the drum the louder it would sound whether it was with the sticks or her hands.

8. Amalia also discovered that she could make the drums sound different by changing the tension on the skin of the drum. If the skin was really tight it produced a high pitched sound but if the skin was looser it produced a low pitched sound. Amalia really liked hearing her drum make a loud, high pitched sound. That night, at home Amalia was excited to share with her family all that she had learned about percussion instruments. Encouraged by her excitement with school, her dad brought out a drum that he had played as a child in Mexico.

9. Excited, yet nervous Amalia decided she wanted to share her dad’s percussion instrument with her class. With the help of her older cousin who spoke both Spanish and English, she prepared what to say about the instrument and practiced until she felt comfortable saying everything she wanted to in English. Then one day, Amalia bravely raised her hand in class and shared about her dad’s drum. From that day on Amalia’s confidence grew and she continued to learn more every day. That same night Maria shared at the dinner table, Miss Filipek introduced her class to woodwind instruments from around the world. Maria’s mother unexpectedly left the table and returned with a flute she had played as a child. This gave Maria an idea, she smiled knowingly to her sister Amalia.