Inside the Classroom: Mario Talavera - Love Elementary
Inside the Classroom is a series that visits Northwest ISD campuses throughout the year and highlights the magical moments that happen between teachers and students each and every day across the entire 234 square miles of NISD.
Photo Album | Hispanic Heritage Festival
“Soy orgulloso de ser hispano.” (I am proud to be Hispanic.)
For the second straight week, Inside the Classroom is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month from an NISD dual language classroom. This week, we visited Mario Talavera’s first-grade class at Clara Love Elementary where the Texans were dressed the part to honor their heritage during class and at the school’s inaugural Hispanic Heritage Festival.
Mr. Talavera, a fifth-year teacher and Byron Nelson graduate, is in his first year at Love Elementary. The campus is in its first year as a dual language school, and this week the Texans are closing out their first quarter.
In Mr. Talavera’s first-grade class, the final week of the quarter is designated as a flex week, but only if all required curriculum is completed in the first eight weeks of the quarter. The Texans did a great job this quarter, so their Spanish language arts time this week has been dedicated to exploring Hispanic heritage and culture.
During Inside the Classroom’s visit, Mr. Talavera started the lesson by exploring Hispanic leaders. For the week, he transformed his classroom into an exhibit featuring these leaders, creating an enriching environment where students learned about their stories and contributions.
Students partnered with a friend to read about and discuss the contributions of Cantinflas, a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. With a thumbs up, students let Mr. Talavera know they were ready to progress to the next part of their lesson.
Students and their partners got out of their chairs as Mr. Talavera played music and students performed La Raspa, a Mexican dance performed during celebrations.
After lots of laughs and fun, students returned to their chairs to complete a pair of projects that combined art and writing skills. These projects would be displayed later that night at the Hispanic Heritage Festival. The projects prompted students to reflect on their own personal experiences and the heritage of their families.
“The central message of this lesson is to embrace our roots and stay connected with our culture,” Mr. Talavera said. “I firmly believe that this program, NISD Dual Language, allows us to create and share our culture, bringing a piece of home into the classroom.”
First, students received a sombrero art project they had previously completed, and now they were going to complete the writing portion of the project. Mr. Talavera led them in writing “Mi nombre es _____. Es especial porque ____.”
Mr. Talavera moved around the room and discussed with each student about what they thought was special about their name.
As students completed the first project and waited for classmates to finish as well, Mr. Talavera instructed them to read from their book bag. This bag included books handpicked by Mr. Talavera for each student that are designed to challenge their reading level.
As he sees students reading quietly and intently, Mr. Talavera passes out Texan bucks, a classroom management tool that allows students to “shop” on Friday for experiences such as extra computer time, wobbly stool time, etc.
When the entire class was ready, they moved along to the next project in which they would write about what country their family is from and why they are proud of being Hispanic.
Within Mr. Talavera’s example, he wrote, “Estoy orgulloso en poder hablar dos idiomas.” (I am proud to be able to speak two languages.) Mr. Talavera again moved around the room and discussed with each student about their families and what makes them proud.
After wrapping up this final project, Spanish language arts time was finished and the class moved onto the next part of their daily schedule, but with eager anticipation of Love Elementary’s inaugural Hispanic Heritage Festival that evening.
At the festival, the exact projects Mr. Talavera’s class had been working on that morning were lining the halls as visitors made their way to the gym.
Many of Mr. Talavera’s students and their families were in the crowd as the University of North Texas Mariachi Band and the Abuelitos of Wise County performed. After the winners of the student piñata contest were announced, all in attendance enjoyed some traditional Hispanic foods.
After discussing their families, friends and culture in class, the Hispanic Heritage Festival was the perfect way to bring the day’s lesson full circle for Mr. Talavera and his students.
Check back regularly all year as we continue to visit students and teachers throughout Northwest ISD and offer a rarely seen look Inside the Classroom.