Copyright©1997 -- San Diego County Office of
Education
Teacher Cyberguide
Short Stories by Gary Soto
- Baseball In
April & Living Up The
Street
-
- http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/soto/sototg.html
- Cyberguide by
Barbara Garrison
Introduction
This supplemental unit on Baseball In April
and Living Up the Street was developed by teachers
in the Schools of California Online Resources for Educators (SCORE)
Project, funded by the California Technology Assistance Project
(CTAP) and the California County Superintendents Educational Services
Association (CCSESA).
Disclaimer: The links here have been scrutinized for their
grade and age appropriateness; however, contents on links on the web
change continuously. It is advisable that teachers preview all links
before introducing CyberGuides to students.
Gary Soto is an acclaimed poet, essayist and fiction
writer. His writing is based upon his adventures as a Mexican
American boy growing up in Fresno, California. He won the Before
Columbus Foundation Award in 1985 for Living Up The
Street, his first published book of prose. His short story
collection, Baseball In April, was listed as one of the
American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults. The
streets and neighborhoods of Fresno are an integral part of his
writing. He has said, "For me streets have always mattered. I conjure
up inside my head an image of our old street in south Fresno." The
area where he grew up was much like the barrios he writes about
complete with junkyards and big factories all around. He is widely
read by adults and young people. Many of his stories and poems appear
in language arts textbooks across the nation, and several of his
books have been translated into other languages.
As the students do these activities, they will consider the
following questions:
- What is the importance of setting in the work of Gary Soto?
- What themes appear in Hispanic art?
- Why should I learn about Mexican American culture?
- Who was Cesar Chavez?
Language
Arts Content Standards
(Examples from Grade 8)
During this unit students will:
- Read online material [Reading Comprehension 2.4]
- Identify literary devices of author to model his style [Reading
Comprehension 3.6]
- Write with controlling idea; support thesis [Writing 1.1,
1.3]
- Plan and conduct multiple-step Internet searches [Writing Strategies
1.4]
- Write short stories and narratives [Writing Applications 2.0]
- Write responses to literature
[Writing
Applications 2.2]
- Write research report [Writing
Applications 2.3]
- Write narrative, research report and literature response
speeches [Speaking Applications 2.1, 2.2 ,
2.3]
Overview
- In Activity 1 students will write,
revise and publish a short story
using an online street map of Fresno to find specific names
of landmarks and streets to include as the setting.
- In Activity 2 students will view a selection of Hispanic art
and select one piece to use as the basis for
a speech outline about the
person or place in the piece.
- In Activity 3 students will read about the life of Gary Soto and write a
biographical sketch of the important facts from his life and
work. They will then write 4
questions they would like to ask Mr. Soto, selecting 1 question to
send to the author online.
- In Activity 4 students will read about
the life and work of Cesar Chavez and answer background questions
about him. They will then select highlights from his life and
writings and create a bio-storyboard of 6 events from
his life.
- In Activity 5 students will learn about the Day of the Dead
celebration and write a friendly letter
explaining what this holiday means.
-
Description of Materials, Activities and Websites
- Copies of Baseball In April and Living Up the Street
by Gary Soto
- Posterboard
Background sites for teachers:
- Gary
Soto Poem
- http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/soto-how-things-work
.html
-
- Using Gary Soto's style as a guide, students will write a
short story set in a Fresno, California neighborhood. They will
use an
online
street map and a general site about
the city of Fresno to
find real place names to use as the setting for the story.
After revising for word choice, appropriate
organization, consistent point of view and general mechanics, the
story may be published.
- Fresno City
Information
- http://www.ci.fresno.ca.us/
-
- The
Young Writer's Club
- http://cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~david/formrequest.htm
- Students will view
a
selection of
Hispanic art, complete a viewing guide and
write a creative speech outline
based on one of the pieces. The speech outline is based on
the student's imaginary details and is to include:
- an introduction about the person or
place in the artwork
- creative details about the person or
the place in the body of the speech
- effective transitions between
sentences and parts of the speech outline
- a conclusion
-
- Mexican
Art
- broken link removed
-
- In Activity 3 students will read about the life of Gary Soto and write a
biographical sketch of the important
facts about his life and work.
They will then write 4 questions they would like to ask Mr.
Soto, selecting 1 question to send to the author online.
- Gary Soto Sites:
- Teacher
Resource File.
- broken link removed
-
In Activity 4 students will read about the
life and work of Cesar Chavez and answer background questions about
him. They will then select highlights from his life and writings and
create a bio-storyboard of 6 events from his life.
- Cesar Chavez Biography
- biocesarsotosg4.html
- Background Questions
- ques/cc/sotosg4.html
- Cesar
Chavez information
- http://www.asu.edu/clas/hrc/latino/chavez/chavez.intro.html
- In this activity students will learn about the Day of the Dead
celebration and write an informative summary
of the main details of the holiday in the form of a friendly
letter to a friend or relative explaining what this holiday
means. They will decorate their letter with a drawing of a
calaveras, a traditional skeleton, used as part of the decorations
for this holiday.
-
-
- Please take a minute to complete the
Teacher
Evaluation.
-
- Please forward your comments to the
project director.
-
- Return to the
CyberGuides
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