copyright 1999, Sirpa Grierson

Reading Strategies
for

The House on Mango Street

by Sandra Cisneros

Mollie Weir
English 378, 2000.

 

 

Taxonomy Overview Guide Name of Novel/Unit: The House on Mango Street Difficulty Level Mastery Involvement Understanding Synthesis 1 Skim the book to find at least 20 Spanish words. Record the entire sentence that uses that word. Using a Spanish/English dictionary define each word and rewrite the sentence using the English version of the word. (This may take some reworking, feel free to rearrange if needed.) Read the chapter, My Name. If you could choose a new name for yourself, what would you choose? Consult a name book or dictionary to find the meaning of this name. Record the root words, origin and history of the name. Write a one-page paper explaining with examples why this new name fits you. What is the significance of Esperanza's name in relation to the major theme of the book? What does this lead us to think about the future of Esperanza? Define her name and identify the theme, use examples from the text. Which characters best represent true friendship in the novel? Find at least three examples from the text of what you think represents real friendship. Compare your friends to Esperanza's. Who has the better situation, why? If you could create the perfect friend for Esperanza, what would he/she be like? 2 What are the dreams (i.e.: aspirations, goals) of these characters?EsperanzaCathyMarinSallyEsperanza's motherAliciaRafaelaMamacitaMinerva Esperanza was embarrassed when her mother made her wear her old "chanclas" to a party. Think back on a time when you felt embarrassed or left out and illustrate that moment. Choose an interesting medium such as chalk, collage, water paints, etc. Type an explanation and tape it to the back of your picture. Find four examples from the text of superstition and explain their effect on Esperanza and her decision making. Find five examples of superstition (or urban legends) in our culture today and explain how they effect your life and decisions. How are you and Esperanza alike? How are you different? What is the meaning of Freedom in the novel? Analyze all of the major characters, decide which you feel are "free", and which are not. Explain why. For those who do not have freedom, describe what would need to change so that they could feel free. 3 Find at least 40 similes from the novel and record them. Describe your bedroom, backyard, or favorite activity using at least 15 similes. (1 extra point for every metaphor you find in the text!) Make a list of six of your best friends or family members or both. Refer to the chapter: And Some More about cloud poetry. Read the chapter again carefully. Using Cisneros's format (brief, direct, descriptive, with similes) write a poem describing your friends, your neighborhood, family, and yourself. Do some research and write a report about an aspect of Mexico that interests you (culture, dress, food, music, history, politics, economics, terrain etc.) Select 4 characters from the book and predict where they will be and what they will be doing 10 years from now. Write "A Day in the Life of. . . ". Use evidence from the text to infer into their personalities and desires. Describe their lives, families, jobs, homes, activities, problems, and successes in detail.

 

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