WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom

By Julia López-Robertson

This vignette focuses on a range of engagements around the picture book Playing Lotería/El juego de la lotería (Laínez, 2005). We began with a classroom read aloud, the children then took the books home to read and discuss with their families, and finally each child participated in a small group Plática Literaria.

Reading Aloud La Lotería

The expression on the children’s faces as I introduced them to our literature discussion book,Playing Lotería/El juego de la lotería, was of surprise and delight. They were surprised that there was a book written about a game that they knew well and played frequently with their families. In this book a little boy is reluctant to visit his grandmother in México because he doesn’t speak Spanish and she doesn’t speak English. Through playing lotería, the Mexican version of BINGO, the grandmother teaches him some Spanish and he teaches her some English.

Read the complete article: “No perder la tradición”/Not Losing Traditions: Maintaining Connections with Family Culture at Worlds of Worlds.