Description
Teach the Authentic Legend of La Llorona with Embedded Reading
- 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
Michele (verified owner) –
I used a set of the La Llorona booklets with the teacher guide for teaching my first Spanish class ever. Students had minimal Spanish, and I had barely more than they did. We followed standard TPRS vocabulary and structure introduction for each part, PQA and a little bit of parallel story-asking. Then we read the stories, sticking mostly to Bryce’s excellent advice in the teacher’s guide (from TPR to acting and writing ideas). Because we started from nearly zero, and our classes were only 20 minutes, three days a week, it took us two months until we read the last version. But wow! The students were able to retell the major points, answer multiple questions, and read the last version fluently. For a final moment, I pulled out their vocabulary pretest from the front of the teacher guide, and they knew all but one word (agarra). They couldn’t believe their growth. Reading La Llorona gave the students confidence to read other sources in Spanish, and it gave me, the teacher, the certainty that students would acquire language with the right materials.