Aim: How can the use of annotations aid in analyzing the figurative language, tone and conflict in “My Name,” by Sandra Ciseneros?
Do Now: CLASS DISCUSSION
What does your name mean? If you don’t know, look it up. Do you feel any connection to this meaning?
For the Do Now, the teacher had us look up the meaning of our names. This was important as it would be linked specifically to the short story, “My Name” by Sandra Ciseneros, a story about a girl named Esperanza who thinks that her fate is dark as it is intertwined with her name. We were asked as to whether we felt a connection to the meaning of our name to which many responded “no.” Several answers from classmates usually said that their names just had religious meaning although they were not super religious. For example, when asked to share out, Joel, whose name means “Yahweh is God”, responded by saying that he did not feel very religious and that his name did not hold any significant meaning to him. When other people were asked this question, they said they did not have a connection and they were named after siblings or to deviate from sibling names. As for I, John Lee, I never thought about my name’s significance, yet I searched it up and was not surprised as it meant “God is Great.” It was yet another common name with religious meaning. Although many had religious names that meant nothing to them, a few answers deviated from this trend. Annie, whose name meant, “Gracious”, said that her name suited her well and was connected to her personality, which was kind, courteous, and
thoughtful.
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Annotating--Purpose & Techniques
*This picture is an example of annotated text*---->
How to annotate text while reading [7:51]
Discussion: Further Techniques
Annotating: Purpose and Techniques
In this activity we learned about the importance of annotating. Before we went in to watch a video on the matter, I personally went into the activity thinking, “Oh great! More useless stuff that I will never use.” As for other students who were taught the art of annotation, I was sure that they had the same attitude. Either way, we students reluctantly watched the video that was presented in class and came out with a different attitude. As we finished the video, we realized that annotating isn't something that should be graded and instead should be considered for the benefit of ourselves. We learned that it was to help us slow down, comprehend the text, and find certain parts of the text quickly. We discussed other ways to annotate such as putting our exact thoughts down about a certain part of text at the moment we read it. This was a technique that Mrs. Peterson highly recommended. In addition, the use of finding themes in the text was also discussed as one of the students said that associating certain parts of the text with a common theme can help us connect parts of the text. We also talked about taking notes of each paragraph and summarizing with a few words. We could use words that we associate with certain parts of the text and Mrs. Peterson gave an example of doing so. She said that the summaries didn't have to be in full sentences or formal, which many of us liked as we didn’t have to cater to teachers forcing us to take perfect notes and instead take notes for our own benefit. This section of the lesson helped me realize that a lot of the work in school is going to be for our own success and that whether we used the techniques was up to us. We weren't to be tested on menial things such as notes but instead we were to be tested on our understanding of topics. 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?
Team Discussion: As the lesson progressed, we talked more about the origins of our names. We discussed with classmates about where we got them from to which Andrew replied, “I was named after my sister’s best friend in kindergarten for some reason.” Many students said that their parents chose their name and was named their name because it sounded nice. Others said they were named after friends of their parents. As for me, I was named John and was named after my father. I was named after him because I was the first boy born in the family and he decided it would be a good idea to name me after him.
"My Name" by Sandra Cisneros
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).
Using our annotations, we were able to answer these questions because we looked at specific parts of the text that were interesting, especially the figurative language that was used in the text.
Esperanza describes her name by metaphors and personification to give the reader a deeper understanding of her name Esperanza which holds a meaning of sadness. For example, she compared her name by saying, “It is the to Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing.” This use of metaphor gives her name more meaning as it adds on to the sad feeling of her name but also makes it clear like it's a reminiscent sad. This adds on to the identity crisis she goes thru because she feels as if she is doomed to repeat the same life of her great grandma, a woman who “...looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow.”
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?
After annotating the text, we used our paragraph summaries to help identify and locate specific parts of the text that can be connected to a conflict within the character.
Esperanza reveals that she feels as if she doesn't want to live a sedentary life like the family that comes before her. Although she has the same name as her grandma, her name is her own and therefore so is her life. She establishes a conflict of identity by looking towards the past and looking at her grandma. Since she and her grandma have the same name, she is afraid to live out the same life as her grandma has lived as well. In addition, her name is a bad omen that means melancholy or sadness. She doesn't want her life to be melancholy or sad.
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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?
*This picture refers to our last lesson in which we looked at a story about a highschooler through a highschooler’s POV which was written in such a way that you couldn't tell that it was actually written by someone much older than a highschooler. Her use of the narrator's voice is flawless and using annotation, we are able to mimic and learn how to copy certain narrators’ voices (Example below).
↓↓↓
My name is John Joshua Lee. My name means “God is Gracious.” My name is a pillar of light that reaches towards the heavens to praise God. My father, who’s name I share, is a great man. He works hard and loves his family. However, John is a very average name. It is common among men. Yet I do not want to be common. I do not want to be reflected by my own name and live a life of quiet desperation. I don't want to live a life in which I am strung to weights that may hold me back. I don't want to go down the average path, yet regret it everyday of my life. My name is very common yet I don't plan to live a common life. Life is not something in which you wait to ride into the sunset of retirement. I do not wish to change my name because it is named after my father, an admirable person, however I am afraid I am destined to live out the same life as him.
In this question, I tried to answer it by mimicking the narrator's voice and using figurative language to describe my name.
*This picture illustrates the fundamentals of annotation. Attention to details such as specific phrases or figurative language, helps you comprehend the text.
Reflection
In culmination, this lesson was essential in teaching me the importance of annotation and how to do it more efficiently. I learned that annotation’s use is to help us slow down, comprehend the text, and find certain parts of the text quickly. We learned how to annotate using techniques such as circling unknown words and new names, summarizing paragraphs and chapters, writing your thoughts down as you read, and using POV. These techniques allow the reader to both see the big idea as well as small details. Throughout elementary and middle school, the use of annotation was a chore that was to be checked by the teacher instead of used for the benefit of the student. Through the video and the techniques, it is clear that I learned this skill and improved it in highschool because it is going to be used to help me read large texts. Although the text we used was small, in the face of large texts, it would be invaluable to use this skill. This new skill would most likely be used when reading through textbooks, pieces of text on tests, and reading through books in general that should be studied. All in all, this lesson was crucial to development in reading comprehension and I would highly recommend those who missed this lesson to ask a friend or check out the english blog in our english syllabus.
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?
*This picture refers to our last lesson in which we looked at a story about a highschooler through a highschooler’s POV which was written in such a way that you couldn't tell that it was actually written by someone much older than a highschooler. Her use of the narrator's voice is flawless and using annotation, we are able to mimic and learn how to copy certain narrators’ voices (Example below).
↓↓↓
My name is John Joshua Lee. My name means “God is Gracious.” My name is a pillar of light that reaches towards the heavens to praise God. My father, who’s name I share, is a great man. He works hard and loves his family. However, John is a very average name. It is common among men. Yet I do not want to be common. I do not want to be reflected by my own name and live a life of quiet desperation. I don't want to live a life in which I am strung to weights that may hold me back. I don't want to go down the average path, yet regret it everyday of my life. My name is very common yet I don't plan to live a common life. Life is not something in which you wait to ride into the sunset of retirement. I do not wish to change my name because it is named after my father, an admirable person, however I am afraid I am destined to live out the same life as him.
In this question, I tried to answer it by mimicking the narrator's voice and using figurative language to describe my name.
*This picture illustrates the fundamentals of annotation. Attention to details such as specific phrases or figurative language, helps you comprehend the text.
Reflection
In culmination, this lesson was essential in teaching me the importance of annotation and how to do it more efficiently. I learned that annotation’s use is to help us slow down, comprehend the text, and find certain parts of the text quickly. We learned how to annotate using techniques such as circling unknown words and new names, summarizing paragraphs and chapters, writing your thoughts down as you read, and using POV. These techniques allow the reader to both see the big idea as well as small details. Throughout elementary and middle school, the use of annotation was a chore that was to be checked by the teacher instead of used for the benefit of the student. Through the video and the techniques, it is clear that I learned this skill and improved it in highschool because it is going to be used to help me read large texts. Although the text we used was small, in the face of large texts, it would be invaluable to use this skill. This new skill would most likely be used when reading through textbooks, pieces of text on tests, and reading through books in general that should be studied. All in all, this lesson was crucial to development in reading comprehension and I would highly recommend those who missed this lesson to ask a friend or check out the english blog in our english syllabus.
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