“From the time I was a young girl, I always dreamed of becoming an artist. My family has inspired and encouraged me for all these years. This is my book of family pictures.”

The above words have been extracted from Carmen Lomas Garza`s “Family Pictures”, an autobiographical story in which she describes her memories of growing up in Kingsville, Texas, near the border with Mexico.  Carmen Lomas Garza is one of the foremost Mexican American painters. Her books gained wide recognition for their accurate and loving portrayal of the Mexican American community in South Texas. Ms. Lomas` work, including her paintings and papel picado (cut-paper art), is exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and a Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. She lives in San Francisco, California.

In Leonardo Da Vinci, the 7th grade students read this story at the beginning of the year. It is a text carefully chosen to welcome students to the new school year. Since they are coming back from their summer vacations, there is an immediate connection between them and a story about family life. It is a great text to break the ice, reduce anxiety, and introduce new classmates through a planned set of activities which lasts approximately a month. Before we start reading the story in class, we have discussions on family life and hobbies. The students are asked to bring pictures that show them with their parents, relatives and friends doing things together. We all sit in a circle and show each other the pictures. The photographs are described and classmates can interact by asking questions about the scenes they see. Everything is done in English.

After that, the story is read in class. The students read the text and describe the pictures Ms. Lomas painted. The artist`s work triggers discussions about family-related themes and the students do a series of activities intended to improve their vocabulary as well as their reading and speaking abilities. There are also activities prepared to formally introduce and work on the Present Continuous Tense, which is a verb tense often used to describe pictures and scenes. Finally, the students are asked to bring their pictures to class again. This time, they are supposed to write a text, similar to the one they read in class, describing their own family pictures. They go to the computer lab, scan their photos, and write the text. The activity is monitored by the teacher, who suggests changes by helping them in the writing process. When they are done, they e-mail the teacher for a final check on their texts. As soon as the texts are completely revised, they are printed out and displayed in the school. This year, the texts and pictures were displayed on a board in the Sistine Chapel hallway on the school’s ground floor.

By working with “Family Pictures”, the students develop their reading, speaking, listening and writing skills. They also increase their vocabulary and improve their grammar knowledge. Furthermore, they engage into a project that focuses on themselves, their memories and their lives. It is not a surprise to have them fully committed to the activities proposed and it is a pleasure to talk to them after a few years and hear them say: “Do you remember the story I told you about my doll when we read Family Pictures?”

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