1. The House On Mango Street Novel Study- Class Project- The Story of My life

2. Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
Good Morning Everyone:
Today we are going to begin our new novel study as a class we will be reading The House on Mango Street.
We are going to begin by taking a look at some background information on our author and the culture of the book then we will dive right in and have our first reading and writing assignment.
Agenda
1.Unit Introduction- KWL, Unit Introduction
2. Background on the author and book
3. Reading pages 3-11
4. Writing Assignment 1

3. Sandra Cisneros Born 1954 in Chicago
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
Sandra Cisneros
Born 1954 in Chicago
Addresses issues of Hispanic American women
House on Mango Street was first novel

4. Growing Up in Chicago Born in the Hispanic Quarter of Chicago in 1954
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
Growing Up in Chicago
Born in the Hispanic Quarter of Chicago in 1954
Mexican-American (Chicana)
She was the only girl in a family of seven, and grew up in poverty
Her parents emphasized education
Her family moved often; she was shy and introverted, but connected with her community privately through writing

5. The House on Mango Street: Significance
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
The House on Mango Street: Significance
This is Cisneros’s first novel.
It is a way to relate her cultural identity to her life and the lives of others.
Cisneros seeks to break the cycle of defeats that women suffered due to social and religious stereotypes.
Esperanza is an outlet for the author’s views on the perceptions of women in her milieu.

6. The House on Mango Street: Structure
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
The House on Mango Street: Structure
The novel is told as a series of vignettes, 1-4 pages each
There is no real chronological plot, but a series of insights into Esperanza’s thoughts and feelings.
The vignettes show the trends in behavior in the community and provide a contrast between strength and weakness, between freedom and bondage.
The novel is dedicated A Las Mujeres, To the Women.

7. Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
Vignette
Short scene that focuses on one moment or gives insight into a character, idea, or setting
Poetic language
Simile
Metaphor
Imagery

8. The House on Mango Street: Narrator
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
The House on Mango Street: Narrator
The work is narrated by Esperanza Cordero, thirteen, a Chicana girl in Chicago.
Although told in the voice of a young girl, it addresses mature subject matter.
In English, Esperanza means hope, and also, waiting.
This choice of name is significant in the novel: the character and her independence represent a way out of the slums.
As she watches her neighborhood, she decides that she will not become like the women she knows, trapped and powerless in a man’s world.

9. About the Unit Essential Questions: 1. What defines a family?
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
About the Unit
Essential Questions:
1. What defines a family?
2. Is conflict in a family inevitable?
How do families change people?
Topical Questions:
1. What lessons can we learn from reading about families in literature?
Does an individual shape the family or family shape the individual ?
How does a woman’s role in the family differ from a man’s?

10. Essential Theme Questions
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
Essential Theme Questions
How does environment shape our identity?
What identities, if any, are permanent and which do we have the power to change?
What roles do neighborhood and community play in shaping who we become?

11. House on Mango Street Themes
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
House on Mango Street Themes
Identity
Community / Neighborhood
Freedom / Growth
Fitting In
Coming of Age
Home / Belonging

12. Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
Day 1 Reading- Pages 3-11
Today we are going to read the first few pages of the book as a class then complete study guide questions which is your exit ticket and write a vignette.

13. Vignette 1 Your Assignment: What is in a name?
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
Vignette 1
Your Assignment:
What is in a name?
Step 1- Find out whatever information you can about your name ( Why it was chosen for you? Who chose it? What does it mean in any language)
Step 2- Create a page long vignette about your name similar to our main character .
Step 3- Have it ready to turn in by Tuesday.
**Use the next slide for an example.

14. Vignette 1 – My Name Example
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
Vignette 1 – My Name Example
Step 1
What is in a name
Why it was chosen for you? – My mother chose my name because it reminded her of a actor she liked on the soaps- Erica Kane
Who chose it?- My mother chose my name
What does it mean in any language? My name was originally from Scandinavia and it means “Honorable Ruler” in Danish .

15. Vignette 1 – My Name Example- Step 2
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
Vignette 1 – My Name Example- Step 2
In Danish, the name Erica means- honorable ruler. In America it has no meaning except for the female version of Eric. The sound of my name is almost like the sun because its sound is bright and breath taking. It is the hope that my family needed, it is the courage that my mother yearned for it is the spirit that brightened up each and everyday. It is the love that my father always wanted . If I could change my name it would be Africa because it is bold strong and complete. As a kid I have always wanted to belong to something bigger than me. Read more:

16. The House on Mango Street: Characters
Novel Study Unit Day 1- Novel Introduction March 7th- March 10th
The House on Mango Street: Characters
Alicia, the medical student who is still bound to her old fears.
Marin, who waits.
Beautiful Rafaela, the modern-day Rapunzel.
Rosa Vargas, with too many children, crying for the husband who left.
Mamacita, who dreams of the pink house she left behind and refuses to speak English.
Sally, the subject of abuse until she marries, to escape, before eighth grade, and moves from Mango Street into into another sort of trap.
And then there is Esperanza, who is like the skinny trees outside her tiny window, who longs for a house all her own, who starts her own quiet war.

17. Novel Study Unit Day 3- Study Guide Questions March 11th
The House on Mango Street - Laughter
1. Name the members of the narrator's family.
2. How was the house on Mango Street different than the other houses the family had lived in?
3. Describe the house on Mango Street.
4. Why does the narrator say Nenny is not her friend?
5. What does the narrator want to have someday? (Boys & Girls)
6. What is the narrator's name? What does it mean in English and in Spanish? After whom is she
named? (My Name)
7. What did Esperanza buy? How did she go about buying it? (Our Good Day)

18. Novel Study Unit Day 3- Study Guide Questions- Answer Key March 11th
Name the members of the narrator's family.
Mama, Papa, Carlos, Kiki, Nenny, and the narrator. Carlos and Kiki are the boys. Nenny
and the narrator are girls.
2. How was the house on Mango Street different than the other houses the family had lived in?
It was their own house.
3. Describe the house on Mango Street.
It is small and red, with small windows. Some of the bricks are crumbling. The front door is
hard to open. There is no front yard. There is a small garage in the back. The house has stairs,
but only one bedroom and one bathroom.

19. Novel Study Unit Day 3- Study Guide Questions- Answer Key March 11th
4. Why does the narrator say Nenny is not her friend?
The narrator says Nenny is too young to be her friend. They are just sisters. (Boys & Girls)
5. What does the narrator want to have someday? (Boys & Girls)
She wants to have a best friend.
6. What is the narrator's name? What does it mean in English and in Spanish? After whom is she
named? (My Name)
Her name is Esperanza. In English it means "hope." In Spanish it means "too many letters."
She is named after her great-grandmother.
7. What did Esperanza buy? How did she go about buying it? (Our Good Day)
She gave five dollars to sisters named Rachel and Lucy. They all chipped in and bought a
bike.

20. Novel Study Unit Day 4- Vignette #2 Example March 13
Gil's Furniture Bought & Sold - There Was an Old Woman
1. What did the girls discover in the furniture store that made Esperanza feel stupid? (Gil's)
2. What is special about the tree in Meme's yard? (Meme Ortiz)
3. What happened when Louie's other cousin visited? (Louie, His Cousin & His Other Cousin)
4. Where is Marin going in a year? Why? (Marin)
5. What matters, according to Marin? (Marin)
6. What scares the people who come into Esperanza's neighborhood? What does Esperanza think
of them? (Those Who Don't)
7. What does Esperanza say the Vargas kids don't have? (There Was an Old Woman)

21. Novel Study Unit Day 4- Study Guide Questions- Answers March 13
1. What did the girls discover in the furniture store that made Esperanza feel stupid?
It was a music box. (Gil's Furniture)
2. What is special about the tree in Meme's yard? (Meme Ortiz)
The kids chose it for their First Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest. Although he won, Meme
broke both arms during the contest.
3. What happened when Louie's other cousin visited? (Louie, His Cousin & His Other Cousin)
The other cousin was driving a Cadillac. He gave all of the neighborhood kids a ride. They
were chased by a police car. Louie made them all get out. Then he floored the car, but it
crashed. The police led him away in handcuffs.
4. Where is Marin going in a year? Why? (Marin)
Louie's parents are going to send her back to Puerto Rico because she is too much trouble.
5. What matters, according to Marin? (Marin)
It matters if the boys see them and they see the boys.
Gil's Furniture Bought & Sold - There Was an Old Woman . . .
6. What scares the people who come into Esperanza's neighborhood? What does Esperanza think
of them? (Those Who Don't)
They think the residents are dangerous. Esperanza thinks they are stupid.
7. What does Esperanza say the Vargas kids don't have? (There Was an Old Woman) They don't have respect for living things or themselves.

22. Novel Study Unit Day 4- Vignette 2- Cousins March 13
Directions: In the vignette Louie, His Cousin & His other Cousin we learn about Louie and his wild cousin with the nice car. For your next vignette you are going to write about your favorite cousins and one crazy story . If you don’t have cousins you are close to, you can write about your siblings or other family members.
Step 1: Create a funny title about a crazy day with your cousins/siblings.
Step 2: List at least three cousins.
Step 3: Write about a funny situation or something exciting that happened with that cousin. Complete this vignette by Friday March 14th and place it in your folder.

23. Example:
Title: Color me red said the tree and the truck!
Relatives in story: Erica and Kenneth
One day while walking home when I was in the second grade my older brother Kenneth who always walked me home found a silver can on the side of the road. He shuck it a few times and begin spraying. Red color came blasting out of the can. I realized exactly what it was; a spray paint! He sprayed it all over the tree and it looked cool. I asked , “ Can I try it” he said yes. So I took the can and sprayed it on a big yellow truck in front of me. I thought it looked awesome. But my brother begin screaming! “ What did you do! Come on lets go!!” All of a sudden I heard a guy yelling “ Hey what the heck are you kids doing to my truck?!!” I froze! My brother kept yelling Erica run, run.” But it was too late. The guy came over called the cops and before I knew it we were in back of a cop car. The cop took us home and my mother had the look on her face that said prepare for the beating of your life. At that point my brother ran, locked the bathroom door and jumped out the window and my mother ran after me with all her vengeance! Let’s just say it was the longest punishment we ever had!! My grandfather ended up paying for the repair of the paint on the truck and my brother and I were beat and punished.

24. Alicia Who Sees Mice - A Rice Sandwich
Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Alicia who sees mice- A rice Sandwich March 17th-21st
Alicia Who Sees Mice - A Rice Sandwich
1. What does Esperanza say about Alicia? (Alicia Who Sees Mice)
2. What wise thing did Darius say? (Darius & the Clouds)
3. What happened while the girls were looking at the clouds? (And Some More)
4. Where did the girls get the shoes? What did they do with them? (The Family of Little Feet)
5. What happened when Esperanza took the note asking if she could stay for lunch? (A Rice
Sandwich)

25. Alicia Who Sees Mice - A Rice Sandwich
Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Alicia who sees mice- A rice Sandwich- Answer Key March 17th-21st
Alicia Who Sees Mice - A Rice Sandwich
1. What does Esperanza say about Alicia? (Alicia Who Sees Mice)
She is a good girl. She studies because she wants a better life. Alicia isn't afraid of anything
except mice and her father.
2. What wise thing did Darius say? (Darius & the Clouds)
He said one of the clouds was God.
3. What happened while the girls were looking at the clouds? (And Some More)
They started naming the clouds, then began insulting each other's mothers.
4. Where did the girls get the shoes? What did they do with them? (The Family of Little Feet)
A woman in the neighborhood gave them the shoes. They played in them for awhile, then take
them off. Lucy hides them under a bushel basket on the back porch.
5. What happened when Esperanza took the note asking if she could stay for lunch? (A Rice
Sandwich)
The nun said she could only stay that day. She cried in the canteen and ate her greasy, cold
sandwich.

26. 1. Why doesn't Esperanza want to dance? (Chanclas)
Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Chanclas- Born Bad March 17th-21st
Chanclas - Born Bad
1. Why doesn't Esperanza want to dance? (Chanclas)
2. How does Esperanza describe her feet? (Chanclas)
3. To what does Esperanza compare her hips? (Hips)
4. What information about hips does Esperanza have? (Hips)
5. Why does Esperanza want to work? (The First Job)
6. What happened to her at her job? (The First Job)
7. What news had Papa received? What does Esperanza do? (Papa )
8. What did the girls do to Aunt Lupe? Why did they do it? What happened to Aunt Lupe that day?
What did Esperanza's mother say about it? (Born Bad)

27. Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Chanclas- Born Bad March 17th-21st
1. Why doesn't Esperanza want to dance? (Chanclas)
She is embarrassed because she is wearing her old saddle shoes with her new dress.
2. How does Esperanza describe her feet? (Chanclas)
She says they are big and heavy like plungers.
3. To what does Esperanza compare her hips? (Hips)
She compares them to a new Buick with keys in the ignition.
4. What information about hips does Esperanza have? (Hips)
She says hips are scientific. The hip bones reveal whether the bones belong to a man or awoman.
5. Why does Esperanza want to work? (The First Job)
She needs the money for tuition for the Catholic high school.
6. What happened to her at her job? (The First Job)
An older Oriental man grabbed her face and kissed her.
7. What news had Papa received? How does he reach? What does Esperanza do? (Papa . . )
His mother had died. He begins to cry, and Esperanza holds him.
8. What did the girls do to Aunt Lupe? Why did they do it? What happened to aunt Lupe that day?
What did Esperanza's mother say about it? (Born Bad)
The girls pretended to be like Aunt Lupe. They mimicked her laugh, walk, and speech. She died the day they were making fun of her. Esperanza's mother said she was born on an evil day and would go to hell.

28. This vignette is due by Friday March 21st
Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Vignette # 3 The worst time you made fun of someone March 17th-21st
Vignette 3- Born Bad
Step 1- Think of a time when you did something that disappointed your parents or think of something that you did or someone did to another person that made them look like a horrible person.
Step 2- Create a 1 page vignette of this situation and a lesson that you learned from the experience.
This vignette is due by Friday March 21st

29. Example of Vignette # 3- Evil Eyes
Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Vignette # 3 The worst time you made fun of someone- Example March 17th-21st
Example of Vignette # 3- Evil Eyes
Evil Eyes
I can see right through them
There is no surprise
I can see what you are thinking with those evil eyes…
Thanksgiving day was when I learned that I was destined to have a bad attitude unless I changed it. It was the worst decision we had ever come up with. We decided to skip school one lazy rainy day. We waited she left and returned to the house. But there was a surprise for the day, when my step-father came in. I was almost sleep dreaming of awesome times. My brother was down stairs playing and having a good time. He never heard his footsteps as he came busting through his door Trouble was in the atmosphere all along. I yelled, he screamed we ran and it was thanksgiving eve. When we returned my mother never punished me, she just looked at me and said:

30. Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water - No Speak English
Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water - No Speak English March 17th-21st
Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water - No Speak English
1. How does Esperanza describe Elenita? (Elenita, Cards ...)
2. Esperanza asked about a house. What was Elenita's response? (Elenita, Cards ...)
3. Who was Geraldo? What happened to him? How did Marin feel about it?
4. What is different about Ruthie? (Edna's Ruthie)
5. What does Esperanza think about Ruthie? (Edna's Ruthie)
6. What do all of the children in the neighborhood disagree on regarding Earl? About what do they
agree? (The Earl of Tennessee)
7. Who are Sire and Lois? What did Esperanza notice about Sire? (Sire)
8. What does Esperanza say about the trees? (Four Skinny Trees)
9. What broke Mamacita's heart? (No Speak English)

31. 1. How does Esperanza describe Elenita? (Elenita, Cards ...)
Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water - No Speak English March 17th-21st
1. How does Esperanza describe Elenita? (Elenita, Cards ...)
She is a witch woman.
2. Esperanza asked about a house. What was Elenita's response? (Elenita, Cards ...)
She said "Ah, yes, a home in the heart. I see a home in the heart."
3. Who was Geraldo? What happened to him? How did Marin feel about it?
Geraldo was a young man whom Marin met at a dance. He was in a hit and run accident and
died. Marin cannot explain why his death mattered to her.
4. What is different about Ruthie? (Edna's Ruthie)
She is the only adult who likes to play.
5. What does Esperanza think about Ruthie? (Edna's Ruthie) She thinks Ruthie could have been a lot of things if she had wanted to.
6. What do all of the children in the neighborhood disagree on regarding Earl? About what do they
agree? (The Earl of Tennessee)
They don't agree about what his wife looks like. They do agree that when the two of them go into his apartment he holds her by the arm and they don't stay long.
7. Who are Sire and Lois? What did Esperanza notice about Sire? (Sire)
Sire is a boy in the neighborhood. Lois is his girlfriend. Once Esperanza noticed that Sire was looking at her.
8. What does Esperanza say about the trees? (Four Skinny Trees) She says the trees are the only ones who understand her.
9. What broke Mamacita's heart? (No Speak English) Her baby boy started singing the Pepsi commercial in English.

32. Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut . . . - What Sally Said
Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut What Sally Said March 17th-21st
Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut What Sally Said
1. Why does Rafaela's husband lock her in the apartment? (Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut ...)
2. What does Rafaela like to drink? (Rafaela ...)
3. According to Esperanza, what does Sally want? (Sally)
4. Describe Minerva's life. (Minerva Write Poems)
5. Why doesn't Esperanza go out with her family on Sundays anymore? (Bums in the Attic)
6. What does Esperanza say she will do when she is older? (Bums in the Attic)
7. What does Esperanza decide about growing up? (Beautiful & Cruel)
8. What does Esperanza's mother say about herself? What does she tell Esperanza? (Smart Cookie)
9. What happened to Sally? (What Sally Said)

33. Novel Study Unit Day 5 & 6- Study Guide Questions- Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut What Sally Said March 17th-21st
1. Why does Rafaela's husband lock her in the apartment? (Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut ...)
He thinks she will run away because she is so beautiful.
2. What does Rafaela like to drink? (Rafaela ...) She likes to drink coconut and papaya juices.
3. According to Esperanza, what does Sally want? (Sally) She wants to love and love and love.
4. Describe Minerva's life. (Minerva Write Poems)
She is young, but is married and has two children. She writes poetry at night. She has put her
husband out, but he comes back. It appears that her husband beats her.
5. Why doesn't Esperanza go out with her family on Sundays anymore? (Bums in the Attic)
She is ashamed of the way they stare out the window at things they can't have.
6. What does Esperanza say she will do when she is older? (Bums in the Attic)
She will own a house and invite the bums in to live in the attic.
7. What does Esperanza decide about growing up? (Beautiful & Cruel)
She says she will not grow up tame. She has begun her own war. She is leaving the table like a man.
8. What does Esperanza's mother say about herself? What does she tell Esperanza (Smart Cookie)
She says she used to be smart. She quit school because she did not have nice clothes. She tells Esperanza she has to take care all her own.
9. What happened to Sally? (What Sally Said) Her father caught her talking to a boy and beat her.

34. Final Vignette Directions
We have now completed our novel and you have the option of creating a vignette on any topic or subject you like .
Step 1 : Create a title about a important topic that you thought of as you read the last few vignettes in the novel The House on Mango Street.
Step 2: Create a story or character description that is at least a page or a page and a half. This is due with your entire folder by March 24th the day of our novel Unit Test.

35. Final Vignette Example
Cycles of Life
Five seconds, three minutes life just keeps moving, 90 minutes, two hours the months are walking, 21, 25, 32; I am alive. Remember when you were 11 and time just stood still, one day though it just begin to run. As fast as the ocean waves or as quick as the bell rings in your favorite class. Six seconds, thirty minutes… three hours have flown by as fast as an airplane flying… flying high or as quickly as the end of a decade. Time just flies by. Remember when summer never ends, now it seems as if it never begins. 11, 13, 16 , 51aging they say is never fun. Do we keep on aging even when we die or do our memories age and we stay where ever we were when time refused to fly.

36. Works Cited Page