• What are your thoughts about the title page? What do you see?
• Where do you think the setting is at the beginning of the story? How do you know?
• Why does the author write “Adios Corazon” as she and her son are crossing the bridge?
• Where are they crossing the bridge to?
• On pages 7–8 there are words in the clouds and on banners. What do they say? What does “The sky and the land welcomed us in words unlike those of our ancestors” mean?
• Have you ever made a mistake?
• What does it mean that the author and her son became caminantes? How did you figure that out?
• Do you remember the first time you went into a library? How did you feel? Why are the author and her son suspicious?
• Why is getting a library card such a big deal for the author? What did it give her and her little boy?
• What happened when you learned to read? Do you remember?
• How did learning to read English give the author a voice?
• Why is the book called Dreamers?

Before reading, have students share what it is like to start at a brand-new school or go to a new place. Here are some possible questions: What feelings did you have when you walked into your new school? How did you make friends? What would it be like to go to a place where you didn’t speak the language? How would you communicate?

Sometimes, when we see a long or tricky word while reading, our brain might freeze for a second. But don’t worry! A great way to figure it out is to say the word slowly and break it into smaller parts. This helps your brain hear all the sounds and blend them together to make a word that makes sense.

In the book Dreamers, you might come across words like bridge or outstretched. Instead of guessing, try this:

1. Say the word slowly – Stretch out the sounds: “br-i-dge” or “out-stretch-ed.”
2. Listen to each part – Do you recognize a smaller word inside? For example, in “outstretched,” you can hear “out” and “stretched.”
3. Blend the sounds together – Slowly put them back together to make a word you know!

By using this strategy, you’ll become a stronger reader and feel more confident when you find tricky words. Try this strategy with other words in this text, such as: thirsty, unable, other, became, unlike

Before reading this book, spend some time learning about the following words: resplendent, bundled, outstretched, immigrants, migrants, ancestors, suspicious, improbable, unbelievable, unimaginable, resilience, dreamers.

This book is written in English with some beautiful Spanish added in.

Understanding what the Spanish words mean is just as important as understanding the English words.  

• amor—love
• Adios corazon—Goodbye, my love
• !ay!—oh!
• caminantes—walkers, hikers
• lucha—fight
• soñadores—dreamers