gAtEwAYS tO POEtRY - Santillana USA Promotional Material

Inspirational Quote
“La poesía tal vez se realza cantando cosas humildes.”
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Spanish writer)
launching the unit
g a t e w ays t o poe t ry
plant the seeds
Design a bulletin board that encapsulates the values and key objectives
of the Poetry Series as they are explored throughout the unit.
The bulletin board becomes a metaphoric garden where ideas are
planted and knowledge and student productivity are harvested. This is a
tremendous tool to create an interactive, child-centered environment to
launch the theme of the unit. You may want to use the model below as
an inspiration for your Poetry bulletin board.
¿Qué es la poesía? Engage students in a discussion about what poetry is.
Ask them if they have ever read poems or listened to someone reading
poems. Encourage them to describe the poems they have seen or heard.
Guide them so they note that poems are usually arranged in short lines
that contain rhyming words and rhythmic and musical sounds. Invite
them to talk about the themes or topics of the poems they know. List
these themes and topics on the board and categorize them in groups,
such as nature, feelings, loved-ones, love for one’s country, pets, etc.
Discuss why human beings like poetry. Tell students that poets have
always existed. Explain that even before books were invented, people
created and recited poems, and passed them on verbally to their
children for centuries. Encourage them to note the poetry around
them. They might think of nursery rhymes, books, and greeting cards.
Help them note that song lyrics are also forms of poetry! Finally, invite
volunteers to share with the class poems that they may know by memory.
Tell students that the books Pimpón and Antón Pirulero are poetry
anthologies (“antologías”), which means that they contain a selection
of poems written by different poets. Explain that all those poets were
born in Hispanic countries, or have Hispanic origins, so this is also an
opportunity to get to know people who have enriched the culture of the
millions of people who speak Spanish in the world.
130
¡Abramos las puertas! Motivate students to create their own
reduced version of the bulletin board in which they record
notes, sayings, summaries, drawings, verses, citations from
the books, elaboration, and amplifications that connect
the knowledge learned as they read the Poetry books of
Puertas al sol. Students may use this “map of learning” as
the cover of a portfolio or a personal collection of work
and activities developed throughout this unit.
poe t ry
¿Has visto un murciélago alguna vez? ¿Dónde lo
has visto? ¿Has visto algún otro animal curioso,
como el murciélago? ¿Cuál? ¿Dónde lo viste?
Describe el animal. ¿Qué tiene de curioso?
(Have you ever seen a bat? Where did you see
it? Have you seen any other unusual animal
like the bat? Which one? Where did you see it?
Describe the animal. What about it is unusual?)
critical / multicultural /
anti - bias phase
Si fueras a escribir un poema acerca de la
cultura indígena de tu país, o de otra cultura
que te interese, ¿sobre qué trataría tu poema? ¿Por
qué elegiste ese tema?
(If you were to write a poem about the
indigenous culture of your country, or another
one that interests you, what would your poem
be about? Why did you choose that subject?)
3
Appl y
¿Por qué piensas que Humberto Ak’abal
tradujo sus poemas al español? ¿Por qué
piensas que somos afortunados de poder
entenderlos y aprender de ellos?
(Why do you think that Humberto Ak’abal
translated his poems to Spanish? Why do
you think that we are fortunate to be able to
appreciate them, and learn from them?)
Vocabulary Development
Los mayas sabían mucho de matemáticas,
arquitectura y astronomía. ¿Por qué piensas
que debemos asegurarnos de que toda la gente
conozca y aprecie las contribuciones de las
culturas indígenas?
(The Maya knew a lot about mathematics,
architecture, and astronomy. Why do you think
that we should make sure that everyone knows
and appreciates the contributions of indigenous
cultures?)
2. Ask them to check other places where the
same word is used.
5
creative / transformative phase
¿Cómo podrías aprender más sobre los indígenas
de tu país? ¿De qué manera podrías enseñarles
a otros lo que has aprendido acerca del valor de
estos pueblos indígenas?
(How could you learn more about the native
peoples of your country? How could you share
with others what you have learned about the
valuable contributions of these peoples?)
introducing new words
Use the following strategies to guide students to
figure out the meaning of any unknown words
that they encounter as they read each poem:
1. Tell them to explore the context and the
illustrations to find clues to the meanings.
3. Suggest that they examine the structure of
the words to see if they recognize word
parts that can help them.
4. Encourage them to draw upon their prior
knowledge so that every student feels
compelled to contribute to the discussion.
5. When necessary, refer to a school
dictionary. Read the appropriate definition
aloud and discuss it with the class.
For example, guide students so they notice the
prefix in- and the rest of the information in the
poem “Grillos” (page 20) about what the crickets
“do” to help them figure out the meaning of the
word “inútiles” (useless). Help them to see the
root “rascar” (scratch) in the word “rascadera,” at
the end of the same poem.
Point out words that describe (adjectives) in
relationship to the nouns modified by asking:
¿Qué palabra dice cómo son las tierras? (“altas,”
p. 18) ¿Qué palabra dice cuántos son los héroes?
(“mil,” p. 18) ¿Qué palabra dice cómo es la
cultura maya? (“gran,” p.18)
To help students apply or extend their
knowledge of the new vocabulary,
motivate them to explain the meaning
of the words they just learned by saying the
sentence in which they appear, using a synonym
to replace the new word. For example:
héroes/campeones (p. 18)
gran/maravillosa (p. 18)
estirpe/familia (p. 19)
rascadera/frotadera (p. 20)
4
related vocabulary
This poem offers students the opportunity
to learn or practice words that are
useful for creating mental images (imagery).
The following activities promote word study
through inquiry and interactive strategies.
They may be utilized for direct, guided, or
modeled instruction, as well as for individual or
collaborative group work. Use Activity Sheet 41.
¿Quiénes son? After reading all the poems in this
section, encourage students to recall the images
in them and match the descriptions.
¡Usa todos tus sentidos! After reading Amado
Nervo’s “Los sentidos” (p.25), motivate students
to determine what each of the senses is for and
illustrate their poetic thoughts.
A jugar con palabras Invite your students to
create metaphors by completing the sentence
with a word from the word bank.
Antón Pirulero / Patrias
149
poe t ry
additional vocabulary activities
You may also want to take advantage of the
discussion about imagery and the illustrations in
the book to teach additional words, such as the
following: resorte (spring), corbatín (bow tie),
escamas (scales), telaraña (spider web), volcán
(volcano), quetzal (quetzal), and pirámides
(pyramids).
For Language Learners For younger students, or
for those who are not thoroughly familiar with
the language, you may want to work on simpler
words, such as the different shades of the colors
found in the illustrations throughout the book
(rojo, azul, violeta, anaranjado, café, verde,
blanco, rojo, crema, amarillo, aguamarina).
4
Reflect and Close
See pages 155–158 for a comprehensive
Assessment of this lesson.
Refer to pages 128–129 for ideas to teach
basic concepts related to poetry.
Oral Language Development
Motivate students to talk about and describe their
favorite natural settings, such as the country, the
beach, and the mountains. Ask them to use as
many adjectives as possible in their descriptions,
and encourage them to use imagery, just as the
poets do in the poems they just read.
writing
similes and metaphors
connection to english language
animal guessing game
Motivate students to draw illustrations
of the animals to which the cutout parts
belong on Activity Sheet 44. Once students
have made their illustrations, encourage them
to paste the cutout animal parts onto their
drawings. Write a list of the animals’ names
on the board (bird, butterfly, squirrel, frog,
fish, rabbit, duck, spider, bat, horse) and
pantomime the names for students. Finally,
motivate small groups to play a guessing game
using the names of the pasted parts, and other
words, for clues. Model the game for them
first, as you check for comprehension of new
vocabulary. For instance, you may say:
“My animals has wings” (Student: It’s a bird)
“No, it is small and likes flowers” (Student:
It’s a butterfly) “Yes, it’s a butterfly, you’ve
guessed it!”
150
Antón Pirulero / Patrias
illustrated bilingual dictionary
Help students begin to build, or continue
to create, their own illustrated bilingual
dictionaries. List all words in the story that
students have generated or asked about
during the reading process. Encourage them
to write the words and their corresponding
English terms along with a drawing of each
item. Motivate older students, and those who
have a better grasp of both languages, to add
related words. Motivate students to work in
bilingual pairs or groups whenever possible so
they can contribute to each other’s language
development.
Motivate students to create their own
poems to nature by writing similes and
metaphors to complete the sentences
below. Similes should come naturally to
students; if necessary, review the use of
metaphor in the poem “Grillos” (p. 20).
Refer to page 00 of this guide for additional
ideas to reinforce these concepts.
El sol es como un/a _________.
La luna es como un/a _________.
Los grillos son _________que _________.
Las abejas son _________que _________.
The Diario del poeta: Palabras offers
additional writing activities that may
help students
to reach a better
understanding of
themselves.
poe t ry
Lesson 2:
Patrias (Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Guatemala, México)
1
E x pl o r e
Inform students that many of the poems in this
section of the book were written by famous
poets from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guatemala, and
Mexico.
Initiate a discussion about national poets by
asking students if they know the names of any
children’s songwriters or poets from their native
countries. Motivate them to sing the songs, or
recite the poems they know, and to discuss what
they like most about them, who sang or read
them to them, when, and why hearing them was
so special.
Finally, ask them why they think poets,
songwriters, and other types of artists are
important, and discuss how they enrich a
country’s culture with the beauty of their work.
2
Teach
Listening to Poetry
read aloud
Since most of the poems in this book are
relatively short, reading them aloud several times
is an effective and enjoyable way to introduce
them to students. Read all the poems in this
section aloud, using intonation and pace to
emphasize the meaning, feeling, rhythm, and
rhyme of each poem. Then, ask students how
they feel about the poems. For example, when
reading the poems on the “Guatemala” pages
148
Antón Pirulero / Patrias
(18–21), emphasize the imagery. Ask students to
listen to the poems with their eyes closed, and
to try to “see” the pictures, or images the poem
conveys. Once you have finished reading the
poems, ask students:
¿Qué palabras utilizan los poemas para describir
la naturaleza?
(Which words are used to describe nature?)
picture walk
Invite students to look at the illustrations that
accompany each poem and to talk about what
they see, and about how that relates to the
content of the poem. For example, after reading
the poems on the Guatemala pages, ask students
to look at the illustrations and ask questions
such as the following:
¿Ves un guerrero maya en las ilustraciones de las
páginas 18 y 19? ¿Dónde está?
(Do you see a Maya warrior in the illustrations
on pages 18 and 19? Where is he?)
¿Dónde está cada uno de los elementos que
describen los poemas de las páginas 20 y 21?
Señálalos.
(Where are each of the elements described in the
poems on pages 20 and 21? Point to them.)
descriptive phase
¿Dónde vivían los mayas? Los mayas también
vivieron en otros sitios, ¿sabes cuáles? ¿En qué
países crees que todavía viven mayas?
(Where did the Maya live? The Maya also lived in
other places; do you know which ones? In what
countries do you think Mayas still live?)
¿Cómo se llama el gran poeta de la cultura mayaquiché?
(What is the name of the great poet of MayaQuiché culture?)
¿Por qué crees que Humberto Ak’abal
escribió poemas a la naturaleza?
(Why did Humberto Ak’abal write poems
to nature?)
2
¿Por qué dice Humberto Ak’abal que “Los
grillos son los músicos más inútiles”? ¿Por
qué dice que “Cuando la aldea está de pie
los murciélagos están de cabeza; cuando la aldea
está de cabeza, los murciélagos están de pie”?
(Why does Humberto Ak’abal say: “Crickets are
the most useless musicians”? Why does he say:
“When the village is up, the bats are upside
down; and when the village lies down, the bats
are right side up”?)
1
personal / interpretive phase
Creative Reading
Questions such as the following will help to
initiate a creative dialogue after you read the
poems together with students. These questions
apply to the poems on the Guatemala pages.
¿Cómo se llaman los indígenas de tu
país? ¿Qué más sabes sobre ellos? ¿Sabes el
nombre de su idioma? ¿Cuál es?
(What is the name of the indigenous people
from your country? What else do you know
about them? Do you know the name of their
language? What is it?)
5
¿Cuál de los poemas de esta sección es tu favorito?
¿Por qué?
(Which of the poems in this section is your
favorite? Why?)
E XT E ND T H E L E S S O N S
cross - curricular connections
math
Clap and Count Motivate students to compare
and contrast the number of lines and verses in
two of the poems in the book. You may want
to ask them to decide what kind of stanzas
each poem has based on their number of lines.
Refer to the Poem Structure section on page 129
of this guide to teach them the different types
of stanzas. Then, encourage them to clap and
count each time they discover a rhythm, and to
compare those numbers as well. Provide students
with a visual aid by displaying the chosen poems
on a large overhead chart, and highlighting the
accentuated words to mark the rhythm.
social studies
National Flags Motivate students to help you
to create a list of the Latin American countries
represented in your classroom. Then, add the
names of the rest of the countries that make up
Latin America. Point to all of the countries on a
map. Motivate students to use an encyclopedia
or the Internet to see what each country’s flag
looks like, and to discover what its symbols
represent. Assign one country to each student,
and ask them to draw that country’s flag, and to
create a label for it that includes the name of the
country to which it belongs, and the significance
of its colors and/or symbols.
154
Antón Pirulero / Extend the Lessons
home connection
The Beauty of Our Homeland Let your
students’ families know that the class is
engaged in reading poems that emphasize
cultural identity. Motivate parents to talk about
the beautiful landscapes, animals, or architecture
of their native land, or about anything else that
they think makes their homeland special. Send
home Activity Sheet 46.
hands-on project
Gift Poems Motivate students to choose some
of their favorite poems from this book and to
copy them onto index cards. If you wish, you
may ask them to write their own original poetry.
Once the poems have been copied onto the
cards, encourage students to decorate them with
drawings, colored paper, and any other pretty
materials available. Finish off the gift poems
by asking students to place them in decorated
gift bags or boxes. Encourage them to write
dedications to their recipients, and to give their
beautiful gift poems to family and friends!
technology connections
The Maya Help students log on to http://www.
kokone.com.mx/cucurucho/culturas/maya.html.
There, they will find some lively information
about the history, culture, and accomplishments
of the Maya. You may wish to encourage
younger students to read the captions, as you
read and explain the body of the text. Point out
the locations mentioned in the articles on a map
of Mexico and Central America.
connection to other titles of
the puertas al sol collection
The synergy among the books of Puertas al sol
lends itself to a dynamic integration of learning
across the genres. The following are just two
suggested ideas to integrate Antón Pirulero
with other titles of the collection. You will
surely find many other connections as you work
through the different series.
Book Title: Vuelo del queztal
Series: Hispanic Lands
Review pages 36 to 45 to
show how nature can be
a source of inspiration for
people. Invite students to
examine their class, school,
home, and community
environments to note what things of beauty
surround them. Discuss what in these
environments inspires them.
Book Title: Uno, dos,
tres. ¡Dime quién es!
Series: Language
Explain that the word
“folclore” has two parts:
folc, which means “gente”
(people) and lore, which
means “conocimiento”
(knowledge). “Folclore”
means “sabiduría popular” (people’s wisdom).
That knowledge is passed down from parents
to children through storytelling, poetry, songs,
sayings, and proverbs. Picture walk through
Uno, dos, tres. ¡Dime quién es! to identify the
popular wisdom or moral each character in the
stories represents.