©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. ©Secondary The House on Mango Street Solutions All Rights by R eserved. Sandra Cisneros SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Literature Guide Developed by Debra Navratil for Secondary Solutions® ISBN-10: 1-938913-56-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-938913-56-3 Digital ISBN: 978-1-938913-57-0 © 2013 Secondary Solutions. All rights reserved. A classroom teacher who has purchased this Guide may photocopy the materials in this publication for his/her classroom use only. Use or reproduction by a part of or an entire school or school system, by for-profit tutoring centers and like institutions, or for commercial sale, is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, translated or stored in any form (including digitally) without the express written permission of the publisher. Created and printed in the United States of America. WWW.4SECONDARYSOLUTIONS.COM The House on Mango Street Literature Guide About This Literature Guide ............................................................................................ 4 How to Use Our Literature Guides ................................................................................... 5 Author Biography: Sandra Cisneros (1954 - ) .............................................................. 6 Comprehension Check: Author Biography ..........................................................................7 Historical Context: The Mexican Population in Chicago ................................................... 8 Comprehension Check: The Mexican Population in Chicago ................................................ 10 Standards Focus: Literary Style—Novellas and Vignettes .............................................. 11 Pre-Reading Ideas ........................................................................................................ 13 Pre-Reading Activity: Thematic Literary Elements ........................................................ 14 Anticipation/Reaction Activity ...................................................................................... 15 Anticipation/Reaction Reflection .................................................................................. 16 Standards Focus: Allusions, Slang, and Spanish Words ................................................. 17 Vocabulary List ............................................................................................................. 22 Standards Focus: Note-Taking and Response Chart ...................................................... 23 Note-Taking and Response Chart: Sample ....................................................................... 24 Note-Taking and Response Chart .................................................................................... 25 Standards Focus: Journal Response—Sample................................................................ 26 Standards Focus: Journal Response Chart ........................................................................ 27 Part One ....................................................................................................................... 28 Comprehension and Analysis.......................................................................................... 28 Journal Topics .............................................................................................................. 29 Literature Focus: Sequence ........................................................................................... 30 Language Focus: Sentence Structure .............................................................................. 31 Part Two ....................................................................................................................... 33 Comprehension and Analysis.......................................................................................... 33 Journal Topics .............................................................................................................. 34 Literature Focus: Figurative Language ............................................................................. 35 Language Focus: Parallel Structure ................................................................................. 37 Part Three..................................................................................................................... 39 Comprehension and Analysis.......................................................................................... 39 Journal Topics .............................................................................................................. 40 Literature Focus: Character Interaction ........................................................................... 41 Language Focus: Context Clues ...................................................................................... 43 Part Four ...................................................................................................................... 45 Comprehension and Analysis.......................................................................................... 45 Journal Topics .............................................................................................................. 46 Literature Focus: Setting and Theme............................................................................... 47 Assessment Preparation: Allusions .................................................................................. 49 Part Five ....................................................................................................................... 52 Comprehension and Analysis.......................................................................................... 52 Journal Topics .............................................................................................................. 53 Literature Focus: Theme and Character – Gender Roles .................................................... 54 Language Focus: Colons ................................................................................................ 56 Part Six ......................................................................................................................... 58 Comprehension and Analysis.......................................................................................... 58 Journal Topics .............................................................................................................. 59 Literature Focus: Referential Texts – The Bible ................................................................. 60 Writing Focus: Task, Audience, and Purpose .................................................................... 62 Part One Quiz ............................................................................................................... 64 Part Two: Quiz .............................................................................................................. 65 Part Three: Quiz............................................................................................................ 67 Part Four: Quiz ............................................................................................................. 69 Part Five: Quiz .............................................................................................................. 71 Part Six: Quiz ................................................................................................................ 73 Mixed Review Final Test ............................................................................................... 75 Multiple Choice Final Test ............................................................................................. 77 Teacher Resources ........................................................................................................ 82 ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. 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PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. ©2013 Secondary Solutions -2– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Sample Agenda ........................................................................................................... 82 Notes for the Teacher ................................................................................................... 85 Summary of the Novel .................................................................................................. 86 Vocabulary with Definitions ........................................................................................... 92 Post-Reading Activities and Alternative Assessment .......................................................... 93 Essay Ideas ................................................................................................................ 96 Non-Essay Writing Ideas ............................................................................................... 97 Project Rubric A ........................................................................................................... 98 Project Rubric B ........................................................................................................... 99 Response to Literature Rubric .......................................................................................100 Answer Key ................................................................................................................. 102 ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. ©2013 Secondary Solutions -3– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide About This Literature Guide Secondary Solutions is the endeavor of a high school English teacher who could not seem to find appropriate materials to help her students master the necessary concepts at the secondary level. She grew tired of spending countless hours researching, creating, writing, and revising lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes, tests and extension activities to motivate and inspire her students, and at the same time, address those ominous content standards! Materials that were available were either juvenile in nature, skimpy in content, or were moderately engaging activities that did not come close to meeting the content standards on which her students were being tested. Frustrated and tired of trying to get by with inappropriate, inane lessons, she finally decided that if the right materials were going to be available to her and other teachers, she was going to have to make them herself. Mrs. Bowers set to work to create one of the most comprehensive and innovative Literature Guide sets on the market. Joined by a middle school teacher with 21 years of secondary school experience, Secondary Solutions began, and has matured into a specialized team of intermediate and secondary teachers who have developed for you a set of materials unsurpassed by all others. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Before the innovation of Secondary Solutions, materials that could be purchased offered a reproducible student workbook and a separate set of teacher materials at an additional cost. Other units provided the teacher with student materials only, and very often, the content standards were ignored. Secondary Solutions provides all of the necessary materials for complete coverage of the literature units of study, including author biographies, pre-reading activities, numerous and varied vocabulary and comprehension activities, study-guide questions, graphic organizers, literary analysis and critical thinking activities, essay-writing ideas, extension activities, quizzes, unit tests, alternative assessment, online teacher assistance, and much, much more. Each Guide is designed to address the unique learning styles and comprehension levels of every student in your classroom. All materials are written and presented at the grade level of the learner, and include extensive coverage of the content standards. As an added bonus, all teacher materials are included! As a busy teacher, you don’t have time to waste reinventing the wheel. You want to get down to the business of teaching! With our professionally developed teacherwritten Literature Guides, Secondary Solutions has provided you with the answer to your time management problems, while saving you hours of tedious and exhausting work. Our Guides will allow you to focus on the most important aspects of teaching—the personal, one-on-one, hands-on instruction you enjoy most—the reason you became a teacher in the first place. Secondary Solutions—The First Solution for the Secondary Teacher! www.4secondarysolutions.com ©2013 Secondary Solutions -4– ® The House on Mango Street Literature Guide How to Use Our Literature Guides Our Literature Guides are based upon the Common Core State Standards, the National Council of the Teachers of English and the International Reading Association’s national English/Language Arts Curriculum and Content Area Standards. The materials we offer allow you to teach the love and full enjoyment of literature, while still addressing the concepts upon which your students are assessed. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. These Guides are designed to be used in their sequential entirety, or may be divided into separate parts. Not all activities must be used, but to achieve full comprehension and mastery of the skills involved, it is recommended that you utilize everything each Guide has to offer. Most importantly, you now have a variety of valuable materials to choose from, and you are not forced into extra work! There are several distinct categories within each Secondary Solutions Literature Guide: • Teacher’s Guide—A variety of resources to help you get the most out of this Guide as well as the text you are teaching. The Teacher’s Guide includes a sample Teacher’s Agenda, Summary of the Play or Novel, Pre-and Post-Reading Ideas and Activities and Alternative Assessment, Essay and Writing Ideas, Rubrics, complete Answer Key and more. Look for the Teacher’s Guide at the end of this Guide. Pre-Reading Ideas and Activities are located at the beginning of the Guide. • Exploring Expository Writing—Worksheets designed to address the exploration and analysis of functional and/or informational materials and of the historical aspects of the text Author Biography including heritage, beliefs, and customs of the author Historical Context, including allusions and unique diction, comparison of situations across historical eras, analysis of theme relevant to the historical era Biographies of relevant non-fictional characters Relevant news and magazine articles, etc. • Comprehension Check—Similar to Exploring Expository Writing, but designed for comprehension of narrative text—study questions designed to guide students as they read the text. Questions focus on Reading Comprehension and Analysis and cover a wide range of questioning based on Bloom’s Taxonomy • Literature Focus—Worksheets and activities that directly address the content standards and allow students extensive practice in literary skills and analysis. Literature Focus activities are found within every chapter or section. Some examples: Literary Response and Analysis, including Figurative Language, Irony, Flashback, Theme, Tone and Mood, Style, and Aesthetic Approach, etc. Writing Strategies, including developing thesis statements, audience and purpose, sentence combining, concise word choice, developing research questions, etc. • Assessment Preparation—Vocabulary activities which emulate the types of vocabulary/ grammar proficiency on which students are tested in state and national assessments. Assessment Preparation activities are found within every chapter or section. Some examples: Writing Conventions, including Parts of Speech, Precise Word Choice, Punctuation Vocabulary and Word Development, including Context Clues, Connotation/ Denotation, Word Roots, Analogies, and Literal and Figurative Language • Quizzes and Tests—Quizzes are included for each chapter or designated section; final tests as well as alternative assessment are available at the end of each Guide. Each Guide contains handouts and activities for varied levels of difficulty. We know that not all students are alike—nor are all teachers! We hope you can effectively utilize every aspect our Literature Guides have to offer—we want to make things easier on you! If you need additional assistance, please email us at [email protected]. Thank you for choosing Secondary Solutions—The First Solution for the Secondary Teacher! ® ©2013 Secondary Solutions -5– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ The House on Mango Street Author Biography: Sandra Cisneros (1954 - Period ________ ) Sandra Cisneros was born on December 20, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois. She is the third of seven children and the only daughter, so she sometimes felt left out in her brothers’ company. Her father, a Mexican immigrant, worked as an upholsterer and frequently talked about his sons, but not as often about Sandra. Her mother worked in a local factory and completed most chores around the house so Sandra could focus on her schoolwork because she felt an education was very important to her daughter’s future. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Señor Cisneros’s family still lived in Mexico City, so the entire family made an annual trip to spend quality time with their extended family. Each time they returned to Chicago, the Cisneroses unpacked their belongings into a new apartment, and the children enrolled in a different school. Consequently, Sandra Cisneros had trouble making friends and feeling like she belonged. She found reading, especially reading fairy tales, an excellent way to escape her lonely childhood, and she was thankful that it was possible to do so, even in a poor family, with the library card her mother helped her obtain. In 1966, the family finally moved into a house of their own, which helped the children to stay in one school. When she began high school at Josephinum Academy, an all-girls Catholic school near her house, Cisneros found another place where she felt she belonged. Her classmates and one particular teacher acknowledged her writing talent—especially poetry writing—and encouraged her to continue. During her college years, first at Loyola University in Chicago and then in the Master’s Program at the University of Iowa, Cisneros found her unique writing voice. At first, she looked around her classes and observed the faculty, realizing that she was very different because she was a woman from a poor neighborhood with a personal identity that was part American and part Mexican. Eventually she discovered that she could pull experiences from her own life, especially the people and places from the neighborhoods of her childhood, to write poems and stories that were both important and interesting. At first, Cisneros could not make enough money as a full-time writer to pay her bills, so she took a job as a counselor for high school dropouts at Latino Youth Alternative High School in Chicago in 1978. During the day, she helped the students deal with their personal and academic troubles while encouraging them to focus on their goals. In the evenings, Cisneros gave public readings of her writing and worked on a small chapbook of her poetry, entitled Bad Boys, which was published in 1980 as a limited run. Also that year, she left the high school to take a job as a recruiter at her alma mater, Loyola University, in an effort to encourage more Latino students to attend college. While in both school environments, she continued to meet interesting people and collect their stories, which served as more inspiration for the writing she did in her free time. In 1982, Cisneros got her first big break: the National Endowment for the Arts awarded her a grant, which allowed her to quit her job and focus only on her writing for a while. She finally had time to put all her short writing pieces together, and the concept for her most famous publication emerged. To get some distance from her home and the people she was writing about, she left the United States to travel around Europe while she revised her little stories, called vignettes. During this time, she also wrote more poems and built friendships with people overseas. These friendships reminded her of how similar all people are, despite ©2013 Secondary Solutions -6– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ their many differences. She returned to the United States in 1984 for the publication of The House on Mango Street, which received so much critical praise for its new style and fresh voice that it won the Before Columbus American Book Award. Shortly thereafter, Cisneros moved to San Antonio to work with the Guadalupe Arts Center. She immediately found a community in San Antonio that made her feel welcome and comfortable in a way she never felt in Chicago. San Antonio has been her home since. After The House on Mango Street was published, she was also better able to earn money and secure awards and grants that allowed her to focus on her writing. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. In 1987, she published a book of poems, My Wicked, Wicked Ways, which further cemented her reputation as a gifted writer and may have been the catalyst for Random House to offer her $100,000 for another book of fiction—the largest advance ever offered a Latino writer at that time. Cisneros used the advance to write and revise a collection of short stories, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, which was published in 1991. Her second book of poetry, Loose Woman was published in 1994, and an epic novel entitled Carmelo was published in 2002. When Cisneros was a child, there were no Mexican writers that served as role models to her. As a young Mexican-American girl, most people expected Sandra to grow up strong, get married, have children, and take care of the home. She has never gotten married or had children because she says she needs the quiet of her home to write, and her books and poems are like her children. Instead Cisneros made a place in the world for herself, where a young Latina can be creative, thoughtful, and intelligent while also being happy and successful. Although she did not have suitable role models for her writing, as a best-selling author and possibly the most famous Mexican woman writer, Cisneros has become a role model for young writers, especially women, who are inspired by her dedication and talent. She has also been able to use her writing as a means of educating non-Spanish speakers about the Latino experience in America, thereby increasing our understanding of the basic human themes of identity, belonging, and home. Comprehension Check: Author Biography Directions: Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. 1. What is one of the problems Sandra Cisneros faced in her youth? How did she overcome it? 2. Do you find any similarities between your life and Sandra Cisneros’s? If so, what are they? If not, what is one part of your life that is completely different from Cisneros’s? 3. In one or two paragraphs, write an even shorter summary of Cisneros’s life, from her birth to the present day, including as many of the important events of her life as you can. 4. What is one life lesson you can learn from Sandra Cisneros’s life? Where do you see that lesson exemplified in her life? 5. What do you think Sandra Cisneros is like, based on the information offered in the article? Give three traits and evidence from the article to support your opinions. ©2013 Secondary Solutions -7– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Historical Context: The Mexican Population in Chicago According to the 2010 census, two-thirds of the United States’ Latino population lives in California, Texas, or Arizona. However, the fourth most populous state for Latinos, especially Mexicans, is Illinois. In 1850, the Mexican population of Chicago consisted of a mere 50 people. By 1920, the census reported 1,200 Mexicans living in Chicago, and there were over one million by the year 2000. Today, many Mexican-Americans living in Chicago can trace their family’s history in the city as far back as the turn of the previous century. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. The period between 1900 and 1925 was full of change for both Mexico and the United States. Mexico was experiencing a time of political unrest and war, so men looking for better wages crossed the American border. In addition, many people found it unsafe to stay in Mexico, so entire families fled the country for the political or religious safety and the freedoms the United States offered. At this time, Chicago’s economy was heavily reliant on the railroad, steel, sugar beet, and meatpacking industries, but more workers were needed, sometimes to replace employees on strike or men fighting overseas during World War I. Business leaders sent representatives to the Southwest to hire newly arrived Mexican immigrants and transport them north. The recruiters, called enganchistas, paid for the new workers’ railroad fees and meals on the trip to Chicago, with the understanding that the Mexicans’ first paychecks would be docked a percentage until the money was compensated. They had better-paying jobs in the United States, but Mexicans still struggled. Many worked ten or more hours per shift, and their meals consisted of small portions of bread or watereddown stew, if they ate anything at all. Mexican immigrants had difficulty finding reasonably priced housing because many apartment complexes were owned by Europeans who resented immigrants. Therefore, landlords unfairly raised rent prices for Mexicans, which meant many people lived in the same apartment to be able to afford a roof over their heads. With more people in such small spaces, good health and sanitation was difficult to maintain. By the early 1920s, American soldiers had returned from war and wanted Mexicans to vacate their jobs and their communities. In Chicago, neighborhoods called colonias, or enclaves, were informally established to help keep Mexicans together. Some of those areas included Calumet, on the near West Side of Chicago; the Back of the Yards area, near the stockyards; and Pilsen, on the lower West Side. These enclaves gave rise to tortilla factories, restaurants, markets, and Spanish-language newspapers like El Ideal. The 1930 census reports 20,000 Mexicans, both immigrants and American citizens, living in Chicago—an increase of six hundred percent in just ten years. When the Great Depression hit the United States, Mexicans were seen as expendable and undesirable, so a nationwide campaign of repatriation began. Mexicans were rounded up and sent back to Mexico, even those who were born in the United States and were American citizens. Those who remained in the country had an even harder time getting jobs and food for their families, and some were hurt or killed because of racial violence. At the end of the campaign, about one-third of the Mexican population in the United States had been forced out. In Chicago, the loss was not as severe, in part because of the involvement of social workers and the work of settlement houses’ staff, who had already been offering assistance to immigrants for decades. ©2013 Secondary Solutions -8– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ By the late 1930s, Mexicans in Chicago began to take action to protect themselves and each other from the difficulties around them. Mutual aid societies were established in the enclaves, which required members to put a portion of their earnings into a community collection box each month. When a member needed money for a serious problem, like unemployment, illness, or death, they were given a portion of the money in the community savings to alleviate the issue. In addition, Mexicans, especially steel workers, joined labor unions like the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) to win better wages and working conditions and to fight racism they observed in the workplace. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. In 1940, there were 35,000 Mexicans living in or around Chicago, but that was about to change. When Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, Mexicans living in the United States joined the military to fight with the Allied forces in World War II. Some illegal immigrants were able to earn their citizenship this way, including Sandra Cisneros’s father. However, there were once again thousands of jobs needing to be filled, so the United States government established the Bracero Program (brazo means arm in Spanish) to invite guest workers from Mexico into the United States. These men were each on a six-month employment contract to work in agriculture in the Southwest and the railroad industry in Chicago and other major cities. The program ran until 1964. In the meantime, the Mexican-American community in Chicago continued to expand. Some braceros did not return to Mexico when their contracts were up, and they illegally stayed in the country with friends or relatives, taking jobs where they could. Colonias spread to larger areas, and an area near Pilsen called Little Village, or La Villita, became the center of Mexican culture in Chicago and remains so today. Mexican families also moved out of the city to the suburbs, including Joliet and Aurora, to find more space and larger homes. From the 1950s to the 1970s, organizations like the Mexican Patriotic Committee, the Chicago Area Project, and a branch of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) formed to meet the community, educational, and civil rights needs of the 250,000 Mexican citizens living in the Chicago area in 1970, a number that had increased five hundred percent since 1950. In the 1970s, the Chicano movement encouraged strength and pride in the Mexican culture in Chicago. Muralists such as Mario Castillo painted reminders of their heritage—from Aztec and Mayan symbols to entertainers, political leaders, and personal family members—as a way to pay homage to their roots. Mexican-Americans also worked in community organizations like the Spanish Coalition for Jobs and the Latino Institute to get the housing, medical coverage, and education they needed for their families. Through these organizations, they were also able to fight unfair employment practices and racial discrimination in the workplace. Today, Chicago remains a city where the Mexican culture is showcased and MexicanAmericans feel more empowered. Community service and activist groups work to educate Mexican-Americans on the resources and issues that pertain to them, while smaller pride organizations stage citywide celebrations, like the Mexican Independence Day Parade down 26th Street every September. Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art, opened in 1987, has become a major institute for Mexican art and is visited by over 200,000 people annually. Mexican-Americans have earned top offices in local, state, and federal government as representatives of Chicago, and the state of Illinois, and they serve the more than one million Mexican-Americans living in the metropolitan area as of 2010. It is clear that without Mexicans’ contributions to the city’s industries, community, and culture for over a century, Chicago would not be what it is today. ©2013 Secondary Solutions -9– The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Comprehension Check: The Mexican Population in Chicago 1. Create a graph showing the growth of the Mexican population in the Greater Chicago Area from 1850 to 2010, according to census data. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. 2. What are three reasons that Mexicans moved to the United States between 1900 and 1950? 3. Describe several ways that the social workers, settlement houses, or activism organizations helped Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans in Chicago. 4. Why is it logical that two-thirds of the Mexican-American population in the United States lives in Texas, California, and Arizona? 5. Develop three research questions you could use to discover more about the Mexican-American experience in Chicago or the United States. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 10 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Standards Focus: Literary Style—Novellas and Vignettes The House on Mango Street is a novella, which is shorter than a novel. When compared to short stories, novellas are longer, with more conflicts and characters to develop. One definition requires a novella to be between 17,500 words and 40,000 words. Other novellas you might have heard of include Of Mice and Men, Animal Farm, and A Christmas Carol. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Instead of chapters, House on Mango Street includes vignettes (vin-YETS), brief descriptive writing pieces. In her vignettes, Sandra Cisneros describes the narrator, Esperanza, and her dreams, her family members and neighbors, and the neighborhood around Esperanza’s home. Each vignette is like a photograph, full of sensory details to help readers feel and understand the message the author is trying to convey. The vignettes seem disconnected at first, but careful readers will notice a plot emerge as Esperanza relates her life and the lives of those around her. In describing her concept of the book, Cisneros thought the reader “would understand each story like a little pearl, or you could look at the whole thing like a necklace.” 1. What benefits or challenges do you see to reading a novella written in vignettes? Explain your answer on a separate piece of paper, using the facts from above. In the introduction to the 25th anniversary edition of The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros wrote about the writer she was before publishing it. (Note: Cisneros is talking about herself in the third person here.) She wants to write stories that ignore borders between genres, between written and spoken, between highbrow literature and children’s nursery rhymes, between New York and the imaginary village of Macondo, between the U.S. and Mexico. It’s true, she wants writers she admires to respect her work, but she also wants people who don’t usually read books to enjoy these stories, too. She doesn’t want to write a book that a reader doesn’t understand and would feel ashamed for not understanding. She thinks stories are about beauty. Beauty that is there to be admired by anyone, like a herd of clouds grazing overhead. She thinks people who are busy working for a living deserve beautiful little stories, because they don’t have much time and are often tired. She has in mind a book that can be opened at any page and will still make sense to the reader who doesn’t know what came before or comes after. 2. Do you know people who don’t read in their free time? Based on Sandra Cisneros’s opinions, what are a few reasons they might not read? Why does Cisneros think people should read her stories? Write your answers on your paper. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 11 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Cisneros continues to write about the style she adopted for House on Mango Street: She experiments, creating text that is as succinct and flexible as poetry, snapping sentences into fragments so that the reader pauses, making each sentence serve her and not the other way around, abandoning quotation marks to streamline the typography and make the page as simple and readable as possible. So that the sentences are pliant as branches and can be read in more ways than one. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. 3. With poetic writing, fragments and longer sentences, no quotation marks, do you think The House on Mango Street will be easy for you to read? Explain your reasoning with personal experience or the details from above. Write your answers on your paper. In an interview she did with her publisher, Cisneros said she felt that The House on Mango Street has a particular draw for teenagers because Esperanza has some of the same questions they do. I think that it speaks to young people's isolation, loneliness, and longing. . . . You basically have to invent [your list of possibilities] as you go, and you don't know who you're going to become yet. So you're looking around for models, as Esperanza is. She's looking at other women around her, saying, "I don't wanna go that way. I'm not going that way. But where do I go? Where do I fit? And how do I make myself into the person I want to be if I don't see that person I want to be?" I think that that's true for young people of any culture in their teens, when one day they still feel like a kid and the next day, you know, you’ve got the responsibilities of the adult. 4. Do you think young people are basically isolated and lonely? Are young people searching for role models? Do you agree that teens can be a kid one day and an adult the next? Respond to Cisneros’s comments. Do you think a story like this is one you will like to read? Write your answers on your paper. Cisneros characterizes her novella as a coming-of-age story, or a bildungsroman. In this type of book, a young main character has to learn about his or her world through observation and questioning, and this new education forces the character to make some surprising or uncomfortable realizations in order to become an adult. You may have read another bildungsroman, like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, or Ender’s Game. Can you think of any more? 5. Predict what kind of adult knowledge Esperanza may learn in The House on Mango Street that may cause her to mature and feel like an adult. Write your answers on your paper. Interview Responses from "The House on Mango Street” – The Story on YouTube.com, KnopfGroup Channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pyf89VsNmg ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 12 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Pre-Reading Ideas • • • • • • • • • • • • Journal or discuss topics related to the book, such as feeling a sense of belonging, growing up, prejudice, identifying a role model, or dreams for adult life. Complete a K-W-L (Know, Wonder, Learned) about the Latino culture. Write research questions from the Wonder column and have the students report their findings to the class. Share and discuss photos of Mexicans or Mexican-Americans (Chicanos) in everyday life. One excellent resource is Mexican Chicago, from the Images of America series by Arcadia Press. Find out about the term “rite of passage” and brainstorm a list of events that might be considered a rite of passage, e.g. moving from childhood to adolescence or adolescence to adulthood. Examples may include permission to go somewhere without parents, a job, babysitting, a religious ceremony, a cell phone, car keys, first kiss or sexual experience, graduation, etc. Read a short story from Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories by Sandra Cisneros. “Eleven,” about a girl who is forced to wear an uncomfortable sweater from the lost and found at school, is one that is frequently anthologized. Read picture books with both English and Spanish in them. Some examples might be Gathering the Sun by Alma Flor Ada and Simon Silver; Loverboy by Lee Merrill Byrd; My Colors, My World by Maya Christina Gonzalez; I Remember Abuelito: A Day of the Dead Story by Janice Levy, Loretta Lopez, and Miguel Arisa; In my Family by Carmen Lomas Garza; or This Home We Have Made by Anna Hammond. Discuss the flow of language and the themes that the stories have in common. The Mayans and the Aztecs used to inhabit the area that is now Mexico and beyond. Read some of their ancient stories and mythology and compare them to mythological stories from other cultures. Chicago has a rich history of muralists, especially those with cultural significance. Search for photos of Chicago murals and look closely at them to determine their message or purpose. Some artists to begin your search might include Jeff Zimmerman, Hector Duarte, and Alejandro Medina. The Chicago Public Art Guide also has a portfolio of some on their website. Bring in a picture of your home and write about it while looking at the picture. You can describe it, explain your feelings about it, or narrate an event that took place there. Alternately, search for a picture of your dream home or simply write about what your dream home would need to have, as Esperanza does in the first vignette of The House on Mango Street. Sandra Cisneros said the vignettes in this novella were partially inspired by stories from her family, friends, and students. During an interview, when someone asked if the events in the novella really happened, her answer was, “all fiction has a basis in truth.” Tell a story to another student without him/her taking notes, and then have your partner tell you a story, in the same manner. Afterwards, take about ten minutes to write your partner’s story down. How much did you get right? How much did you have to make up to bridge a gap in your memory? Discuss whether it matters that part of the story is not true. Begin planning a Mexican festival, to be held after completion of the novella. Break into groups, with each group responsible for researching and planning something different, such as decorations, music, food, games or activities, or anything else that interests your class. It can even be a school wide event or fundraiser, with Spanish classes, Latino clubs, the dance class or band participating. Be sure to get families involved. Arrange for speakers to come in and share their stories with the students. The speakers may want to explain how they overcame adversity, created a path for their life that was not traditional, or accomplished the dreams they had as a child. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 13 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Pre-Reading Activity: Thematic Literary Elements Directions: For the following statements and questions, compose several sentences or a paragraph giving your reaction or answer to each question. Do your writing on a separate sheet of paper. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. 1. List five qualities that constitute a hero. Explain why each of these qualities makes someone heroic. a. Consider: How much do a person’s physical qualities and achievements contribute to making a person heroic? b. Which should be held in higher regard: a person’s physical achievements, his/her intellectual qualities, or his/her moral character? Defend your answer. 2. Discuss how the statement, “Your reputation precedes you,” applies to your life. a. How important do you think a person’s reputation is to his or her future? How can a person’s reputation be created based on pictures or comments that are posted in social networking sites? b. Think about a time when you have formed a preconceived idea about a person based solely on his/her reputation. How accurate was your notion of the person? 3. Discuss how revenge motivates human behavior. a. Provide a personal, literary, or historical example of revenge. Discuss how the vengeful actions fed on themselves and caused more vengeful actions. b. Explain why you think humans tend to want to get revenge. Is revenge the best approach to take? Why or why not? 4. Consider the cultural importance of hospitality and generosity. a. Why do you think people consider hospitality and generosity to be important hallmarks of a culture? b. Select a particular historical or modern-day culture and explain how its people display hospitality and generosity to each other. 5. The House on Mango Street repeatedly returns to the theme of man’s changing fortunes. a. Provide a modern-day example of man’s fortunes changing for the better and an example of man’s fortunes changing for the worse. b. Anticipate how you think this theme will be developed in The House on Mango Street. After you have answered Questions 1-5, you will be divided into five small groups. As a group, discuss and summarize your group’s responses. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 14 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Anticipation/Reaction Activity Directions—Before reading the novel: In the “Before Reading” column, write “yes” if you agree with the statement, “no” if you disagree with the statement, and “?” if you don’t have a strong opinion or are not sure about the statement. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Yes = I agree No = I disagree Before Reading ? = I don’t know After Reading Statement 1. The names people are given determine what type of people they will become. 2. Little girls should be able to wear anything, even if it makes them look like women. 3. Getting to know the neighbors is an excellent way to feel comfortable in a new home. 4. People who are born smart will have an easy time being successful. 5. Beautiful women use their looks as power to control others. 6. Where we live now has nothing to do with our lives in the future. 7. Dreams are as important to human survival as education, love, and health. 8. When trying to build a life, people need role models more than they need motivation. After completing the “Before Reading” column, get into small groups and tally the number of “yes,” “no,” and “?” responses for each question. Each group member should keep track of the tally. Group Members: Statement # 1 Yes No I Don’t Know 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Once you have collected your data, discuss those issues about which your group was divided. Make your case for your opinions, and pay attention to your classmates’ arguments. Once you have discussed all of the issues, answer the Pre-Reading Individual Reflection questions on the next page on your own. *Your teacher will collect and keep your chart and responses to use after you have finished reading the novel, when you will complete the Post-Reading Individual Reflection.* ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 15 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Anticipation/Reaction Reflection Pre-Reading Individual Reflection ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: Use the information and discussion from the “Before Reading” responses to answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. Be sure to use complete sentences. 1. Which statements triggered the most thought-provoking or interesting discussion? 2. Summarize the discussion/debate. 3. For any of the statements that you discussed, what were some of the strongest or most memorable points made by your group members? 4. What was your reaction when a group member disagreed with the way you feel about an issue? 5. Was any argument strong enough to make you change your mind or want to change any of your initial responses? Why or why not? What made the argument effective? Post-Reading Individual Reflection Directions: After reading the novel, revisit your Anticipation/Reaction Activity and your answers to the discussion questions. Now that you have read the novel, complete the “After Reading” column on page 15 and answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper, comparing your responses. Answer each question using complete sentences. 1. How many of your responses have changed since reading the novel? 2. Which statements do you see differently after reading the novel? 3. Describe an important part of the novel that affected you or made you think differently after reading. 4. In small groups, talk to some of your classmates about their responses. How are their responses different after reading the novel? 5. Overall, are the feelings of your other group members the same or different from yours? Do any of their responses surprise you? Which ones? How? 6. Why do you think there might be so many different opinions and viewpoints? What do you feel has contributed to the way you and your other classmates responded to each statement? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 16 – The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Standards Focus: Allusions, Slang, and Spanish Words Part 1 Mango Street, Loomis Street, Keeler Street, Paulina Street: Mango Street is a fictional location, but Loomis and Paulina are streets in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, which has a high population of Mexicans and other immigrants. An even bigger Mexican population is in the Little Village neighborhood, where Keeler is located. “Chinese year of the horse”: The Chinese zodiac associates each year with an animal and its characteristics. It rotates on a twelveyear cycle. People born in “the year of the horse” are thought to be cheerful, flexible, perceptive, intelligent, childish, and stubborn. Esperanza: The narrator’s name means “hope” in Spanish. “the neighborhood is getting bad”: People are moving into the neighborhood that are not welcome by the speaker. “shiny Sunday shoes”: In many cultures, it is important to dress up to go to religious services on the weekend. Often, kids have special clothes they only wear on Sunday, so their good clothes stay clean during the week. “You sure got quite a load”: You are carrying heavy objects. “popsicle lips”: lips that are big and pink, as after eating a popsicle marimbas: instruments similar to xylophones, but with lower and broader ranges Tarzan: Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912, this fictional character is a child raised in the wild by apes—the subject of hundreds of books, comic books, movies, television shows, and songs. Avon: a makeup company that trains women to go into homes and sell its products “Apples, peaches, pumpkin pah-ay”: The first line is from the song “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” by Jay and the Techniques in 1967. The second line is not in the song, but it fits the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the real lyrics. whitewalls: also known as whitewall tires or white sidewall tires, these tires are considered stylish, expensive, and high-maintenance flooring: pushing the gas pedal all the way to the floor, making the car go fast “what cream is best for taking off moustache hair”: a lotion that has chemicals to break down hair (ex. Nair) “a star to fall”: Sometimes called a falling star or shooting star, these streaks in the night sky are meteoroids entering the atmosphere. Some people believe that making a wish after seeing a falling star will help their wish come true. “straw brim”: a large hat made of straw and often used by farmers because of the brim, which keeps sun out of their eyes and off their necks and ears “There Was an Old Woman…”: an English th nursery rhyme dating back to the late 18 century. The full text reads, “There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. / She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do; / She gave them some broth without any bread; / Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.” “playing chicken”: a game in which two players try not to give up on a dare or conflict. If one gives up, that player is “chicken” and cowardly. If neither gives up, they both suffer the worst outcome, sometimes a serious injury. “swollen floorboards”: floorboards on a car or vehicle that have absorbed water and may begin to rot soon ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Part 2 “I bought the Statue of Liberty for a dime”: The Statue of Liberty is a statue of the Roman goddess of freedom, holding a tablet and a torch, with a broken chain at her feet. It is over 300 feet tall and stands in New York harbor as the first thing some immigrants see when they arrive in the United States. Tourists can buy small replicas of the statue as a souvenir. “big brass record…with holes”: refers to a music box containing tiny metal “combs,” that when plucked by the holes on the record, produce sound. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 17 – Part 3 “The Eskimos got thirty different names for snow”: a common belief, which is stated to show how words can convey the importance of a culture. Although it is true the Eskimo-Aleut languages have many words for snow, the English The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ language has about as many, including sleet, hail, blizzard, and flurry. cumulus: clouds that are white and puffy nimbus: clouds that are dark and tall, usually warning of precipitation “your mama”: a common, all-purpose insult “too much trash”: an insult, suggesting the target is unwanted or dirty “Cream of Wheat cereal”: a breakfast product like grits or oatmeal, but made of finely ground wheat kernels foot fleas: chigoe fleas, or “chiggers,” are parasites which burrow into the feet of humans and other mammals to lay eggs, leaving an irritating blister at the site chicken lips: an insult frijoles: “beans” in Spanish, and a staple of many Latin American diets tamales: With a history traced back to the Ancient Mayans, tamales are a traditional Central American dish made of a starchy corn dough called masa that is filled with a variety of foods, placed in a corn husk wrapper, and then steamed or boiled Cinderella: a fairy tale character who endured abuse at home, received magical help, and married a prince who found her by using a shoe that fit only her foot double-dutch rope: a jump rope game using two ropes, which alternately turn in opposite directions whiskey words: things people might say when they are drinking or drunk bushel basket: a wooden basket used to collect crops in a field “the ones who wear keys around their necks”: These classmates use their keys to enter an empty house after school, since their parents will be gone, usually working afternoon or evening shifts at their jobs. patrol boys: boys who wander around the school or neighborhood to keep their classmates, especially the younger ones, safe while traveling to and from school 300 Spartans: a movie from 1962 about 300 soldiers from the city of Sparta who lead a Greek army against an even larger Persian army, and refuse to surrender Sister Superior: the leader of a group of nuns or the principal of a school run by nuns three-flats: buildings that have three apartments chanclas: sandals or flip-flips; also, old, unwanted shoes Period ________ baptism: a sacred ceremony in Christian religions, when a person is welcomed into the faith community “tilts his thumbs to his lips”: a silent signal that someone has been drinking alcohol and may be drunk saddle shoes: a laced, usually leather shoe with a plain white toe and heel, but a black saddleshaped area in the middle of the shoe, in the lace and ankle area “my cousin by first communion or something”: probably meant to be “first cousin,” meaning the child of her aunt or uncle, or perhaps “cousin by marriage,” referring to a child who is her aunt’s or uncle’s nephew in another family “I like coffee, I like tea”: The indented, italicized rhymes in this vignette are jump rope jingles, chanted while a person is jumping rope to help keep rhythm. hoochi-coochie: a sexually suggestive belly dance or belly dancer, from which the classic blues song “Hoochie Coochie Man” by Muddy Waters takes its name heebie-jeebie: a modern idiom to refer to a feeling of anxious discomfort; also, a blues song by Louis Armstrong, in which he sings to a woman about doing “the heebie jeebies dance,” which may also be a euphemism for sexual intercourse Tahiti: an island located in the French Polynesia collection of islands in the southern Pacific Ocean, known for ‘ote’a, a fast hip-shaking dance often confused with Hawaiian hula dancing. merengue: a term which refers to a style of both music and partner dance originating from the Dominican Republic, but popular worldwide. Dancers hold their upper body upright while their feet move to the fast musical arrangements, often written in a 2/4 signature. tembleque: Translated from Spanish, it means “wobbly” or “trembling.” It is also the name of a Puerto Rican pudding dessert made with coconut milk, or a beaded headdress worn by folk dancers in some Spanish-speaking countries. “Skip, skip, snake in your hips”: Although this is just a jump rope chant, it has sexual undertones. “She misses on maybe so”: Lucy was jumping rope while chanting and did not jump at the right time when she said the last “maybe so,” which ended her turn jumping. “naphtha laundry soap”: Naphtha is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, and products made with it include lighter fluid and some cleaning supplies. However, Fels-Naptha (no h after the p) is a brand of laundry soap now owned by Dial, which comes in bar form and is used as a stain remover or laundry detergent booster. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 18 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ “light-years away”: a form of hyperbole or exaggeration; about six trillion miles (just under ten trillion kilometers), or the distance light travels in a vacuum in 365.25 days “social security office,” “social security number”: a nine-digit number issued by the United States government through local Social Security Offices to help track wages and other income earned, to calculate how much an individual needs to pay in taxes, and to determine how much and which types of insurance an individual is entitled to when they retire from working dime store: a store offering inexpensive items for sale, often at ten cents or less, also known as a “five and dime” or “five and ten.” The modern equivalent is the dollar store. “negatives with their prints”: referring to the film that comes out of cameras, called “negatives” after the film is processed, and the photos created from the film, called “prints.” Touching negatives with wet or greasy fingers can damage them, making them it difficult to create more prints of the same picture, which is why employees of photo-processing stores handle the negatives with clean gloves on. Oriental man: “Oriental” is used to refer to people, objects, or ideas from the Eastern world, specifically those from Asia, according st to American English usage. In the 21 century, some consider it offensive to use the term to describe a person or group of people, but opinion varies. Period ________ large increase of confirmed cases into the 1950’s, when a vaccine was developed. There is still no cure for those already inflicted with the disease. Blindness may be a result of a blood clot due to her inactivity. Wonder Woman: a superheroine created by William Moulton Marston for DC Comics. She has superhuman strength, speed, and agility; a Lasso of Truth; and a pair of indestructible bracelets. Beatles: an English rock band of four men who played together between 1960 and 1970 and the best-selling band or musical act in history Marilyn Monroe: an award-winning American actress, model, and singer, primarily in the 1950’s and one of the original sex symbols in American culture The Waterbabies: a children’s novel published in 1983 and written by Reverend Charles Kingsley. The story follows Tom, a young chimney sweep who drowns and becomes a water baby; he receives an education in morals and Christian values, and finally proves himself good enough to return to life in human form. Kool-Aid: a brand of fruit-flavored powder mixed with sugar and water, making a drink that is marketed primarily for kids Bugs Bunny: a Warner Brothers cartoon character created in 1938, who appears as a rabbit who walks upright and talks with a Brooklyn accent. He is known for being clever and enjoys playing tricks on other characters in the television show. “planets were all mixed up”: referring to a belief in astrology and the power of planetary position to affect human events and decisions plaster saint: a plaster statue of a saint in the Catholic religion Palm Sunday cross: Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter in Christian faiths, when they celebrate Jesus’s arrival into Jerusalem. Today, palm fronds are passed out during or after the Palm Sunday service, after which they are often tied into a cross-like shape and displayed in the home. voodoo hand: a diagram related to the voodoo religion practiced by people in the West Indies or people with ancestors from that area Milwaukee: a city in Wisconsin with a rich history of brewing and distributing beers the sign of the cross: a way to bless someone or something in Christian religions, by tracing a cross in the air “They’re not like ordinary playing cards”: Elenita is using tarot cards, which have seventyeight cards in a deck and can be used by mystics ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Part 4 abuelito: “grandfather” in Spanish “Está muerto”: “(He) is dead” in Spanish evil day: referring to the belief in astrology and that some days are more lucky than others Joan Crawford: a famous actress in movies, television, and on stage. She was one of the top female actresses from the 1920s through the 1940s, but continued to appear on screen until 1975. The book and movie Mommie Dearest is her adopted daughter’s story of the abusive relationship Crawford had with her children. “I knew her sick from the disease that would not go”: Although the disease Aunt Lupe has is never named, other clues in the vignette – she used to swim, her body is limp, her legs are useless, the fact that it is a longterm and incurable disease – suggest that it might be polio, a disease that experienced a ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 19 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ for divination and determining the themes of someone’s life in the past, present, and future. los espíritus: “the spirits” or “the ghosts” in Spanish evil eye: a look believed to cause injury or bad luck for the person it is directed at hit-and-run: an accident when someone or something is hit, usually by a car, but the driver leaves without reporting it or claiming responsibility cumbias: a style of music and partner dance originally from Colombia, where it was traditionally used in courtship rituals salsas: a style of music and partner dance with a reputation for being sensual and sexy rancheras: a style of music associated with mariachi, with themes of love, the beauty of nature, and loyalty to the homeland brazer: an insulting term for a Mexican immigrant who acts like the stereotypical Mexican immigrant wetback: in Spanish, mojado; an insulting term for an illegal Mexican immigrant, since he or she must have waded through the Rio Grande to get across the border money orders: papers promising payment of a pre-determined amount of money, like a check, but more secure, since the amount is pre-paid to the issuer of the money order babushka: “grandmother” in Russian; the term for a scarf some Eastern European women wear over their hair and tie under their chins Emperor’s nightingale: from “The Nightingale,” a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Anderson, in which a freedomloving nightingale bird teaches the Emperor of China that he cannot own everything he wants Marlon Brando: an award-winning actor and civil rights activist who had a reputation for saying what he felt and breaking rules, known for his roles in movies such as Viva Zapata!, On the Waterfront, The Godfather, and A Dry White Season sphinx: a mythical creature with the head of a woman and the body of a lion braille: a form of reading for blind people, created by Louis Braille in 1825, in which the blind use their fingers to feel patterns of raised dots, which correspond to letters “The Walrus and the Carpenter”: a poem in Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, both written by Lewis Carroll. In the poem, the title characters convince a group of young oysters Period ________ to leave their safe home, talk to them about sophisticated subjects, and then eat all the oysters with little regret. jukebox: a machine used to play popular music, originally records, but now able to play CDs or MP3 files 45 records: a flat music storage disc with a spiral groove, popular during most of the 1900s; a “45” refers to the smaller discs, about seven inches in diameter, which turn at forty-five revolutions per minute on a record player or in a jukebox crook of the arm: the area inside the elbow when the elbow is bent pitching pennies: a game in which players sit a set distance from a wall and throw their pennies or alternative objects at it. The winner is the person whose penny lands closest to the wall, usually winning all the pennies. “It made your blood freeze”: It made you so scared or nervous that you felt cold or shivered involuntarily. punk: an insult for a useless boy or teenager, with a suggestion that he is a criminal “those girls are the ones that go into alleys”: suggests that the girls are sexually active in alleys, where they think they can have privacy ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 20 - Part 5 Mamacita: “mommy” in Spanish Mamasota: “an attractive woman” in Spanish hatboxes: boxes with a detachable lid and a handle, meant to carry large hats that would be crushed in regular luggage Holy smokes: an American exclamation to show surprise or disbelief hollyhocks: tall perennial plants that have wide rounded leaves and multiple small flowers that grow on the same stem Cuándo: “when” in Spanish ¡Ay, caray!: an exclamation of surprise in Spanish, like “oh, wow!” dominoes: a matching game using black tiles with white dots on them Rapunzel: a fictional character from a German fairy tale, which the Grimm Brothers included in their story collections. Rapunzel is a beautiful woman with long hair who is trapped in a tower by an evil witch until a prince helps her escape. silver string: a way to hold on to something valuable and make it look more beautiful, like tying a ribbon on a present, but with stronger material “eyes like Egypt”: eye makeup that is heavy and black, usually with lines at the edge of the eyelids and points on the outside of eyes The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Cleopatra: Cleopatra VII, a woman who served as the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt and had a reputation for being beautiful, clever, and strong-willed “enough is enough”: a phrase indicating that the speaker is upset and does not want to deal with any more unwelcome behavior/comments “lay their necks on the threshold”: referring to the guillotine, a device that was used to cut off the head of a human in the th th 19 and early 20 centuries “ball and chain”: a heavy chain connecting a prisoner to a heavy metal ball so the prisoner cannot run away; an insult for a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse who weighs the partner down with responsibilities or prevents him/her from achieving personal goals “who leaves the table like a man”: who leaves the table without cleaning up after himself because the woman is responsible for doing that morning glories: a type of flower. Many morning glories open in the morning to absorb full sun, curl up in the evening, and repeat the cycle the next morning. Ancient civilizations in Central America used sulfur extracted from morning glories to strengthen rubber, which might explain why Esperanza thinks the flowers are powerful. In the Victorian language of flowers, morning glories symbolize love in vain. Madame Butterfly: most commonly known as a tragic Italian opera, but versions of the same story have been told in short stories, novels, and movies. It is a complex story about unrequited love, hope, courage, and despair, in which the title character waits years for her missing husband to return to her. Eventually, he does, but he is married to someone else and wants to take their young son away, so she kills herself. comadres: “close female friends” in Spanish, sometimes referring to the godmothers of a woman’s children, who also act as their mothers (“co-“ meaning together and “madres” meaning mothers) smart cookie: slang for an intelligent person Period ________ cuernos (horns), besos (kisses), and empanadas (turnovers). cockscombs: sometimes spelled coxcombs; an edible flowering plant whose head tapers up to a point, like a flame theater curtains: thick heavy curtains, made of velour or velvet fabric and hung between the front of a stage and the audience pickup: the shortened version of “pick-up truck,” referring to a light truck with an open back and low sides Rip Van Winkle: the main character in a short story written by Washington Irving and published in 1819. Beginning before the American Revolutionary War, the story describes Rip as a lazy husband who is trying to avoid his wife’s nagging when he discovers some men in a clearing in the mountains and falls asleep. When he awakes twenty years later, the land is no longer under British rule because the Americans won the war, but his wife and friends are dead. His daughter, now an adult, agrees to take him in, and he returns to his old lazy habits. “the monkey garden had been there before anything”: a reference to the Garden of Eden in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament of the Bible. It states that God created the Earth in six days, but on the last day he created humans and put them in the Garden of Eden to live happily and innocently. Eventually, they are tempted to break his rule by eating a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and God banishes them from the garden, causing them to work and live a more difficult life. tilt-a-whirl: a circular carnival ride, which goes up and down short hills while also spinning in tight circles that could cause riders to feel dizzy and nauseous The Three Sisters: reminiscent of the Three Fates, creatures who appear in Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology by different names, but who are usually in charge of destiny, or the past, present, and future of all individuals Guadalajara: the capital city of the Mexican state Jalisco petunias: tubular flowers native to South American countries because of their need for long periods of sun exposure “Nobody to shake a stick at”: an idiom that means nobody of importance ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Part 6 sweetbread: known as pan dulce in Spanish. Examples include conchas (seashell), ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 21 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Vocabulary List Directions: Use a dictionary to find the meanings of the following words in The House on Mango Street. Your teacher will direct you to do this either as you read each section, or as a pre-reading activity. Whatever method your teacher chooses, be sure to keep this list and your definitions to use in vocabulary exercises and to study for quizzes and tests. Part 1 barrettes rosettes pincurls raggedy inherit wobbly crumbly sassy Part 2 lopsided scrambling pleated dangle Part 3 doughy velvety strutted tavern canteen anemic slip authority cue ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. ©2013 Secondary Solutions Part 4 imitate capsules limp intern notify wedged Part 5 ferocious droop despite fuchsia hysterical nylons suede content Part 6 twangy porcelain fringe will bazaar marble trudged - 22 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Standards Focus: Note-Taking and Response Chart Directions: As you read each vignette of The House on Mango Street, use words or short phrases to summarize the details in each of the categories below. Completing this activity will help you understand and appreciate what you are reading, find common motifs in the vignettes, and trace character development and theme. A sample chart for the first vignette, “The House on Mango Street,” has been done for you on the next page. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Vignette Number: Title: Setting: Describe the time and place of the action in each vignette, if possible. (The where and when) Characters: Write the names of the major characters involved in each vignette. (The who) Plot: Write the main events, the most important information, and the relevant details from this vignette. (The what) Connection: Write down anything that you found familiar in this vignette. Has anything similar ever happened to you or someone you know? How would you handle a comparable situation? Are you reminded of other stories? Are there any lessons or themes that you recognize? Prediction: Make a guess as to what may happen next in the vignette. Write what you think will happen and the effect it will have on the characters and on the plot. Thoughts/Illustration: Record your thoughts and illustrate a summary of the vignette using a simple but detailed drawing. (i.e., one that you will be able to refer to later and understand how it relates to your knowledge of The House on Mango Street). ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 23 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Note-Taking and Response Chart: Sample Vignette Number: 1 ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Title: “The House on Mango Street” Setting: the narrator’s new house on Mango Street, but she mentions several apartments she used to live in, too Characters: the narrator; also mentioned: Mama, Papa, Carlos, Kikki, Nenny, a nun from school Plot: The narrator explains that she and her family used to live in a series of apartments that were run-down and maybe in poor neighborhoods. However, now they live in a small house that her parents own. The narrator thinks it is disappointing because it is not the house she dreams of, but her parents say this is a temporary move. She doesn’t believe them. Connection: When I was young, my aunt and uncle moved to a big house on a street with other brand-new homes. I thought it was wonderful and wanted one just like they did, but my parents said we would move into a new house when they won the lottery. My parents never bought lottery tickets, so I understood that they were joking with me. Prediction: I think that the narrator will be embarrassed about where she lives again, but she will eventually accept it as a nice place. Thoughts/Illustration: The narrator is unhappy at her new home, but thinking about a nicer, bigger house to live in. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 24 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Note-Taking and Response Chart Vignette Number: Title: Plot: ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Setting: Connection: Characters: Prediction: Thoughts/Illustration: Vignette Number: Title: Plot: Setting: Connection: Characters: Prediction: Thoughts/Illustration: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 25 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Standards Focus: Journal Response—Sample As you read each vignette of The House on Mango Street, you will be completing a chart like the one at the bottom of this page. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Under “Quotes,” select two or three quotes from each vignette that capture your attention and/or are meaningful in some way. Under “Responses,” respond to your quote choice using ideas from the following guide: • Make a personal or global connection to the quote. • Make a prediction based on the content of the quote. • Analyze the significance of the quote as it relates to the development of the plot. • Analyze the significance of the quote as it relates to the development of a character. • Explain how the quote changes your opinion of a character or plotline. • Explain how this quote confuses the plot. • Describe in detail why you find that this quote is important or well said. • • • • • • • Below is a list of some possible ways to start your quote response “I wonder why . . . " "This reminds me of . . . " "What if . . ." "This is significant because . . ." "This might foreshadow . . . " "This leads me to believe that . . . " "This makes me question . . . " Vignette “The House on Mango Street” Quote Response p. 4 “But the house on Mango Street is not the way they told it at all." This leads me to believe that the narrator is disappointed with the house that her family moves into. I wonder if she will be more happy and accepting of her home by the end. p. 5 “There. I had to look to where she pointed – the third floor, the paint peeling, wooden bars Papa had nailed on the windows so we wouldn’t fall out. You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing.” This reminds me of when a family friend came to visit right after we moved from the condo to a house. It was bigger than the condo, and I was happy with it, but bringing the friend over to see the new place made it feel small, unimpressive, and a little dirty. I was able to see my house from a stranger’s point of view, and it was embarrassing then. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 26 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Standards Focus: Journal Response Chart Vignette #s Title Title and ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Quote Response Quote Response ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 27 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part One Comprehension and Analysis ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: To help you understand all aspects of the novel, respond to the following questions or statements. Write your responses on a separate piece of paper using complete sentences. “House on Mango Street” 1) Who are the people that live with the narrator? 2) Contrast the house on Mango Street with the narrator’s dream house. 3) How long do the narrator’s parents plan to live in the house on Mango Street? How does the narrator feel about this? “Hairs” 1) Describe each of the narrator’s family members according to his or her hair. 2) How does the narrator feel about her mother? Find evidence to support your decision. “Boys and Girls” 1) According to the narrator, can boys be friends with girls? What experience does she have to support her opinion? 2) How does the narrator feel about her sister? 3) What does the narrator wish for? Why does she want one? “My Name” 1) What is the narrator’s name and what does it mean? 2) Who is she named after? What was that woman like? 3) What is a woman’s role in Mexican society, according to the narrator? “Cathy Queen of Cats” 1) Who is Cathy and why is she the queen of cats? 2) Why does Cathy’s family have to move soon? 3) How do you think Esperanza feels about their reason for moving? “Our Good Day” 1) What does Esperanza get for five dollars? 2) How does Cathy react to the purchase? How do you think she feels about Esperanza’s new friendship with Rachel and Lucy? 3) What do the girls do with their new purchase on the first day? What do they plan to do with it in the future? 4) Why do Rachel and Lucy seem better friends to Esperanza than Cathy does? “Laughter” 1) How are Rachel and Lucy alike? How are Esperanza and Nenny alike? 2) What do the houses remind Esperanza of? Who agrees with her? 3) What does the incident with the house suggest about Esperanza and Nenny? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 28 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part One Journal Topics ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: For each vignette, two journal topics have been provided: the first prompt (A) is personal and narrative or creative, while the second one (B) is more informational or persuasive. Choose one to write according to your teacher’s requirements. “The House on Mango Street” A. What does your house look like? Describe its good and bad points. B. Is it better to get none of something that you hope for, or is it better to get part of it? Explain your reasoning. “Hairs” A. What is your hair like? How is it different from others in your family? B. What is it about your family that makes you feel loved, safe, or supported? “Boys & Girls” A. How do boys and girls interact with each other in your life? Give a few examples. B. What are some expectations or responsibilities boys have that are usually masculine? What are some expectations or responsibilities girls have that are usually feminine? Give some exceptions to these rules. “My Name” A. Write what you know about your name. What does it mean? How was it chosen? How do you feel about it? What similes or metaphors would you use to describe your feelings about it? B. Do you think that someone’s name or birthday determines their personality or future? Explain. Do you pay attention to horoscopes or zodiac signs? Why or why not? “Cathy Queen of Cats” A. Has someone ever shown prejudice toward you because of your age, race, ethnic background, religion, or something else? What did the person do or say? How did you react? B. If you could help Esperanza respond to Cathy’s prejudiced comments rationally, what would you tell her she should have said to increase understanding and awareness between them? “Our Good Day” A. Describe a good day with your friends. B. Why do you think simple toys, like bicycles and kites, are still popular in an era of cell phones, the Internet, and video games? Explain your reasoning. “Laughter” A. Which family member are you most like, physically? How? Which family member are you most like in personality? How? B. Do you feel that you most often make friends with people who think like you do? Why or why not? Give a few examples to support your answer. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 29 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part One Literature Focus: Sequence ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. The way The House on Mango Street was written can be challenging to readers because the events are not told in sequential order. When a story is told in sequential order, the first event is explained first, the second event is explained next, and so on, until the last event is told at the end of the story. Esperanza does explain the events in the story in sequential order most of the time, but sometimes she skips to the past, which is called a flashback. In addition, some vignettes do not describe any events, but they do share Esperanza’s feelings or her dreams for the future, which is a form of character development. It is important to pay attention to these shifts in time and tone in order to understand the text and its purpose. Directions: Paraphrase the statements below to put them in sequential order on the timeline. If a phrase does not seem like an event in Esperanza’s life, but rather a point of character development, draw a star next to the statement and leave it off the timeline. Esperanza loves the bread-like smell of her mother’s hair. Esperanza and Nenny notice a house that reminds them of Mexico. Esperanza spends time with her little sister while her brothers play separately. Esperanza’s great-grandmother was forced to get married. Esperanza meets Rachel and Lucy and buys a bike with them. Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy spend the day riding their bike together. Rachel and Lucy laugh in the same way. Esperanza dreams of a bigger house with a large yard and three washrooms. Cathy becomes Esperanza’s friend. Esperanza’s name makes her feel uncomfortable, and she wants to change it. Esperanza’s family moves to the house on Mango Street. Esperanza does not want to grow up like her great-grandmother. Cathy walks away and is not Esperanza’s friend anymore. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 30 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part One Language Focus: Sentence Structure ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb. Examples: Nikaria laughed. Hoang has walked. The team was losing. These types of sentences are simplistic and lack extra information to deepen our understanding of the subject. We can add adjectives, adverbs, phrases, clauses, or even additional subjects and verbs to make our sentences more interesting. Examples: Nikaria laughed suddenly. Nikaria laughed yesterday. Nikaria laughed at her brother. Nikaria laughed, spewing soda out of her mouth. These are still all simple sentences, but they offer a bit more information. However, they appear to all relate to the same incident, so combining the sentences would be appropriate to convey a more complex event. For example: Yesterday, Nikaria cracked up at her brother, spewing soda out of her mouth. Directions: Combine the simple sentences in each block into one complete sentence on the space provided. Then, share your sentence with a partner and write down your partner’s sentence. Finally, find a sentence in the vignette “The House on Mango Street” that gives the same information and copy it down. 1. We had to leave the flat. The flat was on Loomis. We had to leave quick. a. Your sentence: b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: 2. The water pipes broke. The landlord wouldn’t fix the pipes. The house was too old to fix. a. Your sentence: b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 31 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 3. That’s why Mama and Papa looked for a house. That’s why we moved into the house. The house is on Mango Street. Mango Street is far away. Mango Street is on the other side of town. a. Your sentence: ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: 4. This is the house Papa talked about. He talked about it and held up a ticket. The ticket was from the lottery. This was the house Mama dreamed up in stories. She told these stories to us. We heard these stories before we went to bed. a. Your sentence: b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: 5. The laundromat downstairs had been boarded up. The laundromat had been robbed two days before. The owner had painted on the wood. The wood said YES WE’RE OPEN. The owner did not want to lose business. a. Your sentence: b. Your partner’s sentence: c. Cisneros’s sentence: 6. Now, look at the sentences for each item. What similarities or differences do you see? 7. What did you notice about Sandra Cisneros’s use of conjunctions (and, but, or) and commas in her writing? What does this suggest about Cisneros’s writing style in the rest of the book? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 32 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Two Comprehension and Analysis ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: To help you understand all aspects of the novel, respond to the following questions or statements. Write your responses on a separate piece of paper using complete sentences. “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” 1) Describe the item in the store that fascinates Esperanza. 2) Why does Esperanza pretend she does not want it? 3) How does Nenny react to the item? What is Esperanza’s opinion of Nenny’s behavior? “Meme Ortiz” 1) How are Meme and his dog alike? 2) Was Meme’s house built well? Cite details from the vignette to support your conclusion. 3) Why do you think Esperanza thinks the large tree in his backyard is so memorable? “Louie, His Cousin, & His Other Cousin” 1) Who are Louie’s cousins? 2) How do you know that the car the other cousin is driving is expensive and luxurious? 3) How did Louie’s other cousin get the car? Why did you make that inference? “Marin” 1) What are Marin’s plans for her future? 2) What is Marin’s nightly ritual? 3) What are three words you or Esperanza might use to describe Marin’s personality? “Those Who Don’t” 1) How do strangers feel in Esperanza’s neighborhood? How is that different from the feelings Esperanza and her neighbors have? 2) How do people from Esperanza’s neighborhood behave when they are in a different area of town? “There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do” 1) Who is Rosa Vargas? Describe her life. 2) What does Esperanza think the Vargas children are missing, aside from their father? 3) How do other people in the neighborhood react to the Vargas children? “Alicia Who Sees Mice” 1) What are Alicia’s responsibilities at home? Why? 2) What is Alicia afraid of? 3) How does Alicia’s father react when she mentions mice? How does he feel about women in general? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 33 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Two Journal Topics ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: For each vignette, two journal topics have been provided: the first prompt (A) is personal and narrative or creative, while the second one (B) is more informational, analytic, or persuasive. Choose one to write according to your teacher’s requirements. “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” A. Have you ever been to a place (i.e. a store, a home, a tourist attraction) that had so much to look at that you felt overwhelmed? Describe the place and some of the items you remember from it. B. Is it fair for Gil to have such a beautiful object in a store and not sell it? Explain your position. “Meme Ortiz” A. Write a narrative about a time you risked your safety to win a competition or to have more fun. Would you do it again? B. Create an overview of a competition entitled the Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest. How would it be set up and what are the rules? How would you publicize a competition like this? How would the winner be determined? “Louie, His Cousin, & His Other Cousin” A. Describe an interaction with someone you barely know that changed your life in some way. B. What do you think of Louie’s other cousin? Is he generous for taking the kids for a ride or unwise for involving them and delaying his escape? Explain your opinion or what you would have done in his situation. “Marin” A. Who is a person in your life who “is older and knows lots of things”? What did he or she teach you? B. Is it better to wait for someone to change your life or to do it yourself? Give an example from your experience that may support your opinion. “Those Who Don’t” A. Explain how you felt when you went into a strange neighborhood and were not welcomed. How did the residents there behave that made you feel unwelcome? How did you react? B. In this vignette, Esperanza states, “All brown all around, we are safe.” What aspects, aside from race, separate people from others who are different? Do you think segregation or integration is the way to build safe neighborhoods and cities? Why? “There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn’t Know What to Do” A. When you were young, did families in your neighborhood take care of each other together or mind their own business? Describe an incident to illustrate your impression. B. Do you think a society should work together to take care of its children, or should parents govern only their own children? What are responsibilities that should be shared in the society and others that should fall to the parents alone? “Alicia Who Sees Mice” A. Recount an incident when you were scared or you shared your fears with others. Include their reactions to your fears. B. Alicia and Marin, who are mentioned earlier in the novella, both have plans for their futures. Contrast their methods for achieving their goals and explain why you think one girl will be more successful than the other. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 34 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Two Literature Focus: Figurative Language ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Figurative language is a tool writers use to describe a feeling, or create a picture or situation when the usual words do not convey it perfectly. Several forms of figurative language and their definitions are listed below. • • • • • • • • alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds to invoke a feeling or sound allusion: a reference to a person, place, or item outside the context of the text metaphor: the comparison of two unlike things personification: the act of giving an animal or inanimate object human characteristics onomatopoeia: a word that mimics the sound it describes simile: the comparison of two unlike things, using the word “like” or “as” symbolism: the use of items to represent ideas or qualities synesthesia: the explanation of one sensory experience by describing another Part I Directions: Read the sentences below. Identify which type of figurative language is being used, and write your answer on the line provided. Then, underline the examples of that type of figurative language in the sentence. 1. This winter is like an old dog that cannot decide where to rest for the night. 2. Several scaly snakes slithered across the street this morning! 3. You should have seen Khoi at the swim meet! He was showing the kinds of times Michael Phelps put up in his pre-Olympic days! 4. As I packed my things for college and moved into my dorm, the falling maple leaves reminded me that my childhood was over. 5. Parvati drove home that night, with the feeling that the moon was following her to ensure she arrived safely. 6. I love to drink a mug of hot chocolate while listening to the sweet notes of a jazz concert, away from the bitter cold outside. 7. Happiness is breathing the fresh mountain air while working with your hands. 8. Serena’s mother clicked her tongue to show she disapproved of a teenager with such an expensive purse. Pick one of the sentences above and explain its use of figurative language. Why was the sound, comparison, or imagery important to describing the situation? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 35 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Part II Directions: Read each of the examples of figurative language from The House on Mango Street below. On the lines below the quotation, identify the type of figurative language being used and explain the line using literal language (simple factual description), rather than figurative language. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. 1. “And me, my hair is lazy. It never obeys barrettes or bands.” (6) 2. “Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor.” (9) 3. “[Rachel and Lucy] are wearing shiny Sunday shoes without socks.” (15) 4. “Me, I never said nothing to him except once when I bought the Statue of Liberty for a dime.” (20) 5. “Then he starts [the music box] up and all sorts of things start happening. It’s like all of a sudden he let go a million moths all over the dusty furniture…” (20) 6. “But watch us drive into a neighborhood of another color and our knees go shakity-shake and our car windows get rolled up tight and our eyes look straight.” (28) 7. “… and nobody looked up not once the day Angel Vargas learned to fly and dropped from the sky like a sugar donut, just like a falling star, and exploded down to earth without even an ‘Oh.’” (30) 8. “Alicia, who inherited her mama’s rolling pin and sleepiness, is young and smart and studies for the first time at the university.” (31) ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 36 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Two Language Focus: Parallel Structure ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. In geometry, when lines are parallel, they run side-by-side smoothly, with no confusion about which line is which. In communication, sentences that use parallel structure use the same forms of subjects, verbs, phrases, or clauses. When parallel structure is used well, a sentence is clear and smooth. When parallel structure is not used well, a sentence can be confusing and distracting to the reader. There are several common types of parallel structures. A. Using verbs as nouns (gerunds or infinitives) Incorrect: Deborah loves camping, scrapbooking, and to bake. Correct: Deborah loves camping, scrapbooking, and baking. Correct: Deborah loves to camp, to scrapbook, and to bake. B. Using adjectives or adverbs Incorrect: The new Prius is compact, quiet, and runs on very little gas. Correct: The new Prius is compact, quiet, and energy-efficient. Incorrect: Liliana danced into the room quietly and with grace. Correct: Liliana danced into the room quietly and gracefully. C. Connecting phrases or clauses with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) Incorrect: Carlos and José went hiking and then to a fast food restaurant. Correct: Carlos and José went on a hike and then to a fast food restaurant. D. Comparing options Incorrect: I would prefer eating at home instead of to go out for dinner tonight. Correct: I would prefer eating at home instead of going out for dinner tonight. E. Offering a list of items Incorrect: Schools are unfair because of grades, dress codes, and using cell phones. Correct: Schools are unfair because of grades, dress codes, and cell phone policies. Directions: Combine the short sentences below into one complete sentence that uses parallel structure. 1. Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold sells old refrigerators. He also sells dusty couches. The televisions he is selling probably do not work. 2. Meme Ortiz has a dog. The sheepdog has grey eyes. Meme gave the dog two names. The dog has a clumsy, floppy run. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 37 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. 3. Louie, his mom, and his sisters live in the basement of Meme’s house. Marin is also living in the basement of Meme’s house. Louie’s other cousin is going to jail. 4. Marin wears her skirts short. She also has pretty green eyes. She has a boyfriend back in Puerto Rico. 5. In a neighborhood of another color, Esperanza’s knees begin to shake. The car windows get rolled up. Straight ahead is where she looks. 6. Efren Vargas chipped his buck tooth on a parking meter. Refugia Vargas’s head was stuck between two slats in the gate. Death is what resulted when Angel Vargas fell. 7. Staying up late and studying is something Alicia likes doing. Alicia studies for university. The kitchen is not where Alicia wants to stay all her life. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 38 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Three Comprehension and Analysis ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: To help you understand all aspects of the novel, respond to the following questions or statements. Write your responses on a separate piece of paper using complete sentences. “Darius & the Clouds” 1) What does Esperanza think there is a shortage of on Mango Street? 2) What does Darius see at the end of the vignette, and where does he see it? 3) How are Darius’s comments in this vignette so surprising in comparison to his normal behavior? “And Some More” 1) What starts the disagreement between the girls? 2) Is the name-calling serious, meant to hurt each other's feelings, or is it just joking? Explain your opinion. 3) How is Nenny’s behavior different from the rest of the girls’? Why do you think that is the case? “The Family of Little Feet” 1) What do the girls get from the family with little feet? How do the girls react to the gifts? 2) What discovery do the girls make because of the gifts? Why do you think they just made this discovery now? 3) How does the behavior of the boys and men in the neighborhood change? “A Rice Sandwich” 1) Why does Esperanza want to eat in the canteen? 2) Which reasons does Esperanza use to convince her mother to write a note for her? 3) What was Esperanza’s experience in the canteen? “Chanclas” 1) What did Esperanza’s mother forget? How does she react to this mistake? 2) How do Esperanza’s feelings change during her dance with her uncle? 3) Who else wants to dance with Esperanza? Why do you think she mentions him watching her dance? “Hips” 1) What are the girls doing in this vignette while they talk about hips? 2) Name three things the girls say hips are needed for. 3) Contrast Nenny’s comments with the other girls’ comments. Take a guess at Nenny’s age, and explain your guess. “The First Job” 1) Why does Esperanza need to get a job? 2) What does Esperanza do at her job? 3) List three moments during her first day that are awkward or uncomfortable for Esperanza. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 39 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Three Journal Topics ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Directions: For each vignette, two journal topics have been provided: the first prompt (A) is personal and narrative or creative, while the second one (B) is more informational or persuasive. Choose one to write according to your teacher’s requirements. “Darius & the Clouds” A. Tell the story of a time when a concept that was extremely complex was simplified for you. It could be a school concept (e.g. double-digit multiplication), a personal solution (e.g. how to resolve an argument with a friend), or a much larger issue (e.g. why there is suffering in the world). B. Write about your spiritual feelings. Do you believe in a greater presence in the world? Have you been raised in a certain religion, and how has that faith community changed you, as you have gotten older? If you do not have a religion, has that affected your life? How? “And Some More” A. Describe a normal afternoon you spent with some friends. B. Do you think it is normal and acceptable for friends to call each other names and insult each other, like Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy do in this vignette? Is it all in fun, or does it really hurt feelings? Does it strengthen a friendship or weaken it? Use personal experience to support your ideas. “The Family of Little Feet” A. Do you remember the time when you first realized that your body was turning into a body more like an adult’s? Explain how you made that discovery. B. Is it fair that women and men are categorized and judged by the clothing they wear? What are the benefits and disadvantages of such judgment? “A Rice Sandwich” A. Describe a situation in which you got something you really wanted because you thought it was very special, but once you had it, it was nothing like you expected? B. The kids at the canteen have keys around their necks because they return home after school to an empty house. What determines when a child can be at home alone? Is it age, ability, or maturity? What would be the requirements for your child(ren) to be able to stay home alone for several hours? “Chanclas” A. Describe one of your most embarrassing moments. Now, after time has passed, how have your feelings about the incident changed? B. Do you feel that some people put too much pressure on themselves to look perfect? Cite evidence from the news or your experience to illustrate your position. “Hips” A. The girls compare growing up to blooming roses. What is another comparison you could draw? Write an extended metaphor, connecting the process of growing up to something else. B. How should people behave when they are around others who are younger or more innocent? Should they protect that innocence or destroy it? Why? “The First Job” A. Describe a situation like Esperanza's, when someone took advantage of your trusting nature and made you feel uncomfortable. B. If you were in a similar situation with the older man in this vignette, what would you do to defend yourself or report the aggressor’s behavior? ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 40 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Three Literature Focus: Character Interaction ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. In some stories, like the ones in The House on Mango Street, there are so many characters that you do not know which ones are going to be important to the plot and development of the story, and which are not. However, in this novella, it is clear that Esperanza is the most important character. Therefore, analyzing her relationships with each of the other characters will help to better understand her and the way the plot elements emerge. Character mapping is one way to show relationships between people in a visual way. It allows for as many characters and relationships as there is space to put them, and readers’ maps tend to look different because they understand and perceive the characters differently. However, each map reflects the essence of the characters’ relationships, which requires both summary and analysis skills on the part of the person doing the mapping. Below is an example of a character map for the popular Grimm Brothers fairy tale, Cinderella. To read it correctly, start with the shape at the end of the arrow as the subject of the sentence, fill in the words on the arrow, and use the shape the arrow points to as the object of the action or phrase. For arrows with two points, the sentence can begin from either shape. Ex: Father is unaware of the abuse of Cinderella. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 41 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ Directions: Use the space below or another piece of paper to create a map of the characters you have encountered in The House on Mango Street so far, with Esperanza in the middle. As you complete the map, consider a few things: Use shapes to reflect the characters’ personalities. Cinderella’s stepmother is sharp and mean, so a rectangle is more appropriate than a circle. Since the stepmother is a rectangle, it makes sense for her daughters to be squares, which are smaller versions of a rectangle. The placement of a shape is important, too. Some shapes could be closer to Esperanza because she has a close relationship with those people, but others will be further away. Consider putting characters whose relationships are similar, like her family members, in the same general area to keep the arrows neater and easier to follow. Not all relationships will create two arrows. Cinderella’s stepsisters know who the prince is, but the fairy tale does not state that he even knows who the stepsisters are. ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Follow-up As you continue to read The House on Mango Street, refer back to your map for help remembering the characters. You can also add new characters or revise relationships as needed. ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 42 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ The House on Mango Street Part Three Language Focus: Context Clues ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. Context is the environment around a focused object. In the context of your classroom, there are probably desks, posters, students, and a teacher. These are around you, and they add to your understanding of what a classroom is. With reading and vocabulary, context is similar: it is the words or sentences around a certain word that all contribute to your understanding of the word. Read the sentence below and try to use the context to guess at the underlined word. I love Club Day at my school because I enjoy gathering information from the multifarious organizations I could join: from Video Gamers Anonymous to the volunteer-driven Key Club, from Young Entrepreneurs to Club Français. What do you think multifarious means? Now, write the meaning of the word, as found in a print or online dictionary. Underline the words in the original sentence that were good context clues, hinting at its meaning. Directions: For each selection from The House on Mango Street below, a) record the meaning you infer for each bold word, b) write the word’s meaning from a dictionary, and c) underline the context clues in the sentence that could help clarify its meaning. The first one has been done for you. Ex. “A very fat lady crossing the street says, You sure got quite a load there. Rachel shouts, You got quite a load there too. She is very sassy.” (16) a) Inferred meaning: rude b) Dictionary meaning: outspoken or inconsiderate 1. “Because Lucy has long legs she pedals. I sit on the back seat and Rachel is skinny enough to get up on the handlebars which makes the bike all wobbly as if the wheels are spaghetti, but after a bit you get used to it.” (15-16) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 2. “We saw the yellow Cadillac at the end of the block trying to make a left-hand turn, but our alley is too skinny and the car crashed into a lamppost. . . . The nose of that yellow Cadillac was all pleated like an alligator’s, and except for a bloody lip and a bruised forehead, Louie’s cousin was okay.” (24-25) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 43 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide Name _______________________________________ Period ________ 3. “His feet were fat and doughy like thick tamales, and these he powdered and stuffed into white socks and brown leather shoes.” (39) a) Inferred meaning: ©Secondary Solutions All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE ONLY. NOT FOR USE OR SALE. PLEASE PURCHASE FULL VERSION FOR ACCESS. b) Dictionary meaning: 4. “It’s Rachel who learns to walk the best all strutted in those magic high heels.” (40) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 5. “Across the street in front of the tavern a bum man on the stoop. . . . Now you know to talk to drunks is crazy and to tell them your name is worse, but who can blame her.” (41) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 6. “The special kids, the ones who wear keys around their necks, get to eat in the canteen. The canteen! Even the name sounds important. And these kids at lunch time go there because their mothers aren’t home or home is too far away to get to.” (43) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 7. “I’m no Spartan and hold up my anemic wrist to prove it. I can’t even blow up a balloon without getting dizzy.” (44) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: 8. “But most important, hips are scientific, I say repeating what Alicia already told me. It’s the bones that let you know which skeleton was a man’s when it was a man and which a woman’s. “They bloom like roses, I continue because it’s obvious I’m the only one who can speak with any authority; I have science on my side.” (50) a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: Application: With your dictionary still open, find a word you didn’t know and read its definition. Write a sentence below, trying to use the word and include several context clues around it in the sentence to clarify its meaning. Then switch papers with a partner and try to infer the meaning of the word he or she used. 9. a) Inferred meaning: b) Dictionary meaning: ©2013 Secondary Solutions - 44 - The House on Mango Street Literature Guide
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