Women's History Month: Female Authors Study: Sandra Cisneros Short Story English

Want an inspiring middle and high school English activity for Women's History Month? This is a great activity to complete on International Women's Day. ❤️ During this close reading activity, students learn about Mexican American author, Sandra Cisneros and practice close reading skills by analyzing one of her powerful vignettes, "Linoleum Roses," from her novel The House on Mango Street. Each included activity provides students the opportunity to practice literary analysis skills such as analyzing themes, symbolism, mood, and making inferences.

Activities:

1. Students watch an engaging short video clip and answer discussion questions about Sandra Cisneros' perspective as an author.

2. Students complete a close reading of the vignette, "Linoleum Roses" while answering literary analysis questions to strengthen close reading skills.

3. Students answer post-reading discussion questions to explore the themes of the story and the author's message to readers. These questions provide your students with the opportunity to have meaningful classroom discussion and will inspire your students to discuss their views on the complex issues from the story.

Includes:

• Video clip with discussion questions
• Close reading passage and close reading questions
• Post-reading discussion questions
• Grading rubric
• Answer key

DIGITAL & PRINTABLE

This activity includes a digital version, compatible with Google Classroom, and a printable packet. A detailed teacher key and grading rubric is also included.

Want more resources to celebrate Women's History Month?

➡️Make sure to check out my other Women’s History Month Research Poster Project. Students practice research skills and demonstrate their creativity by designing a digital or physical poster to represent the inspiring women in our world. This is a 3-day project for middle and high school English/ELA and Social Studies/History students. 

➡️ This collaborative project, Women’s History Month Project: Create a Daily Class Slideshow, provides students the opportunity to become experts on the accomplishments of inspiring women from both past and present. Students collectively create a class slideshow to honor Women's History Month for the entire month of March.

➡️This 3-day activity takes students through an exciting journey of exploring an incredible short story by author and poet, Gwendolyn Brooks. Brooks captures the emotional world of her characters so that students analyze how the subtle undertones of racism impact the lives of the two main characters, a husband Paul, and his wife, Maud Martha.

➡️ Teach this poetry activity (to mature high school students). During this activity, students analyze a poem female author, Pat Parker, and engage critically with issues related to gender, sexuality, and societal norms by exploring Pat Parker's poem, "My Lover is a Woman". This poem provides representation for LGBTQ+ experiences, allowing our students to see themselves reflected in the literature they study.