What's the story?
In search of food, a Spanish girl leaves her camp, which is under siege from the Indigenous people. She befriends a puma, joins the Indigenous camp, and is then brought back to her home settlement, where she is punished for leaving. She is sentenced to death by starving, but saved by the puma who has been feeding her.
Some lessons from this legend
- Treat others how you would like to be treated. Maldonada is kind to the puma, and in return, the puma is kind to Maldonada.
- Don’t judge someone by the opinion of others. Although the Captain had demonised the Querandí, Maldonada finds that they are approachable and hospitable.
- Sometimes it is ok to opine and question the rules. It was good that Maldonada spoke up and voiced her opinions when she had worries about not having sufficient food for everyone to survive.
What to expect from this book
This topic appears in the Library. This content includes challenging language, perfect for stretching even the most able readers. It is accessible to all, making aspirational vocabulary available to learners from every block, but remember - younger learners might need a little more support with some vocabulary in the Library.
Tier 2 words from other Bedrock blocks are woven throughout this book, so learners can revisit that explicit teaching to grow their understanding of the prose as a whole.
This book, and all of our library books, involve many multi-modal activities that encourage them to identify synonyms and antonyms, associate vocabulary with images, use the vocabulary within sentences and free writing activities.
Featured vocabulary from ‘The Miracle of Maldonada’
'Demonise' also appears in a lesson in Block 5, while 'Subversive' is revisited in Block 12! This demonstrates the breadth of challenging vocabulary that our library books touch upon.
