The best books either enable readers to see themselves, their culture, and their way of life reflected in the story or to gain an understanding of a way of life different from their own. Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima is such a book. Amanda Gallegos, the narrator of a short video, stresses the importance of understanding why Bless Me, Ultima should be included in the Great American Read program.

Concepts

chicano literature, rudolfo anaya, fictional narratives, text-to-self connections

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Create scripts and stage the chapter about the Christmas pageant as a readers theater exercise
• Ask class members to create a poster and a presentation for a book they identify with the way the narrator of this video does with Bless Me, Ultima 
• Use the video to launch a study of the novel

Classroom Considerations

• The voting for the Great American Read has closed; however, the rationale for including the novel in English Language Arts curriculum is valid

Pros

• Includes discussion questions and a vocabulary list

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.5 RL.9-10.6 RL.11-12.2 RL.11-12.3