Potomac's eighth grade English students read and discuss The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The book is a series of short vignettes that together capture the characters, setting, and stories of a particular neighborhood in Chicago. The vignettes are written from the perspective of a fictional narrator and are based loosely on Cisneros's own experiences as well as those of her students. Some of the vignettes are humorous or action-packed; some are heart-wrenching or shocking. All are deliberate in their use of figurative language, poetic elements, grammar conventions, and pacing.Each eighth grader composed at least one vignette for inclusion in this digital collection. They wrote in the style of Sandra Cisneros, as they interpreted it based on their notes and our class discussions, yet they set it in a time and place of their own choosing. While some of these vignettes are based on the author's personal experience, many of them are purely fiction, an imagining of characters and circumstances that seemed ripe for this assignment. Students also used this assignment to experiment with new vocabulary words and techniques involving punctuation and sentence structure.We encourage you to leave comments below vignettes that strike you in some way. Please keep your comments positive and specific; this is not the place for critiques or suggestions. Enjoy the creativity and vibrancy of these students' literary efforts.
The Public
It was a new world. A whole new world. Private to public. Tiffany’s to Target. Different people with distinct personalities that I had never crossed paths with before this crisp, fall morning, September 23 at 8:27 am. All my friends had been lost, all my grades, my reputation. It was unusual, yes, you could say that, but it was captivating to shake up the criteria and the cliques that I had been so aware of before. Flashes of familiar faces peeked their way into my sight as they floated down the hall before the bell had rung. The first day was no big deal, no tests, no due dates, no friends. No friends. No friends. That was the toughest part. It is going to be hard only because it is a whole new world.
~ Eloise S.
This is really amazing writing Eloise!!!! It captures your thoughts perfectly.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Eloise!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful wording, you have a bright future ahead of you!
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Eloise, this is really good! Your word choice is great! Nice Job!
ReplyDeleteI also have a passion for tiffanys
ReplyDeleteNew in 4th grade must have been a toughy! You really show the stress and difficulties. What an insight!
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