Michelle Sowa
Clinton Avenue Elementary School
Port Jefferson Station, New York
Second Grade
Domitila: A Cinderella Tale From the Mexican Tradition

  

Our class read Domitila, a Cinderella Tale from the Mexican Tradition. It was adapted by Jewell Reinhart Coburn and illustrated by Connie McLennan.

The children had a wonderful time with this book, and it tied in so nicely to our Mexico/Chocolate Unit. We compared and contrasted Domitila and the regular version of Cinderella. The students  learned many Spanish vocabulary words and created their own Domitila picture dictionary. We made Spanish/English counting books. We located Mexico on the map and learned a lot about the Mexican culture. We also found out that chocolate was discovered by the Aztecs in MEXICO!!! To culminate our unit, we practiced the new Spanish words as we made our own game boards for La Loteria. This game is the Mexican version of BINGO, and we can't wait to play it! OLE!

  

Fiesta means party.

Timoteo went to the fiesta to look for Domitila.

by Juliana

 

 Rancho means ranch.

Domitila lived on a rancho.

by Sruthi

 
Buenos dias means good-day.

When Timoteo found Domitila he said, “buenos dias.”

by Timothy

 

 Abuela means grandma.

The abuela told Timoteo to stop being rude.

by Tommy

 


Juliana
Nopales are edible cactus.

Nopales are what Domitila cooked for Timoteo.

by Kenny

 

 Malvina means sly woman.

The malvina tried to trick Timoteo so he would not marry Domitila.

by Brittany

 


Kenny
Casa means house.

Domitila’s casa was made out of mud and sand.

by Marissa

 

 Manton means a beautiful silk shawl.

Timoteo gave a manton to Domitila.

by Erich

 
Sierra Madres are the mountains in Mexico.

Domitila can see the Sierra Madres from her house.

by Amanda

 

 Arbusto means bush.

The sly woman’s daughter sat by an arbusto.

by Jonathan

 


Maeghan
Señorita means miss.

Domitila was a señorita because she was an unmarried woman.

by Amanda

 

 Adobe means a mix of clay and sand.

Domitila made bricks with a mix of clay and sand for her adobe casa.

by Cindy

 
Serape means shawl.

Timoteo’s grandma gave a serape to him when he left to find Domitila..

by Shane

 

 Tortilla means corn patty.

The malvina stole the tortillas from the people.

by Laura

 
Pereza means laziness.

The malvina’s daughter was named Pereza.

by Nicolas

 

 Señor means Mr.

Timoteo’s dad was a señor.

by Chris

 
Señora means Mrs.

Domitila became a señora when she married Timoteo.

by Caitlin

 

Pueblo means town.

Timoteo went from pueblo to pueblo to find Domitilia.

by Maeghan
Venn Diagrams
We compared and contrasted the traditional Cinderella fairytale with Domitila

New York State Learning Standards

English Language Arts Standard 1
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

English Language Arts Standard 2
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literaryresponse and expression.

English Language Arts Standard 3
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

Math Science Technology Standard 2: Information Systems
Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.