Julia Alvarez
Lesson plans and teaching resources
The Big Read:
In the Time of the Butterflies
Ten lessons, each with four sections: a focus topic, discussion activities, writing exercises, and homework assignments. Also find capstone projects and suggested essay topics,handouts with more background information about the novel, the historical period, and the author.
Book Review:
How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents
Summary, related movies and titles, background information, and three classroom activities.
In the Time of the Butterflies
Scroll down for a collection of reading strategies and activities, including an anticipation guide, a vocabulary handout, a project to create a soundtrack for a movie version of the book, and more.
Vocabulary from
In the Time of the Butterflies
Words are presented in context and with definitions. Click on a word for pronunciation, examples of recent use, more.
Modern Literature and the Arts, Seen through the Experience of American Immigrants
This unit plan uses Alvarez's "Something to Declare" and 4 other works to help students further develop their knowledge of the connections between literature and the arts and be able to connect their personal experiences with people who have immigrated to the United States. All of the stories can be found in McDougal Littel's
The Language of Literature
. Designed for 8th grade.