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.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Falling Stars

The waiting, the anticipation, the feeling that everyone is holding a shared breath together. My eyes scan the sky looking for some unknown sign, anything that will tell me what is happening. 

During the summer, every summer, my family spends two months on the Jersey Shore. I hang out at the beach with my friends playing tennis and swimming. On the 4th of July, we go to my grandmothers house to sit on the lawn and watch the fireworks fall from the sky. 

Out of nowhere there is a loud bang, it makes everyone gasp as we watch the fiery comet fly in a graceful arch over the water. Then with a boom, a sound like the sky itself is opening up to grasp the long spidery tendrils, the firework opens into a shower of sparks. Like trapped stars straining to fly free. Lasting for only brief moment, before they sail back down towards the water disappearing just before the two meet. Boom, boom, boom, more flaming comets shot from their floating home longing to leave this world and touch the sky. For a few moments the world is illuminated in their fiery glow, the water taking on a new personality and becoming one with brilliant show of light. Then all is quiet, the moment is over, the sky returns to dark, the water becomes still, and the world is holding its breath, returning to normal.

~ Margot L.

5 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 9, 2015 at 10:19 AM

    Nice descriptions, the visualizations of the fireworks are amazing.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 9, 2015 at 10:27 AM

    I loved how you described the fireworks as long spidery tendrils. You've skillfully added descriptions to fireworks and it lets the reader be in the moment with you. Great job!

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 9, 2015 at 10:57 AM

    You describe the fireworks with great descriptions. I love how you end your vignette!

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 9, 2015 at 12:43 PM

    I really like your first sentence. It really captured my attention. I also like the similes you used in the last paragraph. Great vignette!

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  5. AnonymousJanuary 9, 2015 at 12:50 PM

    I love the imagery and your writing was very intense, it drew me in.

    ReplyDelete

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