Lesson Plans for The House on Mango Street
(Taken in part from Carol Jago's book, Sandra Cisneros in the Classroom)
Pre-Reading / Background -
Before reading this book, the class would talk about the author and her background. She was born in the 50's in Chicago and the book also takes place in Chicago. Although it was published in 1984, it seems to take place awhile before that. The class would talk about what was going on in Chicago in the late 50's and 60's. We would also talk a little about Chicano culture and some stereotypes that may be out there.
Reading -
This book could, in all actuallity, be read in one sitting. However, I block off about a week and a half to two weeks for the unit. The reading and some assignments such as discussion and the Think Out Loud can be finished up in one week.
Writing Assingments -
For the final assignments for this unit, I have them do a Personal Writing Assignment that models the vignette-style that Cisneros uses in the book. I also ask them to do a jounal entry/ink-shedding on how they think this novel portrays the American Dream and how does it compare/contrast to the portrayals we've encountered in previous readings this year.