I teach an appealing unit on Puerto Rico every year for second graders, using the song El coquí from José Luis Orozco's De colores CD.
This song is the jumping-off point to teach any of the following interesting facts about la isla encantada:
(1) The national symbol of Puerto Rico is el coquí, a little tree frog that lives only in Puerto Rico, along with its distinctive "koh-key" sound heard at night all over the island. There is a tape available from La Isla of the sounds of actual coquíes. I reinforce the learning of colors as it is only grey, yellow, brown, and green.
(2) El Yunque in Puerto Rico is the only tropical rainforest in the US.
(3) Coconuts are plentiful. I even show children how to open a coconut safely, and we sample the "milk" and real, fresh coconut.
(4) Puerto Rico is an island and is a part of the US. Children learn English and Spanish in schools in Puerto Rico,
(5) There is a strong contrast with weather and fruits grown here in New England with that of Puerto Rico.
(6) There is an exciting folkloric figure, el vejigante, the carnival masquerader of Ponce and Loiza Aldea. I have used Lulu Delacre's bilingual book, El vejigante, that complements our study nicely and offers instructions on mask-making and authentic chants used during carnaval time.
(7) The geography of Puerto Rico is full of beauty (its interior mountains, its beaches, el mar Caribe, el océano Atlántico).
(9) The distinctive Puerto Rican flag and its symbolism (the star is the island of Puerto Rico in the blue Caribbean), along with the song ¡Qué bonita bandera!. Compare and contrast with the Cuban flag whose color and pattern are reversed to emulate the Cuban flag. "These two Islands have always been considered brothers and sisters ... as the phrase goes 'Cuba y Puerto Rico son de un pájaro las dos alas'," according to Angie Sanabria, a visitor to Anacleta. I also have the children compare/contrast the color and patterns of stars and stripes to the US flag to bring out the fact that Puerto Rico is a part of the United States.
I had taught Puerto Rican children in Connecticut before I started teaching FLES Spanish, and all of the above is very authentic and important to Puerto Ricans both here and on the island.
See also Cultures in the Teacher Links section.
