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.
Should Have Made It
I could have played professionally in the NFL, that’s what my dad says. He played football all of his life until he was a freshman in high school. Thats when he moved to the District of Columbia and there were no boys and girls clubs there. He should have made it. He was faster and quicker than everyone else, and had moves like no one else on the football field. He should have made it. Why did my grandparents have to move to DC? Why couldn’t they stay in Maryland so my dad could pursue his dream? Why didn’t they care? Then, when they moved to DC he just stopped playing. He wasn’t going to ride his bike 2 hours just to get to practice everyday. He wasn’t going to beg his parents to play anymore. It wasn’t worth it anymore. He should have made it.
~ Josh W.
Great use of the past/ And way to get info from your dad
ReplyDeleteWay to use your dads experience and make a story. Nice work jwoots
ReplyDeletethis is superb
ReplyDeleteTruly Touching
ReplyDeleteThat's a cool story. Your dad has a good story to tell.
ReplyDelete