The following is an annotated bibliography of texts and film for adolescents in grades six through 12. The targeted audiences for this bibliography are English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers in middle school and high school. This compilation of texts and film is centered on a common theme of growing up in the United States as a Hispanic person. More specifically, the texts and film relate to first-generation American born adolescents whose families moved to the United States from a Hispanic country.
When following your school curriculum as an ESL teacher, it can be difficult to find texts and films that can be used in your classroom that not only correlate to what you are to teach, but also relate to your students. In this bibliography, I attempt to tackle that burden with recommendations of six texts and one film that coincide with different areas of the English curriculum and allow for real-life connections to be made with your English Language Learners (ELLs). The annotations for each support the use of the text or film within the classroom by providing examples of when and how they can be implemented. The annotations also provide specific information related to the levels of English proficiency for which each would be appropriate.
This annotated bibliography offers a wide range of different genres as well. I have included poetry, short stories, a picture book, biographies and a documentary film. Any of the texts or film could be included in your classroom library. You may also consider sharing this list or a specific selection with colleagues who have some of your ELLs in their class. This could assist other teachers with differentiated instruction as they have many levels of students in their own classes.
Augenbraum, H., & I. Stavans. (1993) Growing Up Latino: Reflections on Life in the
United States. New York: Mariner Books.
Growing Up Latino is a compilation of both non-fiction and fiction memoirs, stories, and
reflections by numerous authors. This book is split into short stories including autobiographies and biographies, stories about families, love, struggles and most of all, life as a Hispanic-American.
This writing collection relates to the focus for this bibliography in that the stories included in Growing Up Latino directly connect to Hispanic English Language Learners as they are in fact growing up Latino in America. Perhaps some of the stories shared in the book are very similar to the students in your class which will allow for effective in class discussions. Also in referencing their own writing, students may create pieces that are more meaningful and deep much like the stories in the book.
Growing Up Latino is a great source for a short stories unit and could also have a place in your classroom library for independent reading. Be mindful in your choice to use this book across all levels of ELLs. Advanced and intermediate level students could choose a story and write a reflection based on their reading or the entire class could read a selection and students could then do an independent writing assignment. Beginning level students may not be able to work as independently. You may want to read aloud a selection from the book and have students orally reflect as a whole class or in small
groups. The class could then write a group reflection as you guide and scaffold their work. Following may be another read aloud of a different selection and then an independent writing assignment.
Brummel, B. (writer and director) & Alfon Filomeno Mayo (director). (2008).Viva La Causa. USA: Teaching Tolerance.
This film tells the amazing life story of a historically famous Latino, Cesar Chavez. Chavez, Mexican-American civil rights activist worked to improve the working conditions for migrant farm workers like himself and many of his family members and friends. He faced many challenges as a Hispanic man living in the United States during the mid-1900s. This film tells the story of his life and offers excellent historical insight.
Hispanic ELLs can relate to Cesar Chavez in more ways than simply they are Hispanic-Americans. Many families who immigrate to the United States from Latino countries work as migrant farmers. Still today, they suffer poor working conditions even after the work of Chavez. Many of your Hispanic ELLs may be experiencing this themselves or may have family members who are. The story of Chavez would give the students information about a hero from their identical culture. The film can be used with any level of ELLs as it was produced to be used within the classroom. With a beginning, intermediate, or advanced group, building background knowledge and vocabulary is
Bunting, Eve. (1998). Going Home. Harper Collins.
Going Home is a children’s picture book about a Mexican family living in the United
States. The family travels back to Mexico for Christmas where the children in the family learn about their ancestry, Mexican culture, and all their parents left behind when they came to America.
The types of English Language Learners targeted in this bibliography are Spanish speaking but may have not been born outside the United States. Their families, however, did move to America, leaving behind their lives in their homeland. This book gives a touching insight as to why Hispanic families in particular leave their countries and immigrate to the United States. The children of these families, born in America, can gain a sense of their family history when you read this story in class. Because every family has their own story, an interview assignment would make a great home-school connection within a unit on culture. Students could choose a family member or someone at home who was not born in the United States to whom they would ask questions about life before the United States and why they chose to come here. Students could then share out in class. This book is most appropriate for beginning level students with vocabulary that is at their level and many beautiful pictures to reference.
Carlson, Lori M. (1995). Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States. Fawcett.
Cool Salsa is a book of poems relating to the real-life experiences Hispanics encounter while living in the United States. The book is a compilation of poems written by different authors such as Gary Soto, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, and Sandra Cisneros who write about their experiences on love, fear, education, and most intriguing, life as an English Language Learner (ELL). The poems are written in many different forms from lyrical and traditional to free verse.
Carlson’s work fits perfectly within the focus topic of this bibliography. Students who speak Spanish as a first language and are learning English as a second while growing up in America can relate their life experiences including learning English as a second language to the stories told through the poetry in Cool Salsa. Because the poems are written in varied form and are available in English and Spanish, Hispanic ELLs will have ample opportunity to dig deep into the depths of the poems in the book allowing for a better understanding of the texts and text to self connections to be made.
Cool Salsa would be appropriate for any level of ELLs (beginning, intermediate, and advanced). Because the poems relate so well to the prospective Hispanic ELLs in your class and include a variety of different forms of poetry, Cool Salsa would fit directly into
a poetry unit, giving excellent examples for student reference during their own writing. The poems will encourage students to reflect on their own experiences on growing up in America as a Hispanic English Language Learner. Building background knowledge in terms of different forms of poetry and text specific vocabulary is necessary as it is with really any text you choose to implement within your ESL classroom.
Engel, Trudie. (1997). We'll Never Forget You, Roberto Clemente. New York. Scholastic
Paperbacks.
In this selection, Engle Trudie writes a biography for young readers (ages 9-12) about the life of the first Latino elected into The Baseball Hall of Fame. The book is 12 chapters in length and includes separate sections concerning basic baseball terminology. Engel effectively outlines Clemente’s life while still in Puerto Rico along with his experiences as a Major League Baseball player in America.
This book coincides with a later selection included in this bibliography entitled Roberto Clemente: Baseball Hall of Famer by William Lace. Sad but true, Hispanics are considered a minority group in the United States. While there are indeed many successful and famous Hispanics in the United States, it is far easier to find books written about a successful white American as opposed to a successful American from a minority group. This is not news to ESL students. To help encourage your Hispanic English Language Learners to become English literate, to stay focused on their education, and to follow their dreams through their struggles as a minority in this country, a biography
Both this text and William Lace’s would be excellent choices for a student biography project or simply a great addition to your classroom library. Students can easily make connections between their lives in America and Clemente’s. This book is most appropriate for beginning level students with its significant attempt to build background
Lace, William. (2006). Roberto Clemente: Baseball Hall of Famer. (The Twentieth
Century’s Most Influential Hispanics). Lucent.
Roberto Clemente: Baseball Hall of Famer is a young adult biography about the first Latin American inducted into The Baseball Hall of Fame. This text by William Lace is part of The 20th Century’s Most Influential Hispanics biography collection for adolescent readers. In this particular piece, the incredible life journey of Roberto Clemente is outlined, giving information about his life in Puerto Rico and his professional baseball career in the United States as a Hispanic.
This book coincides with the earlier annotated text based on Trudie Engel’s biography entitled We’ll Never Forget You, Roberto Clemente. Both texts relate to HispanicEnglish Language Learners in that they tell the same story of a successful Hispanic-American. This book in particular would be most appropriate for an intermediate or advanced level group of ESL students due to the higher level vocabulary and length of the text in comparison to Trudie Engel’s work. Like Engel’s text, this book would be perfect for a biography unit or even just part of your classroom library. In a class with mixed level ESL students, using both books would be a great way to differentiate instruction in order to maintain success among all of your students. They can also be used separately if you are teaching different classes based on proficiency level. You can refer to the annotation about Trudie Engel’s book about Roberto Clemente for an appropriate text for a beginning level group concerning the same topic.
Myers, Walter Dean. (2011). Carmen. EgmontUSA.
Popular young adult author Walter Dean Myers captures the life of a teenage girl growing up in Spanish Harlem in New York City. Carmen is a love story mixed with emotions, violence, jealousy, and pain the average teenager experiences growing up in the city. The book is written in the form of a screenplay a lot like Monster, also written by Walter Dean Myers.
Hispanic English Language Learners growing up in the United States can relate to Carmen’s story not only as a teenager, but as a Hispanic teenager living in America. This
fictional text incorporates the portrayal of a Hispanic American teenager much like the
students in a middle school or high school ESL class. This text would be most
appropriate for an older group of advanced ELLs with its explicit content and higher level language and vocabulary. This book could be used as a group read aloud with each student reading his or her own part of the play. This would keep students engaged. Students could also read independently.
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