Aim: How can the use of annotations aid in analyzing the figurative language, tone and conflict in “My Name,” by Sandra Ciseneros?
Do Now: What does your name mean? If you don’t know, look it up. Do you feel any connection to this meaning?
For this lesson’s ‘Do Now’ we were supposed to find the meaning behind our names and discuss with the rest of the class. I found out that my name meant “God is Gracious,” but I personally didn’t feel a connection to this meaning as I am atheist and none of my family members are religious either. In the class discussion Allison said that the definition behind her name was noble and honest and she can somewhat relate to it as she tries to be as honest as she can. We then proceeded with the lesson and we watched a video How to Annotate While Reading teaching us about annotation techniques we could use and the benefits of it. We also learned about Mrs. Peterson’s own annotation techniques which she calls chunking (summarizing the chapter), writing down common or repeating themes, and POV of characters.
Team Discussion:
Do you know why your parents chose your name? Who chose it? Were you named after a particular person? Why were you named after him or her?
We were split into predetermined groups after watching the video and had a discussion about why our names were chosen, who chose it, were you named after someone and if so why. A common factor in this discussion was that there was no special reason behind the names we were given except for Lowell but he said he had forgotten the reason. After finishing we returned to the meeting and each person that spoke had to talk about what they heard from one of their group members.
Next up we had to read the short story "My Name" by Sandra Cisneros and annotate anything we found to be important which includes figurative language, diction, syntax, tone, anything else that stands out to you etc. Then we were put into breakout rooms and we had to answer these questions together
How does Esperanza describe her name using figurative language? Refer to your annotations and cite some examples from the text.
Figurative language: Any use of language where the intended meaning differs from the actual literal meaning of the words themselves. There are many techniques which can rightly be called figurative language, including metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia, verbal irony, and oxymoron. (Related: figure of speech).
What is Esperanza revealing to us about her feelings about herself, her life and her dreams for the future through the discussion of her name?
How does she establish a conflict of identity?
Conflict-struggle between 2 or more forces
After returning to the meeting we discussed our answers to the two questions above and after that we had to write a paragraph about our own name similar to the story that we had just read. These are the instructions:
Now it’s your turn to write about your name. Using the text as a model, write a paragraph about your name. You can try to mimic Cisneros’ style and voice. Think about the following questions as you write and be sure to include use of:
What is your whole name?
What does your name mean? Share what your name actually means and define what it means to you by using figurative language.
Are you named after someone? Who are they and how do you feel about them?
What does your name remind you of?
Does your name reflect who you are?
Do you wish you had a different name/have you ever wanted to change your name
Reflection: Today’s lesson was interesting as we learned about the meanings behind our own names and the values we give them; plus the tips of how to annotate a text while reading which is beneficial to me since I didn’t annotate that well and this gave me a better idea of what it is and how to do it. We were taught this lesson to give us a life lesson that we are ones that give our names their value and not others. I could use this lesson to reevaluate my thoughts and opinions and take what I learned about annotating and use them when reading a book for homework.
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