Flipping The Script: CI Novels in French and Spanish by Author Terri Marrama

I had the privilege of speaking to yet another CI author, who is flipping the script in Spanish and in French! Theresa Marrama is a French CI teacher, who has been working with authors such as Jennifer Degenhardt and A.C. Quintero on adapting their books from Spanish to French. What I did not know, is that Terri had some compelling stories herself! She debuted her first novel last year, Une obsession dangereuse, available at fluencymatters.com. Her debut novel was the first, but not the last we’ve heard from her. Her quill has not gone dry; this year has seen a record number of books from Terri in both Spanish, and French. And, watch out German teachers, she is also coming for your classroom library as well! Check out her author’s page here, to see for yourself.

Who is Theresa Marrama?

Theresa Marrama is a dynamic French teacher who has been in the trenches for more than 11 years. She has been holding down the fort, teaching French in Northern New York. Her students span from levels 1 to 4, from grades 7 to 11. Three years ago, Terri took another bold step in her teaching career (teaching is the first!), she joined the Comprehensible Input (CI) corps of teachers; she’s a been a fierce advocate of the approach. This year, she went from practitioner to literary contributor, as you will see as your read on!

Reading As The Cornerstone

Like most CI teachers, her favorite teacher-input activities are movie talk and picture talk, however, the cornerstone of her curriculum is reading. She places great emphasis on reading with her classes and allowing time for students to soak up this practice and regularly explore her Free Voluntary Reading Library (FVR). Well, now we have the opportunity to have her books in our library as well!

What Is FVR?

Note: FVR , for those of your hearing this term for the first time, a classroom library comprised of chapters books that are written at the students’ level. These book present a host of topics, and storylines yet told with very limited unique vocabulary that allows for reading comprehension, a low cognitive load, and can greatly facilitate language acquisition. You can visit Mike Peto’s blogs for more information FVR. He also wrote a book on Pleasure Reading! You can see a picture of my FVR library below if you are unfamiliar with this concept. Also, check out the twitter accounts of teachers such as @lovemysummers, @karajacobs, @janina_hanson to see how they structure their classroom libraries.

Teacher-Author

Theresa started writing CI novels about three years ago. She had begun to use more comprehension- based readers in her classes, and immediately witnessed the impact they had on her students’ language acquisition. She wanted to contribute more readers to her own classroom library, as there were not as many readers in French. So, she picked up a pen. Theresa confessed that she loves writing about mysteries, culture, and heartfelt stories that everyone can relate to ( we definitely have that in common! I am a mystery girl myself)! Because of Theresa’s penchant to flip the script and contribute to the growing body of comprehensible literature, we can now line our libraries with new, compelling mysteries, in French, Spanish, and German. Let’s take a look at what Theresa has to offer, and why YOU DON’T WANT YOUR KIDS TO MISS OUT!

Theresa has authored the following books:
Une obsession dangereuse – Françoise’s obsession with alligators is a bit concerning, but when she plans a face-to-face encounter, it becomes downright dangerous. As she and her friend Monique secretly venture out into the bayou for an alligator encounter, they discover that both alligators and the bayou are much safer when viewed on TV ! Françoise finds herself in a life-or-death situation, and her only hope for survival rests on the wits of a 13- year-old girl.  

Une obsession dangereuse is available on Fluency Matters website. http://www.fluencymatters.com

Une disparition mystèrieuse – It has been a week since Alice’s best friend Dominique disappeared. Since that day, Alice’s world has turned upside down, and her life has begun to spiral out of control. Will Alice see her best friend again? Did Alice pay enough attention to the details leading up to her friend’s disappearance? Will an old Louisiana legend come to life? Will she discover a far greater mystery that has haunted the marshes of Louisiana for years?  
REVIEW OF BOOK : 

***Also available in Spanish*** 
Una desaparición misteriosa-It has been a week since Ana’s best friend Daniela disappeared. Since that day, Ana’s world has turned upside down, and her life has begun to spiral out of control. Will Ana see her best friend again? Did Ana pay enough attention to the details leading up to her friend’s disappearance? Will an old Peruvian legend come to life? Will she discover a far greater mystery that has haunted the children of Peru for years?  

Review of the book:

L’île au trésor: Première partie: La malédiction de l’île Oak –

Daniel is a typical teenager who just wants to spend his summer vacation with his friends. Unfortunately, he must spend another summer in Canada, where his father works. Will his summer be as boring as the last, or will he manage to make the most of it in the absence of his friends? Will he find adventure and excitement in the long days ahead?  

Review of Book :

La ofrenda de Sofía-It has been nearly a year since her grandfather has passed away. Sofía is not coping very well with his death or her recent move to Mexico. The Day of the Dead celebration is approaching and Sofía’s mom is persistent in her efforts to get her to participate. Will Sofía learn things about her grandfather that she didn’t know? Will she learn the true meaning of the Day of the Dead celebration?  

Review of book:It’s full of suspense and heart.
Ooooh!  It’s a page turner!!  Pick it up for your classroom libraries!!

Léo et Anton –  

Anton is different – a mouse that isn’t afraid of cats who lives in the Parc du Bois-Beckett forest in Quebec, Canada with his mom and dad. But, Anton is not happy. He doesn’t have any friends, and he is not allowed to explore the forest alone as his father fears he will get attacked by a cat.  Will Anton venture alone into the forest against his father’s will?  Will Anton ever be able to make any friends? Will Anton’s courage get him into trouble? Sometimes it is our differences that not only set us apart from others but make us exactly the same.

Luis y Antonio –  

Antonio is different – a mouse that isn’t afraid of cats who lives in the Arrayes forest in Argentina with his mom and dad. But, Antonio is not happy. He doesn’t have any friends, and he is not allowed to explore the forest alone as his father fears he will get attacked by a cat.  Will Antonio venture alone into the forest against his father’s will?  Will Antonio ever be able to make any friends? Will Antonio’s courage get him into trouble? Sometimes it is our differences that not only set us apart from others but make us exactly the same.  

Review of the book:

This story (Léo et Anton) will soon be available in German as well. 
Theresa has 2 more stories in the works! Please stay tuned 🙂 
You can find all of her books and audio book CD’s for her books at her website : www.compellinglanguagecorner.com

Theresa Marrama’s book are becoming a staple for teachers looking for compelling comprehensible literature. I have several of her books, and will be adding more to my classroom library. If you want to find out more about Theresa, check out her website and her Amazon’s author’s page.

The Compelling Language Corner

Theresa Marrama Author’s Page

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