Instructional Objectives: The student will be able to explain how geographic/cultural setting influences identity by (1) comparing/contrasting Esmeralda’s Puerto Rican self with her American self, (2) doing a close reading of text to pinpoint when Esmeralda is no longer Puerto Rican, and (3) writing a persuasive essay based on close reading.

Global Citizen 2000 Modules – Core Questions Addressed: Click here for information about how this lesson plan answers various questions posed by other Modules.

Interdisciplinary Possibilities: Click here for salient quotes from the memoir that may serve as discussion starters or links to other disciplines.

Resources/Materials: When I Was Puerto Rican, by Esmeralda Santiago

Time Frame: Lesson Plan Two – 3 activities/each one 45 minutes

Lesson Plan Two:

Post-reading – Three activities to be completed after the students have finished reading the memoir.

(Adapted from Beat Not the Poor Desk, by Marie Ponsot and Rosemary Deen (contributor), Portsmouth, NH: Boynton Cook 1982).

Activity A: Journal Topic:

1. Complete the following sentence with as much detail or as many times as you want to:
   
   “When I was _________, I _______________; now that I’m _________________, I __________________.”
   
   Note to teachers -- Share the examples below for those students who are unsure what to write:

   “When I was a middle school student, I didn’t care about what I wore to school; now that I’m a high school student, I am very finicky about what I wear to school.”

   “When I was a New Yorker, people asked me what plays I’d seen; now that I’m a New Jerseyan, people ask me what exit of the Garden State Parkway I live near.” (Note: stereotype purposely used here since Esmeralda refers to/deals with stereotypes in the memoir.)

2. Students share/compare responses to journal prompt with partner. Students share/compare/discuss with whole class. Wherever possible, note the influence of setting on what the students say about then and now. In addition, keep track of positive/negative statements.

Assessment/Closure (Activity A):

1. How does setting influence your identity?

Activity B: Using a Venn Diagram (Handout 1), students will compare/contrast what they said about themselves with Esmeralda’s experiences. Students can work on venn diagrams alone or with a partner. After the whole class has discussed diagram, students should respond to the prompt below:

How would Esmeralda complete the following sentence:

“When I was Puerto Rican, I dreamed __________; now that I am Puerto-Rican-American, I dream _______.”

Share/compare with partners. Share/compare/discuss whole class. How do Esmeralda’s dreams compare with those of an American national?

Assessment/Closure (Activity B):

1. How does setting influence Esmeralda’s identity?
2. When immigrants come to America, do they have to give up their home country identities in order to survive (prosper)?
3. What are the advantages/disadvantages for Esmeralda as a Puerto Rican?
4. What are the advantages/disadvantages for Esmeralda as a Puerto-Rican- American?

Homework: (serves as preparation for Activity C below)

1. Students look back through the novel to locate passage where Esmeralda’s transformation occurs (the event which justifies title When I Was Puerto Rican).
2. students make enough photocopies of the page(s) for themselves, the teacher, and members of their group, and (3) students highlight the important words which support their assertions. Students also make brief notes (or outline) so that they are prepared to defend their interpretations in class the next day.

Activity C: Close Reading

In Class: Students meet in small groups (4-5 students), pass out copies of passages, individually defend their choices and debate with other group members. At the end of the small group discussion, each student will briefly explain whether or not he/she was persuaded to change opinion by group member’s argument. When each group member has shared, each group will share/compare/discuss for whole class discussion.

Assessment/Closure (Activity C): What is the turning point in Esmeralda’s transformation from “I am Puerto Rican” to “When I was Puerto Rican”? What conclusions can we draw from Esmeralda’s transformation?

Final Assessment: Students will write persuasive essays in which they defend their interpretations of when/why Esmeralda’s transformation occurs and in which they evaluate whether or not the transformation is a good thing. Evaluate using New Jersey Holistic Scoring Rubric (1-6 scale).

Vocabulary:

• Literary terms: connotation, theme, setting, conflict, tone, vignette, close reading
• Spanish terms: glossary located at end of book.

(See also, mini lessons/activities for excerpts from When I Was Puerto Rican.
The activities/excerpts focus on the immigrant and school and the immigrant and work.)

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