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Cris Plata: From Fields to Stage/Del Campo al Escenario
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Raised among Mexican American farmworkers, singer-songwriter Cris Plata spoke Spanish, ate Mexican food, and heard Mexican music played by family and friends. He also spoke English, went to school with mostly white children for at least half the year, and grew familiar with mainstream American culture.
Until he was seven, he and his family lived and worked on a ranch near Poteet, Texas. The family became migrant farmworkers, moving from Indiana to Arkansas and Florida before finally settling in Wisconsin in 1966 to work at an Astico farm.
This dual language book shares the Platas' family story of migrant farming, music, and family amid the constant change and uncertainty of migrant life. While hardships from poor working conditions and low wages to racial prejudice were constant in Cris Plata's upbringing, so too was the music that bonded and uplifted his family.
Following Cris Plata's journey from farm fields to musical stages, the story explores how a migrant, and the son of an immigrant, decided to make Wisconsin his home.
"Cris Plata: From Fields to Stage/Del Campo al Escenario" was translated into Spanish for the Wisconsin Historical Society Press in partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools.
Available now from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press!
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An Interview with Kathy Borkowski, Director of the Wisconsin Historical Society Press
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We caught up with Kathy Borkowski to ask a few  questions about the latest book in the Badger Biographies series...
How would you describe the Badger Biographies series?
These are the stories of real Wisconsinites-famous and not-so-famous, men and women-from the state's early days to modern times. This series for young readers includes a glossary and reading questions for further discussion.
What's different about the Cris Plata book?
This book tells Cris' story in both English and Spanish.
Why the decision to print it bilingually?
Because Cris Plata's first language is Spanish and this book tells the story of his migration to Wisconsin, we felt that it was important to tell his story in both languages.
Who did you work with for the translation into Spanish?
We partnered with the Milwaukee Public Schools to help with the translation and the proofing of the Spanish text. In exchange, the Press provided copies of the book to be distributed to Milwaukee schools.
Is this the first time the Press has done something like this?
This is the first time that the Wisconsin Historical Society has done a bilingual book for young readers. We also published a Spanish edition of 4th grade textbook, "Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story," or "Wisconsin: Nuestro Estado, Nuestra Historia."
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The Wisconsin Historical Society Educator Update curates the most current education-related news from the Wisconsin Historical Society and beyond.
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Yours in Education
Harvest, Halloween, and History!
 Fall is here! The leaves are turning, the sky is just a bit grayer, and was that frost on the pumpkin last week? Looking for great things to do with your students to get them excited about learning? From great new offerings from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, to fantastic hands-on history at the Museum on the square, to the living history presented at our historic sites, the Wisconsin Historical Society is pleased to serve up some treats (and no tricks) for the upcoming month!
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Like our new Facebook page to see highlights and tips for educators. Or follow us on Twitter (@WHSEducation) to see the latest quips and bits!
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Wisconsin Historical Museum
Kurt Griesemer, Director of Education
Back-to-School Open HouseThanks to everyone who attended our first annual "Back-to-School Open House." We'll see you again next year! If This Photo Could Talk: Creative Writing Workshop Come to the Wisconsin Historical Museum on the square to take part in this fantastic learning opportunity. Led by Stephanie Lowden, teacher and published author of historical  | | Author Stephanie Lowden |
fiction, this workshop offers middle school-aged students the opportunity to write a story using photographs from the Wisconsin Historical Society archives as inspiration. "Participants will learn strategies for how to use plot, setting and character development to create a story that the reader can't put down." said Katie Schumacher, head of Museum Programming. Finished stories will be displayed at the Wisconsin Historical Museum during the Wisconsin Book Festival. Please email Katie Schumacher or call 608-261-9359 Late Night at the Museum Featuring creepy crafts, spooky stories, and flashlight tours,  stay after hours with the museum staff and explore our odd Wisconsin ways with tales from the past and much more!
Check out our Events calendar for more information. Ongoing Exhibit: "Powwows : Performing Identities" Discover this integral part of Native American identity through historic and modern photographs, video elements and artifacts on display at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. Ends November 15th. See our website for more information.
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New at Old World Wisconsin
Attend Old World Wisconsin for a special self-guided field trip day on Friday, October 17, 2014!
This newest opportunity is based on feedback by teachers like you. On this special date you can tour at your own pace, arriving and departing as you choose. Your visit is self-guided, allowing you more flexibility than our standard field trip options. You can tailor your trip to match your curriculum and class learning goals. Meet with period-clad interpreters and enjoy the same interactive activities featured in our structured elementary field trips. We recommend touring in groups of 10 students with a minimum of one chaperone per group of 10. We are over 600 acres, which is 600 football fields of historic farm and village life to explore. Do not expect to see it all in one trip, but you can get a taste of a little bit of everything.
Pioneer Power
Join us Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19 in our Pioneer Power program, which is part of the Wisconsin Science Festival. See a steam powered sawmill, hit and miss engines, wood burning stoves, looms, spinning wheels and a rope maker to find out where and how your ancestors got their power to run their farms. The site is open from 10 am-5 pm most days.
Halloween fun for all ages can be found at Old World Wisconsin!
Get together a bunch of friends or bring family to one of our  Halloween events at Old World Wisconsin. New this year is our family friendly Halloween Legends and Lore. Taking place on Saturdays and on Halloween, October 11, 18, 24, and 31, Old World Wisconsin will celebrate the legends and folklore immigrants brought with them with a new activity and storytelling event featuring Wisconsin ghost stories from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Mingled with the folk and fairytales of the Old World, Halloween Legends and Lore combines spooky and fun daytime activities with macabre and magical nighttime stories. No reservations required.
Halloween Dinner Theater
 If you're looking for another disturbingly good time, join us for our Halloween Dinner Theater featuring three different Sherlock Holmes stories. Begin your evening's adventure with a themed harvest meal, followed by a lamp-lit stroll to a live drama that will thrill you. Please call 262-594-6301 or visit our website for reservations.
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Taking History on the Road
Discover Your Story
As the Wisconsin Historical Society embarks on the "Wisconsin History Tour: Sharing Wisconsin's Stories One Community at a Time," we have hopes to spend time and share stories of the past with communities throughout the state. The "Tour" represents a major, multi-year outreach effort. For a month-long stay at a time, the Society will bring a handcrafted exhibit to 11 communities in order to share pieces of collections we have gathered since our founding in 1846-ranging from a Civil War soldier's letter home, to early 20th Century photographs of Door County, to maps dating back to 1513, to the Racine story of malted milk, to maritime stories of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. The statewide trek lands at the Sheboygan County Historical Society this October. Included in the the tour will be five days of activities such as author talks, historic children's crafts, genealogy workshops, and much more. For more information on the Wisconsin History Tour, please visit our website. |
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Thank you for reading our newsletter.
Sincerely,
Kurt Griesemer
Director of Education
Wisconsin Historical Society |
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