ELA LESSON PLANBY MRS. MAXWELL

“A home is where you hang your hat.”

A HOME IS:___________________________________________________

Come up with three words that describe what a home

is.

Listen, as one author describes a home she lived in growing up.

The House on mango Street

By Sandra Cisneros

A. A PERSON’S HOUSE SAYS A LOT ABOUT THEMB. PARENTS OFTEN LIE TO THEIR CHILDREN

C. THE WAY A PERSON IS RAISED CAN MOTIVATE THEM TO MAKE CHANGES

D. HOME OWNERS ARE HAPPIER THAN RENTERS

The main idea of “The House on Mango Street” is:

Old Mining Cabin in Boulder, Colorado

This is the cabin I lived in for a year up Sunshine Canyon in Boulder, Colorado.

-Mrs. Maxwell

My Life as a Hippie in Sunshine Canyon

(Mrs. Maxwell describes a house she once lived in.)   When I was young and naïve, fresh out of college, I moved to Colorado to play some more before taking

on the full responsibilities of adulthood. I thought it would be easy to live there, since it was easy to live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I was wrong, boy, was I wrong!

I didn’t know about “cost of living”. I didn’t know that rent could cost $150 in one town and $500 per month in another. Interestingly enough, jobs still paid the same!

Before I knew it, I was signing a lease on an old mining cabin up in the mountains six miles outside of town for $350 a month. It was so cute and little. Just right for me, I thought. It wasn’t exactly secluded, as I was the middle part of a cabin sandwich. (I had cabins on either side of me.) That was good, for although I was feeling brave, I was not exactly a lumberjack. Now I can see that brave isn’t the right word for me, oblivious is more like it.

There are a couple more things I should tell you about the cabin. It had no running water. For those of you who have a hard time putting two and two together, that means there were no shower and no toilet. Out behind the cabin was a lovely little outhouse where I did my business no matter what, rain or shine, snow or hail, blizzard or pitch black night.

The main source of heat was a wood-burning stove. I wasn’t too concerned about that yet, because it was only July. I should have thought that one out some more though; winter comes in like a roar, as they say.

Summer time and the living was easy… It was beautiful up there. I could go to town to be around people, and then go home to have some peace and quiet.

I soon found that people around me had unique interests. I heard a bagpipe playing, “Amazing Grace” one Sunday morning as I arose from sleep. I felt as though it was part of my dream. It was incredible. I also heard an instrument called a didgeridoo one night.

My Life as a Hippie in Sunshine Canyon cont.

My cat, Beast, who grew up in the city, loved his new life as a mountain cat. Part of the mountain life is sad though, and I’m pretty sure that summer, my cat joined the food chain. There were coyotes, wolves, and mountain lions up there. Beast just disappeared one day.

Summer in Colorado lasts a while, but the nights always get cooler. It didn’t take long for me to realize I would need to get some wood to burn if I wanted to survive the winter. I ordered a cord of wood. Once it arrived, I had to chop and split it. I had never done such hard work before or since then. I became pretty talented with that ax, and I liked to brag, “I can ax a lot of wood.”

So as it got cooler, I spent more time inside with the stove. I wasn’t the only critter feeling the cool. My one-room cabin was also inhibited with mice. I have always been an animal lover, but when I went to sleep, I could hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet and I envisioned them climbing on me. It gave me the heebie-jeebies. I spent a lot of time researching how to dispose of my tiny torturers in a humane way. I finally decided on good old-fashioned mousetraps. I think I caught about 15 mice in five days. I was super grossed out by getting rid of the first dead mouse, but soon it became child’s play.

I started my fire every morning, but I worked in Denver and lived in Boulder. By the time I arrived home from work, my fire would be out and the cabin was freezing cold. I would start the fire again and crawl into bed under my down comforter and 20 degrees below zero sleeping bag. When I no longer saw my breath, I would throw off the comforter. I would get really mad every time I had to go to the bathroom. I don’t need to go into why, do I?

I was getting used to life. I showered at my sister’s house in town everyday. It hadn’t snowed very much yet, but I didn’t worry too much. I hadn’t exactly thought that part through either. I had a dinky little car without 4-wheel drive. Most people in the mountain have those. I soon found that when it snowed, my car would make it about a mile up. I would have to ditch my car on the side of the road (secretly hoping someone would hit it and push it off the steep side of the mountain road). I would then have to hitchhike up the mountain to my cabin or down the mountain to my sister’s house. I had never hitchhiked before then and I haven’t done it since. That was an adventure in itself.

Spring was coming and so was my best friend. I was used to my life, but was also sick of all the work it was. When Kerry came, she brought herself, her dog, cat, and all her things. Suddenly it was very crowded in that little one room cabin. We got sick of each other fast! A move was inevitable. The cabin became a thing of the past with a blink of an eye.

So why, do you ask, won’t people believe this story? I don’t really know, but whenever I tell people about it, they think it’s a joke or a lie. I guess it just isn’t me or something.

I still think of that cabin and wish I could spend the summer there again. I have fond memories to take with me wherever I go in the city or when I sit on a toilet or take a shower in my large, warm house!

1. LIVING IN A CABIN IS JUST LIKE LIVING ANYWHERE ELSE. ____________

2. THERE ARE COSTS AND REWARDS NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE. ___________

True or False?

THINK ABOUT “THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET” AND “MY LIFE AS A HIPPIE IN SUNSHINE CANYON”.

•NAME 3 THINGS THAT ARE SIMILAR ABOUT BOTH

STORIES. •NAME 3 THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT ABOUT

BOTH STORIES.

Compare and Contrast:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________

Come up with a t-shirt or bumper sticker slogan about

what a home is.

Final Writing Assignment:Choose one from below or come up with

your own idea with permission from Mrs. Maxwell

CHOICES:1.WRITE ABOUT A HOUSE YOU HAVE LIVED IN AT SOME POINT IN YOUR

LIFE.2.WRITE ABOUT A HOUSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO LIVE IN AT SOME POINT IN

YOUR LIFE.

YOU WILL DECIDE HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR STORY. YOU WILL NEED TO PUT IT IN A PODCAST, POWER POINT PRESENTATION, WORD DOCUMENT, OR SOME OTHER METHOD TO SHARE WITH THE CLASS ON OUTLOOK’S

WEBSITE.

HSCE ELA Covered

1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6, 1.1.7, 1.1.8, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.3.1, 1.3.3, 1.3.5, 1.3.6, 1.3.7, 1.3.9, 1.4.5, 1.5.1, 1.5.2, 1.5.3, 1.5.4, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 2.1.9, 2.1.10, 2.1.11, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.3.5, 2.3.6, 3.1.4, 3.1.5, 3.1.6, 3.1.7, 3.1.8, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.4.1, 3.4.2, 3.4.3, 4.1.1, 4.1.3, 4.1.4, 4.1.5, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, and 4.2.5