Portland High Teacher Writes “An Educator’s Guide” for BRAIDER

 

Please meet Thomas Talarico.  Thomas is the author of The Good Braider, An Educator’s Guide. He teaches English to immigrants and refugees at Portland High School in Maine. Tom served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines where he lived with the Ifugao, a tribal minority who have terraced the steep mountain terrain and grow some of the country’s most delicious and traditional rice. Tom gets his inspiration from the many students who have shared their stories with him and have allowed him to be part of their young lives as they navigate high school and the multiple identities they are juggling. He is an amateur ethnobotanist and thrives on learning about plants when he travels.  As a Fulbright-Hays scholar in Mexico and Costa Rica, Tom developed an ethnobotany unit for English Language Learners. Tom can be reached at tomtal207@yahoo.com with comments and/or questions.

The Educator’s Guide offers background information and questions  to help students build comprehension as they read the novel.  Thomas has also created a number of  extension assignments to deepen students’ understanding of the immigrant experience and themselves.  He has created the guide with high school students in mind including students in ESL classes.  Here is The Good Braider Educators’ Guide