GRADES K–5
Elevating Latino Stories
SAMPLE TEACHER’S GUIDE
Welcome to Your Sample Teacher’s Guide! The Rising Voices Teacher’s Guide equips educators with the tools to successfully implement whole-class read-alouds, book clubs, and independent reading with the texts in this library. It also features prompts for conferring and connecting with families to expand and increase engagement!
The Teacher’s Guide supports educators with:
• Implementation strategies for integrating the texts into book clubs and whole-class, small-group, and independent reading
• Suggestions for how to support English learners
• Instructional supports for building social-emotional awareness
• Engaging discussion prompts based on Rising Voices themes
• Tips for creating safe environments for difficult conversations
The Rising Voices Sample Teacher’s Guide Table of Contents
Contents............................................................................................................. 3
Welcome Letter From Dr. Francisco Durán..................................................4
Access and Equity............................................................................................6
Rising Voices Themes and Anchor Texts (Grades K–2).............................8
Rising Voices Themes and Anchor Texts (Grades 3–5)...........................10
Building Social-Emotional Awareness.........................................................12
The Magic of Being Seen by Sulma Arzu-Brown.......................................14
Ending Cultural Apartheid by John Leguizamo........................................16
Sample Teacher’s Guide 1
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2 Rising Voices | Elevating Latino Stories
Contents
Welcome Letter from Dr. Francisco Durán
4
Access and Equity Why Rising Voices?
6 8
Elevating Latino Stories
The Magic of Being Seen by Sulma Arzu-Brown
10
Teaching With Rising Voices Books Rising Voices in Your Classroom
12 13 14 16 18 20 22 28 29 30 32 33
The Power of Reading Aloud
Rising Voices Themes and Anchor Texts Using the Anchor Texts and Teaching Cards Ending Cultural Apartheid by John Leguizamo
Building Social-Emotional Awareness
Linguistically and Culturally Responsive and Respectful Teaching Tips
Promoting Independent Reading
Writing and Other Creative Responses to Texts
Connecting Cultures, Raising Expectations by Dr. Maria Armstrong
Conferring With Children
Building Beyond This Rising Voices Library
Additional Resources Connecting With Families
34 36
Using Your Rising Voices Website
To Find Out More Notable Latinos
37
38 40 42 46
Rising Voices Lessons at a Glance Rising Voices Research Base
Bibliography
Teacher’s Guide • 3
Sample Teacher’s Guide 3
Welcome
I have been fortunate to have worked at every level in education: educational assistant, teacher, principal, central office administrator, and superintendent. My nearly three decades of experience as an educator has taught me that the success of our students happens in our classrooms and teachers must have access to the tools they need to inspire learning. Books and the discussions that educators and students have around these books are resources that can be key to the kind of success we want for all students. The books typically found in elementary school classrooms today may already include some excellent titles, but these titles most often feature stories about White protagonists and fanciful animal characters. Our children need more. They need opportunities to expand their learning with wonderful literature that reflects the variety of cultures and experiences in our society.
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4 Rising Voices | Elevating Latino Stories
By 2026, Latino children will make up 30 percent of the school-age population. All children will benefit from exploring literature that highlights Latino stories to better understand themselves and our nation. Rising Voices: Elevating Latino Stories is a collection that provides great books that honor the varied experiences of Latino people. The Teacher’s Guide, Teaching Cards, and the digital materials that accompany the books foster literacy development and social- emotional learning, as well as opportunities to build pride and respect for the Latino community. The Association of Latino Administrators & Superintendents ( alas ), is pleased to serve as a mentor for this unique and much needed collection. alas is committed to providing educational leadership to support the needs of all students with an emphasis on Latino youth. The mission of this collection advances our mission as well.
Dr. Francisco Durán Board President
Teacher’s Guide • 5
Sample Teacher’s Guide 5
Access and Equity
Equity requires that we provide all children with the resources they need to reach their full potential. As educators, our goal must be to build learning environments where we have high expectations for every student. Diverse books and culturally responsive, respectful learning supports are essential in helping to achieve this goal. Why Rising Voices? In 1990, Rudine Sims Bishop published an essay about the importance of providing all young readers with diverse books. She used the phrase “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” to emphasize the need for all children to experience diverse stories through the characters and real-life people they meet in books. When children read books that serve as mirrors, they see aspects of their own experiences and cultures reflected in texts. When children read books that serve as windows, they gain insights into the world beyond their own personal experiences. All children need access to diverse books that allow them to look in and look out, making text-to-self and text-to-world connections. Ideally, every classroom would contain a robust classroom library, filled with hundreds of books that reflect the mosaic of our society. Yet, excellent texts with accurate, dignified, and appealing portrayals of Latinos and other people of color are still largely lacking from most classroom and school libraries (Thomas, 2018; Routman, 2018). And this lack of diversity takes a toll. Messages are embedded in the textual mirrors and windows. When children do not see themselves in books—or worse, see only distorted or stereotypical reflections—they
can internalize negative views about their culture and feel as if school is not a place where they matter. Positive textual images can change that, resulting in children who have higher self-esteem, better social-emotional functioning, and increased classroom engagement (Schwartz, 2019).
“It’s not just kids of color, kids from the margins who need diverse literature and media. It’s all kids who need stories about all kinds of people.” —Ebony Elizabeth Thomas (2018) Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania Literacy, Culture, and International Education
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6 Rising Voices | Elevating Latino Stories
Your Rising Voices Library provides empowering and engaging books that highlight some of the most underrepresented literary protagonists: Latinos. While the focus of this library is specific, it is a tool to support all learners. Although all of the protagonists within this collection are Latinos, these books were selected due to their universal appeal to be enjoyed by all boys and girls. By fostering a classroom community that supports more positive representation and equity, all children will benefit as they build empathy, respect, and understanding.
This Rising Voices Collection • provides 50 books per grade (25 titles, two copies of each) selected by librarians and educators after reviewing more than four hundred texts to ensure that each grade-level collection validates and celebrates the multifaceted identities of Latino children. • celebrates the talents of many Latino authors and illustrators—because the perspectives that authors and illustrators bring to the texts they create are also important windows and mirrors.
• includes texts in which children see Latino protagonists as the stars of all kinds of stories, such as biographies of accomplished Latino men and women, contemporary realistic fiction, poetry, historical fiction, humor, fantasy, and science fiction. • is organized around five essential literary themes (see pages 14–15) that children and teachers can use to make cross-text and cross-cultural connections within and beyond this library. • uses five anchor texts per grade, each supported by a robust Teaching Card, to highlight each of the five themes, prompt comprehension, and scaffold higher-level thinking skills and deep discussion, as well as social and emotional learning. • includes a Teacher’s Guide to support and provide guidance for using the books in this collection, the Teaching Cards, and digital resources. • offers Rising Voices stickers and bins that can be used to identify each book as part of this special collection. • provides online resources to support your teaching goals with standards correlations, theme videos, family letters, graphic organizers, and other printable resources to share with children. See page 36 to find out more information about the Rising Voices digital resources.
Teacher’s Guide • 7
Sample Teacher’s Guide 7
Grades K – 2
Rising Voices Themes and Anchor Texts
Rising Voices texts are organized by five culturally relevant themes. These themes provide springboards for all children to connect to concepts that resonate with their lives, experiences, and interests. The themes provide a lens for reading that guides readers to consider concepts and ideas that affirm, celebrate, and foster pride and confidence in their identities. In addition, you and your children will be able to use these themes to make connections between Rising Voices books and other texts you have been exploring in your classroom. Use Rising Voices books to help build discussion of these five essential themes within and across texts. Connect to Texts and Expand Thinking Anchor texts for each of the five Rising Voices themes are intended to be shared through an interactive, teacher-led read-aloud experience. Teaching Cards for each anchor text provide discussion questions and activities that bring the theme to the forefront, promoting discussion, conversation, and deep thinking. Building on anchor text instruction and discussion, you and your children can read on in the collection, continuing to make connections and deepen their exploration of each theme.
Anchor Texts Theme
Connect to Texts
Expand Thinking
Someone Like Me/ Memorable Characters How does finding ways that people I read about are like me help me to better understand myself and others? Family, Culture, and Community How do the people around me help me feel safe and enrich my life? How can I help others around me? How do the people around me help me feel like I belong?
• What problem do the people in the book face? • What makes the people in the book special? • Which friends and family
• Do things the main character says, does, or thinks remind me of myself or someone I know? • What might the author want me to take away from this book? • Do things the main character says, does, or thinks make me feel seen, respected, and valued for who I am and the experiences I’ve had?
Grade K
members is the main character closest to? • What makes the main character feel proud?
Grade 1
Grade 2
• Who are the characters in the book? • How do families or community members in the book help each other? • What do people in the book do to help their family or community? • How are the people in this book like people in my family and community? How are they different?
• What do I like most about my family? • What do I like most
Grade K
about my community? • How do my family and community help me? • What can I do to be helpful in my community?
Grade 1
Grade 2
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Anchor Texts Theme
Connect to Texts
Expand Thinking
Heroes and Role Models What makes someone a hero? What can we learn from reading about people who have done important things?
• What problems do the people in the book face? • What makes the people special? • How do they use their skills and talents to creatively solve problems?
• Do these people seem like heroes? Why or why not? • Might I want to be like these people in some way? Why or why not? • What lessons might I take away from this book?
Grade K
Grade 1
Grade 2
Strong and Resilient What qualities help people succeed when they face challenges?
• What problems do the people in the book face? • How do the people keep trying to solve problems? • What makes the people good problem-solvers? • How do the people show their feelings when things are hard?
• When was a time that I felt proud because I kept trying? • What have I learned from this book about what it can take to solve a problem?
Grade K
Grade 1
Grade 2
Thinking Beyond Today How do people make their dreams come true? What can I learn from this?
• What are the dreams of the people in the book? • How do the people try to make their dreams come true? • What gets in their way? • How do others help them?
• What are my dreams for the future? • Are the dreams of the people in the book like mine? • What might I do to make my dreams for the future come true?
Grade K
GRADE 1
Federico and the Wolf written by Rebecca J. Gomez; illustrated by Elisa Chavarri
AT A GLANCE In this clever spin on the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood, Federico, dressed in a red hoodie, goes to the market to pick up ingredients on his way to meet his abuelo—his grandfather—at his shop. On the way there, Federico meets a wolf, who asks for some of his food, but Federico doesn’t have time to stop and share. Little does he know, the wolf won’t take no for an answer! When Abuelo is nowhere to be found at his shop, Federico realizes that he must act quickly to get rid of the wolf and rescue Abuelo. Colorful illustrations help bring the story to life, especially on the pages showing Federico’s action-filled culinary defense against the wolf.
Grade 1
Genre/Text Type: Fractured Folktale/ Picture Book
Strategy Focus: Analyze Character
Social-Emotional Focus: Self-Management
Rising Voices Theme Thinking Beyond Today
INTRODUCE THE BOOK Ask children to share what they know about the story of Little Red Riding Hood. If needed, give a quick description of what happens in the classic tale. Then display the front cover and read the title. Ask: What details do you see on this cover that remind you of “Little Red Riding Hood”? Then display the front cover of the book and read aloud the title. Ask: How do you think this story might be similar to “Little Red Riding Hood”? How do you think it might be different? Let’s read to find out! DURING READING As you read the book, pause to discuss the questions below. Encourage children to turn and talk with partners or share their thinking with the whole group. Page 1 is the title page. pp. 4–7 Federico’s mom tells him to “Mind Abuelo’s grocery list, and don’t make other stops.” Where do you think Federico is going after he gets groceries? What do the illustrations tell you about how Federico feels about his activities today? (make inferences, use picture clues) Federico leaves the wolf—the lobo—in the woods, but the book says that the wolf has other plans. What do you think might happen next? What do you think the wolf’s plan might be? (make predictions) pp. 14–19 At his abuelo’s shop, Federico doesn’t find his abuelo! How does pp. 8–13 the wolf try to convince Federico that he is his abuelo? Do you think Federico will fall for it? What makes you think so? (key ideas and details, analyze character) pp. 20–23 Federico offers the wolf treats from his bag of groceries, but the wolf doesn’t want to eat them. What problem does Federico have on these pages? How does he try to solve his problem? (problem and solution) pp. 24–27 Federico doesn’t let the wolf catch him, and he figures out a way to get the wolf to leave! What words would you use to describe Federico’s actions on these pages? (analyze character) pp. 28–31 Abuelo enjoys lunch with Federico. Then they mix up a special
Note to the Teacher • Read-Aloud Tip On your own, preview this book and the Spanish glossary on page 33 before reading aloud. As you read aloud, gently emphasize the word at the end of each second and fourth line to highlight the rhymes. • Language Support The author uses colorful verbs, such as budged, peeked, scurried, and scrambled . Use gestures or pantomime and invite children to copy you to make sure that each word is understood. • Background Pico de gallo (pronounced PEE-ko deh GUY- oh) is a type of salsa. In Spanish, salsa means any kind of sauce. Pico de gallo is also called “salsa bandera,” which means flag sauce, since it has the same colors as the Mexican flag. Help children learn more by sharing the recipe on page 32 of the book. Vocabulary marketplace (p. 7) a space where people buy and sell items hefty (p. 10) large or heavy rummaged (p. 24) looked through a container by moving items around prevailed (p. 28) won against an opponent
concoction—their own recipe—for super spicy Wolf’s Bane Salsa. Why do you think they are mixing up a new batch? If you were Federico, what would you do next? (make predictions, make connections)
Grade 2
Teacher’s Guide • 15
Sample Teacher’s Guide 9
Grades 3 – 5
Rising Voices Themes and Anchor Texts
Rising Voices texts are organized by five culturally relevant themes. These themes provide springboards for all students to connect to concepts that resonate with their lives, experiences, and interests. The themes provide a lens for reading that guides readers to consider concepts and ideas that affirm, celebrate, and foster pride and confidence in their identities. In addition, you and your students will be able to use these themes to make connections between Rising Voices books and other texts you have been exploring in your classroom. Use Rising Voices books to help build discussion of these five essential themes within and across texts. Connect to Texts and Expand Thinking Anchor texts for each of the five Rising Voices themes are intended to be shared through an interactive, teacher-led read-aloud experience. Teaching Cards for each anchor text provide discussion questions and activities that bring the theme to the forefront, promoting discussion, conversation, and deep thinking. Building on anchor text instruction and discussion, you and your students can read on in the collection, continuing to make connections and deepen their exploration of each theme.
Anchor Texts Theme
Connect to Texts
Expand Thinking
Someone Like Me/ Memorable Characters How does understanding ways that people I read about are like me or people I know help me to better understand myself and others? Family, Culture, and Community How do the people around me help me feel safe and protected and enrich my life? How can I help others around me?
• What problems does the main character face? • What issues or ideas are most important to the main character? • What are the main character’s talents or strengths? • Which friends and family members does the main character have strong relationships with? • What makes the main character feel proud? • How are different family members important to the main character? • What community does the main character belong to? • In what ways do the main character’s family and community support him/her when things get difficult? • What does the main character do to help his/her family or community?
• How do the main character’s actions, thoughts, or words remind me of myself or someone I know? • What does the author want me to take away from this book? • What important ideas does the book inspire me to think about? • How do the main character’s actions, thoughts, and words make me feel seen, respected, and valued for who I am and the experiences I’ve had? • Who makes up my community? • What do I appreciate most about my family? • What do I appreciate most about my community? • How do my family and community support me when things get difficult? • How do the people around me help me feel like I belong?
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
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Anchor Texts Theme
Connect to Texts
Expand Thinking
Heroes and Role Models What qualities make someone a hero? What lessons can be learned from the courageous actions of people from the past?
• What challenges do the people in the text face? • What are the people’s
• Do I see the people as heroes? Why or why not? • Do I see these people as role models, or people who I want to be like in some way? Why or why not? • What lessons might I take away from the stories of these people’s lives? • How does learning about people’s achievements inspire me? • How are the challenges faced by people in the text like challenges I might face? • How have I succeeded in solving problems or facing challenges? • What can I learn from the way the people dealt with challenges? • What might the author want me to take away from this book? • What are my dreams for the future? • How are the goals and dreams of the people in the text similar to mine? • What can I learn from the way the people in the text tried to make their dreams real? • What steps might I take to make my dreams for the future come true?
Grade 3
greatest talents or strengths? • How do the people use their strengths and talents to solve challenging problems? • How do others react to the people’s ideas and actions? • Why are the stories of people’s lives important for people to know about? • What challenges do the people in the text face? • How do the people keep trying to solve challenging problems? • How do others react to the people’s ideas and actions? • Why are these events and stories important for people to know about? • How do people acknowledge
Grade 4
Grade 5
Strong and Resilient What qualities help people succeed when they face challenges?
Grade 3
Grade 4
and express their feelings when things are difficult?
Grade 5
Thinking Beyond Today What can I learn from how people I read about turn their dreams for the future into reality?
• What are the goals and dreams of the people in the text? • What steps do the people follow to try to realize their dreams? • What challenges get in their way? • How do others support them or challenge them?
Grade 3
GRADE 4
Mario and the Hole in the Sky written by Elizabeth Rusch; illustrated by Teresa Martínez
AT A GLANCE This biography introduces students to Mexican American scientist Mario Molina (1943–2020), whose curiosity, determination, and talent earned him a Nobel Prize in Chemistry—and saved Earth from environmental disaster. Molina received a microscope as a gift when he was a boy and began exploring the makeup of the world around him. As an adult, he discovered that chemicals in some everyday products were harming Earth’s protective ozone layer. His research helped convince world leaders to ban the dangerous chemicals. Molina later brought the same passion to the issue of climate change, advocating for people to once again work together to solve the problem.
Grade 4
Genre/Text Type: Biography/Picture Book
Strategy Focus: Connect Events
Social-Emotional Focus: Responsible Decision-Making
Rising Voices Theme Thinking Beyond Today Note to the Teacher • Read-Aloud Tip As you read aloud, pause occasionally to remind students what it meant for Mario Molina to look at our world as a scientist, determined to use his research to help our planet. At the end of the text, repeat his words for emphasis and reassurance: “We saved our planet once. We can do it again.” • Language Support This text includes scientific terms, like chlorofluorocarbons and ozone layer . Students will gain a basic understanding of these concepts
INTRODUCE THE BOOK Display the book’s front cover, and draw attention to the title, subtitle, and the illustration of Mario Molina holding a microscope. Share with students that a chemist is a scientist who uses tools like microscopes to study chemicals and how they interact. Explain that this book is a biography of a famous chemist named Mario Molina, who made a discovery that helped save our planet. Ask: Based on the book’s title, what kind of discovery do you think Mario made? Let’s read to find out more about him and his work. DURING READING As you read the book, pause to discuss the questions below. Encourage students to turn and talk with partners or share their thinking with the whole group. pp. 3–11 Mario gets a microscope for his eighth birthday, sparking his interest in science. How does his family encourage this interest? How do you think his tía’s support will affect his interest in chemistry? (connect events) pp. 12–17 Mario continues to study chemistry as he gets older, which leads him to an important question. What question does Mario have when he sees products made with new chemicals? What do you think he will do next? (key ideas and details, make predictions) pp. 18–21 Mario discovers that new chemicals are hurting Earth’s ozone layer, which protects people from the sun. How does his discovery help you understand the book’s title, Mario and the Hole in the Sky ? How is Mario’s work as an adult related to the science experiments he did when he was younger? (key ideas and details, connect events) pp. 22–27 Mario shares warnings based on what he learned, but people don’t believe him. Let’s look at the big blue text on these pages that show some of the things people said. How do you think these responses make Mario feel ? Why? (text features, make inferences) pp. 28–31 People around the world start paying more attention to what’s happening with the ozone layer. When one scientist discovers a hole in the ozone layer, how does it affect other scientists, including Mario? What does the discovery cause world leaders to do? (cause and effect) pp. 32–35 Thanks to Mario’s discovery, people around the world decided to help
through the explanations the author provides in context. • Background In 1995, Mario Molina won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was the first scientist from Mexico and the
first Mexican American to win the Nobel Prize. In 2013, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest honor given to civilians who made contributions to improve the nation. Vocabulary
scorched (p. 12) burned mimic (p. 19) to imitate magnitude (p. 24) the size or importance of something
save the ozone layer. What does Mario’s story help you understand about the best way to solve a big problem? (make connections)
Grade 5
Teacher’s Guide • 15
Sample Teacher’s Guide 11
Building Social-Emotional Awareness
Researchers have reported that children who participate in social and emotional learning programs perform about 13 percentage points higher in their grades and standardized test scores (Taylor et al., 2017). The benefits of social and emotional learning extend beyond test scores. Examining the social and emotional skills displayed in the books they read may help children connect to what they’re reading, and by discussing these skills as a class they can understand how reading can relate to real-life situations. Additionally, by connecting their reading to social-emotional learning, children are scaffolded to build a positive self-image as readers, learn valuable analytic and executive function skills, and develop and build upon essential life skills that help them understand and navigate the world around them. Core Competencies The social-emotional skills explored in the Rising Voices Library align with the tenets found in many SEL programs, including the CASEL framework. CASEL—the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning—identifies five core competencies that should be prioritized in children’s social-emotional learning, as described in the chart below (CASEL.org).
CASEL Competency
Goals and Assessment
Focus
Self- awareness
The ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior. The ability to accurately assess one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a “growth mindset.”
• Identifying emotions • Accurate self-perception • Recognizing strengths • Self-confidence • Self-efficacy • Demonstrating honesty and integrity • Examining prejudices and biases
Self- management
The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations—effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, demonstrating agency, and motivating oneself. The ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals.
• Impulse control • Stress management • Self-discipline • Self-motivation • Taking initiative • Goal-setting • Organizational skills • Perspective-taking • Empathy • Appreciating diversity • Respect for others
Social awareness
The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports. The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. The ability to communicate clearly, listen well, cooperate with others, resist inappropriate social pressure, negotiate conflict constructively, and seek and offer help when needed. The ability to make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms. The realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, the demonstration and development of critical thinking skills, and a consideration of the well-being of oneself and others.
Relationship skills
• Communication • Social engagement • Relationship-building • Teamwork • Demonstrating cultural competency • Standing up for others
Responsible decision- making
• Identifying problems • Analyzing situations • Solving problems • Evaluating • Reflecting • Ethical responsibility
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12 Rising Voices | Elevating Latino Stories
Embedded Social-Emotional Learning The embedded social-emotional learning in Rising Voices forms a link between social-emotional learning, literary texts, and life. Under the “Build Social-Emotional Awareness” heading in the “Extend Learning” section of every Teaching Card, the teacher is offered a suggestion to tie the reading to something children can consider about their own lives and the world around them. For example, in the Kindergarten Teaching Card for A Song of Frutas, the teaching prompt says: “ The girl in the story loves spending time with her grandfather in his neighborhood in Havana, Cuba. She enjoys getting to be part of the community, even though her own home is in the United States, far away from Abuelo. Why do you think it can be good to find out about and explore different places and get to know the people who live there? ” This focus
“Social-emotional learning (SEL) skills can help us build communities that foster courageous conversations across
difference so that our students can confront injustice, hate, and inequity.”
—Dena Simmons, EdD (2019) Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
on learning about and understanding other cultures targets the core competency of social awareness. Once children have had the opportunity to discuss among themselves, a few children should share their thinking with the class. Social-emotional learning must be taught with a lens on equity. While working with diverse groups of children in the classroom, it is important to understand how culture and personal experience can have an effect on a child’s understanding of social-emotional skills. Research shows that students’ social-emotional development is significantly impacted by their view of their cultural identity (Gee et al., 2014). By reading culturally responsive texts and discussing them in context, children will be given a safe space to explore the core competencies of social-emotional learning. This practice also allows children the opportunity to apply these core competencies to their own lives inside and outside of the classroom. “Social and emotional skills matter for many areas of development, including learning, health, and general well-being. Furthermore, recent research has demonstrated that high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs produce positive outcomes for students, including reduced stress and improved behavior, attitudes, and academic performance.” —Stephanie Jones, Katharine Brush, et al. (2017) Harvard Graduate School of Education
Teacher’s Guide • 21
Sample Teacher’s Guide 13
The Magic of Being Seen by Sulma Arzu-Brown
I am a proud Garifuna woman born in Honduras. The Garifuna people are the descendants of the Black Caribs who were forcibly deported from the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines after a failed attempt at genocide by the British in 1797. Garifunas currently live in Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua—and the United States. We are a thriving community with our own language and cultural traditions. As a Black woman born in a
Central American country, I also identify as an Afro-Latina. Spanish was frequently spoken in my home, even after my family moved to the United States, making English my third language. Early on, I got the message of the importance of literacy. However, as a young child, I basically just read the books I was told were necessary to pass an assignment. As an adult, I now understand why a love of books was not a big part of my childhood. It was because I never saw myself! I felt invisible, even in my own community. In college, I finally connected with people who helped me begin to find books that resonated with my own life. I majored in mass communication, which gave me the opportunity to explore many avenues: radio, TV production, print, media, and roles in talent coordination, publicity, and digital advertising. It has become my goal to collect and create materials, ideas, and initiatives to implement seeds of empowerment con mi gente/with my people. I have helped formerly incarcerated fathers find employment to provide for their families and served as the executive director of the Garifuna Coalition to help my immigrant community navigate the many resources needed to thrive in New York City. I became the first Afro-Latina director of operations for the NYC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and became the first investor in the Boogie Down Grind Café: the only coffee shop in the South Bronx owned by two women of color. Today, I live in the South Bronx with my husband and my two daughters. As a mom, an advocate for equity, and an author, I know that representation matters. Making sure that our girls understand that they are wonderfully made is important to my husband and me. We are planting seeds of what is possible without limitation. We are teaching them that their essence, their imagination, their language, and their talents matter. We know that carefully chosen books play a part in helping my daughters and all children envision who they are and what they can become.
10 • Rising Voices Library
14 Rising Voices | Elevating Latino Stories
When I explored the books in this Rising Voices collection, I was blown away by the beautiful images of Latino people on the covers—and by the names of authors and illustrators. These are real Latinos telling our stories. And when I opened the books, it was exciting to see my community represented in such a vibrant and positive way. The stories are diverse in the sense that some of them took me to places and cultures within my Latino roots that I’d not ever been to. I discovered beautiful traditions that, like those from my own culture, also connect families and show the value of community. These books showcase human experiences that in some ways are culturally specific but in other ways feel universal. I am honored to serve as a mentor and help to share this transformative collection with educators and students across the country. Bringing Rising Voices: Elevating Latino Stories to classrooms will allow all of our children to appreciate that there is something magical about being seen and appreciated for where you are from and who you really are. ABOUT SULMA ARZU-BROWN For more than 15 years, Sulma Arzu-Brown has been working as a champion for diversity and inclusion, well before the term became a trending topic. As the award-winning author of Bad Hair Does Not Exist!/Pelo Malo No Existe! and My Hair Comes With Me—Shifting the Paradigm of What Success Looks Like and the creator and co-writer of the nation’s first Afro-Latino TV series D’que Latino , she utilizes her platform to bring honor to the global Black and Afro-Latino diaspora. The timely message of Sulma’s work helps address the infinite possibilities for girls and boys of color. Her work has been featured in: Black Enterprise magazine and the Huffington Post ; she has appeared on NBC, Telemundo, Black News Channel, Univision’s Despierta America, @Dove Twitter, @TwitterVoices, and Remezcla; and has consulted with major brands and educational institutions, such as Barnes & Noble, Mastercard, Nasdaq, Edelman, PepsiCo, DoorDash, Columbia University, Stony Brook University, the New York City Department of Education, and Unilever’s Crown Act campaign to end hair discrimination nationwide in schools and corporations.
Teacher’s Guide • 11
Sample Teacher’s Guide 15
Ending Cultural Apartheid by John Leguizamo
I wasn’t always as successful as I am now. No, early in life, my family was poor and we ended up in a very tough neighborhood in Queens. My brother never left the house, and he became an avid reader. So was I. Reading was my friend, my sitter, my extended family. It was the escape from my life that I desperately needed. On top of that, my parents were ghetto tiger parents. My parents believed that reading was the only way out. I had to read the encyclopedia to even
get my Christmas presents. I remember when I was on the Ds, I said to my friend, “Doug, donating of your detailed decadent debacle is depressing and demoralizing to me.” When I got into my teens, I discovered a new connection to reading. I was forced to go to therapy in high school but it turned me on to reading plays at 17. They became my passport to places I had never been and a way to understand my life. I could be in the South with Tennessee Williams, in London with Harold Pinter, in Chicago with David Mamet, or feel like I was seen with Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas, who was Puerto Rican. I was addicted to plays. They spoke to me like no other form. I became an actor, but because of the Hollywouldn’t system I hit a glass ceiling, invisible quotas, and cheap tokenism. I quickly realized I was never going to have the same opportunities as my White colleagues, even though we Latinos are the oldest ethnic group in America, after my Native American brothers and sisters—and we are the largest minority ethnic group. This exclusion forced me to rely on myself. It forced me to create my own material so I could see plays by us, for us, and with us. I got my strength because the real world was populated by people who looked just like me. It was only in media and entertainment where I felt I was living in a cultural apartheid. We are equal to Whites in population in most cities (but particularly my hometown), yet we are less than 1% of the staff and stories at The New York Times , New Yorker , New York magazine , and The New York Post . That’s cultural apartheid. When I wrote my plays and they were produced on Broadway, my audience found me, paying prices they could not afford just so they could feel like their lives mattered.
18 • Rising Voices Library
16 Rising Voices | Elevating Latino Stories
Seeing themselves and their culture on stage made them feel validated, and their enthusiasm has fueled and kept me on my quest to get 20% of the stories being told in America to match our more than 20% of the population. I will not rest till our stories— stories by us and written, published, and filmed by us—are seen by everyone. The power of this Rising Voices collection is what I needed early on in my life because then I could have avoided several traumatic steps in my life. When Latino children read about themselves as protagonists, they will know they matter, they will know they count, they will know that they can be thinkers and inventors. They will intuit that they can achieve. Reading about people like yourself reinforces that you can be anything you choose without limit. Seeing themselves in books will give them the self-love that will help them soar. And for me, it does a great service of shattering cultural apartheid in America. ABOUT JOHN LEGUIZAMO A multifaceted creator, John Leguizamo has established a career that defies categorization. With boundless energy and creativity, his work in film, theater, television, and literature covers a variety of genres, continually threatening to create a few of its own. Leguizamo has garnered numerous accolades throughout his career including an Emmy Award, a Special Tony Award, and a Drama Desk Award, as well as nominations for Golden Globes, Tony Awards, and Critics’ Choice Awards. Leguizamo seeks through much of his work to build awareness of the role that talented Latinos play and have played in our nation and the world. Among his numerous film credits, children may know him as the voice of Bruno from the beloved animated film Encanto , which celebrates a Colombian family endowed with special gifts. Leguizamo received a Special Tony Award in 2018 after wrapping an extended Broadway run of Latin History for Morons , his latest one-man show, delivering his take on 500 years of Latin History spanning the Aztec and Incan Empires to World War II. Leguizamo’s Ghetto Klown , a graphic novel adaptation of his Broadway one-man show of the same name, was nominated for an Eisner award. He also released a comic book, Freak , based on his solo show of the same name. Additionally, John is at work on several children’s books to be published by Scholastic.
Teacher’s Guide • 19
For more information, visit scholastic.com/risingvoices
4771-13 08/22 Item# 750609
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