Book Project Time

Students should be working on their HMS book project, bringing materials to work on in class everyday and working on the project for homework.

The Book Project

In period one, we began the day with some analytical writing about HMS. We wrapped up the day discussing the final book project.

In period five, we continued our reading of the novel working through "The Three Sisters."

HW: In both periods, students should have seven of their eight personal narratives returned and should begin revising them for the final project.

Mango Says Goodbye (almost)

Today we talked a bit about the themes of The House on Mango Street and then finished the book in period one and got through the "Monkey Garden" in period five.


Tonight's HW is the final personal narrative, due Monday

• A place like the monkey garden
• Someone old who shared their wisdom
• Any one of the older options that you haven’t done.
  

Monday

Today, after we collected HW and assigned new HW, students worked through four chapters of HMS with partners--"Minerva..." through "A Smart Cookie."

HW Personal Narrative #7 (due 5/18):

• A time you helped someone less fortunate than yourself
• If you began your own quiet war, what would you fight for?  How?  Why?
• Something you quit for the wrong reasons and wish you hadn’t

Thursday and Friday

We had a look at a few more chapters of HMS. Specifically, we compared the chapter "Four Skinny Trees" with the Tupac Shakur poem "The Rose that Grew from Concrete." Students also began work on a character analysis assignment on Esperanza (below) which is due Monday.

Directions: 
1) Put yourself into Esperanza’s place at the end of "Four Skinny Trees."  Create an open mind diagram (just an outline of a head) and fill it with objects, images, symbols and quotations from the book so far to provide a picture of who Esperanza is, what might be going through her mind, what is important to her, what influences her.

• You must include at least TWO quotations in your open mind.
• Be sure to cite each quotation with the page number on which it appears.

2) On the back of this sheet write a paragraph explaining what you drew and wrote inside the open mind.

Wednesday

Today we continued HMS, reading through "Sire" in period 1. The homework options below were given yesterday and are due today (period 5) or Thursday (period 1).


Personal Narrative #6

• Someone like Geraldo, Ruthie or Earl
• First love or crush
• Your definition of home
• Something that makes you happy when you’re sad

More Mango Street

Today we began the day with a bit of CST prep and then continued with HMS.
Homework Options, Due Monday:

• Death and/or funeral
• Someone who was teased or taunted
• Beliefs about luck and the future
• Someone you met briefly who made an impression on you

No Homework Tonight

Today we read a couple more chapters of HMS and added some things to the dialectical journal. No homework tonight, but it would be a good time to make up homework if you are missing any of the four personal narratives we've done so far.

"And Some More" HMS

Today, we went over trhe chapters from yetserday and read "And Some More."

Tonight's Homework Options, Due 4/5

• Somebody like the Vargas kids
• Someone who reminds you of Alicia or Darius
• Playing at being grown up
• Embarrassing or disappointing incident

Students began the day writing down the homework options, and then spent the rest of the period working through four chapters ("Those Who Don't" through "Darius and the Clouds") in small groups.

Homework: Personal Narrative #3, Due 5/4

• Something magical in a store
• Trouble with the law
• Someone older you used to look up to (or still do)
• Fear of strangers