Elementary teachers looking for lesson plans and activities for Where Are You From? will find this post helpful. It includes resource recommendations, free teaching ideas, and information about the book. You’ll have everything you need to deliver engaging interactive read aloud lessons based on this story.
With themes of identity, and family, this Where Are You From? picture book by Yamile Saied Méndez is a favorite in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms. It will be a big hit in your classroom too! Learn more about this book below!
Engage Your Students with Where Are You From? Lesson Plans & Activities in 3 Easy Steps:
- Read a summary of Where Are You From?. You can find it in the section below.
- Check out the teaching ideas for reading comprehension strategies, grammar topics and social emotional learning skills that can be taught using this children’s book.
- Download the book companion to make lesson planning simple with Where Are You From? reading comprehension questions, writing prompts, teaching ideas & no-prep extension activities.
WHERE ARE YOU FROM? SUMMARY
The main character in this book is always asked where she is from. She tries to explain that she is from here, just like everyone else. However, that answer doesn’t seem to satisfy the people asking. She decides to ask her Abuelo where she is from because he knows everything. He tells her all about the places her ancestors lived and the things they used to do. She is from the Pampas, gauchos, and brown river. She learns she is from the blue ocean and hurricanes. When she presses for the name of a specific place, he tells her that she comes from his heart and the heart of all of the family members that came before them. The little girl is happy with this answer and proud to know more about where she is from.
WHERE ARE YOU FROM? LESSON PLAN IDEAS
Each of our 400+ Starts With a Story book companions come with a teacher’s guide to make lesson planning quick and easy, printable worksheets and digital resources that cover ALL of the standards-based reading comprehension skills.
When it comes to writing lesson plans and finding activities for Where Are You From?, we’ve already done all of the heavy lifting for you.
We found this book was especially good at teaching the topics listed below.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
The text-based Where Are You From? reading comprehension questions focus on:
- summarize/retell
- plot | problem-solution
- identify the main idea
- sequencing
- identifying theme | message | moral
LITERATURE-BASED SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING LESSONS
We found this story to be a great SEL picture book to promote:
- identity
- family
GRAMMAR, VOCABULARY & WORD STUDY
- multiple meaning words
- capitalization
- homophones
- shades of meaning
WHERE ARE YOU FROM? ACTIVITIES
You’ll receive all of the following resources aligned to the story:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
YOU HAVE 2 OPTIONS! WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK COMPANION?
BOOK INFO FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS
What are the reading levels for Where Are You From?
- Lexile® Measure: AD640L
- Guided Reading Level: O-P
- DRA Level: 34-36
- Accelerated Reader Level (ARC): 3.5-3.7
Who is the author? Who is the illustrator?
The book was written by Yamile Saied Méndez. It was illustrated by Jaime Kim.
What genre is Where Are You From?
It is a fiction book. You may want to check out our genre activities or read our blog post, How to Teach Genre to Elementary Students.
How many pages are in the book?
The story is 40 pages long.
