{"id":9208,"date":"2025-09-30T11:35:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T09:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/?page_id=9208"},"modified":"2025-10-01T11:02:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T09:02:52","slug":"el-deafo-by-cece-bell","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/","title":{"rendered":"El Deafo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Cece Bell<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dear Parents,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you may know, this term your 5th grade student in the Bilingual Program will be reading El Deafo by Cece Bell. This will not be an adapted or abridged text, but rather the original work of American children\u2019s literature. We\u2019d like to give you some background about the novel, mention the benefits and challenges from the students\u2019 point of view, and also make suggestions for how you could help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is it important for my child to read in English?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Reading in any language expands the mind and helps us explore vital topics and real-life situations, all the while allowing students to develop their comprehension skills, critical thinking capabilities and complexity of thought both in general and also in that specific language. Indeed, research indicates that reading skills directly relate to future academic and professional success. It can help students gain a deeper understanding of context and why characters \u2013 and people \u2013 make the choices they do. Reading also helps build independence and self-confidence and has a positive effect on the development of empathy as well as concentration. Finally, reading is a major resource for using and understanding language \u2013 including grammatical structure, lexical knowledge and writing skills. Not only can students pick up new words, but reading them in an authentic context can also help students understand the subtle nuances of the lexis that was chosen by the author. The same is true when we process the plot and character development through the linguistic structures employed by the author \u2013 helping students understand a variety of uses \u201cin the linguistic wild\u201d, as it were. All in all, reading in any language develops skills that are essential for each student\u2019s continuing studies and life in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why was this novel chosen?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

El Deafo was awarded the John Newbery Medal Honor in 2015 for its contribution to children\u2019s literature as well as the Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids for excellence as a graphic novel. The use of graphics allows students to better grasp more complex vocabulary and concepts as one of the first full novels in the reading program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the benefits of this novel?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

El Deafo, based on author Cece Bell’s own childhood experience with hearing loss, offers students a fun and accessible way to explore themes of friendship, fitting in, and self-acceptance. Bell’s personal insights bring authenticity to the story, allowing students to connect with the protagonist’s challenges and triumphs. The combination of text and illustrations aids in understanding new vocabulary and expressions while fostering empathy and social-emotional learning. Classroom discussions encourage students to express themselves in English and reflect on how their own differences shape their lives. Overall, El Deafo supports language development and promotes understanding of diversity in a meaningful, engaging way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are some of the challenges?\/How can I as a parent help?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a graphic novel many students may think that it is a much easier novel than previous reading program novels. However, as a graphic novel not only are we delving deeper into social issues, we are also having students learn to interact with a different type of book. It is no longer enough to just read the words on the page, but they are expected to pay attention to the interactions implicit and explicit happening in the background of each panel. As the reader of a graphic novel we are constantly given clues and hints about the characters and relationships through the artwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please let us know if you have further questions. We would like to thank you for your support in helping your child keep up with his or her chapter-by-chapter reading assignments at home. Finally, we hope your son or daughter learns from this novel and, most importantly, enjoys reading it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Cece Bell Dear Parents, As you may know, this term your 5th grade student in the Bilingual Program will be reading El Deafo by Cece Bell. This will not be an adapted or abridged text, but rather the original work of American children\u2019s literature. We\u2019d like to give you some background about the novel, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9208","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEl Deafo - Bilingual<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"El Deafo - Bilingual\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Cece Bell Dear Parents, As you may know, this term your 5th grade student in the Bilingual Program will be reading El Deafo by Cece Bell. This will not be an adapted or abridged text, but rather the original work of American children\u2019s literature. We\u2019d like to give you some background about the novel, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bilingual\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bilingual.hu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-01T09:02:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bilingual-megosztasi-kep-en.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2490\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1438\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/\",\"name\":\"El Deafo - Bilingual\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-30T09:35:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-01T09:02:52+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\" \",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"El Deafo\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Bilingual\",\"description\":\"A Bilingual Program egy intenz\u00edv k\u00e9tnyelv\u0171 k\u00e9pz\u00e9s.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Bilingual\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Property-1Variant2.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Property-1Variant2.svg\",\"caption\":\"Bilingual\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bilingual.hu\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bilingual.hu\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCr0fdfvgn1CRi0YwFT5LwEg\/videos\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"El Deafo - Bilingual","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"El Deafo - Bilingual","og_description":"by Cece Bell Dear Parents, As you may know, this term your 5th grade student in the Bilingual Program will be reading El Deafo by Cece Bell. This will not be an adapted or abridged text, but rather the original work of American children\u2019s literature. We\u2019d like to give you some background about the novel, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/","og_site_name":"Bilingual","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bilingual.hu","article_modified_time":"2025-10-01T09:02:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2490,"height":1438,"url":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bilingual-megosztasi-kep-en.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/","url":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/","name":"El Deafo - Bilingual","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-09-30T09:35:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-01T09:02:52+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/el-deafo-by-cece-bell\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":" ","item":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"El Deafo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/","name":"Bilingual","description":"A Bilingual Program egy intenz\u00edv k\u00e9tnyelv\u0171 k\u00e9pz\u00e9s.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#organization","name":"Bilingual","url":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Property-1Variant2.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Property-1Variant2.svg","caption":"Bilingual"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bilingual.hu","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bilingual.hu\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCr0fdfvgn1CRi0YwFT5LwEg\/videos"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9208"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9239,"href":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9208\/revisions\/9239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bilingual.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}