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TEACHING SPANISH THROUGH AUTHENTIC CHILEAN LITERATURE Daria Pizzuto FULBRIGHT DISTINGUISHED AWARDS TEACHING PROGRAM Chile 2016-2017 Submission Date (07/21/2017)
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Table of contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4
Part I. Final Project
“Historia de un oso” Thematic Unit……………………………………………………………………………………………4
“Descubrimos pueblos originarios de Chile” Thematic Unit……………………………………………………..10
Part II. Summative Report
Acknowledgements and Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………16
Problem……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17
Project Experience………………...………………………………………………………………………………………………..18
Project Description…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..22
Project Process…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………24
Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..34
Application of Results………………………………………………………………………………………………………………35
Concluding Remarks…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………38
Appendices
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A Probable Passage Activity…………………………………………………………………………………………….39
B Vocabulary Choice Board……………………………………………………………………………………………..40
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Introduction
This document contains my final project and summative report from the Fulbright Distinguished
Award in Teaching grant, USA to Chile, from March 2017 to July 2017. Part I is the final project that came out of me learning about Chilean children’s literature and how to incorporate it into a Spanish as a second language classroom in the United States middle schools. Part II is a summative report containing project description, program experience, project process, and results.
Part I. Final Project
The final project consists of two middle school thematic units based entirely on Chilean children’s literature.
Thematic Unit “Historia de un oso”
Literature supplement: “Historia de un Oso” by Antonia Herrera and Gabriel Osorio
Historia de un Oso is an award-winning Chilean illustrated book for children ages 7 to 12. It is a story about a bear that gets separated from his family when the state takes over his country.
The bear subsequently ends up in captivity, performing in a circus. He later escapes and reunites with his family. He creates a theater music box that tells the story of what happened to him every day, as he stands on the corner of the street in his town.
Essential content themes:
1. Dictatorship a) What is a dictatorship? b) What happens during the dictatorship? c) What other countries have/had dictatorship?
2. The value and importance of the family
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a) How does our family inspire us to do courageous acts? b) How can our family support us during difficult times?
3. The importance of history a) Why is it important to keep sharing what happened in history? b) What specific benefits can be drawn from sharing stories from history?
Essential grammatical themes: The book is written in past tense so teacher guidance is essential.
Recommendation: use TPR and inferences and context clues to explain that it happened in the past.
Essential vocabulary elements: Teacher note: some vocabulary resources are word combination/phrases
Había una vez… ‘se sentía solo’ Girar la manilla El oso mostrar siempre fabricar La calle La misma/el mismo Contar historias La esquina La ciudad Teatro de madera Alguien El domador capturar ‘debía’ escapar lejos ‘nunca dejaba de pensar en vacío su familia’ llorar esperar alejarse
Introduction/anticipatory set Students receive a homework assignment to look up what a dictatorship is.
Lesson 1: Tea Party Pre-Reading Strategy ‘Historia de un Oso’
Teacher directions:
Print the below chart and cut it out. Distribute to students [each student can have 1-2 squares].
Hang 5-6 pieces of blank poster paper in the room. Have students circulate the room, and, by making inferences, they should write their predictions about the book on the poster paper.
There is no right or wrong answer but students are expected to make inferences. For instance,
“this story has an animal in it” or “this story is about a circus since it has the word ‘circo’ in it.”
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You may make multiple copies to accommodate a 25-30 student class. Some students will have the same phrases.
```Do not break phrases into words to help students use context clues```
Habia una Un El oso se Todos los vez un oso pequeno sentía solo dias salia muy solitario teatro de en su madera bicicleta
En la calle El oso El circo giraba la llegó a la manilla, y ciudad el teatro se abría Siempre “Habia una Los Así contaba la vez una domadores pasaron misma familia de capturaron muchos historia osos que a los años… vivia muy animales feliz” Pensar en Un día Su mejor su familia decidió salto escapar El oso Triste Se sintió El reloj continuó menos solo pedaleando…
Allow 15 minutes to students to circulate the classroom, write their predictions on the poster paper, and read their peers’ inferences as well. Collect the squared back, store in an envelope/bag.
Closure: What will this story be about? What are the main characters in this story? Will this story be short or long?
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Lesson 2: Probable Passage
Teacher instructions: This is a pre-reading activity #2.
Step 1: Distribute the ‘Fragmento probable’ worksheet from Appendix A.
On the PowerPoint, project the following vocabulary words:
El oso Se sintió triste y Capturaron a solo muchos animales El circo La calle Los domadores Una familia Llorar Un hogar vacío La ciudad
Step 2: Have students use a pencil and, working in pairs, sort the above words into the table below. The categories are Characters, Setting, Problem, Outcomes, and Unknown Words. Allow 5 minutes for that.
Step 3: Allow students to use dictionaries to look unknown words up and organize the vocabulary into categories. Allow 10-12 minutes for that. Best when done in pairs, groups of 3-4.
Step 4: Ask students to write an ‘essential paragraph’ of what they think the story will be about. That can be done in English.
Step 5: ‘Para descubrir más’ –student write questions about the book that naturally came up during this activity.
Closure: Ask student volunteers to share their essential paragraphs with each other and then the class.
Lesson 3: Reading the Book
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After the above two pre-reading strategies, you and your students are now ready to actually read the book. Either sit them down on a rug, or, if you are in a middle school, project the pages as you read to them. Inform the students that you will read it to them multiple times and that it’s ok for world language class.
Step 1: Read the book to the students aloud, using intonation and expression in your voice. Have them see the illustrations. Ask them to pay attention to the main message [idea principal].
Step 2: Write the following comprehension questions on the board [these can be in either language]:
a. What is your favorite illustration? Why? b. Is the story sad/happy/in between? Why? c. Who are the main characters? [have students discuss with desk partner, then review as a class].
Step 3: Ask students to read the story, aloud, to their partner. Tell them not to worry about what the words mean for now, simply focus on pronouncing words correctly.
Step 4: Closure. Have students complete an exit ticket where you can check for understanding.
Exit Ticket 1. La idea principal de esta historia es…. 2. Este cuento es… a) interesante b) aburrido c) diferente d) loco e) confundido [have them circle the adjectives they think are appropriate. 3. Me gusta…………… no me gusta…………. me gusta más o menos
Lesson 4: Vocabulary Practice Day
Depending what your students said on their exit slips, you may need to reinforce/reteach the main idea.
Today is a vocabulary practice day. Students will work with their essential vocabulary [see lessons 1 & 2]. Have them identify 7-10 essential vocabulary words [oso, teatro, habia una vez, etc].
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They will have a choice to complete 3 out of the following 9 activities –see the handout [and instructions] in Appendix B.
Lesson 5: Video based lesson
This is the last lesson before assessment. This is a video based lesson.
Step 1: Show students how this short film based on this book won an Oscar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb3Vht5uPVY
Step 2: Now show this short film to students. It should bring all of the ideas in the book together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8v1U4Udluc
Step 3: Think-Pair-Share Questions to project/write on the board: 1. ¿A quién representa la dictadura en el video? ¿Qué es la dictadura? ¿Qué pasa con gente quien vive durante la dictadura y no está de acuerdo con el dictador? 2. ¿Qué es el rol de familia en nuestras vidas? 3. ¿Por qué es importante a compartir la historia?
Step 4: Closure. Ask the students what their favorite part was in the book, and why.
Assessment Ideas
Since this is a literature supplement activity used to extend and deepen instruction, formal assessment may not be necessary. However, it is possible to assess by way of the following strategies [students can choose one or they can be assigned one]:
A mini paragraph stating what the story is about and its’ main characters. A comic strip with essential vocabulary labelled A poster depicting the story line and essential vocabulary A verbal presentation with props A small picture book with sentences using essential vocabulary and images.
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Thematic Unit for 6th, 7th or 8th grades: Descubrimos pueblos originarios de Chile!
This unit is based entirely on myths and legends of the indigenous peoples of Chile. It can be used as a supplemental or a required thematic unit. This is a new unit that based completely on myths and legends of Mapuche, Aymara, and Selk’nam.
Many vocabulary and grammar in these legends repeat themselves (nature, animals, clothing, domestic chores, activities, personality traits) thus making this a good reinforcement unit.
By reading and analyzing authentic legends and myths of the three indigenous groups, students will be able to meet the following language and culture objectives.
Objective(s): SWBAT get introduced to the world of indigenous people of Chile SWBAT analyze the way of life of these people SWBAT visualize cosmology of the indigenous cultures of Chile SWBAT synthesize the legends of three native peoples of Chile SWBAT extend their knowledge of indigenous populations in Chile and beyond.
Essential Questions: • Why is it important to learn about indigenous people? • How do the values and traditions of these cultures compare to that of my own? • In what way am I able to appreciate the uniqueness of these cultures? • In what way can I contribute to this unit about indigenous people?
Sequence: Allow about 2 weeks for each indigenous nation.
Total duration of the unit (including the culminating project): About 7 weeks
Intro lesson: Show this picture to the class. Pose the question: what is this map/what does it represent? Have students make 1-2 inferences.
10 Daria Pizzuto http://1.bp.blogspot.com/- ifdvThreUUc/U4JnM4ApTBI/AAAAAAAAAF8/riY__7eLOUw/s1600/chile.png
Resources: 1. “Pueblos originarios de Chile” by Fresia Barrientos. Nativa Ediciones. 2. “Los Delfines del Fin del Mundo”-a Selk’nam legend recorded by Editorial Amanuta. 3. “The Day that Txeg Txeg and Kay Kay did not greet each other” by Carmen Muñoz Hurtado. 4. “Semillas Mapuche” by Magdalena Salazar. 5. “Selk’nam: Voces del viento” by Rosemarie Cerda Cattan 6. “Tremümün” by Estela Socías Muñoz and Carolina Soto Grollmus 7. “Cuentos Araucanos” by Alicia Morel.
Indigenous people: Selk’nam
Duration: 1-1.5 weeks
Books: 1) Los Delfines del Fin del Mundo, a Selk’nam legend recorded by Editorial Amanuta. 2) “Selk’nam: Voces del viento” by Rosemarie Cerda Cattan.
Geography reference: Tierra del fuego, Land of Fire. 2-3 days
Culture elements: Hain initiation ceremony, genocide of this culture, Selk’nam cosmology, outfits that represent spirits, animals [guanacos], landscape, and weather. 2-3 days
Grammar elements: Has past tense
Vocabulary: Family, weather, animals, landscape, and personality traits. 2-3 days
Morale: Explains reasons why there are black Chilean dolphins in Chile [they look like orcas].
Supplemental videos:1 2 days https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psJ5tg6Pqcc
1 Videos could be used as interpretive activities with guiding questions.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAgcA0JEQkk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRivQ91jTy4 Video guiding questions (can be written on the whiteboard):
1) What is the main idea of this video? 2) How does it relate to our unit? 3) What vocabulary words can you pinpoint in the video? 4) Do you like/dislike the video? Why/why not? 5) What is your favorite part?
Indigenous peoples: Mapuche
Duration: 2 weeks
Books: a. “The Day that Txeg Txeg and Kay Kay did not greet each other” by Carmen Muñoz Hurtado. Illustrations by Alberto Montt. b. “Semillas Mapuche” by Magdalena Salazar. c. “Tremümün” by Estela Socías Muñoz and Carolina Soto Grollmus. d. “Cuentos Araucanos” by Alicia Morel.
Geography reference: South-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of present-day Patagonia.
Culture elements: Domestic objects of Mapuche, clothing, colors, and animals.
Grammar elements: The book is written in past tense.
Vocabulary: Family members, animals, nature, housewares, and cooking.
Morale:
The two snakes represent two opposing forces. One symbolizes ocean and water creatures, and the second symbolizes earth and mountains. The gist is the two snakes argued. The Ocean snake started hitting the tail so hard that whoever ended up in the water turned into whales,
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Supplemental videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_3R6FM9PKE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIfNjDuC5Gc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RRVWFv3PKM&list=PLwaPM9HnDAL4PbVfqNJQcFCJFw Wz1Vxyd&index=4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja- bWdjabpk&list=PLwaPM9HnDAL4PbVfqNJQcFCJFwWz1Vxyd&index=2
Video guiding questions (can be written on the whiteboard):
a. What is the main idea of this video? b. How does it relate to our unit? c. What vocabulary words can you pinpoint in the video? d. Do you like/dislike the video? Why/why not? e. What is your favorite part?
Indigenous people: Aymara
Duration: 1 week
Book: “Una magica víspera de carnival” by Carmen Munoz Hurtado
Geography reference: The Altiplano—a vast plateau of the central Andes in Peru and Bolivia—with smaller numbers in Argentina and Chile.
Culture elements: Landscape, animals, clothing and Aymara symbols. Floreo de animales festivals, Anata festival.
Grammar elements: Past tense
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Vocabulary: Animals, traditional clothing, Aymara symbols, household items, and musical instruments.
Morale: You can have poor, cheap shoes but it’s the attitude that you use in life that matters.
Supplemental videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtoIs5dtYsM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo_sS-744dM&list=RDQMD2AnoEhTdNE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vydhTL5SoIs
Anata festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om-NEgxTqic
Video guiding questions (can be written on the whiteboard):
a. What is the main idea of this video? b. How does it relate to our unit? c. What vocabulary words can you pinpoint in the video? d. Do you like/dislike the video? Why/why not? e. What is your favorite part?
Extending the Unit: Creative Project Idea
SWBAT create a bulletin board that will supplement this thematic unit [idea courtesy of Escuela Enrique Römer in Coñaripe].
Instructions for Teachers
The whole class can participate on the creation of this bulletin board. Students can be placed in groups of 3-4 and assigned an indigenous group of Chile. For their assigned indigenous group, students are expected to research information such as geographical location, lifestyle, origin, food, clothing, traditions, and legends.
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The information about each indigenous group will be placed in envelopes that will be displayed on a bulletin board in the classroom or school. It is teacher’s decision on how many indigenous nations will be included in this project.
Indigenous groups to consider:
Mapuche, Huilliche, Aymara, Chiloé, Atacameño, Diaguitas, Rapa Nui, Tehuelche, Yámana, Selk’nam.
Example: A group of 3-4 students get assigned Mapuche culture. In addition to whataa they have already learned in this unit, they could include other objects and pieces of culture.
• Kultrun drum and the symbolism of its 4 directions [what kultrun represents and that it is cosmos for the Mapuche nation]. • The Mapuche dress and jewelry: crown, earrings, and a necklace. • Mention that mapuche is not a “Mapuche nation” like we have in the US [i.e. Navajo nation, Comanche nation, etc.]. They want to have the status of a nation but do not have representation in the government [like Congress, etc.]
Assessment of this project
If a teacher decides to assign a grade for this project, students can be evaluated on: 1. How thorough their content is;
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2. How interesting it is and whether it captures audience curiosity; 3. Whether there is value to this thematic unit; and/or 4. Whether their contribution shows the importance of learning about indigenous cultures.
Part II. Summative Report
Acknowledgements and dedication
This project would not have been possible without the support of the Institute of
International Education and the U.S. Department of State. I am thankful for this opportunity.
Thank you to Gloria Garafulich-Grabois of Gabriela Mistral Foundation, María Paz
Garafulich of Había una Vez Foundation, and Magdalena Merbilhaá of Red Cultural for helping me establish contacts in schools and build incredible connections with other educators. I would not have successfully finished this project without your support.
I am grateful to the Bernards Board of Education for providing additional funds to buy literature for our students at William Annin. I thank my principal, Karen Hudock, my supervisor,
Kathy Stotler, Nick Markarian, superintendent, and Sean Siet, assistant superintendent for working with me on the leave of absence. I missed teaching so much and can’t wait to start implementing what I learned this September!
A huge thank you to my cheering team at William Annin: Christina Donahue, Catarina
Gomez, Anna Hill, Deirdre Bachler, Diane Riley, and, of course, my incredible substitute teacher,
Matt Knoth!
I am thankful to my husband for believing in me as I embarked on this adventure to
Chile. I love you so much, may the Force be with you.
I am grateful to my parents, my mother-in-law, and my friends for checking in on me regularly and sharing both my ups and downs during this time.
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I thank Gaby Galaz, Cynthia Galloso, Andrea Mata, Estela Socías, Andrea Raczynski,
Isabel Baeza, Gabriel Jodán, Sofía Gassmann, Monica Munizaga, Gloria Cariman, Andrea Bravo,
Magdalena Provoste, Margarita Willemsen, Paloma Valenzuela, and Karen Julio for allowing me to visit your schools and classrooms and making me feel so welcome.
~~I dedicate this project to the Chilean teachers. Thank you for the incredible work you do
every day~~
Problem
In my 6th grade Spanish immersion class, we have read a delightful book titled “Pobre
Ana” authored by Blaine Ray. This book came out in 2012 and, albeit being in Spanish, was authored by an American author. In my 8th grade class, my students and I have read a basic novel called El Viaje, authored by an American author Deb Navarre. Originally, the novel was in
English but was translated into Spanish at a later date. In my 7th grade class, there was no planned novel that students were expected to read during their 7th grade Spanish language study.
Literature plays a significant part in acquiring a foreign language; it should never be separated from language acquisition in foreign language curricula (Bataineh, Rabadi, & Smadi,
2013; Dyvadatham, 2014). Authentic literature provides a source of classroom material for any teacher, enabling them to teach vocabulary, pronunciation, social norms, history, and culture.
Learning a language through authentic books makes students experience complex situations, actions, emotions, and values. In an authentic book, each sentence holds a lesson - in grammar or in life, making authentic literature an essential part of any world language
17 Daria Pizzuto learner’s journey. Studying target literature improves the basic skills like reading, writing, listening and speaking, in addition to other language areas like vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation (Abraham, 2010). Most importantly, authentic books give students a feeling of the target culture. My project inquiry idea came out of my desire to use the most authentic literature resources possible in my middle school Spanish classroom.
Program Experience
From a personal perspective…
On one hand, this program brought me an immense amount of stress. The IIE and the DOS have supported me greatly as I struggled with personal safety situations and unethical behavior of my mentor. There were many lows I had to overcome:
1. Living with an unstable person and moving out on a moment’s notice. For the first month and a half, I rented a room from Viviana Miranda Ureta. Before departure, my mentor recommended compartodepto.cl to look for housing in Santiago. That is how I found Viviana’s room for rent.
There were signs of Viviana’s instability when I moved in but I attributed that to culture uniqueness. One morning, Viviana started acting aggressive toward me, and I made a decision to pack my bags and leave. I left in a hurry, with building concierge helping me with the bags. I contacted Home Urbano, a real estate agency, and they helped me find an apartment. I had no problems with this new landlord. In fact, he was fantastic.
Three months later, at the beginning of July, I started receiving email and text messages from Viviana Miranda, ranting about how she wanted to meet, to talk on Skype, to “fix” this,
18 Daria Pizzuto and how she wanted to file a criminal complaint against me. She also told me she loved me, and that she was having problems with her family. She stated she took pictures of my medication bottles (those have my name and home address on the labels) and will post them on the
Internet.
I have these emails saved. She did not have information about where I lived in Santiago.
However, I made the decision to come back to the United States as soon as possible. Thankfully, the IIE and the DOS supported my decision and helped me change the date of my flight. Looking back, I think it was a right decision: all my school visits and professional development initiatives were completed. Moreover, July is a special month in Chile since for two weeks all educational institutions are closed for their winter break and I wanted to use that time to finish my project.
Instead, I finished it from the U.S. I am grateful that I could depart back to safety.
2. My University of the Andes mentor fabricating information about me not fulfilling program requirements. I could not believe my ears when I was informed that Zenaida Suarez Mayor emailed the Fulbright Commission stating I have not attended teacher meetings that she arranged. Not only I attended all the meetings/initiatives, I had to rely on other people to help me with arranging those meetings. She helped me with going to Concepcion-for the book fair and to meet authors. There was a possibility of school visits yet that was not confirmed and I was notified by the two authors that there will be no school visits during my time in
Concepcion. I then proceeded to Valdivia, where I met Zenaida’s friend-a school teacher- and spent two days with her and her students.
I visited 13 schools while on this grant yet only one school (in Valdivia) was established by Zenaida.
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After my former landlady (see number #1) emailed Zenaida with false information about me,
Zenaida’s attitude toward me changed for the worse. She could not separate her personal feelings from professional ones. She became snappy and judgmental, assuming the position of superiority and ridiculing my teaching skills. But the scariest thing of all is that she fabricated information about me which caused defamation of my character. She was a poor, ineffective mentor, and I hope none of the future grantees will get her as their mentor. Nobody deserves to go through this.
Lastly, I don’t think the University of the Andes leadership is aware that they have a faculty member that lacks integrity. I was told not to contact the University, and everything was swept under the rug.
3. Ineffective support from the Fulbright Commission in Chile. Their unwillingness or inability to work with their grantees, specifically the DATs. They tend to focus their energy on Fulbright scholars, students, and Chilean grantees. I am not sure they understand how DAT program works. The Commission is not willing to support the grantees that are at-risk (like I was)-at this moment they are only willing to celebrate the success, not provide guidance.
As miserable as the above experience sounds, I also have met some amazing people in
Chile. I made friends with fellow teachers, school administrators, librarians, and foundations.
Many people helped me as I struggled with this program, and I felt so touched. They supported me like I was family. Knowing I was alone in the country, they helped me with so many things, some of them simply things like checking in on me when they haven’t heard from me in a few days.
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I learned how to cook Chilean food and speak like a true Chilean. I visited the most beautiful places such as San Pedro de Atacama, Puerto Varas, and the Araucania region. I learned the norms of Chilean society and the unique aspects of its culture. I met indigenous peoples of Chile and learned about their incredible culture and literary tradition.
On a professional level….
This has been the most incredible professional development opportunity I have ever had.
I collaborated with teachers, administrators, librarians, and foundations. I co-taught classes and presented on best teaching practices. I even meditated with Chilean students and gave a presentation on mindfulness in the classroom!
I observed all types of classes (kindergarten to high school), visited 13 schools of various types (private, public, and subsidized) located in different parts of Chile, worked with students from various socioeconomic backgrounds, and explored multiple volunteer opportunities. I established connections with foundations (Habia una Vez, Red Cultural, and Gabriela Mistral foundation) and tagged along when they had initiatives in Santiago and other regions of Chile
(such as Leyendo en Red and Microcuentos Costeros initiatives). I gave Skype lessons to my students in the U.S. and used my time in Chile to boost their interest in Spanish language and
South American culture. I learned the specifics of Chilean education system and about both of its victories and troubles.
I have been encouraging all my fellow teachers to apply for this opportunity since, from a professional point of view, this is the best teacher development they will ever receive.
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Project Description
The purpose of this study was to thoroughly examine and analyze Chilean children's literature and use it as a foundation to create innovative activities to supplement thematic units in Spanish curriculum used in American schools. In its entirety, such supplement contains a variety of Chilean children's literature: a poem, a fable, a short story, an illustrated book, or a song. My objectives and outcomes were:
1. to visit Chilean schools to establish connections;
2. to exchange ideas and best practices with Chilean teachers;
3. to thoroughly explore Chilean children's literature;
4. to identify key culture components in the literature;
5. to explore grammatical/vocabulary possibilities, and
6. to create meaningful middle school Spanish curriculum based on reading authentic
Chilean literature.
During the progress of the study, instead of creating a brand-new curriculum, I used the thematic unit curriculum our school currently has as a foundation and used literature and strategies to create ‘supplemental activities’ that promote reading authentic books. Thus, the final product of this inquiry project is a set of 2 thematic unit supplements to encourage reading, comprehension, and language acquisition in middle school students.
In addition to identifying the most suitable literature, I observed local educators teach
22 Daria Pizzuto language, literature, writing, and communication through authentic literature. I was lucky to see the strategies they employ, i.e. how they introduce the book, how they explain the underlining messages in the book, and how they assess their students. By way of semi- structured interviews, I had an opportunity to speak to teachers and share strategies, techniques, and lessons thus making this project multilateral as opposed to unilateral. I even co-taught lessons with my Chilean colleagues. I visited museums, libraries, book stores, book expos, poetry readings, and author presentations to enhance my inquiry project and discover other relevant information.
My inquiry project is a set of ready-to-use lessons that employ children's literature to drive world language instruction and encourage children to read authentic texts. Specifically, this project could be used to supplement or extend our existing curriculum units. I looked at our middle school curricula, and asked myself "Do I want to reinvent/change the whole thing? How about if I create specific, ready-to-use lessons based on children's literature that fit into a particular unit. For example, I created a week worth of lessons for 'Historia de un oso' and that book complements our 7th grade 'Family' unit perfectly. Schools in New Jersey or other states could also use this supplemental guide since units below are quite common in middle school curricula.
As I mentioned during my Board of Education presentation, this grant is not for me. This grant is for my students and colleagues in my district, state, and nation. That is why I am creating the most practical, applicable product that teachers can work with on a regular basis. I want my colleagues at WAMS and in other schools to open this set of lessons and say "Ok, so
23 Daria Pizzuto for the next two months I am teaching about family, and I can use this set of lessons to supplement my instruction in this unit." All lessons have activities, handouts, and teacher instructions included so a teacher simply will have to read the instructions and set up the lesson the way she sees fit for her students.
Project Process
Collaboration with foundations
1. Fundación Había Una Vez http://fhuv.cl/
a. María Paz Garafulich (founder)
b. Carmen Paz Hernandez (in charge of institutional development)
c. Magdalena Palma (executive director)
d. Gloria Cariman Huenufil (in change of Leyendo en Red initiative)
2. Red Cultural http://www.red-cultural.cl/
a. Magdalena Merbilhaá (founder/executive director)
3. Gabriela Mistral Foundation http://gabrielamistralfoundation.org/web/
a. Gloria Garafulich-Grabois (board of trustees president)
Since I arrived, I have met with various people from the above foundations multiple times, with various goals in mind. The first meeting was usually to introduce myself and the project, the follow up meetings are to get introduced to other key people in the foundation and how they can assist with the project. There are always back and forth emails with all three entities: thank you’s, follow-ups, clarifications, reminders, and confirmations. All three are well known in Chile and very well respected.
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Because the above foundations promote reading and Chilean literature, they opened a lot of doors for me when it came to school visits and recruiting teachers for interviews. For example,
Red Cultural connected me with about 8 schools both in Santiago and other regions that I subsequently visited. Fundacion Habia Una Vez invited me to accompany them during two of their initiatives: Leyendo en Red (Araucania region) and Microcuentos Costeros (Zapallar area).
Leyendo en Red was a week long visit in the Araucania region, and Microcuentos Costeros was a (very long) day visit to two schools on the coast of Chile.
Gabriela Mistral Foundation showed me the resources to learn about Chilean children’s and adult literature. They connected me with the other two foundations before my arrival to Chile which facilitated my research project. They also introduced me to multiple children book authors, poets, and professors.
School visits
Colegio Santa Ursula, Vitacura. April 2017. Connection courtesy of Red Cultural.
Key connections:
• Andrea Raczynski-principal
• Andrea Mata- department chair
• Karen Julio- language teacher.
I have visited this school multiple times in April to observe author presentation, story times at the library, the setup of the library, a two day long student debate, language and creative writing lessons. I also did informal teacher interviews, mainly in their classrooms and the cafeteria. It was even great to see their bulletin boards and their book exchange shelf [take a
25 Daria Pizzuto book-leave a book]. In addition to the above three names, I worked with/observed librarians and other teachers in the school as they were working. I was asked to do a story time in English but on the day that I was supposed to do it, the school lost power and students were sent home early.
Colegio Aliwen, Valdivia. April 2017. Connection courtesy of Zenaida Suarez.
Key contact:
• Monica Munizaga-language teacher
I visited this school for two days as part of the trip south [see Concepcion-Valdivia-Puerto Varas trip]. I shadowed Monica for those two days to see what activities she does while teaching with literature. Apart from seeing lessons in the classroom, I was lucky to participate in “El Día del
Libro” – a celebration of books and reading. Students practiced various acts [songs, story telling, juggling, guitar] and performed them in another, special education school as a way to reach out to their community and promote reading. Students also did a book drive and donated the books to complete strangers in a local hospital.
Colegio Puerto Varas, Puerto Varas. April 2017. Connection courtesy of Red Cultural.
Key contacts:
• Gabriel Jordán-principal
• Magdalena Provoste- language arts department chair
I visited this school for three days as part of the trip south [see Concepcion-Valdivia-Puerto
Varas trip]. I was given a schedule of language, reading, and creative writing classes [from kinder to 12th grade], library events, and “La Semana del Libro” [The Week of the Book] events.
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My activities included classroom visits, semi-structured interviews with teachers and librarians
[during lunch and on their prep periods], and various activities celebrating reading. Some of the
“Week of the Book” activities were a book drive, impromptu poetry readings by students, an impersonation of Violeta Parra by a teacher, and an ‘induction into the library’ ceremony.
Araucania Region School Visits. Connection courtesy of Fundación Había una Vez.
Key contacts:
• Andrea Bravo
• Gloria Cariman
I visited five rural schools located in the Araucanía and Los Lagos regions of Chile. I tagged along with Andrea and Gloria, representatives from Leyendo en Red, a collaborative initiative between Fundación Había una Vez and Fundación Luksic. Specifically, Leyendo en Red entails establishing a --very beautiful--school library, maintaining it, training the teachers, promoting reading both in and outside of the classroom, and incorporating books into daily lives of students and their parents. Additionally, Leyendo en Red also helps with “Biblioteca del Aula”- a classroom library. Each classroom in those 8 rural school has a “biblioteca del aula”. Below are the 5 schools I visited.
• Escuela Padre Berger de Melefquén • Liceo San Agustín • Escuela Epu Klei de Lican Ray • Escuela Padre Enrique Romer de Coñaripe • Escuela Rayén Lafquén, de la comuna de Villarrica.
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Pullally and Papudo School Visits. Connection courtesy of Fundacion Habia Una
Vez.
Key contacts:
• Maria Paz Garafulich
• Marisol Galilea
I visited two schools to participate in creative writing workshops that were conducted by Había
Una Vez foundation to promote reading, writing, and reflection in rural schools in Zapallar area.
My collaboration with FHUV has been ongoing-since I arrived, I met so many folks involved with promoting reading in schools.
I tagged along with María Paz and Marisol to two schools to participate in creative writing workshops that were conducted by the foundation to promote reading, writing, and reflection in rural schools in Zapallar area.
I was blown away by the ingenious strategies that María Paz and Marisol used to have children write. They showed up with snacks, a scented candle, a cooking set, a basket full of fruit and vegetables, music, and other props. They had kids out of their seats, moving around, dancing, meditating, and enjoying themselves. I loved the strategy to use 'sensory' experience to provoke ideas: smell, vision, hearing, feeling, and touch. These creative writing workshops are part of the initiative called MICRORRELATOS COSTEROS. So, small stories from the coast. These stories are gathered from coastal towns next to Zapallar, Chile. After the workshop, students
28 Daria Pizzuto were encouraged to submit their micro-stories and enter the contest. Winners will be featured in an anthology of these coastal stories.
Colegio Villa Maria Academy in Santiago. Connection courtesy of Red Cultural.
Key contacts:
• Anita Tomassinni-principal
• Magdalena Willemsen-middle school language arts department chair
• Paloma Valenzuela-high school language arts department chair.
I spent two weeks in Villa Maria, visiting classes (from kindergarten to high school), mingling with teachers, and even attending their department meetings. The amount of teacher creativity in this school is astounding. Whatever class I went into, I left with ideas. I was even given extra copies by the teachers to modify and use in my classes. I saw classes where students had to create a detective story, a self-portrait essay using mirrors so they can look at themselves, a collage dedicated to a poet/a writer, or shared riddles they brought from home. There was also an immense amount of reading happening. In some classes, children will have 10-15 minutes of simply silent, independent, reading. For instance, after the teacher makes an announcement, students will come up, select a book from the bin with their reading level, sit down, and read for 10-15 minutes. Uninterrupted. Because of that, reading becomes routine, which is so important.
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Colegio SIP Eliodoro Matte Ossa. Connection courtesy of Red Cultural.
Key contacts:
• Isabel Baeza-principal
• Gaby Galaz-language arts teacher
• Cynthia Galloso- Spanish as a second language teacher, outreach coordinator
• Francisca Elqueta- history teacher
This was a semi-private school located in San Bernardo neighborhood, about 1.5 hours from
Santiago Centro. I visited many grade levels (starting in kindergarten and finishing in 10th grade), observed many great lessons (like shadow theater) and informally interviewed teachers, students, and librarians. This school had a beautiful library. Keti the librarian sat down with me to go over Chilean indigenous literature. We talked about various indigenous populations of
Chile and their folklore, i.e. legends and myths. She gave me a whole stack of books to digest and I sat down in their library, and read, and unpacked, and brainstormed ideas, and formulated how I can use these back home. How cool would it be to have the whole thematic unit based on myths and legends of Chilean indigenous peoples, their traditions, cosmology, and location?... Although I was only supposed to be there for two weeks, I kept coming back for presentation and co-teaching opportunities.
Other Relevant Activities
a) 43rd International Book Fair in Buenos Aires. This was part of PD grant. The fair had a
total of seven pavilions, all organized by color, with the surface area is about 45.500 m2.
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During this book expo, I met authors, publishers, educators, and people that simply love
to read. The workshops and activities were also very good, i.e. "Zona Infantíl", "Zona
Docente", digital reading spaces, and book talks.
b) Library visits were part of my researching routine. I went to a library on a as needed
basis. I frequented the National Library, Literary Café in Parque Bustamante, and
Nicanor Parra Library.
c) Book Fair and literature reading initiatives in Concepción. Connection courtesy of
Zenaida Suarez Mayor.
Key connections:
• Taty Torres- a poet
• Miriam Leiva-a poet
This trip was planned based on advice from Zenaida. The two poets [Taty and Miriam] go to schools and do programming there, and I was supposed to tag along. When I arrived to
Concepcion, I was informed that, unfortunately, they do not have any school visits for the days that I will be in Concepción. Before I bought the plane ticket, I asked for confirmation on school visits but got an email from my mentor stating:
“Daria, lo que te quiere decir Taty es que puedes comprar tus pasajes ya, ellas te bucarán colegios para esos días. No esperes a que los colegios confirmen porque perderás el tiempo.
Por último, si ninguno contesta te quedas paseando por la Feria del libro, que es “bacan” ”
Translation:
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“Daria, what Taty is trying to tell you is that you can buy the ticket already, they will look for schools for those days. Don’t wait for schools to confirm because you’ll waste time. Lastly, if no school answers, you get to roam around a book fair that is ‘cool’.”
I rode along with Taty and Miriam to various initiatives that were celebrating the week of the book: talks, author presentations, poetry readings, and the Book Expo.
As a result, I met many authors (that write both poetry and prose) and are involved with various initiatives to promote reading among young people. For instance, Jairo Guzman from
Colombia (Proyecto Gulliver) and Augustin Rodriguez from Ecuador (Literatura en Movimiento) talked about how they promote reading with secondary school students, how they train teachers, and how they maintain momentum. I talked with them both to get more information and tell them about the project I’m working on.
There was also the Book Expo taking place in Concepcion while I was there. I talked to multiple publishers that were represented, i.e. caligrafix.cl. They gave me some samples to take with me. Caligrafix does NOT sell in the U.S., which is a shame.
Also during the Book Expo I attended beautiful poetry readings by both up-and-coming and established authors. Some authors were brand new and just started, and others have been writing for some time. Talked to some authors personally to congratulate them and introduce myself. A highlight of this expo was meeting the Mapuche author Elicura Chihuailaf, buying his latest book “La vida es una nube azul”, and getting it signed by him.
Presentations and Workshops
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At any school I visited, I always offered to do a workshop on teaching strategies and best practices. That lead to me conducting workshops and giving presentations on various topics in
Chilean school, at all different levels:
a) “Best Practices” workshop in Estela Socías teacher development class at Universidad
Mayor, Santiago. College students.
b) “Mindfulness and Meditation” session in Estela Socías teacher development class at
Universidad Mayor, Santiago. College students.
c) “New Jersey and the United States” presentation at Colegio SIP Eliodoro Matte Ossa.
Kindergarten students.
d) “A foreigner in Chile” presentation at Colegio SIP Eliodoro Matte Ossa. 9th grade
students.
e) “My Soviet Childhood” presentation in language and history classes, Colegio SIP Eliodoro
Matte Ossa. 11th, 10th, and 9th grade students.
Teacher Meetings Outside of Schools
I also met with practicing educators outside of their schools to informally share ideas, strategies, and techniques. These individuals came from a variety of fields: some taught language, literature, Spanish as a Second language, and reading in primary, secondary, and higher education.
a) Sofía Gassmann —elementary teacher and Instagram teacher celebrity, sharing ideas
directly from her classroom (follow her @creandoaprendo);
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b) Daisy Bravo—Spanish as a Second Language professor at the Catholic University and
teacher preparation professor at University of the Andes;
c) Paola Baldwin Lind—literature and theater professor at the University of the Andes;
d) Graciela Huinao—Mapuche-Huilliche poet;
e) Estela Socías Muñoz - professor, School of Education at Universidad Mayor, president of
Chilean Academy of Children’s Literature, and children book author.
I also established contacts at the University of the Andes. Unfortunately, due to unethical behavior of Zenaida Suarez Mayor, my former mentor, the Fulbright Commission has asked me to cease all communication with her and anyone at the University of the Andes. Therefore, I could not cultivate the following relationships:
1. Rosario Díaz Domingez, the International Department director, University of the Andes
2. Monica Bombal, Ministry of Education, el Plan Nacional de la Lectura
3. Caterina Platovsky, Director of Studies [Directora de Estudios], University of the Andes.
Results of Project Inquiry
There are various findings that emerged as a result of my research. Although my final product consists of two curriculum supplement thematic units based on Chilean children’s literature, the essential findings are outlined below. Some of these findings are not directly related to Chilean children’s literature and were not specifically sought out. Such findings came out organically as I proceeded with this research.
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Finding #1: Reading is incorporated regularly in language classes in Chile. After observing multiple levels, at multiple schools, with various teachers and disciplines, it was clear that reading is an essential part of being a student in Chile.
Finding #2: Chilean teachers often use story times (“cuentacuentos”) to teach reading.
Finding #3: Chilean children’s literature is incredibly diverse: fables, legends, myths, short stories, Santiago in 100 words, novels, poems, and songs.
Finding #4: Chilean teachers work harder than the U.S. teachers, oftentimes under very difficult conditions.
Relevance and Application of Results
Finding #1: In the United States schools, we need to employ more reading in our foreign language classes. After comparing how much Chilean children read, and how little American children read, it is unsettling to see that students in William Annin Middle School read very little. That is the main reason I created two curriculum supplement thematic units based entirely on children’s literature. I have shared the final product with my colleagues at William
Annin and Ridge High School in New Jersey. As a follow up, I plan to present these two units at
Kappa Delta Pi Convocation in Pittsburg in October 2017 and Foreign Language Educators of NJ
(FLENJ) Annual Conference in spring of 2018.
Finding #2: Chilean teachers often use story times (“cuentacuentos”) to teach reading.
Children know and love this strategy and look forward to it. Such strategy presents a story from a creative perspective, allowing students to participate and use their imagination while listening to the story. It is a comforting time, where the class bonds over a story. Teachers often have
35 Daria Pizzuto subtle objectives and ask follow-up questions on the reading. For middle school Spanish language learners, I would choose picture books, with not too much text but many illustrations to make comprehension easier.
Finding #3: Chilean children’s literature is incredibly diverse. It includes fables, legends, myths, short stories, recados, Santiago in 100 words, proverbs, riddles, novels, poems, and songs. I tried as much as I could to learn about various styles and, most importantly, how to use them to teach middle school Spanish in the United States. As my study progressed, I started purchasing various categories of literature to be sent to William Annin Middle School in New
Jersey. In addition to the created thematic units, I hope to also establish a Spanish classroom library in at least two classrooms at WAMS.
I plan to start implementing what I learned in my own classroom this coming
September. I will share my final product with William Annin Middle School and Ridge High
School teachers, in addition to my colleagues on a state and national level.
Finding #4: Chilean teachers work harder than the U.S. teachers, oftentimes under very difficult conditions (i.e. no heat in the building, little technology resources, class size, student discipline issues). Chilean teachers work longer hours than their colleagues in the U.S. They have little to none teacher union representation. Similar to the U.S., teacher earnings are relatively low, and there is lack of respect toward the teaching profession. Not all but most public and private schools I visited lacked administrative support.
In spite of these challenges, Chilean teachers I met did not lack professionalism or creativity and delivered instruction every day. For the sake of their students, they got together
36 Daria Pizzuto to plan and make do with the resources they had available. They stayed after hours to meet with stakeholders, clean their classrooms, and create lessons.
For secondary education in general, this finding is relevant if we want to talk about teacher wellbeing and its effects on both teacher and student performance. In both countries, teachers have many hours of student contact time, and not enough preparation hours. Chilean teachers work longer hours under harsher conditions than their U.S. colleagues. This finding directly ties in with the most recent OECD results for direct instruction hours. See table 1 for more information.
Table 1. 2014 OECD data on number of teaching hours per year in general lower secondary education (2000, 2005 and 2014).
1. Actual teaching time. 2. Year of reference 2013 instead of 2014. [Source: OECD. Table D4.2. www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance-19991487.htm.
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Concluding Remarks
Before departing on this grant, I created a blog that I named “Fulbright in Chile
Adventure.” This experience has certainly been filled with adventure-both positive, negative, and in between. I cried and I laughed. I struggled and I celebrated. I learned and I taught. I asked for help and I received it. With the help of the right people, I finished my project. I cannot wait to show the final product to my students and start reading the stories I brought back from
Chile this coming September. Thank you for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
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Appendix 1. “Fragmento probable” worksheet
Personajes El ambiente El problema
Consecuencias Palabras desconocidas
Parrafo esencial
Para descubrir mas. . . 1.
2.
3.
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Appendix 2. Historia de un oso Vocabulary Choice Board.
Nombre______Fecha______Hora______
You will choose three activities to complete using vocabulary from Historia de un oso book. It is recommended that you focus on the words you are stuck on and that you use a variety of words. When you are done with an activity, write your name on the board so your teacher can check the activity and give you a stamp. You should accumulate three stamps to receive full credit.
Draw, find or take Classify your vocabulary Create actions to represent at least 10 pictures for the words into categories. words. Write down the vocabulary words. Label Explain your category action for each phrase. Be prepared to teach each picture in Spanish. choices. your actions to the class.
Write each word three Make flashcards using Create flashcards using times each in Spanish index cards the Flashcard App on a and once in English. (Spanish/English or smart phone.
Spanish/image).
Use an online tool Create clues (in Spanish Create a memory (Study Stack, Quizlet, or English) to help you Chegg) to generate remember each word. game. Play it with a flashcards and games. The crazier the better! peer from our class.
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