IDRA Releases Semillitas de Aprendizaje™ Big Books

IDRA has published the first component of its Semillitas de aprendizaje bilingual early childhood materials. A set of 10 beautifully-illustrated Big Books is now available for classrooms.  The Semillitas de aprendizaje series is based on the art of storytelling for literacy development with culturally-relevant materials for 3- and 4-year-old children. The series is comprised of: comprehension, phonological awareness and phonics, book knowledge and use, print knowledge and emergent writing, and storytelling/poetry reading. With a spirit of valuing diversity and cultures, the series encourages the richness of language and print. Semillitas de aprendizaje is designed to help teachers encourage communication and language exploration through discussions in both Spanish and English as a basis for learning English.

Semillitas de aprendizaje stems from research IDRA has conducted on its Reading Early for Academic Development (READ) project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, to establish in preschool centers “classrooms of excellence” that ensure reading, cognitive and emotional success for all preschool children through a print-rich environment with appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities.

Big Books are Now Available
This set of 10 beautifully-illustrated stories is available for $75 per set. Titles include:

• El Curioso Tomás / Curious Tomás
• La Chamaca Machaca /  Machaca the Ostrich
• El Collar de Margarita / Margarita’s Necklace
• Los Números del 1 al 10 y otras Coplas
• Jesusita y las Arañas / Jesusita and the Spiders
• Confusión en el Circo / Confusion in the Circus
• Dos Pollitas Listas / Two Smart Chicks
• Mi Abrigo de Verano / My Summer Coat
• La Cajita de Primeros Auxilios / The First Aid Kit
• El Minero Jorge / Jorge, the Miner

Resources for Teachers
Other components of the Semillitas de Aprendizaje materials will include the following.

Theme-based Lessons
A set of highly-interactive and children-engaging lessons for the preschool bilingual teacher.

Bilingual Readers
A set of 10 primary grade bilingual readers beautifully illustrated by leading San Antonio artists. (These readers could be checked out by parents to read at home with their children.)

Cartitas Series – Letters Home with Activity Cards
(Spanish, English) – A set of 10 letters (two-pages each) for teachers to send home for parents. Each card has activities related the Big Book/Small Reader titles above.

Preschool Math and Self Concept Books
(Spanish, English) – Set of 15 small books for classroom use and for parents to read with their children at home. The books feature photos of farm animals and focus on numeracy, science and social-emotion.

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[©2010, IDRA. This article originally appeared in the November-December 2010 IDRA Newsletter by the Intercultural Development Research Association. Every effort has been made to maintain the content in its original form. However, accompanying charts and graphs may not be provided here. To receive a copy of the original article by mail or fax, please fill out our information request and feedback form. Permission to reproduce this article is granted provided the article is reprinted in its entirety and proper credit is given to IDRA and the author.]