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Goal: Students will read, comprehend and interpret a personal narrative
Students will recognize situational humor
renegade
adj. disloyal; traitorous - The renegade ballplayer signed up with the rival team.
feisty
adj. full of spirit; energetic - The feisty monkey took the banana from the visitor
Gary Soto
(b. 1952)
Gary Soto grew up in a Mexican American section of Fresno, California. As a child, he wanted to be either a priest or a scientist who studies fossils and bones. Then, in high school, he discovered great writers, including John Steinbeck and Robert Frost. In college, Soto started writing poetry.
Favorite Pastime Sotos favorite pastime is reading. He has said, It appears these days I dont have much of a life because my nose is often stuck in a book. But I discovered that reading builds a life inside the mind. Soto has written several award-winning novels, short stories, and books of poetry.
When Gary Soto was growing up during the 1950s and 1960s, he noticed that very few books for young people featured Mexican American characters. In the 1970s, when Soto became a writer, he set out to fill that gap. He says, "Because I believe in literature and the depth of living it adds to our years, my task is to start Chicanos reading." He pursues this goal by writing about characters to whom Chicanos can relate. Today, thanks to Soto and others, there exist many books for young people that feature Mexican American characters, use everyday Spanish phrases, and give readers a sense of Chicano culture.
Students will read the story in their text
1. Respond: What were your feelings for the boys as you read this essay? Explain.
2. (a) Recall: What jobs do the boys hope to have when they get older? (b) Infer: What do the boys’ choice of future jobs suggest about their characters? Explain.
3. (a) Infer: Do you think this is the first time the boys have watched the beautiful girl? Why or why not? (b) Draw Conclusions: What does the girl in the window seem to represent for the two young boys?
4. Speculate: What advice do you think an adult might give the two boys to help them feel better about themselves?
1.2.9.A:
Evaluate text organization and content to determine the author’s purpose, point of view, and effectiveness according to the author’s theses, accuracy, thoroughness, and patterns of logic.
1.3.9.C:
Analyze the use and effectiveness of literary elements used by one or more authors, including characterization, setting, plot, theme, point of view, tone, mood, and style
