Tuesday, October 1, 2013

House on Mango Street, another on Hummus Street, a third one on Tabouli Lane, and one more from Masala Avenue

In light of us soon starting our "House on Mango Street" unit, I had to imagine a few different scenarios with my students--as they do not all come from Mango Street.


There is Anna who comes from Hummus Street. She is tall and loves to laugh. She really wanted to be a dentist until she realized that being a dentist involves blood. Anna is now looking into new possibilities that do not involve blood as part of her job description. Anna also loves math, but history is a subject that she could do without. Anna might come from Hummus Street, but it is purely American Hersey's chocolate that Anna loves as her lunch. And not just any chocolate, but cookies & cream is her must have.


Matt comes form Tabouli Lane. He has been in America longest of all the students in my class. Matt is usually always on time. His uniform is perfect--with only a few adjustments to his tie are needed before he can sit down. Matt's best friend in my class is a tissue. It could be that Matt needs to stretch his legs more often than the others. Matt is also always cold. "Ms, can you turn the temperature up?" Matt's skills of observation have not yet reached the level that he could see that "Ms" is quite warm, and thus will not turn the thermostat up. Although, Matt must be good at math as he is always trying to calculate the age of "Ms" based on any and all details that he remembers "Ms" mentioning about herself.


Drew form Masala Avenue is a new student. I have not learned as much about him yet. Drew is quiet, but always willing to offer an opinion. Of course, he also always raises his hand before speaking--a fact that some of  my other students have not yet mastered. Drew will ask if I would be willing to help him during lunch or study hall with an assignment in a different class. He is ready with an explanation of what he needs to do and why he was unable to do it at home. It also appears that Drew's mother has something in common with my mother. Interesting, as the two women never met, and always lived on different continents.


What is Your Mango Street?

The names of the students have been changed to guarantee their privacy on their home streets:)




6 comments:

  1. I love how you have weaved in the little details about the students. Each paragraph shows that you have taken time to notice and learn about your students.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Terje! I enjoy getting to know my students.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such an interesting writing exercise, Jaana. You really know your kids, don't you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your choice of street names. Your class is such a United Nations, how lucky to be a part of so many cultures. I guess I live on Burger Blvd. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. So cute, Jaana! I've bookmarked this in my list of future slice ideas! :-) I think I come from Spaghetti Street... and I need to do some research to see where some of my students come from! I know I have a few from Soba Street, some from Pozole Place or Arroz con Leche Avenue, others from Kebab Corner... (By the way, I've been planning to use Mango Street with my students sometime this year too, as a way to study slicing... I wish you lived closer so we could talk more often!!!) I love the way our classes make a delicious, diverse meal! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really liked this! I once had a student who was going to be a doctor... until a science program brought to our school by one of our state universities included a biology lesson- with a pig heart!

    Hmm... I actually lived on Broadway during my high school years... Broadway Street, that is, in little Oaklandon...

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Please stop by again.