Carolyn L. Streets
This unit focuses on an approach to teaching the novel The House on Mango Street (Cisneros, 1984) through a culturally responsive pedagogical lens. Building upon discussions from the 2021 Yale Teachers Institute Seminar Developing Anti-racist Curriculum and Pedagogy, this unit first recognizes the research on culturally responsive pedagogy, its implications for the 21st Century classroom, and how the tents of culturally responsive teaching can facilitate deep critical thinking on issues of race, racism, and power that underpin the novel. It examines past instructional moves used during novel study and presents how arts integration is used to present a critical remix of past practices. This unit seeks to develop students’ thematic interpretations and understanding of the novel within a culturally affirming context.
(Developed for English Language Arts, grade 7; recommended for English Language Arts and Social Studies, grades 7-8)
