Hesperia, California our setting

Materials Tia Lola Novel Bubble map worksheet or paper for drawing the bubble map Large paper for posters Crayons or markers

Motivation (Pre-Book) * Were any of you born in a country other than the U.S.? * Do any of you have family born in another country? * I have grandparents born in Italy. It was very hard when they came. They didn’t speak English and my mom use to translate for her mom. * Do any of you have to help your parents understand some English words? * Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong? Have you ever felt like people are looking at you because you are different? * We are going to read a story about a brother and sister who have family born in another country. While we read for the next few days I want you to think about how you, or someone you know, may have lives like the main characters. Pay special attention to the details in the story. I will remind you of all of these things as we read, and again at the end.

How Tia Lola Came to Visit/Stay By Julia Alvarez

Comprehension Questions (To Accommodate the Beginning of the Unit) 1.Where does most of the story take place? 2.Do the children like Tia Lola? 3.What kind of person is Tia Lola? 4.What did Tia Lola do to change the Colonel’s mind about the house color? 5.What do you think happened when the Colonel played ball with the boys? 6.How did Tia Lola change the lives of the other characters in the story? QAR - Question answer response. Categories: Right there, On My Own, Me and the Book

Meet the Author Julia Alvarez was born on March 27, 1950, in New York. Her family returned to the Dominican Republic, where Alvarez spent the first ten years of her life. Along with her sisters, Alvarez attended the American schools; in her words, she had an “American childhood” on the island. Julia’s novels for young readers include Return to Sender, Finding Miracles, Before We Were Free, and How Tia Lola Learned to Teach. She lives in Vermont with her husband and is a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College.

What We Are Going to Learn About Today * Story elements: theme, plot, setting, and characters in a story (CST ELA 3.0-Literary Response and Analysis) * How endings affect the story (CST ELA 3.2- Narrative Analysis Objective: The students will distinguish the structural features of the text and the literary terms or elements (e.g. theme, plot, setting, characters). The students will generate alternative endings to plots and identify the reason or reasons for, and the impact of the alternatives. The students will display an depth of a character in the story. Secondary objective: The students will be exposed to the issues faced by immigrant families when trying to retain their home culture and fit into their new culture, and the family dynamics that ensue for the second generation. As well as, dialogue and discuss the feelings of “in between-ness”.

Vocabulary Affords - to be able to bear without detriment Glint - to reflect light Palettes - a board that a painter puts his paints on Resemblance - to look alike Colonel - an officer in the military Lurking - to wait and hide Quaint - pleasingly old fashioned

Our Essential Questions (As applied towards a unit/theme) How are your lives similar to Miguel and Juanita’s? What challenges do Miguel and Juanita face everyday living in dos culturas? What challenges are Miguel and Juanita facing with the divorce of their parents? What role does Tia Lola take in the plot? What would Miguel and Juanita’s life be like if Tia Lola had never come to visit? What would you do differently if you were Miguel or Juanita? Or Mom, Dad, Tia Lola?

Story Elements Characters (personaje) - the people in the story Settings (lugares) - the places in the story Plot (historia)- the events that happen that give the story meaning Themes(temas) - the different things that the author is trying to tell us about; the meaning of the story.

Main Characters

Tia Lola Miguel Juanita Mom Dad

Primary Setting

Vermont

Secondary Setting New York

In Front of the Empire State Building “ She is looking up at a very, very, very tall building whose top floor muct be at heaven’s front door!”

Secondary Setting Dominican Republic

Plot and Theme Plot – Themes -

Plot and Theme Plot - Miguel and Juanita move with their mom to Vermont after their parents divorce. Tia Lola comes from the Dominican Republic to help out. Themes - family, divorce, tolerance, acceptance, culture, immigration, sympathy, “inbetween-ness”

Tia Lola Bubble Map

Medial Summary of What We Have Learned What is a character? What is a setting? What is a plot? What is a theme?

Independent/Cooperative Group Activity * Cooperative: Create a Movie Poster for How Tia Lola Came to Visit/Stay. Remember to include all of the story elements: characters, settings, plot, and theme * Independent: Write a new ending for the story. Think about the characters. What would you do differently.

Differentiated Instruction The lesson will be guided using sheltered English and realia (i.e. digital images) Guided discussion will take place to promote understanding; as well as guided explicit instruction in story elements. Cooperative groups will be made up heterogeneously in order to accommodate the different learning levels of different students. The teacher will monitor and sit in on groups.

Whole Class Assessment/Summary Students will share-out their movie posters; describing each story element. Individual students will share-out alternate endings. Questions from classmates will be addressed during share-out. Annotated notes will be taken.

Homework Interview your family and find out if any of your ancestors (or parents) have ever lived in a country other than the United States. If your family members have always lived in the United States, write about an experience from their childhood. Write a 5 sentence paragraph telling about their experience and draw a picture to go with it.

Lesson Extension Create a puppet show of a favorite part of How Tia Lola Came to Visit/Stay. Each member of your group will be responsible for creating one character and working on each of the other story elements. The extension will be a culminating activity in the following week.

Resources Slide 1. Hesperia, Ca. Digital Image. Hesperia Joshua Tree. Cfiles 12925, n.d. Web. 25 July How Tia Lola Comes to Visit/Stay Book Cover. Digital Image. tia_lola_stays.jpg. n.d. Web. 24 July Alvaraz, Julia. How Tia Lola Came to Visit/Stay. New York, NY: Random House, Print 6. Julia Alvarez. Digital Image. Julia Alvarez Bio. n.d. Web. 23 July Vermont. Digital Image. Purple House, Rural Farm. Purple House, Rural Farm Web. 24 July New York Images. Digital Image. Yankee Stadium, Hudson River Web. 23 July Empire State Building. Video. In Front of the Empire State Building. Youtube. Viaaipans. Oct Web. 23 July Dominican Republic Images. Digital Image. Beach, House Web. 25 July Hispaniola. Digital Image. Map of Hispaniola. Hispaniola in America.jpg Web. 26 July