90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis

90 Miles to Havana

Written by Enrique Flores-Galbis

Roaring Brook Press, New York

2010

Reading Levels: Lexile- 790L, Grade- 6

2011 Pura Belpré Honor Book for Narrative 
2011 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year

“Cuba, immigration, bullying, homeland, refugee”

When Julian's parents make the heartbreaking decision to send him and his two brothers away from Cuba to Miami via the Pedro Pan operation, the boys are thrust into a new world where bullies run rampant and it's not always clear how best to protect themselves.

Suggested Delivery: Independent

Electronic Resources:

1. http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/thawing-relations-teaching-about-cuba-and-the-u-s/?_r=0

This site provides some great teaching suggestions for lessons involving Cuba-U.S. relations. The article gives ideas on how to build schema, consider a diverse range of perspectives on the topics, learn the basic content, and extend learning activities.

2. http://abcnews.go.com/International/video/history-us-cuba-relations-30146169

This video provides a brief overview of the historical and current situations regarding Cuba-U.S. relations. This video would be useful to present to student since the situation has changed greatly recently and is often a topic in the media. This video would help students understand why the U.S. and Cuba had bad relations as well as understanding why their relations are beginning to change

Teaching Suggestions

1. Vocabulary:

• Skulk: to move about sneakily
• Brackish: somewhat salty, unpleasant
• Petition: formal written request made to an official person or organized body
• Huff: to react in a fit of anger
• Bellow: to shout in a deep voice
• Wafting: moving through air
• Smoldering: burning slowly without flame
• Falsetto: a high voice
• Revelers: people who participate in boisterous merrymaking

2. Before, during, and after reading strategies:

Before Reading:

Present the students with a selection of schema building questions such as the ones listed below. Ask the students to think-pair-share with the person next to them about their responses to the questions, and then allow a few students to share with the rest of the class. After discussing the questions, introduce the book to students and explain how the questions students just answered will relate to the text.

Schema Building Questions:

1.     How far is 90 miles? Can you walk, bike, or drive 90 miles?

2.     What is justice? Does justice only apply to laws or can it apply person to person?

3.     What do you know about Cuba?

During Reading:

Review some figurative language terms with students such as similes, metaphors, and idioms and have students take some notes on what the terms mean. While reading, ask students to make note of any examples of figurative language in the book that they find. Ask students to use post it notes to mark the examples and label them with the quote, page number, and type of figurative language they found. After reading sections encourage students to share their favorite examples of figurative language that they found and discuss some of the meanings or significance of the quote with the class.

After Reading:

Make photocopies of a few pages or passages that are significant to the text. Ask students to select one of the passages and create a Found Poem using words from the text. Students’ poems should reflect an understanding of a character, event, or theme from the story. Encourage students to present their found poem creatively by including art, cutting out and pasting words, or rewriting the poem in verse.

Writing Activity:

Since bullying is a theme in the story, ask students to write their own Public Service Announcement advertisement against bullying. Students can work in pairs or small groups to complete this activity. Ask students to write a storyboard of the scenes they will use in their commercial as well as a script. Use a video camera to video tape the commercials and share the students’ work with the rest of the class.