The House on Mango Street

Prime real estate in literature.

  • Course Length: 2 weeks
  • Course Type: Short Course
  • Category:
    • Literature
    • Middle School
    • Elementary School

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What makes a book Young Adult (YA) Lit? If you've checked out the YA section at your local bookstore in the last two years, you might think it has something to do with vampires and wizards, but we're here to tell you that's not the case—not exclusively, anyway.

In this course we'll be discussing the differences between YA Lit, Children's Lit, and just plain Literature-Lit as we read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

As you read, you'll focus on the idea of written communication. Turns out it's not all essays and research papers. Thanks to a little thing called social networking, some of the most effective written communication happening these days has 140 characters or fewer. And wouldn't you know it? Cisneros was all about keeping it brief.

Through intros, lessons, readings, and activities, you'll

  • identify examples of imagery in literature.
  • define the literary terms metaphor and simile and give examples of each.
  • list the qualities that make YA Lit unique, separating it from Children's Lit and literature at large.
  • discuss the symbolism of the "house" Esperanza hopes to have one day.
  • explain the difference between a short story and a vignette.
  • describe how words help set Esperanza free.

So get ready to road trip over to Mango Street.


Unit Breakdown

1 The House on Mango Street - The House on Mango Street

The House on Mango Street is one of the most taught books in middle school—for a reason. In this unit, we'll dig into the protagonist, the writing style, and all the tough stuff the book brings with it.