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?
As a class, we addressed the Do Now prompt by utilizing class discussions. There were a vast majority of answers from the class. Mostly everyone had a different answer due to the fact that we each have different and unique names. One of my peers, Tempestt, said that his name meant a fierce and violent storm. But, in real life, he says that his personality is more of a calm and collected type. My class teacher, Ms. Peterson, referred to this as an oxymoron, which is a phrase with words that go against each other. A “calm/collected storm” would be considered an oxymoron.
We then as a class learned how to properly annotate texts and stories. Our instructor, Ms. Peterson said that annotating must be second-nature behavior because there will be real-world situations in the future where the skill is needed. For example, there might be future tests where the skill for annotating texts and passages is required. Then, Ms. Peterson showed the class a video on the basic skills needed for annotating and why it is important. Here is the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Mz4nwciWc&ab_channel=SchoolHabits
Key Takeaways From The Video and Class Discussion:
Annotating is the act of jotting and highlighting notes of a piece of text. Benefits of annotating are being actively engaged in the text being annotated and texts taking more time to read. This can in turn actually increase overall knowledge and understanding of the text since every aspect is being analyzed. Some suggestions or pointers for annotating are to utilize question marks and exclamation points. Question marks can be written down if part of the text is vague and not clear and exclamation points can be used to show parts where there is a climatic or critical moment in the text. The utilization of characters and their respective personalities/traits can be written using a chart where it can always be added on to. During the class discussion, we learned about the chunking strategy, general themes repeating in texts, and differing points of view. The chunking strategy is to try and reduce a text into a small basic summary. We also learned to spot and highlight general themes whenever it repeats itself so it will be easier when we look back into parts of the text for themes that correspond to each other. Lastly, we learned that there might be differing thoughts or standpoints on certain topics, which is considered point of view. A bracket must be put on the front and end of a person’s thoughts in a text to keep track of it and refer back to it for future use. On a side note, please remember that too much annotating can be pointless sometimes since everything is marked up and to experiment on different methods of annotating to see which one works best. All these tips mentioned are the basic principles of annotating which must be mastered.
Breakout Rooms:
As a class, we then proceeded to go into breakout rooms and discussed who chose our names and whether we were named after someone. In my breakout room, Mohammed R. and Ayad said that their parents named them. My parents named me Darren most likely because it was a rare and unique name and neither am I named after anyone. After we came back from the breakout rooms, our teacher Ms. Peterson said that the name Jennifer was super trendy when her mom was about to give birth. Her mom did not want her to be another Jennifer in the world so she was named Jessica instead. This demonstrates how names can be so creative and unique, yet possess great meaning and value to the name holder and family.
We then started to read the first chapter of the book called “The House on Mango Street” written by Sandra Cisneros. While a person was reading out loud, we would use our annotating techniques and additionally highlight for tone, syntax, diction, and figurative language. We then went back to our breakout rooms and answered two written questions collaboratively as a team.
Breakout Room Question & Answers:
How does Esperanza describe her name using figurative language? Refer to your annotations and cite some examples from the text.
Esperanza describes her name using figurative language by using “At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth… in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver…” This shows that Esperanza is comparing her name to tin in English and silver in Spanish. She also uses “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters… It means sadness sadness… It is like the number nine… A muddy color.”. This shows that Esperanza is comparing her name to hope in English and the number nine (a muddy color) in Spanish.
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?
Esperanza is revealing to us that she would like to be baptized and renamed because she feels like the current name she has now doesn’t really capture the true nature of herself. A piece of evidence that documents this is, “I would like to baptize myself under a new name… Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza… Something like Zeze the X will do.” This truly establishes tension and conflict between her identity because she is not content and satisfied with her current name.
Independent Assignment:
We then came back to the main room where we spent the rest of the class working on an independent assignment. Using the first chapter of “The House of Mango Street” as reference, we write about our name, their respective origin, and what it truly means to us.
Assignment Prompt:
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?
Assignment Answer:
My name is Darren Chin and my first name means great or a gift based on the Irish origins of the name. The name “Darren” means a lot to me, it totally captures my identity, but sometimes I don’t regard myself as a great person/gift. I think of myself more like a humble, respecting person instead of like a blessing. I am not named after someone and the name reminds me of actually waves crashing on the beach because it looks like the letters -rr in my name. I would never want a different name because I’ve been called “Darren” for so long and people will not get used to the changes in my name.
Reflection:
From this lesson, I absorbed valuable knowledge and skills much needed in the future. I learned the differences and unique meanings of the names of my peers and I. I also learned how to properly annotate texts in literature. To achieve this, utilizate question and exclamation marks, look out for general themes, make a chart of characters and their traits, and etc. I learned this because annotating is such an important fundamental skill to have, such benefits of annotations are more organized notes and not having to reread the whole text to understand the meaning because the annotations already describe that. Another benefit is being actively engaged in the text and increased knowledge/understanding of the text. The skill of annotation can be applicable for so many scenarios in the future, like standardized English Language Arts tests where the skill of annotation could really enhance our knowledge of the text being read which provides a massive advantage during the tests.
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