Islandborn is part of our Starts With a Story Collection, which includes more than 550 picture book companions based on high quality children’s literature that support you in delivering highly-engaging interactive read alouds with follow up activities. Learn more about this children’s book below! - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
"Islandborn" by Junot Díaz tells the story of a young girl named Lola who is asked by her teacher to draw a picture of her family's homeland, the Dominican Republic. However, Lola left the island when she was just a baby and has no memories of it. Determined to learn about her roots, Lola embarks on a journey to uncover the stories and memories of her family and community. Through vivid and colorful illustrations, Lola discovers the vibrant culture, traditions, and history of the Dominican Republic. Along the way, she learns about the joys, struggles, and resilience of her people. Through Lola's exploration of her identity, the book celebrates the power of imagination, family, and community in shaping one's sense of belonging.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Our read aloud lesson plans for this picture book come with reading comprehension questions (with sample student responses), 30 writing prompts, teaching ideas for grammar skills, social emotional learning discussion ideas, and more. Check out our list below to get a sneak peek at some of the skills this resource teaches.
- Practice making predictions throughout the book. Encourage students to check and see if their predictions were correct.
- Encourage students to use their summarizing and retelling strategies.
- Discuss the different characters in the story and analyze their thoughts and actions.
- Discuss the books plot and examine the problem and solution.
- Use examples of possessive nouns from the book to teach a lesson.
- Practice identifying the base of a word.
- Teach a lesson on verb tense and have students categorize examples from the book.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
This book is a must have for your school or classroom library. Your students are going to love completing these activities for the book and you will be impressed with how much they learn. You will want to read this book to your class every year.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will love the similar books listed below, which can all be found in our free picture book list.
- Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
- Bright Star by Yuyi Morales
- The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
