Una canasta de cumpleanos para Tia

After dinner tonight, I was paying close attention to the ABC national nightly news and listening to Isabela "reading" spread across the kitchen floor. At first, I didn't think much of it, but then after a few read pages, I realized that I had never read her such a story about a cat and a grandmother and a child, etc. So, I turned back to take a closer listen. She was actually reading based on the illustrations (picture walk) of a book she newly discovered from the multitude of books Jennifer and I packed last night. Isabela beautifully transitioned from narrative text to expressive character text. It was neat that she realized it was a Spanish book, and she clearly made the story come alive in her own view. I loved the expression! I so much more appreciated it today as it took me back to two of my struggling fifth graders from this afternoon's reading groups. As I was individually conferring with two of my boys, we worked on the author's intended "voice" and character's expression. I wish I would have had Isabela in class today to model. Although, I, too, love to read with a profound expression anytime!

So, here's a very short video of the second half of her poignant story!