Salvador, Late or Early By Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories

Salvador with eyes the color of caterpillar, Salvador of the crooked hair and crooked teeth,

Salvador whose name the teacher cannot remember, is a boy who is no one’s friend, runs along somewhere in that vague direction where homes are the color of bad weather, lives behind a raw wooden doorway, shakes the sleepy brothers awake, ties their shoes, combs their hair with water, feeds them milk and corn flakes from a tin cup in the dim dark of the morning.

Salvador, late or early, sooner or later arrives with the string of younger brothers ready. Helps his mama, who is busy with the business of the baby. Tugs the arms of Cecilio, Arturito, makes them hurry, because today, like yesterday, Arturito has dropped the cigar box of crayons, has let go the hundred little fingers of red, green, yellow, blue, and nub of black sticks that tumble and spill over and beyond the asphalt puddles until the crossing-guard lady holds back the blur of traffic for Salvador to collect them again.

Salvador inside that wrinkled shirt, inside the throat that must clear itself and apologize each time it speaks, inside that forty pound body of boy with its geography of scars, its history of hurt, limbs stuffed with feathers and rags, in what part of the eyes, in what part of the heart, in that cage of the chest where something throbs with both fists and knows only what Salvador knows, inside that body too small to contain the hundred balloons of happiness, the single guitar of grief, is a boy like any other disappearing out the door, beside the schoolyard gate, where he has told his brothers they must wait. Collects the hands of Cecilio and Arturito, scuttles off dodging the many schoolyard colors, the elbows and wrists crisscrossing, the several shoes running. Grows small and smaller to the eye, dissolves into the bright horizon, flutters in the air before disappearing like a memory of kites.

Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader’s Workshop by Ellin Keene & Susan Zimmerman (1997) Metacognition (awareness of thinking, and fix-up strategies for decoding) Making Connections (Schema) Determining Importance Asking Questions Sensory Images Inferring Synthesis (Summary)

Salvador, Late or Early By Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories

Salvador with eyes the color of caterpillar, Salvador of the crooked hair

and crooked teeth, Salvador whose name the teacher cannot remember, is a boy

who is no one’s friend, runs along somewhere in that vague direction where

homes are the color of bad weather, lives behind a raw wooden doorway, shakes

the sleepy brothers awake, ties their shoes, combs their hair with water, feeds

them milk and corn flakes from a tin cup in the dim dark of the morning.

Salvador, late or early, sooner or later arrives with the string of younger

brothers ready. Helps his mama, who is busy with the business of the baby. Tugs

the arms of Cecilio, Arturito, makes them hurry, because today, like yesterday,

Arturito has dropped the cigar box of crayons, has let go the hundred little fingers

of red, green, yellow, blue, and nub of black sticks that tumble and spill over and

beyond the asphalt puddles until the crossing-guard lady holds back the blur of

traffic for Salvador to collect them again.

Salvador inside that wrinkled shirt, inside the throat that must clear itself

and apologize each time it speaks, inside that forty pound body of boy with its

geography of scars, its history of hurt, limbs stuffed with feathers and rags, in what

part of the eyes, in what part of the heart, in that cage of the chest where something

throbs with both fists and knows only what Salvador knows, inside that body too

small to contain the hundred balloons of happiness, the single guitar of grief, is a

boy like any other disappearing out the door, beside the schoolyard gate, where he

has told his brothers they must wait. Collects the hands of Cecilio and Arturito,

scuttles off dodging the many schoolyard colors, the elbows and wrists

crisscrossing, the several shoes running. Grows small and smaller to the eye,

dissolves into the bright horizon, flutters in the air before disappearing like a

memory of kites.

1/17/12 5:21 PM

1/17/12 5:18 PM

1/17/12 5:18 PM

1/17/12 5:18 PM

1/17/12 5:18 PM

1/17/12 5:18 PM

Comment: Who’s Salvador? What is he “late or early” for? Will he be late or early? Why? I bet he’s a boy who’s late or early for something…maybe dinner, or soccer practice…

Comment: I remember what it was liked to be teased at school.

Comment: WOW! That WHOLE paragraph was ONE sentence!

Comment: Oh, that’s where his Mom is, and why he is helping. This makes me think that this whole piece is about families, and how family members help each other, and how poverty affects the family.

Comment: This makes me think they’re on their way to school (as the teacher was mentioned in the first part, and the “getting ready” for something, and the crossing-guard reference)

Comment: Wow. That’s so beautifully written. Complex, packed. Challenging! The “plot” summary is: boy gets younger siblings ready for school, goes to school, brother drops crayons, boy picks up crayons, returns home after school. Not much to the “plot” or even the setting, although I do have images of his home, school and community, but there was a TON about the character! This story was believable, and I have such empathy for Salvador.

Informational Topic (Content) Description, How-To, Field Guide, Recipe, Brochure, Dictionary, Menu, Diary Biography Factual information is presented about the life of life of an individual, written by someone else.

Autobiography/Memoir An individual writes factually about his/her life experiences. Newspaper (articles, op-ed, book review, etc) Misc.

Non

fictio

n

Non

fictio

n

Argument/ Persuasive The process of presenting or comprehending a reasoned case. Mystery A detective story about an unsolved crime. Usually a closed circle of suspects with motives and

reasonable opportunity to have committed the “crime.” Detective solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts.

Humor/Satire A text that uses humor, irony, sarcasm, & ridicule to expose and make fun of humans. Coming-of-Age 10+: Focus on self-discovery and independence; focus on the trials-and-tribulations encountered

during growth from childhood to adulthood, sometimes about facing and overcoming fears; featuring protagonists who fear being different, making commitments, and being rejected.

Sports Often present a story in which a child protagonist struggles to be accepted as a member of a team and does eventually succeed through determination and hard work. Uncover Tailback by Matt Christopher.

Adventure The young “hero” relies on will and ingenuity to survive a life-threatening situation; anywhere the protagonist has freedom of action. (Hatchet by Paulsen; Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers)

Contemporary Realistic Fiction: Tells the story of people during a time period that can be considered contemporary—happening in today’s world.

Animal Stories The animal protagonist (most often horse or dog) behaves like an animal and is not personified. The Black Stallion, One Dark Night by Hutchins, A Dog Like Jack by DiSalvo

Rea

lism

Historical Fiction; Tells the story of people from a time period that is not considered today’s world. Generally has a strong historical backdrop against which the lives of the principal characters and the plot are played out.

Tall Tales “Exuberant combinations of fact with outrageous fiction” featuring an “improvement” on actual happenings. (Jack and the Beanstalk)

Fables A short tale used to teach a moral lesson, often with animals as characters Myths Main characters are usually gods or supernatural heros, set in a “primordial” age; explain how

the world gained it’s current form Legends A narrative of human actions perceived to take place within human history and could be “true;”

within ranges of “possibility” (includes “miracles”) (Big Foot, Trojan War, Robin Hood)

Traditional Fantasy: Stories and tales handed down from long ago that have no known author; When they were finally written down, it was by “collectors” rather than authors.

Folklore Includes fairy tales, music, oral history, jokes, popular beliefs and customs of a CULTURE/group (e.g., Native American, US settlers’ folklore, Australian/Indian folklore, etc).

High Fantasy Story that deviates from the natural physical laws of the Earth. Something happens that is not truly possible; The high fantasy tale is set in, or on, another world: otherwise, the story begins on earth and the principal characters are transported to another world in some manner.

Low Fantasy Story that deviates from the natural physical laws of the Earth. Something happens that is not truly possible; However the setting of the tale remains on Earth the entire time.

Science Fiction A specialized branch of modern fantasy which deals with scientific possibilities. Sci-fi often takes known scientific facts and promotes new and unproven possibilities with them. These stories can sometimes have a futuristic depiction of life on earth as part of the story line.

FIC

TIO

N

Fant

asy:

any

stor

y of

the

impo

ssib

le, c

hara

cter

s do

N

OT

wak

e up

from

a d

ream

Modern Fantasy: an original work of fiction, not retelling of folktale;

Horror A branch of modern fantasy in which the plot revolves primarily around monstrous creatures and/or gruesome events meant to arouse fear in the reader.

PROSE, DRAMA, POETRY (Written verse that does not appear in paragraph form. Poetry may be written in stanzas, columns, or as a single line.

Strategies for Taking High-Quality Dictation

• Position yourself so that the child can watch as you write their words. If you are right handed, sit on the right side of the child. If you are left handed, sit to the left of the child.

• Begin by asking an open-ended question or statement, such as “Tell me about your picture” or “What

have you made here? Will you tell me about it?” Listen closely. • Take the time to talk about it. Probe for more detailed information about their drawing (e.g., “Who is in

your drawing? What are they doing? What are they going to do next?”). Extend children’s language by introducing new words, concepts and linguistic structures. Help children talk about characters and setting, as well as beginnings, middles and endings.

• Suggest to the child that you would like to write down some of what they have told you about their picture.

Make sure this is an option. If they say, “No,” respect that decision. • Ask the child where they would like you to write their words (e.g., on the bottom of the drawing, on the

side, on the back, or on another piece of paper all together). • Then ask, “What would you like me to write?” This question often results in fewer words, more

organized thoughts, and makes the experience more meaningful for the child. • Write down exactly what the child says with no corrections (e.g., avoid ‘Mom’ for ‘Ma’). • Write the words as large as possible with a medium thick black marker in neat print. Leave extra spaces in

between each word to help children recognize that spaces separate words. • Tailor your strategies to each child's interest and skills. Use your knowledge of what each child knows

about letters and sounds to vary your approach during dictation. • Point out sounds of letters that are meaningful to children in a fun and playful way (e.g., in the child’s

name, in the names of classmates, in print in the environment). Begin with “easy” consonants (e.g., ‘m,’ ‘p,’ ‘s’ versus vowels or letters with multiple sounds like ‘c’).

• Reread the child’s words after you are finished, pointing to each word as you read it (demonstrating how

print is read from left to right, that words are separated by spaces). Invite the child to read it with you, and encourage the child to point with you. Ask the child if he or she might like to read it alone. Celebrate their ‘reading’ and ‘writing.’

• Encourage children to write their own names on their drawings. Avoid correcting their writing attempts.

If the letters are backwards or upside down, praise their attempts. • Post dictation and children' writing around the room. Draw attention to it regularly. Vary your use of any or all of these strategies with each child and over time. Always use them in a fun, engaging, and meaningful way for each individual child