As the Quarter Ends

Today we began the day with a bit of analytical writing on HMS and then I collected warm-ups. The rest of the day was spent discussing next week's Mango Street Book Project.

HW Begin Narrative Revisions

Mango Says Goodbye

Today we warmed up with a look at some of the central themes of The House on Mango Street. Following this we finished the book! Wrap up and project introduction tomorrow.

Man the end of this book is bleak!

Today we worked through the next four vignettes, from "The Monkey Garden" to "The Three Sisters."

HW Personal Narrative #8

• a time you helped someone less fortunate then 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
• a place like the monkey garden
• someone old who shared their wisdom

Circle time!

So today we talked about the chapters from yesterday and worked through "Smart Cookie," "What Sally Said," and "Monkey Garden." No new homework.

Catching Up a Bit

Today we finished the tear art assignment from Friday, and individual students worked on three more HMS chapters, "Minerva Writes Poems" through "Beautiful & Cruel."

HW: Personal Narrative #7

• first love or crush
• something that makes you happy when you are sad
• your definition of home

Thursday & Friday

On Thursday and Friday, we worked through a few more chapters of HMS, taking us through "Sally." We spent much of the period on Friday working on a short art project (see below). Many people finished in class, but we will have a few moments on Monday to wrap it up.

1. Choose one example of figurative language from the book so far.
2. Present it artistically--literally or figuratively--in tear art. (This means you may use only your hands, paper, and glue. You may NOT use scissors or writing impliments of any kind.)
3. Include the quotations neatly on the front (you MAY use pen for this).
4. Include your name, date, etc. on the back (you may use pen for this).

"Geraldo" to "Sire"

Today we skipped the warm-up, and students worked in small groups on questions for four chapters of HMS. We discussed these briefly at the end.

HW Personal Narrative #6 Due 3/26 (options blow)

• beliefs about luck and the future
• someone you met briefly who made an impression on you
• someone like Geraldo, Ruthie, or Earl