Experience the discrimination of race, gender and class felt by one girl in this coming-of-age story. The layout and variety of activities in this resource will keep students engaged and involved in the reading. Use metaphors and figurative language to describe things that bring comfort, much like Esperanza’s thoughts on her mother’s hair. Describe Nenny’s personality based on what’s been revealed in previous chapters. Put events surrounding Esperanza’s poetry writing in the order as they occur in the chapter. Explain why the author might choose specific spelling as a plot device. Choose words that mean the same as the vocabulary word found in the reading. Write your own persuasive argument, similar to Esperanza’s argument for eating at school. Record the symbolism of shoes used throughout the novel by detailing their use on a flowchart. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: The House on Mango Street follows Esperanza Cordero as she tells stories from her childhood living on Mango Street in a series of vignettes. Esperanza is a young Latina girl living in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. She is not happy with her home on Mango Street. Her neighborhood is poor, and the people that live within it are treated like second class citizens. Esperanza experiences a lot of hardships growing up, from discrimination against her race, to men abusing their wives. Esperanza witnesses all this in her neighborhood, and vows to make a better future for herself. The House on Mango Street is a coming-of-age story that explores tough topics that force a young girl to grow up quickly.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A coming-of-age classic about a young girl growing up in Chicago • Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world—from the winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. “Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage...and seduces with precise, spare prose, creat[ing] unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one.” —The New York Times Book Review The House on Mango Street is one of the most cherished novels of the last fifty years. Readers from all walks of life have fallen for the voice of Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago and inventing for herself who and what she will become. “In English my name means hope,” she says. “In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting." Told in a series of vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous—Cisneros’s masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery and one of the greatest neighborhood novels of all time. Like Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street or Toni Morrison’s Sula, it makes a world through people and their voices, and it does so in language that is poetic and direct. This gorgeous coming-of-age novel is a celebration of the power of telling one’s story and of being proud of where you're from.

Find the strength within to stand up for yourself and others with this coming-of-age tale. The engaging activities will help educators keep the class paced and structured well. Put events in order as they happen when Holling stays behind one Wednesday. Imagine what Mrs. Baker’s inspiration might be for assigning Holling to read The Tempest. Predict whether Holling, Danny and Doug will feel differently towards Mrs. Baker after her gesture. Describe the difficult situation Mai Thi is in at her school and the significance it has within the backdrop of the story. Explore the motivations of the characters from the novel and describe how they impact the decisions made by them throughout the story. Map out some of the noted architecture described in the book. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: The Wednesday Wars follows Holling Hoodhood as he enters the seventh grade. Every Wednesday, the students in his class go to separate churches for religious classes. However, as a Presbyterian, Holling doesn’t have anywhere to go. So instead, he stays behind with his teacher, Mrs. Baker. She doesn’t seem pleased about this, and quickly Holling believes that she has it in for him. Each week, Mrs. Baker gives Holling menial tasks, until finally she begins to force him to read the works of William Shakespeare. This backfires, however, as Holling begins to enjoy the plays. So much so, that he even gets a roll in the community’s Holiday Extravaganza. Life at home for Holling isn’t any better. He is constantly lost in his father’s shadow, who forces Holling to continue in the family business. His sister tries to rebel, but is also forced to follow her father’s wishes. With the war in Vietnam as the backdrop, tensions rise as news of lost husbands overseas begin to come in. This coming-of-age story focuses on one boy finding the strength within and standing up for himself and others.

Winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Creative Nonfiction • From the celebrated bestselling author of The House on Mango Street: "This memoir has the transcendent sweep of a full life.” —Houston Chronicle From Chicago to Mexico, the places Sandra Cisneros has lived have provided inspiration for her now-classic works of fiction and poetry. But a house of her own, a place where she could truly take root, has eluded her. In this jigsaw autobiography, made up of essays and images spanning three decades—and including never-before-published work—Cisneros has come home at last. Written with her trademark lyricism, in these signature pieces the acclaimed author of The House on Mango Street and winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature shares her transformative memories and reveals her artistic and intellectual influences. Poignant, honest, and deeply moving, A House of My Own is an exuberant celebration of a life lived to the fullest, from one of our most beloved writers.

Become part of the Gilbreths and experience what it's like to be part of a large family. The pre-reading and vocabulary sections prepare students for the upcoming chapters. Get an idea of what an efficiency expert is like by brainstorming what their goal might be. Identify statements about the Gilbreth's car as true or false. Describe how the children convinced their parents to buy a family dog. Explore the Gilbreth's life view by finding more efficient ways to do things in the classroom. Investigate the life of F.W. Taylor, whose achievements influenced the Gilbreth's work in efficiency. Using a chart, compare the traits of Mr. Gilbreth with another character in the novel. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: A classic story of a family of twelve children and their adventures while growing up together. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were renowned efficiency experts, who often practiced their many different theories and experiments on their large family. Written with wit and humor, the book documents a multitude of humorous and touching vignettes–some hilarious and others nostalgic and heart-warming. Family adventures include the family car, a vintage Pierce-Arrow, which is used by the parents for Sunday drives and causes the children no end of embarrassment. As well as a trip out west to visit Mother’s straight-laced family. It is a story in which most families will readily identify, and keep the reader turning the pages to the very end.

Expose your students to face their fears and overcome obstacles. Encourage them to find themselves and grow into the person they're meant to be. Make teaching a breeze with ready-made activities and prompts to stimulate student comprehension. Identify statements about life in Mafatu's village as true or false. Find the synonyms to key vocabulary words found in the novel. Imagine how Mafatu's life would be different had his mother been alive. Predict whether Mafatu will survive on the island and return to his village a new man. Explain what Mafatu believed brought him to safety. Create a board game, using a map of the island as a base. Create a set of rules and cards with questions, then play the game in small groups. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Call It Courage is a Newbery Medal-winning story about a boy who tries to overcome his fear of the sea by facing it. Set in the Pacific Islands, the story follows Mafatu, the son of the chief of Hikueru Island. After watching his mother die, Mafatu develops a fear of the sea, which brings his father shame. In order to no longer be seen as a coward among his tribe, Mafatu takes a canoe out into the ocean. He ends up lost and deserted on an island, forced to fend for himself. During his encounters on the island, Mafatu slowly faces and overcomes his fears, eventually returning home a new man.

Experience the miracle of understanding that we all take for granted. An ideal play for students with a low reading level. Gain insight into the difficulties of being blind and/or deaf. Put events from the novel in order as they happened when Annie and Helen were eating dinner. Students attempt to understand the motivations of the characters in the play. Find the synonym of the vocabulary word from the text. Explain the event in Helen's past that made it possible for her to realize what 'water' was. Research the real-life location of Ivy Green and plan a field trip to this important location. Identify all the problems and their solutions in a chart. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: This story is an emotional and vivid portrayal of the relationship between a child and her teacher. Helen Keller is rendered deaf and blind at an early age, and by the time she is six years old, her behavior becomes completely unmanageable. In desperation, her parents send for teacher Annie Sullivan to bring some discipline into the spoiled child’s life. Helen and Annie become locked in a ferocious battle of wills, but Annie is determined to bring a sense of discipline into Helen’s life. Annie teaches Helen words by constantly spelling them into Helen’s palm. Although Helen can spell them back, she doesn’t understand that these words actually represent things. At the water pump Annie spells “water” into Helen’s hand and suddenly the miracle happens—Helen understands.

Run off with Lucky and experience a series of misadventures, all while searching for a place to belong. The chapter comprehension questions are easy for students to understand. Answer multiple choice questions about the town that Lucky lives in. Students determine how Lucky felt toward Lincoln, and defend their opinion with proof from the text. Research the "chukar" bird and find some interesting facts about it. Describe the dust storm event from the point of view of Brigitte or Miles' grandmother. In pairs, students investigate a topic from the novel and interview each other about that topic. On a Cluster Word Web, students write details about their chosen topic. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: In a small town in the California desert, a 10-year-old girl named Lucky is looked after by her new guardian Brigitte, after her mother dies. Worried that her new guardian will abandon her, Lucky seeks help from her "Higher Power." After discovering three "signs" to leave, Lucky runs away with her dog during a sandstorm. During this great misadventure, she inadvertently saves the life of a child. Their relationship is resolved when Brigitte reveals she is not moving away.

Spend the summer with Sara and the challenges she experiences while discovering herself. New ideas are provided for checking student comprehension of the novel. Set a purpose for reading by discussing the roles of family and the difficulties within. Describe how Sara sees her life as suddenly changing. State Sara and Wanda's differing opinions on Sara's haircut. Become a detective and determine whether Sara has sufficient evidence to accuse Joe of stealing Charlie's watch. Match vocabulary words from the novel to their synonyms. Step into the shoes of Joe and write a letter to an advice columnist about Sara and her rude behavior. List the problems faced by Sara and the possible solutions in a Problem-Solution Chart. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: A classic coming-of-age story of fourteen-year-old, Sara, who lives in a small town in West Virginia. This Newbery Medal winning-story centers on Sara and her troubled relationship with her remote father, her perfect older sister, and Joe Melby—a boy from school. All of these problems are quickly placed on the backburner when Charlie, her mentally disabled brother, wanders out of the house in the middle of the night and goes missing. While resolving this serious crisis, Sara discovers a great deal of herself. When she and Joe find Charlie safe and sound, Sara comes to grips with the knowledge that she is comfortable with who she is and who she is becoming.

Get a sense of the remarkable injustices experienced by both horses and the people of the day. Incorporate well-thought-out questions that encourage students to really think about their answers. Determine the setting of the novel based only on a few details from the story. Prepare for the reading by investigating the purpose of the spur in horseback riding. Finish sentences from the book with their missing vocabulary words. Identify Joe's error in judgment when tending to Black Beauty. Explore ways some of the cruelties experienced by the horses in this novel could have been prevented. Write a short book review of the novel, and post it online. Choose a major event from the book and complete a concept wheel with details on who, what, when, where, and why. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Nothing could defeat the spirit of this gentle and courageous horse, Black Beauty! One of the most endearing stories of all time is set in England during the mid-1800s, and is told from the perspective of its main character. Black Beauty shares his adventures from his days as a young colt in the pastures of Farmer Grey, through different owners and into his twilight years. Tragedy seems to shape the course of Black Beauty’s life as he learns much of the world through the friendships with different horses: the tragic life of Ginger, the brave and noble Captain, and the fun-loving Merrylegs.