When you order Conexiones be sure to download this free book Conexiones Teacher Resources. It will help you with activities to use articles in Conexiones as whole class reading.

WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CONEXIONES:

“The readings in Bryce´s  book excite a different kind of reader: the child who spends hours curled up with a magazine like Ranger Rick, Popular Science or National Geographic. This book rounds out a classroom library by focusing on interesting non-fiction that is comprehensible to novice learners of Spanish. Whether offered as an independent reading selection, read in small groups or part of a whole-class reading activity, these readings are a necessary complement to the fiction that is central to my classes.”

—Mike Peto, teacher and author
My Generation of Polyglots Blog, mrpeto.wordpress.com, North Carolina

“Conexiones is a treasure trove of short, easy, amply-illustrated readings in Spanish about real things, places, animals, customs and history in the Spanish-speaking world, including even some general science. The book is divided into three sections: (1) readings for first-year students, (2) readings for second-year students and (3) the Diccionario cultural y geográfico de Latinoamérica, a concise eclectic encyclopedia of things, places, animals, customs and history in Latin America. To my knowledge there is nothing else available at these levels of Spanish that is comparable to either the readings or the dictionary.

Every Spanish teacher should welcome these short readings and the dictionary, which can be used in a variety of ways. Particular readings can be taught or assigned. The whole book can be available to students to pick and choose what they are interested in reading. The dictionary can be a source of useful information at any time. We are fortunate that Conexiones exists. It should be an essential part of every Spanish teacher’s repertoire. Ideally, every Spanish student should have a copy.”

—Contee Seely, Publisher
Co-author of Fluency Thru TPR Storytelling, with Blaine Ray, Berkeley, California

“Wow! Conexiones provides an essential resource of interesting and accessible Spanish articles for both teachers and language learners! Teachers have the option of including the reader in our FVR libraries, using specific readings as a complementary part of the year’s curriculum, or … both!”

—Diane Chamberlain
Spanish teacher and professor, Laramie, Wyoming

Here is what Allison Weinhold, from the Mis Clases Locas blog says about Conexiones: http://misclaseslocas.blogspot.com/2018/11/libro-lunes-conexiones-making.html?m=1

The post CONEXIONES-Making Connections with the Spanish-Speaking World appeared first on Bryce Hedstrom - Comprehensible Input Materials & Training.

It is the year 2064 and the Amazon rainforest is gone. All the trees have been cut down and all that remains is one ancient tree, an indigenous woman and a little blue bird. Follow the bird on its journey through a grey, empty world in search of a colorful future, trying to save those left behind and what’s left of the forest.

The story of EL ÚLTIMO ÁRBOL- The Last Tree – invites us to imagine a world where most of the trees have disappeared. But it is not a sad story. It’s a story of hope, because we can still do something; it’s not too late to save the forest. Sometimes hope for a better future is all it takes to make us act. Hope can be a thing with feathers. Maybe just a little blue bird…

Additional Info:

• Level 1
• Unique Word Count: 60
• Total Word Count: 1,735

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Designed with beginner Spanish learners in mind, through Lola’s story, you’ll find abundant repetition of basic vocabulary and easy-to-follow sentences in the present tense. Plus, it includes a full vocabulary list, and features 320 color illustrations, making the process of learning Spanish fun and effortless.

Targeted Level:

• Spanish Level 1
• Unique Word Count: 138
• Total Word Count: 3,100

The post Lola: Una novela gráfica para aprender español (by Verónica Moscoso) appeared first on Bryce Hedstrom - Comprehensible Input Materials & Training.

Mosca, ¡¡Mosca!! means ‘Fly, look out!’ Yes, in this adorable and beautifully illustrated story, our fly is in trouble!

In La Bonanza, the biggest open-air landfill in Venezuela, lives Mosca. Mosca is a common fly with an uncommon problem: she is a one-eyed fly. Mosca is a fly that can’t even fly straight! Mosca lives amid the garbage and collects trash for a living. But Mosca has a dream: she wants to be a great circus performer. ‘Pathetic loser!’ all the other insects say. Poor Mosca! But dreams are treasures… And sometimes we can find treasures in trash.

This is a book in the Por Si Las Moscas series.

Cara de mosquita muerta (by Adriana Ramírez )

Soy yo, la mosca (by Adriana Ramírez) 

Mosca en leche (by Margarita Pérez García)

En boca cerrada no entran moscas (by Adriana Ramírez)

Targeted Level:

• Level 1
• Unique Word Count: 60
• Total Word Count: 2,600

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For generations, the pigeons in Pablo’s family have held important roles in the history of the world. They’ve served in royal courts, been painted by famous painters, set world records and won races. In times of peace, they carried messages of love and betrayal. In times of war, they’ve flown behind enemy lines with secret messages. Now, in 1940’s New York City, pigeons are seen as rats with wings. The rise of technologies like the radio and television mean that people no longer have a need for talented pigeons.

Based loosely on real events, this is an action-packed story written for novice learners of the Spanish language.

Targeted Level:

• Level 1
• Unique Word Count: 73
• Total Word Count: 2,020

The post Pablo Paloma, Full-Color (by Adam Giedd) Unique Word Count 73 appeared first on Bryce Hedstrom - Comprehensible Input Materials & Training.

Itipurú is the smallest chick of a blue penguin colony in New Zealand. Itipurú wants to be independent and swim and hunt for food like the older chicks, but he is still moulting and is grounded ashore. If he goes into the sea with baby feathers he will die of cold. When an earthquake shatters the island, all the animals that can swim flee, leaving Itipurú behind. Now he must reach the colony to survive, but will he make it with a vicious sea monster between him and his family?

Targeted Level:

• Level 1
• Unique Word Count: 80
• Total Word Count: 2,500

The post Itipurú y el monstruo del océano (by Margarita Pérez García) Unique Word Count 80 appeared first on Bryce Hedstrom - Comprehensible Input Materials & Training.

• Unique word count: 88
• Total word count: 1660
• Spanish Level 1

The legend of La Llorona comes alive in this adaptation of the popular Mexican folktale. Now even beginning students can read and experience a real story from the culture—all in easy-to-read Spanish.

With this extremely effective form of scaffolding, students read multiple versions of a text, with each version increasing in detail and complexity. This version of the dramatic and culturally significant Mexican folk legend La Llorona was developed with guidance from Laurie Clarcq and Michele Whaley, the creators of embedded reading. The story unfolds as the reader learns more about La Llorona’s tragic tale and acquires more language with each step.

*After purchasing two sets of 10 of this item, you are eligible to buy this book individually at $3.00/book. To take advantage of this special, purchase two sets of this book online and then email us to order the additional individual books.

“I am not a Spanish teacher, but when I read Bryce’s La Llorona unit I was able to understand it because it set me up for comprehension and flowed so well. Bryce makes input comprehensible and leads readers to new heights!”

-Michele Whaley
Pacific NW Council for Languages (PNWCL) Teacher of the Year & Co-Developer of Embedded Reading

The post La Leyenda de La Llorona Embedded Reading (Student Readers Set of 10) Unique Word Count 88 appeared first on Bryce Hedstrom - Comprehensible Input Materials & Training.

Remei is a 75-year-old cook who is an expert in making the one and only paella: la paella valenciana. Paella is a culinary icon for Valencians and for all of Spain. Remei is proud and champions her tradition at the top of her lungs. Because, if you are going to cook paella, you need to do it right! Indeed, Remei has good intentions, but she always ends up sticking her nose where it’s not wanted.

Now retired, with a phone and plenty of time on her hands, Remei discovers that many influencers are destroying the culinary tradition of paella. They are cooking trendy ‘paella’: sushi ‘paella’; ‘paella’ pizza; ‘paella’ sandwiches; ‘paella’ with ingredients that do not make sense like chorizo, avocado, eggs, fruit, ketchup; even ‘paella’ in a can! Remei is outraged. These influencers are making ‘arroz con cosas’ – Rice with things. ‘How awful! This can’t be allowed!’

So with no internet experience, no followers, and no influence beyond her son, her restaurant, and her town, Remei decides to become an Instagram influencer. She wants to share the authentic paella with the world. At her age? Really?

¡Arroz con cosas! is a hilarious story about food, Spanish tradition and culture written with accessible vocabulary for teenagers, young adults and adults beginning their
Spanish language learning journey. You can read this!

Targeted Level:

• Level 1
• Unique Word Count: 89
• Total Word Count: 149

The post ¡Arroz con cosas! (by Patricia Martí Torres & Margarita Pérez García) Unique Word Count 89 appeared first on Bryce Hedstrom - Comprehensible Input Materials & Training.

Targeted Level:

• Level 1
• Unique Word Count: 90
• Total Word Count: 2,650

The post Juliana (by Rosana Navarro & Margarita Pérez García) Unique Word Count 90 appeared first on Bryce Hedstrom - Comprehensible Input Materials & Training.

A hair-raising thriller, El Silbón centers on Henry, a boy from small-town Minnesota with a charming fascination with all things cowboy. Unable to realize his dream of becoming a cowboy, Henry is despondent until he meets Ricardo, a schoolmate from the Venezuelan llanos—a great grassy plain extending from Venezuela and Colombia. Invited to visit Ricardo’s home in the llanos, Henry encounters a strange world with different foods like plantain bananas; different animals like capibaras, the world’s largest rodent; and the llaneros, the tough, hardy cowboys of the Venezuelan plains. But Henry’s innocent encounter with the exotic ends one night when he sees El Silbón, a tall, gaunt creature and one of the most feared ghosts in Venezuelan folklore.

Targeted Level:

• Level 1
• Unique Word Count: 90
• Total Word Count:

Sample Pages:

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