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.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Winter

All seasons have different Feelings. Spring fragrant; Summer balmy; Fall Brisk; Winter...

In Winter I feel closest to home. The weather is always cool and I love going out in the snow. The feeling of the wind lashing against my face as you make my way through the cold. Sequestering myself in my snow castle that I spent hours building. The smell of the forest and snowflakes melting; the impact on your skin. Eventually I give in to the cold and shift back into the warmths of my house. Smelling the scented candles and hearing the crackling of the fire as I make my way upstairs. I look around and spy a cup of hot coco steaming in all of its glory. I take a sip and instantly feel it warming up my insides…

I am now in the kitchen. Flour is flying everywhere. It is in my nose, in my ears and in my mouth. “Rockin around the Christmas Tree” is playing as I push shapes into the dough to create Christmas cookies -- or “Weihnachtsplätzchen”. I press the buttons on the oven and I hear the beeping retort. The scent of freshly baked goods fills the air…

After an exhausting four hour car ride I arrive. Deep Creek lake is to my left and I see the ice covering it all. I arrive at the hotel and I am instantly assaulted with the cold air. Unpacking the bags and sprinting to the lobby to shelter myself from the cold. The lobby is warm and the sound of the wood snapping in the fireplace fills the room. I sit at the chairs surrounding the fireplace and study the people in the lobby. There is an elderly couple playing scrabble and two people reading who look like they just came back from the snowy mountain…

Its 7 am and the powder is perfect. Almost nobody is on the slope and the sound of polyethylene touching snow fills my ears. The brisk air slices through my mouth and nose into my lungs. After three runs I take a break at the log-cabin-like lodge and recharge with some pancakes and orange juice. I go back out and more and more people are riding. I go down squirrel cage and suddenly out of nowhere -- BAM!

And then there is spring which is fragrant, then summer which is balmy, then fall which is brisk, and then winter...

~ Constantin P.

11 comments:

  1. this is really good. i liked the use of german

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  2. I like the end and that word that I can't pronouce

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  3. Very well written I was very impressed with you use of descriptive words that you used. It made me feel like I was in Deep Creek Lake! Well Done! ELR

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  4. "Assaulted with the cold air..."

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  5. I like how you included your jourman word and also the end where you don't know if a squirrel hit you or a skier or a tree or pole.
    E.L.

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  6. This is amazing! I especially loved the amount of detail that was put into this piece of writing.

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  7. I really liked the amount of detail and description you used. I like that there is such a small amount of plot action and more description than anything. Good job.

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  8. I like the way that you utilized your surroundings in order to create environments that seem to be alive and characters within themselves.

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  9. I like the amount of detail you put into every little thing

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  10. This is so good! I love how the beginning and the end are similar.

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