La Llegada de María - Spanish CI Lesson

La Llegada de María is one of several short stories that make up Nuestra historia
Level 3. Nuestra historia Level 3 is a collection of culturally relevant stories with accompanying activities, authentic resources, assessments, and opportunities for further investigation. All units of Nuestra historia are based on AP themes, set in Spanish- speaking countries, and completely customizable. This story includes audio read by a native speaker and pre and post reading activities.

La Llegada de María is set in Puerto Rico in 2017. It begins with preparations for the coming of Hurricane María. While most Puerto Ricans are evacuating to seek safety, Natalia, who is eight months pregnant, must remain. Her boyfriend, Enrique, refuses to leave her on the island. He stays to protect Natalia and their unborn son from the coming storm. When the baby decides to arrive a few weeks early, Natalia and Enrique must make their way through the flooded streets to the hospital, risking their own lives to save their child.

This action-packed story highlights the importance of loyalty and generosity, and ends with a message of hope. The target structures, which are based on compelling, high-frequency language that is useful for communication beyond the story itself, are repeated several times to aid in comprehension and to help internalize the vocabulary. The accompanying activities require students to engage with the story and think critically about its themes and language use. The audio file can be used to enhance the presentation of the text.