In My Family/ En mi familia

 Title: In My Family/ En mi familia 

 Author: Carmen Lomas Garza 

 Illustrator: Carmen Lomas Garza 

 Guided Reading Level: N 

 Lexile: 680 

 Interest Level: Grades 3-5 

 Genre: Realistic Fiction 

 Identity Group: Mexican- American, Latino, Chicana 

 Themes: Family Life 



 Summary 

 ''' In My Family is a bilingual book beautifully written and illustrated by Carmen Lomas Garza who is a well known painter. Her warm, vibrant paintings depict life in Kingsville, Texas in a Mexican-American family. The book is organized by memories of community and has headings like empanadas, Easter Eggs, and One Afternoon. '''

 Instructional Suggestions

 Headings and text organization- this book can be used to talk about the organization of different stories and the relation between the heading and the main idea of the body paragraphs

 Spanish and English text can be projected or distributed so that students can follow along

  Interdisciplinary Connections 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Social Studies

<p class="MsoNormal"> National Hispanic Heritage Month

<p class="MsoNormal"> Geography- locating Kingsville, Texas and its proximity to Mexico

<p class="MsoNormal"> Family Traditions Projects and research

<p class="MsoNormal"> Immigration discussions

<p class="MsoNormal"> ELA 

<p class="MsoNormal"> This book can serve as a mentor text around writing personal narratives centered around specific objects and memories

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<p class="MsoNormal"> Vocabulary 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hoarned

<p class="MsoNormal"> Nopalitos

<p class="MsoNormal"> Thorns

<p class="MsoNormal"> Dozens

<p class="MsoNormal"> Filling

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mesquite

<p class="MsoNormal"> eggshell

<p class="MsoNormal"> flour

<p class="MsoNormal"> paste

<p class="MsoNormal"> sneaky

<p class="MsoNormal"> ignited

<p class="MsoNormal"> extinguish

<p class="MsoNormal"> vacuum

<p class="MsoNormal"> evaporate

<p class="MsoNormal"> rebellious

<p class="MsoNormal"> pre-teen

<p class="MsoNormal"> roams

<p class="MsoNormal"> astonished

<p class="MsoNormal"> offerings

<p class="MsoNormal"> chaperoning

<p class="MsoNormal"> phase

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<p class="MsoNormal"> Resources: 

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times;mso-fareast-font-family: "TimesNewRoman";mso-bidi-font-family:"TimesNewRoman"">The artist's and author's website:  http://carmenlomasgarza.com/

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smithsonian Artist Interview Audio link: http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-carmen-lomas-garza-13540

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