Grade 5 was visited by Pam Munoz Ryan. She met with an enthusiastic group of fifth graders. For many students 'Esperanza Rising' is one of their favorite books. As all of the students had read the book prior to her visit, the students prepared a gift for Ms. Ryan based on a phrase from the book - 'even roses have thorns.' After discussing this idea, students connected with one of the themes of the book which is that even when life is good, we might have struggles to overcome which can make us a stronger person. Our gift to Ms. Ryan was a vase of paper roses. On each paper rose, students wrote about a struggle from the book or a struggle in their own lives that they have overcome. According to many students, they loved learning about her life and how she created stories. They were surprised to learn that she did 'research' for many of her stories. She also left us with the advice that sometimes it takes 'failure' to become great at something.
Grades 8 and 4 were visited by graphic artist Matt Dembicki who creates graphic novels with environmental themes. As he views himself as a 'comics ambassador,' his talk focused on the world of comics, their importance in today's reading landscape and how he develops ideas. As grade 8 students are in the middle of a graphic novel unit where they will produce a mini-graphic novel, they asked excellent questions to help with their own comic ideas.
We are very thankful to the U.S. consulate for supporting our writers journey to Guadalajara for the FIL and for sharing them with our learning community.
Wonderful authors!! Congratulations!!
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