Analysis - Fun Lesson Plans for Teachers: The House on Mango Street

First of all, I know that “Fun Lesson Plans!” is a fairly diminutive title for this collection, but I had to grab your attention with something simple and searchable. Here is what you’ll find inside: four incredibly active and flexible lesson plans for teaching this text. No advance set-up or materials required. Also, I've included my own complete synopsis of “The House on Mango Street.”

Each of the four lesson plans is highly theatrical! While I have degrees in Secondary Education and Literature, the vast majority of my classroom experience is as a teaching artist. You see, I’m an actor. I believe very strongly in the ability of theatrical techniques to engage students with text more deeply. These lesson plans have been tested in the toughest of New York City classrooms. They work.

And even though the lesson plans contained herein require no acting ability, I am indeed a real actor. A small-time one, but an actor nonetheless. You can read about acting dreams coming true in my book: “Places, Please! (Becoming A Jersey Boy).”

The lesson plans in this collection can be taught quickly in one period, or stretched out over many days for a more thorough exploration. They are purposely adjustable, and can be used with either a portion of the text or as an analysis of the text as a whole.

I’ve listed the Common Core Anchor Standards that are specifically connected to each lesson plan. While I feel the plans touch upon many more strands of the Common Core, the Anchor Standards listed are the ones directly addressed in the lesson.

I should also mention that each of these plans is available separately in the bookstore, but buying them together in this collection makes them much more of a bargain; four for the price of three, I think.

Let us continue to transform classrooms into places of creative, high-level engagement!