UNIT 1 READING DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION • Read and comprehend informational text Ask a student to read aloud the biography of George Crespo. Ask factual comprehension questions, such as Where did he live when he was growing up? (He moved back and forth between Puerto Rico and New York.) • Make connections Ask: Do you know anyone who moves back and forth between countries? What do you think that experience is like for a child? What are both positive and negative aspects? Encourage students to share their personal experiences if they feel comfortable. E Check In • Find details in illustrated narrative Read aloud the questions. Give students time to find the answers by themselves and write them down. Have them write phrases and sentences from the memoir as supporting evidence for their answers. Have students compare their answers in pairs, discussing any differences and comparing text evidence to support the correct answer. • Make connections Students may be confused about why Abuelo Antonio’s land belongs to the government now. Ask them to share any knowledge or experience they have about why this would happen. For example, sometimes governments will take land in order to use it for public use, such as creating a road or a conservation area. • Sensitivity note Some students may have had or been impacted by negative experiences with political systems or government control, such as taking private land. Be mindful of raising issues in the classroom where sociopolitical topics cause students personal discomfort. Remain factual to the text, but do not prohibit students from making connections to what they know. Offer support or call on a school counselor for added strategies. Ensure that all students listen and respond respectfully if examples are shared. • Culture note The Rio Camuy in Puerto Rico is the thirdlargest underground river in the world. This is most likely the underground river referred to in the memoir. It flows underground and has shaped an extensive cave system. The Rio Camuy Cave Park covers over 10 miles underneath the city and contains over 220 underground caves and caverns which people can explore. ANSWERS 1. He is holding a planting stick. This is important because he loved planting, and this is how Crespo remembers his grandfather. 2. Crespo included a hawk because he remembers always seeing a hawk above him when he was young. He even dreamed about them. Crespo might associate hawks with the farm fields and his grandfather. 3. Crespo’s family does not own the land because the government owns it now. PRACTICE Scaffold Have students listen to the text again and use a sketch-to-stretch to show comprehension. Show them how to fold a paper to make three columns. In column 1, students draw and label the characters (Abuelo Antonio and the author). In column 2, they draw a detailed sketch of the setting with added labels, such as river, plants, hawk, vegetables, seeds, planting stick, etc. In column 3, they draw how the boy feels; for example, his face may show peace while he has a river running inside him. Amplify Encourage students to put themselves in the author’s shoes and take the author’s perspective. Have students discuss how the writer feels over time. Have them compare his initial feeling of sadness about the land and later feeling of a river running inside him. What is the difference, and why does he feel that way? Have students discuss images that give them a feeling of peace. I HONOR MY GRANDFATHER written by George Crespo This is my grandfather, Abuelo Antonio. (Abuelo means “grandfather” in Spanish.) He lived on a farm in Puerto Rico. I painted him holding a traditional planting stick and releasing seeds into the ground. He loved working with plants. I am next to Abuelo, looking up at a hawk. When I was a child there was a hawk that followed me everywhere, even in my dreams. You can see four tuber vegetables, like the ones Abuelo farmed. These vegetables were left to us by the Tainos, our indigenous Puerto Rican ancestors. At the bottom of the painting is an underground river that ran under the farm. Since the beginning of time, the river has been carving out huge underground caves. Not long ago I went to visit the river. The land above it belongs to the government now. It no longer belongs to my family. At first I was sad, but then I realized that when I am quiet, I can feel the river running inside me. It lives inside me, just like my grandparents and my Taino ancestors. 1 2 3 indigenous originally from the land carving making a shape GLOSSARY 1. Details What is George’s grandfather holding in the painting? Why is this important? 2. Evaluate The bird in the painting is a hawk. Why is there a hawk in the painting? 3. Comprehension Does George’s family still own the land? Explain. Check In 15 George Crespo is an illustrator, a sculptor, an author, and a teacher. He was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1962, and moved back and forth with his family between Puerto Rico and New York. He now lives in the Bronx in New York City. UNIT 1 Honoring Our Ancestors BLC23_SE_LB_U01_008-017_RD.indd 15 8/30/21 11:28 AM Teacher’s Edition • UNIT 1 | 15
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