For post 5, I re-read pages 58-75 and picked out my favorite lines from these sections and compliled them. From there, I re-worked the lines to create a Found poem, titled "Dreams." This Found Poem is supposed to represent the hope and longing that Esperanza embodies for a new location, a new lifestyle, a new home and a new identity (as she grows from girl into woman.) Please let me know what you think!
Dreams
I see a home in the heart,
A new house, a house made of heart.
We began to dream the dreams:
A real house all her own.
Everything is holding its breath inside me,
Everything is waiting to explode like Christmas.
I want to be all new and shiny.
What does it matter?
No matter.
It was a dream.
Here is a link to a VoiceThread that I created, in which I provide some images of a "home" and over the first image, I recorded my reading of the poem. I hope you enjoy!
Brooke-
ReplyDeleteI thought your use of the lines you selected made a really great image when put together of Esperanza's greatest desire. I think the ending of the poem gets her reality just right - that all of the things she wants most are just dreams, and seem so far off, even at the end of the book. I also think the lines you chose to show how she would feel with a new home -"all new and shiny" especially. I think Esperanza thinks that she would finally feel alive, but in my eyes, she is so alive already and just doesn't know it! She is thinking for herself, laughing, loving, and finding beauty in the ugliest of places. This is real living to me, with or without a nice house.
This poem made me think of an idea for an activity with students - we could have them use home and garden magazines and other types of magazines that show homes - interior and exterior - and maybe in groups have students create an image or a house plan for what they think Esperanza longs for in a home. I might be influenced by House Hunters on this idea, but what might this "waiting to explode like Christmas" type of house look like to Esperanza?
I loved your voice thread - this was such a cool experience to hear everyone's voices bring life to their words!
-Hannah
Hannah-
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of having the students use magazine clippings to build their "dream home." I think it might also be interesting to preface that activity with a writing prompt, something like: What is a home? What does it look like? Feel like? Smell like?Where is it? Who lives in it? etc... I think the prompt would be a good way to get students thinking about what THEIR idea of home is, because I think home means something different for everyone. Then I think that using the magazine clippings to create a dream home would be a really neat way to visually bring that idea of "home" to life.
-Brooke