Teacher Page
This page is designed with you in mind. It includes rationale and connections to both Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Common Core Standards for each of the activities on this website.
Activity 1: Martina encounters three "unsuitable suitors".
In this activity the students will think of other animals that Martina could have met.
They will come up with two other animals and list their characteristics as well as descriptive adjectives that could be used to describe them.
For example when Martina is talking to Don Cerdo she says "You're much too boorish for me"
Boorish is a descriptive adjective for a pig.
Activity 2: In Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, you hear the story from Martina's side of the lamp post. But, how do these characters feel about the coffee test? Now it's your students turn to tell some stories! They tell the story from the point of view of Don Gallo, Don Cerdo, and Don Lagarto. This activity allows your students to be creative and think about the story from another perspective.
Activity 3: What Would You Give?
Activity 1: Martina encounters three "unsuitable suitors".
In this activity the students will think of other animals that Martina could have met.
They will come up with two other animals and list their characteristics as well as descriptive adjectives that could be used to describe them.
For example when Martina is talking to Don Cerdo she says "You're much too boorish for me"
Boorish is a descriptive adjective for a pig.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy-Create, Level 5
Activity 2: In Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, you hear the story from Martina's side of the lamp post. But, how do these characters feel about the coffee test? Now it's your students turn to tell some stories! They tell the story from the point of view of Don Gallo, Don Cerdo, and Don Lagarto. This activity allows your students to be creative and think about the story from another perspective.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.9 Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy-Analyze, Level 3
Activity 3: What Would You Give?
In the story, Martina’s family members all offer her something as she prepares to seek a suitor.
If you were in Martina’s family what would you give her.
Your students will write 2-3 sentences explaining what they would offer Martina and why they chose that object. They have to recount the story remembering what Martina was given and coming up with something else that would help her with her mission to find a suitable husband.
Activity 4: Modern Coffee Test
If you were in Martina’s family what would you give her.
Your students will write 2-3 sentences explaining what they would offer Martina and why they chose that object. They have to recount the story remembering what Martina was given and coming up with something else that would help her with her mission to find a suitable husband.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.2 Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy-Understanding, Level 2
Activity 4: Modern Coffee Test
The Coffee Test is an old Cuban tradition that is now outdated.
Have your students come up with a modern version of the coffee test.
Students will write a brief description of this Modern Coffee Test.
Explain how we could test potential suitors today and what kind of responses we might get.
Activity 5: Story Mapping
This is a great follow up activity to do once you have finished the story. The students are able to use a variety of graphic organizers to sort through the story and understand the different elements of it.
Click on the link below to go to a webpage and complete a Story Map.
You can choose to do a Character Map, Conflict Map, Resolution Map, or Setting Map.
Complete the map you choose and print it.
Poetry:
Have your students come up with a modern version of the coffee test.
Students will write a brief description of this Modern Coffee Test.
Explain how we could test potential suitors today and what kind of responses we might get.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy-Creating, Level 5
Activity 5: Story Mapping
This is a great follow up activity to do once you have finished the story. The students are able to use a variety of graphic organizers to sort through the story and understand the different elements of it.
Click on the link below to go to a webpage and complete a Story Map.
You can choose to do a Character Map, Conflict Map, Resolution Map, or Setting Map.
Complete the map you choose and print it.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy-Remembering, Level 1
Poetry:
This poetry assignment is a chance for the students to create an acrostic poem based on the story.
Grammar:
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.4 Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy-Creating, Level 5
Grammar:
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy-Understanding, Level 2