Teaching Part 1 of The Poet X
Updated: Jul 4, 2022
This post is a continuation of my post on how to start teaching The Poet X.
To start Part 1 of The Poet X, I asked kids to write a short paragraph about the meaning of their name, since there is a chapter dedicated to the meaning of Xiomara’s name. This assignment would also work well with The House on Mango Street, as there is a small section where Esperanza talks about what her name means in English and in Spanish.
Here is the assignment sheet: Name paper
Poet X Name Paper
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I leave concrete, extension assignments for students to do as homework (aka the “name paper,” etc), because they are fun, interesting, and help the kids connect to the book, but I do not assign work for homework that is absolutely necessary for the next day’s lesson.
Today’s post covers more of what I did for Part 1 of The Poet X. The page chunks below are arbitrary; this is what I could cover in a class period with opening and closing activities.
The Poet X, “When You’re Born to Old Parents” (18) to “Final Draft of Assignment” (41)
Lesson:
I started the lesson for this section by reviewing the last class with a quick Q & A and writing the answers up on the digital whiteboard.
What is the setting?
Who are the main characters?
What is the main conflict?
What do teenagers need to be happy?
After the opening Q & A, I asked the kids to find the PowerPoint about adolescent needs, which I posted on Canvas (our online warehouse), and look through it for 2-3 minutes.
Once they have reviewed the PowerPoint, I asked them to write in their journal for 10 minutes in response to the following prompt:
Prompt: In your journal, write for 10 minutes about which needs are and are not met in your own life. I didn’t have kids share out responses when they finished, but instead ask them to take a minute to quietly think about the ways in which they did or did not connect to Xiomara.
In a bid to bolster independence, I then asked the kids to read pages 18-27 on their own ( "When You Are Born to Old Parents" through “Rumor Has It”) I then had them fill in this character chart about Mami, which I felt they could handle on their own. After the chart they had to write a paragraph about why Mami was so strict.
Mami & Papi Character Chart
Mami & Papi Character Chart
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