copyright 1999, Sirpa Grierson
Novel Information and Resources:
"D-11 taking on education gap/ Committee helping minorities approach level of nonminorities"
Nieves, Danielle. The Gazette. 13 Oct. 2001: METRO.3.
This committee is taking an active role in trying to decrease the number of Hispanic minority children that get into trouble at school. The school is taking a proactive approach, citing the number of Hispanic children put into detention or other disciplinary systems during the year and recognizing that these numbers are largely due to lack of education of school systems and lack of parent involvement."Exit exam shows gap // Education - While O.C. students passed the test at a higher rate than the state average, certain groups did poorly."
Tapia, Sarah Tully and Keith Sharon. Orange County Register. Santa Ana, Calif. 4 Oct. 2001: 1 Edition Cover.
A recent test in Orange County California mirrored the trend in America that shows Hispanic youth doing significantly lower than the majority. A great majority are at failing levels and authorities are pointing to lack of English skills, poor programs and lack of motivation-on the part of the students and authorities-as the cause. A very informative article."Fewer Hispanics drop out City schools closing the 'learning gap'"
Rockies Edition: Hubler, Eric. Denver Post. 18 Oct 2001: B.02.
Hispanic dropouts were down this last year and so were African-American dropouts. Authorities were pleased with this number that pointed to the new willingness of students to work hard to get an education. While this number is encouraging, authorities say this is not the finish line."Keyterms: A Dictionary of Contemporary American Ethnic Literature"
Dictionary of Contemporary American Ethnic Literature. 19 Oct. 2001
http://www3.wcu.edu/~mwarner/mango.htm
This site provides a list of common themes and then cites to specific books that have those themes in them. The passages are included and a short explanation of how the theme can be used in that passage is also provided. This is a very helpful site, especially since most of the words so far in this project (which appears to be a work in progress) are for The House on Mango Street."Linking Literature Using The House on Mango Street"
DuPage High School District #88 Curriculum Planning and Instructional Delivery Using the Internet Project! 19 Oct. 2001.
http://www.hsdist88.dupage.k12.il.us/Curriculum/dist88/english/unit.htm
This is a site that was apparently put together by a group of English teachers and includes detailed lessons for teaching The House on Mango Street, formats for group presentations, internet resources, general timelines of instruction, and other ideas for different levels of instruction. This is a very good site."Sandra Cisneros: Teacher Resource File"
Internet School Library Media Center. 19 Oct. 2001.
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/cisneros.htm
This site is just a bank of links to other resources on the Web. It has links to lesson plans, background for Cisneros, book reviews and ERIC resources. This is a very helpful site."Study Compares 2 Latino Groups' Education Levels; Immigrants: Salvadorans generally have more schooling than Mexicans, the UCLA report finds"
McDonnell, Patrick J. The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif. 11 Oct. 2001: B.5.
The general opinion has been that all Hispanics are Mexicans but this study shows that Mexicans are not the only group in large status in America. Salvadorans are also residing here in large numbers and studies show that this group is significantly more educated and harder working. While these people still face legalization and economic issues, they are a group of people that are bound to do well."The House on Mango Street."
Trachtenberg, Peter. Online posting. Vintage Teacher's Guides. 1994 VINTAGE BOOKS
This guide was put together by Vintage Books and is a very extensive explanation of the book, a list of reading questions that are excellent and other lesson ideas. This was probably the best site I saw."The House on Mango Street"
Home Page. 19 Oct. 2001.
http://www3.wcu.edu/~mwarner/mango.htm
This is a page that appears to be put together by an unnamed teacher (his name never appears on the site). It is a very detailed description of this teacher's lessons for The House on Mango Street covering 10 days. Also included are ideas for application to other grade levels."UCI grows ethnically, too // Education - Its record student body this fall includes slight increases in Latino and Chicano enrollments"
Fisher, Marla Jo. Orange County Register. 19 Oct. 2001: Cover.
As Latino populations are growing in schools, there are a larger number of students vying to get into colleges. This increase has made changes to enrollment requirements, making it more difficult to get into colleges but also colleges are now struggling with minority groups. They feel the need to reflect the growing trend of minority populations in their student bodies but often poor grades and low performances play a major factor."Vocabulary from the House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros for Vocab Units"
Vocabulary Classic Texts Vocabulary. 19 Oct. 2001.
http://www.vocabulary.com/VUcthousemango.html
This site is not very extensive-the list of words for the novel is only 26 words, with no locations or meanings given, but it is a good starting point. The site does include a long list of other books though, and there are more extensive lists that would be useful for future use."Web Resources for The House on Mango Street"
Karnes City High School. 19 Oct. 2001.
http://www.karnes-city.isd.tenet.edu/resources/mango.html
This site is a resource from the Karnes City High School home page and is just a list of sites. It has background information on Cisneros, book reviews, other works, related readings and professional resources. All sites are annotated, which is quite helpful.
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Reading Activities compiled by Erin Barker
|Pre-Reading|During Reading|After Reading|Benway, Nova. “PinkMonkey.com MonkeyNotes for The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.” PinkMonkey.com. 2002. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmHouseMango09.asp>
The Literary/Historical Information and the Background Information in these study notes will help students understand the context in which The House on Mango Street was written. There is also some interesting information about what inspired Cisneros to write this book. The website offers summaries, character analyses, and review questions as well.Bradley, Leslie. “Pre-Reading Activity.” 21 Feb. 2005 <http://members.accessus.net/~bradley/Prereading.html>
This website by a high school English teacher offers a list of pre-reading questions for The House on Mango Street. These questions ask students to respond to situations that might seem incredibly foreign to them. The situations are those of Esperanza in The House on Mango Street. A discussion of student responses after the students have read how Esperanza experienced the situations would also be interesting.Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. MP3 audio recording. 22 Feb. 2005 <http://www.salon.com/audio/2000/10/05/cisneros/>
This site has audio of Sandra Cisneros reading selections from The House on Mango Street. She reads “The House on Mango Street”, “Hairs”, “Boys and Girls”, and “My Name”. This would be a great pre-reading activity because it is interesting to hear how the author meant for the book to be read. This would also be an interesting way to start students on their reading.Cisneros, Sandra. “Panelist: Snadra Cisneros.” Crossing Borders: the immigrant voice in American Literature. Key West Literary Seminar. 2002. 22 Feb. 2005 <http://www.keywestliteraryseminar.org/crossingborders/p_cisneros.htm>
This page is a bio that Cisneros wrote about herself for a literary workshop. This information could provide background to her book and supplement other biographical information. It might be interesting to students because, unlike most bios, it is written in first person.“Concepts Across the Curriculum: Hispanic Heritage.” Public Broadcasting System Teacher Source. Sept 2000. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/thismonth/sept00/index2.shtm#older>
PBS lists ideas on how to introduce and discuss Hispanic Culture in the classroom. This page has three different activities that incorporate music, literature, or statistical data into the lesson. There are links to websites where Latin music can be heard. There is also a link to the United States Census report, and dictionaries to aid in the definition of the different terms used to describe those of Hispanic heritage.Enyon, Bret and Donna Thompson. “Crossroads: Chicano Identity and Border Culture.” American Social History Project. 1998-2002. 21 Feb. 2005
<http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/53/>
This lesson plan explores the themes of borders and resistance in Chicano culture. Because the themes discussed here can also be found in The House on Mango Street, this introduction to Chicano culture would be useful to introduce students to the book. The website also provides links to other websites that offer information about Chicano culture, including the history of the Chicano movement.Hockman, Cathleen. “Workshop Explains Chicano Culture.” Daily Emerald. 6 Nov. 1995. 20 Feb. 2005 <http://www.dailyemerald.com/archive/v97/1/951106/951106.chicano.html>
This article from the University of Oregon’s campus newspaper describes how one campus is trying to combat racism with education. It also gives some simple, but useful, definitions of words used to define ethnic groups like Chicano, Latino, Hispanic etc. A simple definition of these terms will aid students in discussing Mexican-American culture or literature as they read The House on Mango Street.
“The House on Mango Street Summer Reading Guide.” Central High School. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2003. 21 Feb. 2005
<http://www.centralhigh.net/summerreading/9th2.html>
This website has a summer reading guide for House on Mango Street. It focuses specifically on literary terms and devices. This would be a nice guideline to give students for independent study.Las Culturas. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://www.lasculturas.com/>
Although the sponsoring organization and creator of this website is unknown, it provides a vast wealth of information about Latin American culture. This resource provides links to information about Latin American food, music, literature, history, art, and more. This would be a great site to find information about some of the food, dancing, or other cultural issues discussed in The House on Mango Street. It also has articles about current issues involving the Latino community.
Mathias, Kelly. “Sandra Cisneros.” Voices from the Gaps: Women Writers of Color. 1996. University of Minnesota. 21 Feb. 2005
<http://voices.cla.umn.edu/newsite/authors/CISNEROSsandra.htm>
This website provides biographical information on Sandra Cisneros and other women writers of color. Students might find information about the author and her background interesting, as House on Mango Street has been referred to as semi-autobiographical. This site also provides a link that suggests how the web page can be used in the classroom.Beasley-Murray, Angela. “The Politics of Gender in The House on Mango Street.” Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. 1999. 21 Feb. 2005
<http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1999/1/99.01.02.x.html#d>
This site contains an entire unit that focuses on the discussion of gender roles. It has lesson plans, vocabulary, pre-reading information, and discussion questions designed for The House on Mango Street. Teachers could use this information in a lesson during or post-reading.Beebee, Thomas. “Table of Short Narrative Forms.” Comparative Literature 100 Assignment:Analyzing a Mystery Text. Pennsylvania State University. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://www.courses.psu.edu/cmlit/cmlit100_tob/mystery/table.htm>
This chart breaks down the characteristics of a novella, short story, and prose poem according to plot, setting, characterization, and other characteristics. Because The House on Mango Street is a compilation of vignettes, short stories, and prose poems, it is a good tool to help students learn about the differences between the genres. Students could even be assigned to find the elements or details in that make a particular chapter of the book.“What is a Prose Poem?” Poetry Previews. 1999. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://www.poetrypreviews.com/poets/prosepoem.html>
This is a good definition and description of a prose poem that can easily be used in a mini-lesson or in conjunction with the table cited above.
“The House on Mango Street.” Cliffsnotes. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2000-2005 21 Feb. 2005
<http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-19.html>
These essay prompts would work well while reading The House on Mango Street. This study guide also provides summaries, character analyzes, biographical information about Cisneros, vocabulary, and class projects.Dasenbrock, Reed. “Interview with Sandra Cisneros.” Interviews with Writers of the Post-Colonial World. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press. 289-91. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://acunix.wheatonma.edu/rpearce/MultiC_Web/Authors/Sandra_Cisneros/body_sandra_cisneros.html>
This interview is interesting because it deals specifically with the author’s use of Spanish words in her writing. This would be a great interview to discuss while reading the book or even in conjunction with a vocabulary lesson. It might answer questions students have about why Cisneros uses Spanish vocabulary in her stories.Kimpton, Ann. “Linking Literature.” SMH Communications: 1997. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://www.hsdist88.dupage.k12.il.us/Curriculum/dist88/english/unit.htm>
This unit asks students to choose a theme from the novel, conduct internet research on that theme, work in groups, and present findings to the class. This unit plan also provides links to other websites that provide information about Cisneros or The House on Mango Street.Martin, Melissa. “SparkNote on The House on Mango Street.” 21 Feb. 2005 <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mangostreet/characters.html>.
This character list would help students keep track of the characters that pop in and out of the short stories. There are also interesting in-depth analyses for a few of the characters. Sparknotes also has summaries, quizzes, and discussion about themes and motifs for the novel.
Thornridge MESP LAB. “Vocabulary Project.” Thornton Township High Schools District 205. 1998. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://www.district205.com/projects/mango/vocab/>
This page includes two projects designed for an English III-IV or a Spanish III-IV class. The projects are part of a collaborative learning unit by teachers Kanesha Lee and Daveda Russell. Students can either create a rap and a video or a bilingual flashcard booklet using Spanish vocabulary from The House on Mango Street.Singer, Marilyn and Patty Campbell. Homepage. 21 Feb. 2005
<http://www.marilynsinger.net/shortstories.htm>
Marilyn Singer, children’s and YA author, has compiled several quotes from published authors defining a short story. There is also a list, compiled by Patty Campbell, of the “Best New Short Story Collections for Young Adults”. After reading The House on Mango Street, students could write their own definitions of a short story and compare their definitions to those of other authors. The list of other short story collections might be useful for students who are interested in reading more of the genre.Trachtenberg, Peter. “The House on Mango Street, a Vintage Books Teacher Guide.” Random House Academic Resources. Vintage Books: 1994. 21 Feb. 2005
<http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/teacherguides/houmantg.html>
This online version of the teacher guide contains several dozen questions for class discussion. These questions are designed to prompt discussion about specific vignettes and about the themes, language, and characters of the book as a whole.Trevenen, Thomas. Home Page. 2001-2002. 21 Feb. 2005
<http://www.masconomet.org/teachers/trevenen/mango.html#Assignments>
This website contains assignments, mostly essay or discussion questions, and notes on the book. I particularly enjoyed Mr. Trevenen’s notes on theme. The Red Riding Hood exercise was very thought provoking and could even be used as a pre-reading activity. The study guide notes about “The Monkey Garden” are also particularly informative.Bell, Brenda “The House on Mango Street”. WebQuest. 2000. 21 Feb. 2005
<http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/myhouse/>
This great creative project asks students to work in groups and design a house for Esperanza. Students are expected to browse the web for floor plan and furnishing ideas. Students sketch the dream house and should be prepared to support their design with evidence of Esperanza’s taste from the text. The web site has both a student and a teacher page for this project
Garrison, Barbara. “Bums in the Attic-from The House on Mango Street.” Net Links. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://www.suhsd.k12.ca.us/mvm/netlinks/1cisneros7/1cisneros7.html>
This lesson for seventh graders invites students to read an article written by Cisneros concerning the controversy that resulted when she painted her own house purple. Students then answer a list of discussion questions and complete a written response. This is a fun way to connect themes in the book with a recent occurrence in Cisnero’s life.“The House on Mango Street, The Summary and Analysis at Owleyes.” 2001-2005.
21 Feb. 2005
<http://owleyes.org/tph.php?url_code=house-mango>
This website provides essay questions for each vignette in The House on Mango Street. These essays could be assigned and discussed reading or after. Owleyes also has biographical information about Sandra Cisneros.“Journal Topics Inspired by The House on Mango Street.” Homepage. 22 Feb. 2005
< http://hometown.aol.com/joporyk/MangoStreet.html>
This website is a personal page posted, presumably, by an English writing teacher. These journal prompts are interesting and useful because they are written by students. The prompts can be used as prompts or as examples to help students create their own prompts.Johnson, Renée. “Modern Storytellers: Snapshots in Time.” Avid Multimedia Identity Project. 2003. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://www.jordan.palo-alto.ca.us/techpage/imovie2003/avidjohnson.html>
This unique lesson plan uses multimedia to teach students about imagery. Students are asked to make a “movie” using disposable or digital cameras. They must to find snapshots of their life similar to the snapshot-like vignettes of Cisneros work. The students then write about themselves, drawing from the images they have chosen.
McKinstry, Melissa and Doug Kipperman. “The House on Mango Street Vignette Writing.” San Diego Jewish Academy. 22 Feb. 2005
<http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/HOMSvignettes>
In this ninth-grade assignment, students are instructed to write a vignette mimicking the form of Cisneros. There are prompts for each chapter, as well as links to instructions and details describing figurative language and “show-not-tell” sentences.Molnar, Bonnie. “The Last Nine Weeks: Helping Seniors Say Goodbye”. The English
Journal. 88.5 May 1999: 53-57.
This high school teacher’s senior class uses writing exercises based on The House on Mango Street to provide reminiscence about and closure to their growing-up experiences. Students use the basic format, and even word choice of Cisnero’s vignettes but substitute their own words and experiences. This activity is meaningful and interesting enough to capture the attention of graduating seniors.
Munski, Alyssa and Andrea Witt. “Exploring the House on Mango Street.” 2003. San Diego State University. 21 Feb. 2005
<http://eprentice.sdsu.edu/J03CR/amunski/mango/mango.html>
This lesson plan is designed for a distance learning classroom, but the emailing activities could easily be adapted to a traditional classroom. The unit begins with students writing journal entries responding to the House on Mango Street which they share with an e-pal, then they write a vignette and create a storyboard for the book. The lesson emphasizes collaboration.Poppleton, Carol A. “Experiencing Poetic Prose.” Internet TESEL Journal. 5.10 (1999). 21 Feb. 2005
<http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Poppleton-MangoStreet.html>
The goals of this unit and lesson plan are “... to hear words for their beauty, to visualize them for their images, and to recreate images via our own creative process.” This is done by small group discussion, followed by large classroom discussion. Students were asked to recreate the visual images, drawings, of characters based on what they read.Zimmerman, Heather. “Destined to Grow Up: A Latina Girl Comes of Age.” Metroactive. 1999. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/03.04.99/stage-9909.html>
This theatre review of a presentation of the House on Mango Street in San Francisco would be an interesting post-reading activity. The review itself discusses different aspects of the production including the transition from book to stage. It would be interesting to discuss with students their responses to the review, or how they would’ve adapted The House On Mango Street for theatrical production.
Come see the full unit plan and set of reading strategies for this novel!
Back to Cisneros' Page
Reading Resources and Unit Guide for this Novel