Acuarela Decodable Texts:

The first decodable text set built on a bilingual scope and sequence. 

Acuarela’s Fiction Text Sets feature gorgeous, original texts in Spanish and English, crafted by expert bilingual educators from across the US and illustrated by award-winning illustrators from across Latin America. 

Each text includes: 

  • Focus Warm-Up: A calentamiento of key skills readers will need to tackle the text

  • Language Sparks: Crosslinguistic teaching notes designed to help educators support language learners in making sense of key vocabulary and developing their metalinguistic awareness as they read (in Spanish and English!)

  • Discussion Questions and Dictado: Within, beyond, and about the text questions to get your readers thinking and talking more deeply about what they’ve read, and “Write Without Looking!” practice to support encoding and cement their learning. 

  • Playful Illustrated Map: Each series features a different part of the globe, to support learners in beginning to build world knowledge and develop global perspective as they connect beloved characters to the world around them 

They are designed around the following core principles:

  • Scoped for Biliteracy:

    Our team of expert bilingual educators drew upon research in Spanish, English, and reading development for multilingual learners to develop the first bilingual scope and sequence, tailored to the unique features of both languages while optimizing for transfer across them.

  • Mirrors, Windows, and Muppets Too:

    Our texts reflect students' experiences across the US and the rich diversity of Latin America, while offering windows to the entire globe — with some silly, goofy, imaginative worlds mixed in for good measure! Our characters cross fluidly from Spanish to English and back, just like our students. 

  • Meaningful and Effective:

    Our stories are written to be coherent narratives — rather than lists of words with a target letter squeezed into a series of disconnected sentences. This means each text features a core of high-utility words with the target skill that readers will be able to actually learn. It also means there’s a real plot line in every story, a real purpose to every text. 

  • Easy to Use:

    Dual language doesn’t have to be so difficult! Our books come with simple, routine-based lesson plans  — and with the key lesson elements embedded in the books, you’ll be able to grab texts for your readers and go.

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