From Mexican 'Talleres de Artesanos' to ESL Writer's Workshop. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad, 1999 (Mexico).

This curriculum unit is adaptable for students in grades 1-12, from Mexico, Latin America, or any culture using the Roman alphabet in their written language. The unit proposes that students of limited English proficiency will transition from visual and tactile work to written English production. Using culturally familiar activities to enhance their cultural confidence and communicative skills, learners will write on paper in various modes of expression using the critical thinking common to the Mexican craft-making world. The six units of study are: (1) From Murals of Chicanos in El Paso to Informative Writing To Explain; (2) From Woven Wristbands of Tarahumaras in Sierra Madre to Fictional Narrative Writing; (3) From Amate Paper Making of Otomis in Puebla to Informative Writing of Instructions; (4) From Yarn Paintings of Huichols in Jalisco to Personally Expressive Writing of Haiku Poems and Personal Letters; (5) From Clay Figures of Purepeche in Michoacan to Dialogue Writing; and (6) From Codices by Mixtecs in Oaxaca to Persuasive Letter Writing. Each unit features background reading for students on a Mexican people group, their terrain, their craft, presented in the type of text required by students in that unit; critical thinking questions; objectives for the art and writing projects; warm-up and closure activities for art and writing; procedures that include word banks, instructions for students and teachers, writing prompts for students with teacher guidance, and evaluations using rubrics for students and teachers. An Appendix on Mexican music suggests selections for each unit. (Contains 47 footnotes and 25 references.) (BT)