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Encountering Latino Culture through its Heroes: Activities Tied to
Common Core State Standards
The Upside Down Boy: = El Nino de Cabeza by Juyan Felipe
Herrara
RI Standard 1
RI K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key
details in a text.
RI 1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI 2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why,
and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
Encourage students to ask and answer questions about Juanito's experiences in school (Grades K, 1). What
key details does author Herrera offer? Ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, when, why, and
how about these key details (Grade 2).
Clemente! by Willie Perdomo
RI Standard 2
RI 3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and
explain how they support the main idea.
RI 4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported
by key details; summarize the text.
RI 5.2 Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they
are supported by key details; summarize the text.
Invite students to determine one (Grades 3,4) or more (Grade 5) main ideas of the text and identify the key
details the author employs in support.
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Me, Frida by Amy Novesky
RI Standard 3
RI 3.3 Describe the relationship between a series of historical
events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical
procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time,
sequence, and cause/effect.
RI 4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a
historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened
and why, based on specific information in the text.
RI 5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or
more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical,
scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
Encourage students to consider in what ways the experiences of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in San
Francisco were similar and different, drawing on specific information from the text to support their claims.
César: Si, Se Puede! = Yes, We Can! by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
RI Standard 4
RI 3.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
RI 4.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
RI 5.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
Challenge students to use context clues to define Spanish words and phrases as they encounter them and to
consult the extensive glossary to verify the definitions.
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My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz = Me Llamo Celia: La
Vida de Celia Cruz by Monica Brown
RI Standard 7
RI K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between
illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place,
thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).
RI 1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
RI 2.7 Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a
machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
Invite students to revisit the illustrations in the text by examining their favorite spreads closely. Read the
accompanying text and ask discuss how the illustrations help the text to capture and deliver key ideas in the
text (Grades K, 1) or to clarify ideas presented in the text (Grade 2).
Diego Rivera: His World and Ours by Duncan Tonatiuh
RI Standard 8
RI K.8 With prompting and support, identify the reasons an author gives
to support points in a text.
RI 1.8 Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
RI 2.8 Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in
a text.
Ask students to identify the reasons (Grades K, 1) author Duncan Tonatiuh gives to support Rivera's decision
to become a muralist and explain how these reasons support the specific points in the text. What did Rivera
hope to accomplish and why?
Created by Toni Buzzeo, a certified school librarian and the author of nineteen picture books for children and
eleven professional books for librarians and educators.
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