Becoming Naomi Leon
Sights, Sites, and Reviews
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/bookfairs/currconnection/naomi_leon.htm
This website is a great resource for teachers who are teaching Becoming Naomi Leon. It is based upon the Spanish aspect of the novel and gives many ideas of activities and discussions teachers can use in the classroom. The website also has a link to a student activity sheet that asks students to use the novel and match Spanish words to their English translation.
This is author Pam Munoz Ryan’s website. It includes a biography, information about her books, resources, and contact information. This website provides multiple resources for Becoming Naomi Leon. It includes a synopsis and interview with Munoz Ryan about the novel, a list of the novel’s awards and honors, a link to purchase the novel, and a discussion guide to go along with Becoming Naomi Leon.
http://naomileon.wikispaces.com/Culminating+Activities
This website provides culminating activities for Becoming Naomi Leon. Themes from the novel are listed and project ideas are given on how to address these themes. This website would be helpful for teachers to use to help their students become involved in the novel.
My View, My World
Becoming Naomi Leon was my favorite of the five novels I read for Young Adult Literature this semester. I was already familiar with author Pam Munoz Ryan, as her novel Esperanza Rising was one of my favorites as I was growing up, but I had never read Becoming Naomi Leon.
This novel stood out to me for multiple reasons. Becoming Naomi Leon painted a picture of a family that is not considered “typical” but is a growing trend in our country. Also, this novel incorporated Naomi and Owen’s Mexican heritage by mentioning customs and including some Spanish language.
In today’s society, many children grow up in households with only one parent, or in a household with adults that are not their parents at all. Naomi and Owen are prime examples of this circumstance because they have lived their entire lives with their great-grandmother. I think that many students would be able to relate to this lifestyle, and others would benefit by having a greater understanding of the situations a few of their peers face every day. Personally, this novel broke my heart as I realized that Naomi and Owen are not unlikely characters. Being faced with the reality that children like Naomi and Owen are in nearly every school across the country gives me an entirely new outlook on relating to students.
Another aspect of Becoming Naomi Leon that I enjoyed was the incorporation of the Mexican culture. This gives readers another opportunity to learn about a different culture through vicarious experience. The inclusion of Spanish in the novel was fitting. I have read novels before that tried to incorporate another language and it seemed forced and awkward, but the way that Munoz Ryan added a few Spanish words into the novel fit perfectly into the context and is another educational value readers can gain from Becoming Naomi Leon. The novel was also enriched with aspects of the Mexican culture by explaining the festivals in Mexico that the family attended. Carving radishes is definitely not a practice and activity common in the United States, so reading about the contest and how important the entire festival was to everyone involved gave me insight into more of the Mexican culture.
Another thing that stood out to me about Becoming Naomi Leon was Owen’s disability. While the disability was never fully addressed and named in the novel, it is made clear that Owen walks differently than other children and has other unique characteristics, such as the strips of tape he always wears on his shirt. One thing I really enjoyed was the way everyone Owen had been surrounded with was completely accepting, loving, and knowledgeable in terms of Owen’s disability. Both Naomi and Gram were experienced in the procedure of Owen’s visits to the doctor, and other adults in Owen’s life such as Fabiola and Bernardo were aware of Owen’s disability. Owen was never treated differently by his family because of his disability. Skyla, however, was not accepting at all and wanted nearly nothing to do with her own son. The thought that children actually experience this type of rejection from their own parents simply because they were born with a disability both breaks my heart for the children and makes me angry at the parents. This was definitely another eye-opening aspect of the novel for me.
Becoming Naomi Leon is a novel that I believe both children and adult readers alike can learn from. This novel opened my eyes to the fact that when I become a teacher, many of my students will come from backgrounds that are less than ideal and I have to be prepared to deal with the effects that could have on my students. Young adult readers of this novel will walk away with a better understanding of the Mexican culture, as well as a better idea of how to relate to students that come from different types of families from their own.
TWS
| In This UNIT
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| Knowledge Blocks pursued (what specific elements are you trying to teach here
| Methods you would apply?
| How will you “test” for understanding?
| What is the specific goal of this unit?
| OBJECTIVE
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| Align with Learning Goals and Instruction
| Introduction of a new language and new culture.
Artistic and personal expression.
Family conflicts
| Class discussion of Spanish vocabulary, then students complete Scholastic activity sheet.
Hands-on art projects – learn how to create soap carvings while incorporating the history of la Noche de los Rabanos.
Comparative writing assignment between student’s family and Naomi’s family.
| Matching test of Spanish vocabulary used in novel.
Student presentations of soap carvings, with explanations of the history of the carving Naomi participated in.
| An understanding of how to embrace one’s true identity through the appreciation of culture, talents, and unique characteristics.
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CA - 2 CA - 4 CA - 5 CA- 6 | |
| Clarity of Criteria and Standards for Performance? A rubric, pre-instruction, or post testing?
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Graded evaluation of participation in soap carvings. Graded written assignments with feedback
| Pre-test of Spanish knowledge. Reflective writing assignment of a family conflict and how it was resolved.
| Sensitivity to others of diverse cultural backgrounds.
Sensitivity to individuals with disabilities.
| Students will be able to relate to students around them, even in diverse areas. Students will also develop social connections between themselves and others.
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CA - 2 CA - 6 | |
| What technical resources would you apply: (be specific) Web, graphic or writing programs, databases, research?
| Video over La Noche de los Rabanos for lecture
Using the computer lab, students will create PowerPoint presentations with a partner over traditions found in the Mexican culture.
| Time in library to use computers and reference materials for presentations.
If available, allow students to use Spanish textbook CD-ROMs to refer back to language questions.
| Show YouTube videos titled “Festival of Radishes” and “Oaxaca at Christmas” and show them in class.
| Creating presentations and watching videos creates an interactive learning process in which the students will have a hands-on approach to understanding traditions and art of Mexican culture.
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CA - 2 CA - 5 CA - 7 | |