Lesson Plans-- That Was Then, This is Now: When I Was Puerto Rican

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 One – Pre-reading – 45 minutes

Strategies/Activities:

Lesson Plan One:

Pre-reading – (adapted from The English Teacher’s Companion, by Jim Burke, Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook 1999).

Discussion of title:

• What are the most important words in the title?
• What else could those words refer to?
• What is the tone of the title?
• Are the connotations of the title positive or negative?

Sample Brainstorming Notes:

W h e n	I	W a s	P u e r t o R i c a n
Time Finite Occasional Date? Hour? Conditional?	Personal Singular experience	Past Change Over/done with Forgotten? Something left behind?	Island - Isolation/Loneliness or independence/freedom? Identity Crisis: Country? Commonwealth? State? Possession?

What are some possible themes you see emerging as we discuss this title? (List responses on chart paper so that students can verify whether their predictions were correct after reading.)

Based upon our discussions, what do you expect this book to be about? (List responses on chart paper so that students can verify whether their predictions were correct after reading.)

Homework: This is an ongoing assignment that develops interpretative skills and expands upon themes discussed in pre-reading activity. In addition, it provides a focus for reading as well as preparation for post-reading discussions/writing tasks.

Ongoing Task: Students will keep a journal in which they write down Spanish/English quotations that head each chapter. Students will write a brief reaction (one paragraph) to each quote (agree/disagree, “____ reminds me of what my mother always said when ___,” etc.). In addition, students will write a one-paragraph analysis/interpretation of each quote in which they explain how the quote reflects Esmeralda’s transformation (from child to young woman, from Puerto Rican to other, etc.)

This homework assignment may serve as an informal assessment of the students’ reading and may also serve as the basis for daily class discussions.

Lesson Plan Two: Click here to find a post-reading lesson plan.

Lesson Extensions:

1. Click here to find suggestions for visual/oral projects, writing prompts, and a research topic.
2. Click here to find a project that connects this book with To Kill a Mockingbird.

Additional Readings:

Almost a Woman, by Esmeralda Santiago (sequel to When I Was Puerto Rican)
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alvarez
Empress of the Splendid Season, by Oscar Hijuelos

Related Internet Sites:

• http://camarapr.zonai.com/index_en.asp
  Web site of the Chamber of Commerce of Puerto Rico (Camara de Comercio de Puerto Rico). The site has information in both English and Spanish and includes, among other information, position statements on various issues such as: the political status of Puerto Rico, labor, solid waste disposal, etc.
• http://www.prdream.com
  In partnership with Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York). Site contains links to Forums, Current Events, Oral Histories, Galeria (photos), Nuyorican Cinema and Aqui y Alla (a dialogue on issues concerning Puerto Ricans and Latinos here and there).
• http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/3684/music.html
  Provides definitions of different types of music and samples for students to hear.
• http://www.welcome.topuertorico.org/culture/music.shtml
  Provides background information/links for traditional music of Puerto Rico.
• http://www.home.att.net/~rbbetancourt/prmusic.htm
  The Puerto Rico Music Page.
• http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/append/AXE.HTML
  Website of California State University Stanislaus. PAL is Perspectives in American Literature: A Research and Reference Guide. Appendix E: Alienation and Initiation as a Theme and the Immigrant Experience explains six stages of alienation. This site also provides a selected bibliography on the alienation theme.
• http://www.edc.org/CCT/NDL/overview.html
  American Memory Fellows Program sponsored by the Library of Congress’ National Digital Library. Provides background information, lesson plans, bibliographies, etc. on issues/themes related to immigration.
• http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN
  The ALAN Review is a publication of The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English. The website provides copies of articles from back issues of its publications.
• http://www.nypl.org/branch/cos/publications/immigrants.html
  The New York Public Library annotated booklist – “The Immigrant Experience Through Literature”
• Teacher Resources
  Find suggestions for related readings, links to relevant articles from The ALAN Review, link to the New York Public Library annotated book list related to the immigrant experience, and information about obtaining the video Almost a Woman.

New Jersey Core Content Standards:

(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.)