Lesson Plan: Sections 4, 5 & 6

Section Four: Growth and Maturity, Sexuality (1 class period)

Pre-reading #4 question: How is growing into a teenage body (physically, mentally and emotionally) like moving into a new house/apartment? Compare the experiences of moving into a new house/apartment to the experiences of being a teenager.

Read pp. 39-55: The Family of Little Feet; A Rice Sandwich; Chanclas; Hips;* The First Job

Read and discuss the selections in class, paying particular attention to how Esperanza and her friends are changing as adolescence sets in. Hips works well as a reader’s theater piece.

Homework: Pre-reading #5

Section Five: Gender Roles and Expectations (1-2 class periods)

Pre-reading #5 question: Should parents/guardians raise their teenage girls in the same way that they raise their teenage boys? Why or why not? What rules should be the same for girls and boys? What should be different? Do you have brothers, sisters, cousins, etc. who are treated differently from you because of gender? Explain.

Read pp. 56-73: Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark; Born Bad; Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water; Geraldo No Last Name; Edna’s Ruthie; The Earl of Tennessee; Sire

For this section, I often have students jigsaw the chapters just to mix things up a bit. Depending on the needs of your class, you can do one or both of the following activities. If you decide to have the students read the chapters as a whole class, you might need to allot an additional day for the activity/activities.

Suggested activity #1: Close Reading (1 class period)
For this assignment, students work in pairs or trios to complete the close reading worksheet. Each set of students is assigned a different chapter to work through and then present to their classmates. Suggested chapters are included at the bottom of the worksheet, though the assignment will apply to many of the chapters in the novel. This activity can be done after students have read all the chapters, or as a way to jigsaw multiple chapters.
NOTE: Students need to understand theme and symbol prior to attempting this activity.

AND/OR

Suggested activity #2: Geraldo No Last Name (1 class period)
Several of the chapters in Mango Street, including Geraldo No Last Name contain very subtle, yet powerful references to complex human rights issues; because of the subtlety, students often miss the message. In order to help students grapple with the issue of undocumented laborers presented in this chapter I intend to try the following next time I teach the novel. (Translation: I haven’t tried this one yet!)

Read the chapter Geraldo No Last Name aloud together. Invite students to share their questions, reactions, confusions, etc. Some of the students who already have schema around issues of immigration and documentation will identify with this chapter, but many miss the reference. After this initial airing of reactions, have students complete a Before/After Reading Chart before_after_chart.doc based on what they’ve read. In the "What I know after previewing" column, they should record the "facts" they know about Geraldo—in other words, what literal information is supplied by the text about Geraldo. In the "What I need to know" column, they should record their questions, confusions, curiosities, etc. about the information in the first column.

Once they have accomplished these two tasks, pose the following question to students: What is an undocumented worker? Who gets to be a citizen in this country? What rights do citizens have that non-citizens do not? Spend some time discussing the issues, inviting student to respond to these questions as well as generate some of their own. When the conversation seems to be winding down, give students a copy of "The 9/11 Disappeareds" pdf version article to read silently or in pairs. This article talks about the undocumented workers who were killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center and the work being done by some organizations to contact the families. As the students read, they should record any information from the article or discussion which helps them answer their questions in the "What I now know" column. Finally, any additional questions that were generated or questions which remain unanswered should be written in the "What I still need to know" column.

Homework: Pre-reading #6

Section Six: Fitting in

Pre-reading #6 question: Describe a situation where you once felt really out of place or uncomfortable. Why did you feel this way? What does the word "outcast" mean? What kinds of attributes make people into outcasts? Why must society have outcasts?

Read pp. 74-87: Four Skinny Trees; No Speak English; Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Pineapple Juice on Tuesdays; Sally; Minerva Writes Poems; Bums in the Attic

Discuss the pre-reading assignment from the night before, then read and discuss the indicated chapters. Add ideas to your list about Esperanza’s identity development after reading The Four Skinny Trees (35-40 minutes)

Give students a copy of the Double Entry Journal Mango Street DEJ.DOCand go over the requirements very carefully. This is an assignment that students often struggle with, but is one that I feel is important for them to wrestle with in preparation for the interpretive essay. I have found it helpful to really walk them through the example and perhaps to work through one of the blanks as a whole class. This assignment can also be used at any point with different passages of text. (15-20 minutes)

Homework: Finish Double Entry Journal

[ continue to sectiosn 7 & 8 ]