Today I introduced your House on Mango Street projects that will be due next Friday, March 8th. The guidelines are posted on Schoology under the Mango St. folder labeled as House on Mango Street Project. You have three options. You may create a soundtrack of your life. You may write your own vignette. Or you may create a graphic novel.
All three options have writing involved (as this is English class), but please play to your strengths. If you're not a fan of music, don't pick the soundtrack option. If you hate writing, don't pick the vignette. And if you can't draw or are not "good" with computers and graphic design, don't pick the graphic novel.
We will not be giving any class time to complete this assignment so make sure that you get it done, and get it done well. This is not a project to be completed the night before. It will take a lot of thought and it will take time. This is your opportunity to get a high test grade if you do not believe you will do well on the test tomorrow. And even if you do do well tomorrow, most of you did not do so hot on your I Am Poems so this is a chance to seriously boost your grade. Take advantage of it. Mr. Hannah and I will be available for any questions or concerns about the project so please come see us if you're having any trouble.
As for jeopardy, I'm glad to see that many of you got into the competitive spirit and really pushed yourselves today. If you took great notes, it will sincerely help you in studying for this test tomorrow. Here's the link for the jeopardy game if you'd like to play again tonight to study:
https://jeopardylabs.com/play/as-the-mangos-so-goes-the-woman2
Likewise, the study guide is up on Schoology under the Mango St. folder to further aid you in your studying. If you use the study guide, it will GREATLY help you to prepare for tomorrow's test.
Mr. Hannah and I have done everything we can to prepare you for this test. Now it's your turn to study!
DEETS:
In-class:
--HOMS Project
--Jeopardy
HW:
--Study for the test tomorrow!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tableaus
Today we finished going over the vignettes in the Sexuality section. Here's what we learned:
Sire:
--Sire is the neighborhood "bad boy" who Esperanza has a crush on
--Sire already has a girlfriend, Lois, and she's pretty, skinny, and flushed in pink
--But Esperanza's mother says she's the type of girl who "goes into alleys," meaning she is loose
--But Esperanza doesn't care. She wants to be like Lois so she can have a guy like Sire look at her like that, too
--Message: We can't escape our own sexuality.
The Monkey Garden:
--Esperanza has a secret place she likes to get away from everything--the Monkey Garden
--A monkey used to live in the garden, where it was once full of fresh flowers, fruits, and vegetables. However, since the monkey left, the garden has turned to trash. There are now old cars and grease everywhere.
--Esperanza once tried to commit suicide there, which shows us that she is losing faith in herself to escape Mango St.
--Sally (a new character) who is pretty and sassy likes to flirt and be with boys. She brings boys into the Monkey Garden and they steal her keys. They say she needs to kiss all of them in order to get them back. She agrees and follows them. Esperanza runs for help, but Sally's mom doesn't care. So, she gets three sticks and a brick and runs to save Sally, but Sally just tells Esperanza to go home.
--Esperanza is deeply hurt and tried to will her heart to stop. She feels like dying and doesn't want to go on.
--Message: Sexuality is sacred.
Red Clowns:
--Sally and Esperanza go to the carnival, but while Sally runs off with a boy, Esperanza is left waiting for Sally by the red clowns.
--While waiting, Esperanza is sexually assaulted by a few boys.
--All of what she's heard in books and movies about love are shattered by this traumatic event.
--Message: Sexuality is not always as picturesque as we believe it to be.
As for your tableaus, I was glad to see many groups pull it off, and pull it off well. For those of you that got check pluses, bravo. Your tableaus were creative and well put-together. For those of you who didn't do as well as you wished, use this as motivation to do better next week. As Mr. Hannah and I told you, next week we'll be beginning To Kill A Mockingbird. In order for us to get in the right mindset to read this book, we need to do some historical research first. Each group will be researching a particular topic and will have to present their findings.
As a side note, if you do not wish to work with a particular person in the class because you have had troubles in the past, please let us know sometime after school. This will be another major portion of your grade so we do not wish to put anyone in a group with someone they are uncomfortable with.
Other than that, all you need to do for the rest of this week is STUDY STUDY STUDY. Your test is on Friday!
DEETS:
In-class:
--Sexuality Section
--Tableaus
--Group Presentations
HW:
--Study for your test on Friday!
Sire:
--Sire is the neighborhood "bad boy" who Esperanza has a crush on
--Sire already has a girlfriend, Lois, and she's pretty, skinny, and flushed in pink
--But Esperanza's mother says she's the type of girl who "goes into alleys," meaning she is loose
--But Esperanza doesn't care. She wants to be like Lois so she can have a guy like Sire look at her like that, too
--Message: We can't escape our own sexuality.
The Monkey Garden:
--Esperanza has a secret place she likes to get away from everything--the Monkey Garden
--A monkey used to live in the garden, where it was once full of fresh flowers, fruits, and vegetables. However, since the monkey left, the garden has turned to trash. There are now old cars and grease everywhere.
--Esperanza once tried to commit suicide there, which shows us that she is losing faith in herself to escape Mango St.
--Sally (a new character) who is pretty and sassy likes to flirt and be with boys. She brings boys into the Monkey Garden and they steal her keys. They say she needs to kiss all of them in order to get them back. She agrees and follows them. Esperanza runs for help, but Sally's mom doesn't care. So, she gets three sticks and a brick and runs to save Sally, but Sally just tells Esperanza to go home.
--Esperanza is deeply hurt and tried to will her heart to stop. She feels like dying and doesn't want to go on.
--Message: Sexuality is sacred.
Red Clowns:
--Sally and Esperanza go to the carnival, but while Sally runs off with a boy, Esperanza is left waiting for Sally by the red clowns.
--While waiting, Esperanza is sexually assaulted by a few boys.
--All of what she's heard in books and movies about love are shattered by this traumatic event.
--Message: Sexuality is not always as picturesque as we believe it to be.
As for your tableaus, I was glad to see many groups pull it off, and pull it off well. For those of you that got check pluses, bravo. Your tableaus were creative and well put-together. For those of you who didn't do as well as you wished, use this as motivation to do better next week. As Mr. Hannah and I told you, next week we'll be beginning To Kill A Mockingbird. In order for us to get in the right mindset to read this book, we need to do some historical research first. Each group will be researching a particular topic and will have to present their findings.
As a side note, if you do not wish to work with a particular person in the class because you have had troubles in the past, please let us know sometime after school. This will be another major portion of your grade so we do not wish to put anyone in a group with someone they are uncomfortable with.
Other than that, all you need to do for the rest of this week is STUDY STUDY STUDY. Your test is on Friday!
DEETS:
In-class:
--Sexuality Section
--Tableaus
--Group Presentations
HW:
--Study for your test on Friday!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sexuality
Today's class started with DEAR time. Please make sure to continue bringing in your books. This really is time for you to enjoy reading whatever it is you want to read.
As for today's lesson on sexuality, as you can see, it's a very difficult topic to understand. Much like love, sadness, friendship, or any other abstract noun, it becomes very difficult to explain because there are so many different meanings. As we saw in the powerpoint, sexuality has three main definitions:
1. Sexual character or potency
2. The condition of being characterized or distinguished by sex
3. Concern with or interest in sexual activity
As for Mango Street, you were then separated into groups and each given a vignette to read and annotate and figure out the message as well as how sexuality was being shown in that particular vignette. After your group work, we came together to go over the vignettes.
Today, we only made it through two out of the five. Here's what we learned so far:
The Family of Little Feet:
--Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy are given three pair of high heels by a man on Mango Street.
--They strut through the town, stopping and talking to multiple people.
--A bum finds them and wants to kiss Rachel for a dollar.
--Lucy hides the shoes when they get home and their mother accidentally throws the shoes out one day. The girls don't complain.
--Message: Sexuality comes at a cost. You can receive both positive and negative attention.
(Here's a video I found online of this vignette acted out. Enjoy!)
Hips:
--Esperanza, Rachel, Lucy, and Nenny are playing jump rope and talking about hips. They talk about how hips are great for all kinds of things.
--The girls sing silly songs as they jump rope, but Nenny keeps singing a different song. In the end, Esperanza is angry that Nenny doesn't get "it"--the fact that Esperanza has moved into womanhood, and Nenny is still in childhood.
--Message: Once you step into your sexuality, you can't ever go back.
Tomorrow, we will go over the remaining vignettes (Sire, The Monkey Garden, and Red Clowns) and then each group will have thirty minutes to complete their tableaus (picture story).
For homework, pick eight lines from your assigned vignette to prepare for tomorrow. Each line should be picked so that if you read all eight lines, you'll understand the entire story. Remember, this will be worth a quiz grade, so you want to spend as little time preparing, and as much time actually doing the hard work. If each group member comes in prepared tomorrow, you should be fine.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or Mr. Hannah.
DEETS:
In-class:
--DEAR
--Sexuality PP
--Sexuality Jigsaw
HW:
--Pick 8 lines from your assigned vignette
--Study for the test on Friday!
As for today's lesson on sexuality, as you can see, it's a very difficult topic to understand. Much like love, sadness, friendship, or any other abstract noun, it becomes very difficult to explain because there are so many different meanings. As we saw in the powerpoint, sexuality has three main definitions:
1. Sexual character or potency
2. The condition of being characterized or distinguished by sex
3. Concern with or interest in sexual activity
As for Mango Street, you were then separated into groups and each given a vignette to read and annotate and figure out the message as well as how sexuality was being shown in that particular vignette. After your group work, we came together to go over the vignettes.
Today, we only made it through two out of the five. Here's what we learned so far:
The Family of Little Feet:
--Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy are given three pair of high heels by a man on Mango Street.
--They strut through the town, stopping and talking to multiple people.
--A bum finds them and wants to kiss Rachel for a dollar.
--Lucy hides the shoes when they get home and their mother accidentally throws the shoes out one day. The girls don't complain.
--Message: Sexuality comes at a cost. You can receive both positive and negative attention.
(Here's a video I found online of this vignette acted out. Enjoy!)
Hips:
--Esperanza, Rachel, Lucy, and Nenny are playing jump rope and talking about hips. They talk about how hips are great for all kinds of things.
--The girls sing silly songs as they jump rope, but Nenny keeps singing a different song. In the end, Esperanza is angry that Nenny doesn't get "it"--the fact that Esperanza has moved into womanhood, and Nenny is still in childhood.
--Message: Once you step into your sexuality, you can't ever go back.
Tomorrow, we will go over the remaining vignettes (Sire, The Monkey Garden, and Red Clowns) and then each group will have thirty minutes to complete their tableaus (picture story).
For homework, pick eight lines from your assigned vignette to prepare for tomorrow. Each line should be picked so that if you read all eight lines, you'll understand the entire story. Remember, this will be worth a quiz grade, so you want to spend as little time preparing, and as much time actually doing the hard work. If each group member comes in prepared tomorrow, you should be fine.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or Mr. Hannah.
DEETS:
In-class:
--DEAR
--Sexuality PP
--Sexuality Jigsaw
HW:
--Pick 8 lines from your assigned vignette
--Study for the test on Friday!
Monday, February 25, 2013
Grief/Death
Today we went over the Death/Grief section that you read over vacation. The "pop quiz" you took at the beginning of the period was not meant to be punishing. In fact, it was meant to reward you for simply reading the section. Had you read, the quiz should have taken no more than two minutes. If you didn't read, or pass in your annotations, that's TWO failing quiz grades. If you wish to pass the quarter, you cannot afford to continue this pattern.
For the Death/Grief section, here's a recap of what we went over:
There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn't Know What To Do:
--Rosa Vargas is a single mother whose husband left her without even leaving a dollar
--She has too many children to take care of, and because she works all the time to support them, she cannot keep watch over them 24/7
--As a result, they run wild in the neighborhood, and no one cares to help out Rosa anymore
--Angel, one of Rosa's kids, jumps off a roof and dies, and no one cares
--Message: You should always care and pay respect if someone dies, no matter who they are
Alicia Who Sees Mice:
--Alicia's mother died, and now it is Alicia's responsibility to take over her mother's work around the house
--Alicia sees mice because she has to wake up very early to make food for the day
--Alicia is afraid of the mice and her father because she's scared he might die too, and afraid that he will get angry if she doesn't complete her mother's responsibilities
--Message: Responsibility is passed on
Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark:
--Esperanza's abuelito (grandfather) dies and her father must go back to Mexico for the funeral.
--Esperanza is worried about her father and tries to comfort him as he grieves
--Message: Genders grieve differently and have different roles during times of grief
Born Bad:
--Esperanza's Aunt Lupe is extremely sick with a disease
--Esperanza, Lucy, and Rachel play a game imitating people, and they choose to imitate Aunt Lupe. She dies on the day they were imitating her.
--Aunt Lupe was the only person to listen to Esperanza's poems and stories. She was the only person who really understood her.
--Message: Don't take for granted the people who you love
Geraldo No Last Name:
--Marin meets Geraldo at a dance.
--Geraldo dies in a hit-and-run accident. He is taken to the hospital, but the surgeon never comes, and he dies there. He was most likely not saved because of the color of his skin.
--Message: Everyone matters, no matter the color of your skin.
Tomorrow, we will be tackling the final section, Sexuality.
Again, if you didn't turn in these assignments, you can still do so. It will be counted as late, but anything is better than a zero.
DEETS:
In-class:
--Quiz
--Death/Grief section
HW:
--Bring in your book for DEAR time tomorrow.
For the Death/Grief section, here's a recap of what we went over:
There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn't Know What To Do:
--Rosa Vargas is a single mother whose husband left her without even leaving a dollar
--She has too many children to take care of, and because she works all the time to support them, she cannot keep watch over them 24/7
--As a result, they run wild in the neighborhood, and no one cares to help out Rosa anymore
--Angel, one of Rosa's kids, jumps off a roof and dies, and no one cares
--Message: You should always care and pay respect if someone dies, no matter who they are
Alicia Who Sees Mice:
--Alicia's mother died, and now it is Alicia's responsibility to take over her mother's work around the house
--Alicia sees mice because she has to wake up very early to make food for the day
--Alicia is afraid of the mice and her father because she's scared he might die too, and afraid that he will get angry if she doesn't complete her mother's responsibilities
--Message: Responsibility is passed on
Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark:
--Esperanza's abuelito (grandfather) dies and her father must go back to Mexico for the funeral.
--Esperanza is worried about her father and tries to comfort him as he grieves
--Message: Genders grieve differently and have different roles during times of grief
Born Bad:
--Esperanza's Aunt Lupe is extremely sick with a disease
--Esperanza, Lucy, and Rachel play a game imitating people, and they choose to imitate Aunt Lupe. She dies on the day they were imitating her.
--Aunt Lupe was the only person to listen to Esperanza's poems and stories. She was the only person who really understood her.
--Message: Don't take for granted the people who you love
Geraldo No Last Name:
--Marin meets Geraldo at a dance.
--Geraldo dies in a hit-and-run accident. He is taken to the hospital, but the surgeon never comes, and he dies there. He was most likely not saved because of the color of his skin.
--Message: Everyone matters, no matter the color of your skin.
Tomorrow, we will be tackling the final section, Sexuality.
Again, if you didn't turn in these assignments, you can still do so. It will be counted as late, but anything is better than a zero.
DEETS:
In-class:
--Quiz
--Death/Grief section
HW:
--Bring in your book for DEAR time tomorrow.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Crossing the Line
Today we continued the talk of feeling trapped by asking certain questions and talking more about this idea of stereotyping.
To start, we did an activity called Cross the Line. For each question Mr. Hannah and I asked, you had to cross the line if the question pertained to you. Some of these questions left a lot of you vulnerable and feeling uncomfortable. As we said, you did not have to cross the line if you didn't want to, but I appreciate those of you who had the courage to do so. This was an exercise that lead us into our discussion about "Those Who Don't." Many of you even admitted to being quick to judge people, and now think differently of some of your classmates because you learned something about them that you didn't know before. This exercise also showed us that more often than not, we go with the group to feel cool or "normal." As we said before, this is not an exercise where you now go out and tell all your friends what you found out about your classmates. Have respect for yourself and your classmates enough to respect their privacy.
"Those Who Don't" was a very short vignette, but told us a lot about how Esperanza views her neighborhood and how other view Mango St. She says that other people are scared of Mango St., while she knows that there is nothing to be afraid of. But then she says that when she and her family get out of Mango, they're also scared of other neighborhoods they go into. The cycle continues...
For homework over vacation, you must complete the Stereotypes Worksheet, which will help you see how other people view your group, but then reveal the truths behind those judgments.
Also, you must fully annotate the entire Death/Grief Section on Schoology and submit it when you're done. This will be counted as a quiz grade.
Have a safe and exciting vacation!
DEETS:
In-class:
--DEAR
--Cross the Line Activity
--"Those Who Don't"
--Stereotypes Worksheet
HW:
--Stereotypes Worksheet AND read and annotate the Death/Grief section on Schoology
To start, we did an activity called Cross the Line. For each question Mr. Hannah and I asked, you had to cross the line if the question pertained to you. Some of these questions left a lot of you vulnerable and feeling uncomfortable. As we said, you did not have to cross the line if you didn't want to, but I appreciate those of you who had the courage to do so. This was an exercise that lead us into our discussion about "Those Who Don't." Many of you even admitted to being quick to judge people, and now think differently of some of your classmates because you learned something about them that you didn't know before. This exercise also showed us that more often than not, we go with the group to feel cool or "normal." As we said before, this is not an exercise where you now go out and tell all your friends what you found out about your classmates. Have respect for yourself and your classmates enough to respect their privacy.
"Those Who Don't" was a very short vignette, but told us a lot about how Esperanza views her neighborhood and how other view Mango St. She says that other people are scared of Mango St., while she knows that there is nothing to be afraid of. But then she says that when she and her family get out of Mango, they're also scared of other neighborhoods they go into. The cycle continues...
For homework over vacation, you must complete the Stereotypes Worksheet, which will help you see how other people view your group, but then reveal the truths behind those judgments.
Also, you must fully annotate the entire Death/Grief Section on Schoology and submit it when you're done. This will be counted as a quiz grade.
Have a safe and exciting vacation!
DEETS:
In-class:
--DEAR
--Cross the Line Activity
--"Those Who Don't"
--Stereotypes Worksheet
HW:
--Stereotypes Worksheet AND read and annotate the Death/Grief section on Schoology
Thursday, February 14, 2013
TRAPPED
Today we talked a lot about this feeling of being trapped. For your Do Now, we had you list all the areas of your life you feel trapped--religion, race, gender, relationship status, class, age, etc. A lot of you provided very thoughtful insights.
As for "Louie," this vignette was probably very hard for Hispanics to read because it perpetuates the stereotype that all Hispanics steal cars. But remember, Sandra writes about the "good" and the "bad" of her culture. As such, we see Louie's cousin become trapped in jail for stealing a yellow Cadillac.
As for "Marin," Marin is an independent woman who is wanting to get out of Mango Street. She is "waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life." She is the type of woman who has so many dreams and aspirations, but is waiting for someone else to change her life for her. She fantasizes about going downtown and finding the man of her dreams on the subway (don't we all wish that were true?).
For homework, you need to write about someone in your own life who is this way. Who's someone that you know that has all these dreams and goals, but does nothing to achieve them. For example, a friend who says he's going to be an NBA star, but doesn't even try out for the high school team. Or your best friend who says he could get any girl he wants, but is afraid to talk to girls. Or a friend who says they're going to go to college, but barely does their homework and fails all their tests and quizzes.
Also, don't forget to bring in a book tomorrow for DEAR time.
DEETS:
In-class:
--Do Now
--"Louie" Annotation
--"Marin" Annotation
--Marin Journal
HW:
--Marin Journal
--Bring in your book!
As for "Louie," this vignette was probably very hard for Hispanics to read because it perpetuates the stereotype that all Hispanics steal cars. But remember, Sandra writes about the "good" and the "bad" of her culture. As such, we see Louie's cousin become trapped in jail for stealing a yellow Cadillac.
As for "Marin," Marin is an independent woman who is wanting to get out of Mango Street. She is "waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life." She is the type of woman who has so many dreams and aspirations, but is waiting for someone else to change her life for her. She fantasizes about going downtown and finding the man of her dreams on the subway (don't we all wish that were true?).
For homework, you need to write about someone in your own life who is this way. Who's someone that you know that has all these dreams and goals, but does nothing to achieve them. For example, a friend who says he's going to be an NBA star, but doesn't even try out for the high school team. Or your best friend who says he could get any girl he wants, but is afraid to talk to girls. Or a friend who says they're going to go to college, but barely does their homework and fails all their tests and quizzes.
Also, don't forget to bring in a book tomorrow for DEAR time.
DEETS:
In-class:
--Do Now
--"Louie" Annotation
--"Marin" Annotation
--Marin Journal
HW:
--Marin Journal
--Bring in your book!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Annotation Overload
Welcome back! Even though this will be a short week and then you'll be off on February vacation, do not underestimate what we can and will get done in such a short time period. Ultimately, we will be finished with Mango St. the week you come back and you will have a test on it that Friday.
As for today, we practiced our annotation skills once more. Together, we went over "Gil's Furniture Bought & Sold." In this vignette, Esperanza and Nenny venture into Gil's junk store. Gil is a poor black man who only turns the lights on his store if he has customers willing to buy things. Esperanza did buy something from him once though--a figurine of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom and independence, something she desperately wants.
When Nenny finds an old record player and hears the beautiful music being played, she digs in her pockets for change to buy it. Esperanza wants the record player, too, but knows they don't have enough money to buy it and feels silly wanting something she can't have. Regardless, Gil isn't willing to sell it because it is something worth more than money to him.
We then separated you into groups to purposefully annotate the next vignette, "Meme Ortiz," according to the Annotation Rubric. Here are some samples of what you guys came up with:
1--65%
4--95%
As for today, we practiced our annotation skills once more. Together, we went over "Gil's Furniture Bought & Sold." In this vignette, Esperanza and Nenny venture into Gil's junk store. Gil is a poor black man who only turns the lights on his store if he has customers willing to buy things. Esperanza did buy something from him once though--a figurine of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom and independence, something she desperately wants.
When Nenny finds an old record player and hears the beautiful music being played, she digs in her pockets for change to buy it. Esperanza wants the record player, too, but knows they don't have enough money to buy it and feels silly wanting something she can't have. Regardless, Gil isn't willing to sell it because it is something worth more than money to him.
We then separated you into groups to purposefully annotate the next vignette, "Meme Ortiz," according to the Annotation Rubric. Here are some samples of what you guys came up with:
1--65%
2--75%
3--85%
You should always be striving for a 95% level of annotation, but we did this exercise in order for you to understand what is the expected level of annotation and what is not.
As for the vignette, we learned that Meme's real name is Juan. Much like esperanza, he wants a name that is powerful and much stronger than his own. He lives in Cathy's old house, which is rundown and crumbling everywhere. He has the biggest backyard with a giant tree. He used this tree for the Annual Tarzan Jumping Contest. Why? Tarzan represents the king of the jungle, a man who flies as he swings through vines, a man who is powerful and in control. That's what Meme wants. Meme literally jumps out of a tree believing he can fly, because he wants to be free and independent. He doesn't want to feel trapped in his house or on Mango Street. Much like Esperanza, he wants to get out.
For homework, you need to annotate the next vignette according to the Annotation Rubric. In order for you to get a high score, it needs to look something like the sample, which means you need to highlight important information, circle and define unknown words, underlien any use of literary terms, comment in the margins, and fnd the purpose or meaning behind the vignette.
Good luck!
DEETS:
In-class:
--Do Now
--Read and annotate "Gil" together
--Read and annotate "Meme" in groups
--Go over "Meme" together
HW:
--Read and annotate "Louie"
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Boys vs. Girls
Today we had a bit of "fun" discussing the roles and cultures of males and females. We divided the class into two groups (boys vs. girls) and had each team answer certain questions about the opposite sex. It's easy to answer questions about what we do, but it is much more difficult and challenging to think about what the opposite sex does. As such, here are the questions you had to answer:
1. What jobs do women/men have?
2. What extracurricular activities do women/men participate in?
3. How do men/women treat/respond to the opposite sex?
4. How are men/women portrayed in society?
5. What does society expect men/women to be?
To put it lightly, we got some very interesting results. Instead of breaking free of the stereotypes, that's what most of you wrote down. For example, women are supposed to be modelesque and be housewifes. Likewise, men are supposed to be garbagemen and be the only money-maker in the family. What's shocking is that it is 2013 and all of you still think this way. Have you never seen a male nurse? Don't women do more than shop and cook and clean? If we still have these cages around our gender, then imagine how hard it was for Sandra Cisneros to break free of that mold almost 40 years ago. She moved out of her house to live out on her own and become a writer. That is no easy task, especially in the time period she was living in. I hope you all learned that you need to stop putting these cages around each other. Stop perpetuating the stereotypes that confine your opposite gender. Today, we live in a world where men and women are entitled to the same rights (unfortunately, that's not true for all parts of the world). So live up to that expectation. The more you stereotype the opposite gender, the more the stereotypes of YOUR gender will confine you.
When we jumped back into Mango Street, we saw that first-hand. In "Boys & Girls," Esperanza talks about how boys and girls live in different universes. Boys were not allowed to play with girls because it was believed they had nothing in common or it would look poorly on the family.
As for "My Name," Esperanza gives us a description of her name (much like all of you did in your I Am Poems). She talks about how she got the name from her great-grandmother, a wild horse of a woman. But her great-grandmother was forced into marriage and was never happy afterwards. She spent her whole life sitting by the window looking out. Esperanza is determined not to end up like this and will do anything in her power to stop it from happening. We'll see how it goes...
DEETS:
In-class:
--Boys vs. Girls Activity
--Read and annotate "Boys & Girls" and "My Name"
HW:
--None. Lucky!
1. What jobs do women/men have?
2. What extracurricular activities do women/men participate in?
3. How do men/women treat/respond to the opposite sex?
4. How are men/women portrayed in society?
5. What does society expect men/women to be?
To put it lightly, we got some very interesting results. Instead of breaking free of the stereotypes, that's what most of you wrote down. For example, women are supposed to be modelesque and be housewifes. Likewise, men are supposed to be garbagemen and be the only money-maker in the family. What's shocking is that it is 2013 and all of you still think this way. Have you never seen a male nurse? Don't women do more than shop and cook and clean? If we still have these cages around our gender, then imagine how hard it was for Sandra Cisneros to break free of that mold almost 40 years ago. She moved out of her house to live out on her own and become a writer. That is no easy task, especially in the time period she was living in. I hope you all learned that you need to stop putting these cages around each other. Stop perpetuating the stereotypes that confine your opposite gender. Today, we live in a world where men and women are entitled to the same rights (unfortunately, that's not true for all parts of the world). So live up to that expectation. The more you stereotype the opposite gender, the more the stereotypes of YOUR gender will confine you.
When we jumped back into Mango Street, we saw that first-hand. In "Boys & Girls," Esperanza talks about how boys and girls live in different universes. Boys were not allowed to play with girls because it was believed they had nothing in common or it would look poorly on the family.
As for "My Name," Esperanza gives us a description of her name (much like all of you did in your I Am Poems). She talks about how she got the name from her great-grandmother, a wild horse of a woman. But her great-grandmother was forced into marriage and was never happy afterwards. She spent her whole life sitting by the window looking out. Esperanza is determined not to end up like this and will do anything in her power to stop it from happening. We'll see how it goes...
DEETS:
In-class:
--Boys vs. Girls Activity
--Read and annotate "Boys & Girls" and "My Name"
HW:
--None. Lucky!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Annotation
Today we began with DEAR time. Unfortunately, almost all of you forgot your books. This is unacceptable. This is your time every Tuesday and Friday to read what you want for your own enjoyment. Please do not forget to bring in a book this Friday because then you'll be stuck doing vocab sheets, and we'd much rather you read.
The HOMS quiz was relatively simple. If you read, you should have had no problem with it.
As for annotation, this is a skill we'll be working on the entire semester. A lot of you already know how to chunk and summarize small parts, but annotation is so much more than that. Here are the main things you need to know:
--Highlight/Underline important information
--Circle unknown vocabulary words and define them
--Summarize small chunks of text
--Add commentary in the margins
As for the vignettes you read, "The House on Mango Street" and "Hairs," these two vignettes were packed with visual imagery as well as figurative language. It's your job to highlight and make reflections about these things in the margins. Because Sandra's writing is so sparse, you need to make sure that you're not going highlighter crazy. Only highlight information that is vital.
Here are the main points we talked about today:
--the narrator (Esperanza) and the author (Sandra Cisneros) are not the same person. (Remember, this is a book of fiction).
--Esperanza has moved around a lot and has had a rough childhood because of it
--Esperanza now lives on Mango Street, but it's not the house of her dreams. She is ashamed of it.
--Esperanza describes her family by describing their hair.
For homework, you must write a journal entry about something you're embarassed about. Don't get confused with this. You're not to write about something embarassing that happened to you, but something you're embarassed about. For example, don't write about a time that you slipped and feel and everyone laughed at you and it was really embarassing, but you can write about being embarassed about being clumsy. See the difference? You can be embarassed of a lot of thing--your house, the car your family drives, your mom, a friend, how you look, etc. Be honest and be detailed. This should not be anything less than two paragraphs.
To submit it, go to Schoology. Under Assignments, click on Embarassment Journal. Then, click on the plus sign at the top right. Click dropbox submissions. Write your paragraphs in the text box, then click submit when you're done.
If you have any questions, please email me or Mr. Hannah. Also, today was the last day for I Am Poem submissions, so if you didn't turn it in, it's a zero.
Tomorrow we'll be working on a really fun activity; however, if you don't do the homework assignment you will not be allowed to participate.
DEETS:
In-class:
--DEAR time
--HOMS Quiz 1
--Annotation
HW:
--Embarassament Journal on Schoology
The HOMS quiz was relatively simple. If you read, you should have had no problem with it.
As for annotation, this is a skill we'll be working on the entire semester. A lot of you already know how to chunk and summarize small parts, but annotation is so much more than that. Here are the main things you need to know:
--Highlight/Underline important information
--Circle unknown vocabulary words and define them
--Summarize small chunks of text
--Add commentary in the margins
As for the vignettes you read, "The House on Mango Street" and "Hairs," these two vignettes were packed with visual imagery as well as figurative language. It's your job to highlight and make reflections about these things in the margins. Because Sandra's writing is so sparse, you need to make sure that you're not going highlighter crazy. Only highlight information that is vital.
Here are the main points we talked about today:
--the narrator (Esperanza) and the author (Sandra Cisneros) are not the same person. (Remember, this is a book of fiction).
--Esperanza has moved around a lot and has had a rough childhood because of it
--Esperanza now lives on Mango Street, but it's not the house of her dreams. She is ashamed of it.
--Esperanza describes her family by describing their hair.
For homework, you must write a journal entry about something you're embarassed about. Don't get confused with this. You're not to write about something embarassing that happened to you, but something you're embarassed about. For example, don't write about a time that you slipped and feel and everyone laughed at you and it was really embarassing, but you can write about being embarassed about being clumsy. See the difference? You can be embarassed of a lot of thing--your house, the car your family drives, your mom, a friend, how you look, etc. Be honest and be detailed. This should not be anything less than two paragraphs.
To submit it, go to Schoology. Under Assignments, click on Embarassment Journal. Then, click on the plus sign at the top right. Click dropbox submissions. Write your paragraphs in the text box, then click submit when you're done.
If you have any questions, please email me or Mr. Hannah. Also, today was the last day for I Am Poem submissions, so if you didn't turn it in, it's a zero.
Tomorrow we'll be working on a really fun activity; however, if you don't do the homework assignment you will not be allowed to participate.
DEETS:
In-class:
--DEAR time
--HOMS Quiz 1
--Annotation
HW:
--Embarassament Journal on Schoology
Monday, February 4, 2013
HOMS Intro
At the beginning of class, we did a quick pre assessment on annotation. If you have no idea what annotation is or have trouble with it, don't worry. We will be discussing this tomorrow and working on this skill ALL YEAR. So that's something to look forward to.
As for our first book, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, we learned a lot about her and the theme of this book. (The powerpoint is up on Schoology if you would like to reference it again.) We talked a lot about the idea of a vignette. Remember, these are not your typical "chapters." Cisneros writes in a mosaic format in which all her "chapters" are called vignettes. These vignettes are small stand-alone sections that together create a larger picture.
Remember this as you read the first two vignettes tonight. (Open up Family and Identity Section One PDF in the folder Mango Street in Schoology to read "The House on Mango Street" and "Hair" tonight. Quiz tomorrow!)
After that, we discussed this theme of isolation and feeling like you don't belong. We wrote our very first paragraph of the semester! And trust me, there will be many more. We'll be writing a paragraph at least two or three times a WEEK. Here's the format in case you forgot already:
M--main idea (restate the question and answer it, title and author)
E--evidence (quote)
A--analysis (explanation and commentary)
L--link (summary and new idea)
If you're not a great writer, this structure will help you get there. It acts as a guideline to help build a foundation for stronger writing. Remember this as you continue writing this semester.
DEETS:
In-class:
--Pre Assessment Annotation
--HOMS Intro
--Paragraph Writing
HW:
--Read "The House on Mango Street" and "Hairs." QUIZ TOMORROW!
--Bring in a book for DEAR time
--Pass in your I Am Poem (it'll be late) on Schoology if you haven't done so already
As for our first book, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, we learned a lot about her and the theme of this book. (The powerpoint is up on Schoology if you would like to reference it again.) We talked a lot about the idea of a vignette. Remember, these are not your typical "chapters." Cisneros writes in a mosaic format in which all her "chapters" are called vignettes. These vignettes are small stand-alone sections that together create a larger picture.
Remember this as you read the first two vignettes tonight. (Open up Family and Identity Section One PDF in the folder Mango Street in Schoology to read "The House on Mango Street" and "Hair" tonight. Quiz tomorrow!)
After that, we discussed this theme of isolation and feeling like you don't belong. We wrote our very first paragraph of the semester! And trust me, there will be many more. We'll be writing a paragraph at least two or three times a WEEK. Here's the format in case you forgot already:
M--main idea (restate the question and answer it, title and author)
E--evidence (quote)
A--analysis (explanation and commentary)
L--link (summary and new idea)
If you're not a great writer, this structure will help you get there. It acts as a guideline to help build a foundation for stronger writing. Remember this as you continue writing this semester.
DEETS:
In-class:
--Pre Assessment Annotation
--HOMS Intro
--Paragraph Writing
HW:
--Read "The House on Mango Street" and "Hairs." QUIZ TOMORROW!
--Bring in a book for DEAR time
--Pass in your I Am Poem (it'll be late) on Schoology if you haven't done so already
Friday, February 1, 2013
Peer Review
Today we worked on peer review. This process is vitally important to your writing. Writing is more about the process rather than the actual product. And the more you read and critique other people's work, the better YOUR writing will be in the long run. Why? Because the more you see what other people are doing right and wrong, the more you are able to view yourself in such a critical manner. I hope a lot of you benefitted from this process and were able to get great feedback on what you need to do better in order to get a great grade for this project. Remember, this is a test grade and will count for 45% of your total grade so this is not something you want to slack off on or wait until after the Superbowl to get it done. Take your time with this.
If you get stuck, or unsure of what you wrote, please log on to Schoology and review the Powerpoint on Peer Editing that we had up on the board as you did this in class. The questions are all there to help you add detail and specificity to your writing.
If you want me or Mr. Hannah to check your work, please email, iMessage, or whatever, us BEFORE Sunday night so we can take a look at it.
Once you're done, log onto Schoology and upload it there. Any extra credit can be emailed to us.
Have an excellent weekend and work hard!
DEETS:
In-class:
--Peer Review Process
HW:
--Final Draft of the I Am Poem turned in on Schoology
If you get stuck, or unsure of what you wrote, please log on to Schoology and review the Powerpoint on Peer Editing that we had up on the board as you did this in class. The questions are all there to help you add detail and specificity to your writing.
If you want me or Mr. Hannah to check your work, please email, iMessage, or whatever, us BEFORE Sunday night so we can take a look at it.
Once you're done, log onto Schoology and upload it there. Any extra credit can be emailed to us.
Have an excellent weekend and work hard!
DEETS:
In-class:
--Peer Review Process
HW:
--Final Draft of the I Am Poem turned in on Schoology
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