Yolanda U. Trapp
Title: 1 “Mother Scorpion Country”
The first book I chose for this Unit is “Mother Scorpion Country” , “La Tierra de la Madre Escorpion” by Harriet Rohmer and Dorminster Wilson (1987), illustrated by Virginia Stearns. It is a legend from Central America, Nicaragua. It tells us the story of Kati and Naklili, tragic lovers, that remind us of “Orpheus and Eurydice;” yet the mood of the story is warm and loving. The dual perspective of the young couple provides a fascinating insight into the nature of life and death. The legend is based on an old manuscript that had been handed down to the Bishop John Wilson of the Protestant Moravian Church by his grandfather, Dorminster Newton Wilson. It was first a story of the Miskito Indian (an oral tradition) from Nicaragua. The story is filled with the culture and traditions from the Nicaraguan Coast. It is a “survival” legend, where love endures.
The author Harriet Rohmer had the idea to record and publish stories of the Atlantic Coast. Soon she received many Storytellers in her house in Bluefields, Nicaragua where she was staying. When she was about to head back to the United State, the Bishop offered her the old manuscript of the legend. It took her time to clarify details, reworking the language and the plot, all with the intent of staying as close as possible to the original story while making it lively and appropriate for today’s young people.
I chose this book for independent readers. (transitional 4th graders). The Lesson. Plan will integrate Language Arts, (reading and writing) Social Studies, History, Geography, and Science. Among the skills that the whole Unit will cover are challenging the mind to give a closer look for supplying information, building background, developing vocabulary, strategies and key words, previewing and predicting, and setting a purpose for reading. It will include opportunities for personal responses to the literature through summarizing, writing and critical thinking.
