Children's Book Press - Xochitl and the Flowers/Xochitl, la Niña de las Flores

Let Your Words Blossom
Students carefully observe and respond to flowers. They use their observations as the basis for writing poetry and prose that looks at flowers in a new way.

30 minutes a day for a week

Whole class, small groups, partners, and individual

CA Writing Standard 1.0: Students write descriptions that use concrete sensory details to present and support unified impressions of people, places, things, or experiences.

Chart paper and markers; masking tape; pens or pencils; paper; bouquets of flowers, i.e. roses, sunflowers, calla lilies, bougainvillea, and stargazer lilies

Plan

	Bring in bouquets of flowers. If possible, use the flowers described in *Xochitl and the Flowers:* roses, sunflowers, calla lilies, bougainvillea, and stargazer lilies. Create stations around the room, each with one type of flower. Behind each station, post a piece of chart paper and place some markers.
	Ask students to do a “gallery walk” of the room in small groups, quietly observing and describing the flowers. Have them record their observations on the chart paper posted behind the vase. Encourage them to use more than adjectives. Remind students that Xochitl thinks of lilies as “freckle-faced” (page 8). What words do the flowers make them think of? What could they compare these flowers to? Are there verbs that match particular flowers? Remind students to use specific, interesting language! Tell them that they can talk quietly with each other to get their thoughts going, but they should be sure to write down what they come up with on the chart.
	Read aloud the words and phrases generated in the gallery walk. Ask the class if listening gave them any new ideas, and add these words to the chart paper as appropriate.
	Tell your students that they are going to use these words to write about one flower of their choice. They have many options: They could write a poem describing the flower, or a story featuring the flower, or a personal narrative discussing what the flower means to them. Tell them that no matter what they choose to do, they want to show the reader something interesting about the flower, to help the reader see the flower in a new way. Use examples to support students in understanding the differences between the forms of writing so that they can make informed choices.

Draft

Now, ask your students to get to work! Have students begin writing. Refer them to the words and the flowers that surround them for inspiration.

Revise

	Once they have completed their drafts, ask students to share their writing with partners. Remind students that at this stage in the writing process, they should focus on the clarity of the writing and the impact of specific words or events, rather than on spelling or grammar.
	Encourage students to revise their work according to their partner's feedback. Tell them to reread their drafts to themselves and then to read them out loud to see if there are other changes they wish to make.

Edit

Ask students to edit their second drafts for publication, checking spelling and punctuation. Read through the drafts and mark errors. Encourage students to use a word wall, a dictionary, or other classroom reference tools as they correct their episodes.

Publish

Post the finished projects on a “Flower Market” bulletin board in your classroom.

Other Writing Activities

	Filling in the Blanks: What did Doña Candelaria say to Don Roberto to change his mind? Have your students imagine their dialogue and write a scene, using poetic description, that fits between pages 24 and 26. What does the conversation sound like? What does Don Roberto say when Doña Ivania gives him the parakeet?
	Immigration Stories: Most families have stories about how they came to the United States and about the struggles they faced upon arrival. Ask your students to retell these stories, using the first person, as Xochitl does.

Community Business
Students identify and interview local businesspeople, in the process learning about how their work supports both themselves and their community. They practice mapping skills by connecting their reports to a neighborhood map.

1.5 hours (over several days)

small and large group

CA Social Studies Standard 3.5.1: Students describe the ways in which local producers have used and are using natural resources, human resources, and capital resources to produce goods and services in the past and the present.

Map of your community; string; pens or pencils; paper; flipchart and markers; disposable cameras (if available)

Read page 10 of Xochitl and the Flowers to your students. In this scene, Xochitl and her mother explore their neighborhood, making friends with people who work there. These are all people who form what's known as a “local economy”; they provide goods and services to each other, in the process strengthening their community. Ask your students to brainstorm a list of important people and businesses in their own neighborhood. Who contributes to the community by providing people with things or services they need, like food or music? Record your list on a piece of chart paper.

Once you have your list, tell class members that they are going to have the opportunity to learn more about these important people. Ask them what they would like to know about how and why these people do their work. Record the questions they generate on a piece of chart paper.

Once the group has a long list of questions, narrow them down and categorize them to address issues such as: their motivation for choosing this work; the skills and resources required for their work; the support they receive; their daily responsibilities; the challenges and benefits of their work; and the contributions they make to the community. Create an interview note-taking sheet based on your students' questions.

Now, assign students to small groups based on their interest in each type of business. Review with your students appropriate ways to act during an interview, such as taking notes, listening respectfully, and asking thoughtful follow-up questions. Act out scenarios with the class and debrief what they see.

Send teams out on interviews at each business, using their note-taking sheets as a guide. If possible, provide students with disposable cameras so that they can photograph the people interviewed in their work environment (If the people agree to having their pictures taken).

Once students have collected their data, ask them to work together to summarize their findings. Each group should create a one-page flier with a photograph or drawing of their subject and key information about the person they interviewed and the business they run.

Post the fliers around the map of your neighborhood, with strings connecting each flier to its place on the map. If possible, take photographs, or ask students to draw pictures of other neighborhood landmarks, such as parks, schools, or libraries, and familiar figures, such as police officers or teachers (again, only with permission). Mark students' homes on the map as well.

Other Social Studies Activities

	The Country of Flowers: Ask students to see what they know about Xochitl's life in El Salvador from her story. Record this information on a piece of chart paper, then brainstorm questions for further research. Ask students to gather information that answers their questions, using the Internet and book resources.
	Immigrant Interviews: People come to the United States for many reasons, and they find many different things when they get here. Ask your students to interview an immigrant – if possible, somebody in their own family or someone from El Salvador – about his or her experience. Where did they come from? How or why did they make the decision to leave their home country? What were their lives like back home? What do they miss? What did they bring with them? What were their journeys like? If students are themselves immigrants, give them the option of answering these questions.
	Community Clean Up: In *Xochitl and the Flowers*, the Flores work hard to make an ugly place beautiful. Tell your class that they can do the same. Identify a site (such as a part of the school grounds) that is a good candidate for a clean-up job, and get to work!
	Naming Names: Xochitl means flower in Nahuatl. Xochitl's family chose that name for her because it symbolized a language, a culture, and an idea of beauty. Ask your students to interview their families about how they got their own names. What meanings do their names carry?

Picture Perfect
Students compare portraits of flowers in Xochitl and the Flowers and other works of art, and then use watercolors to create their own.

45 min.

individual and whole class

CA Art Standard 2.4: Students create a work of art based on the observation of objects and scenes in daily life, emphasizing value changes.

Watercolor paints and paper; flowers; color printouts of artists' work (see Resources)

As a group, look at the flowers in Xochitl and the Flowers. Ask your students what they notice about these drawings. Encourage them to be as specific as possible in making their observations, and help them notice Carl Angel's use of different types of perspective throughout the book. Then, pass around printouts of other artists' depictions of flowers, such as works by Diego Rivera (Mexico, 1886 - 1957), Georgia O'Keeffe (U.S., 1887 - 1986), or Vincent Van Gogh (Netherlands, 1853 - 1890) (see Resources for website links). Again, ask your students for their observations.

Read aloud to the class Georgia O'Keeffe's words:

Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small. We haven't time – and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time.

If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower is small. So I said to myself – I'll paint what I see – what the flower is to me but I'll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it – I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.

As a class, discuss what O'Keeffe could mean by saying she wanted other people to really see flowers. How might flowers look different when you look at them carefully – and large? Then, tell your students that they're going to have the opportunity to do what O'Keeffe did in their own art.

Ask students to select one flower to paint from those you have spread around the room. If appropriate, encourage students to look at their notes from their “gallery walk” (see Language Arts) as they make their choice. Send students to the appropriate flower stations with their paints and paper.

Before students begin to paint, ask them to think about the many forms their art could take. Do they want to show their flower from the side, as in pages 2 and 3 of Xochitl and the Flowers? Or do they want to paint them from above, as in page 24? What other choices can they make? What did they see in other artists' work?

When students have finished, post their art on a “Flower Market” bulletin board (see Getting the Classroom Ready) in your room.

Other Art Activities

	*Mural Arts:* Ask students to point out the many murals featured in the illustrations of *Xochitl and the Flowers,* including the cover image and pages 5, 9, 14, 20, and 25. As a group, talk about what a mural is and how murals can contribute to a community. Take a tour of murals in your own neighborhood, or create a mural of your own at the school.
	*Family Pictures:* On page 7, Xochitl draws pictures of her family. Ask students to draw their own family portraits from the same perspective, with themselves in Xochitl's place.

Dollars and Sense
Students calculate the profits that Xochitl and her mother make from selling flowers, practicing the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of decimal numbers. They apply these strategies to their own class fundraiser.

30 min.

Individual and whole class

CA Math Standard 3.3: Students solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of money amounts in decimal notation and multiply and divide money amounts in decimal notation by using whole-number multipliers and divisors.

Pens or pencils and paper; Dollars and Sense word problem worksheet (click to download)

Distribute the Dollars and Sense worksheet with word problems based on Xochitl and the Flowers. Ask students to solve the problems, using numbers, words, and diagrams to explain their answers.

Explain to class members that for this activity they won't include other costs such as travel expenses or the cost of some materials.

Now, talk about the amount of work that Xochitl and her mom go through to earn their money. They have to go to the flower market, buy the flowers, make the bouquets, and sell the bouquets. And they were lucky, because somebody decided to buy twelve bouquets at once. Usually, it would take all day to sell that many flowers. Is it worth it? Tell your class that they are going to find out. Your class can buy flowers wholesale and resell them as a fundraising project. Choose a date (days close to Valentine's Day or Mother's Day are good options) and make fliers advertising your project. Send the fliers home and post them prominently in your community.

Go to your local flower market and buy flowers wholesale. (You may wish to take your students with you on a class trip.) Bring the flowers and receipt back to your class. Using the information on the receipt, determine the cost of each type of single flower.

Ask the class to create and price bouquets. Ask them to note the numbers and types of flowers in each bouquet. Then, add and multiply to determine the original wholesale cost of each bouquet. Record that information. Now, ask students to decide how much to charge for the bouquets, based on their unit cost.

Once the sale is over, compare your original cost with your total sales. What was your profit? Encourage students to use the strategies they used when analyzing Xochitl and her mother's sales on the worksheet. Then, decide how you'll use the money you've earned through your hard work!

Let's Watch it Grow
Students plant seeds and observe their growth into flowering plants, in the process identifying the structures that allow them to survive.

30 minutes/session over several months

Large group, partners, and individual

CA Science Standard 3.a: Students know plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.

Green bean seeds, soil, water, and access to light; chart paper and markers; colored pencils or crayons; paper and pens or pencils

As a group, plant your green bean seeds. Discuss what plants need to survive and choose a good place for your garden, either in indoor planters or outdoors. Make predictions about what the plants will do. Be careful to remind students that growing plants take lots of time and patience.

At regular intervals, send a pair of students to observe the plants. What do they notice? Ask students to write down and illustrate their observations in science journals. Then, ask the students to report on the plants' growth to the class. Record their observations on chart paper so you can track growth over time.

Once the plants have blossomed, carefully dig up and clean one plant. As a group, identify important structures that you see. Then, tell the class that they will need to investigate the different parts of the plant. What do the roots do? The stem? The different parts of the plant? Ask pairs of students to research each structure.