1 —“THE CIRCUIT” (Day 1 of 4) — PREP/MATERIALS The story: “The Circuit” p148–154 (but only read to p152) Partial worksheets: “You can answer these” p155, “Exercise B” p158 “Circuit” shells (2) for each student WARM-UP (c.15”) U Demo, then each student creates a family “Life Circuit” U Share with partner. U Have a lively discussion about “circuits” ( electrical / traveling doctor / life / moving as in migrant workers ) VOCABULARY (c.10–15”) U Write on board and elicit meaning from students PRE-READ ACTIVITY (c.10”) U Discussion of illustration “Before you read” (p147; illustration on back) U Short intro to book and author. Note that stories are autobio- graphical (more on author TUE in conversation class) READING (FIRST) (c.10”) U Story—through line 115 (p148–152) READING (AGAIN) (c.15–20”) U Story—through line 115, summarizing by paragraphs U Discussing add’l vocabulary/questions on meaning along the way BREAK (c.10”) POST-READ ACTIVITY (c.15”) U Make “Life Circuit” for Panchito’s family, then check with partner U Do composite on board as class WORKSHEETS—CONTENT (c.5–10”) U Content questions: “You can answer these” (p155) 1–4 and 8–10 WORKSHEETS—VOCABULARY (c.5–10”) U “Exercise B” 1–7 [TBD yet] CHARACTER ANALYSIS (±15” will continue tomorrow) U Make grid on board and fill in: Who is the narrator? Where does he fit in his family? (Perhaps draw stick figures for family on top of grid columns.) List other characters and specify relationship to narrator. What does he/she do / what is his/her role? Is life easy or hard for him/her? How does he/she deal with difficulties? [see Q1, p164] EXIT TICKET (c.5”) U Say a complete sentence having to do with something in your life cycle. Start your sentence with “Every year/January/etc., …” 30 dawn 41 detect 43 original 73 husky 79 populated 128 crates 135 savoring 160 instinct 162 enroll 180 pretending
Transcript
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—“THE CIRCUIT” (Day 1 of 4)—
PREP/MATERIALSThe story: “The Circuit” p148–154 (but only read to p152) Partial worksheets: “You can answer these” p155, “Exercise B” p158 “Circuit” shells (2) for each student
WARM-UP (c.15”)
U Demo, then each student creates a family “Life Circuit” U Share with partner. U Have a lively discussion about “circuits”
( electrical / traveling doctor / life / moving as in migrant workers )
VOCABULARY (c.10–15”)
U Write on board and elicit meaning from students
PRE-READ ACTIVITY (c.10”)
U Discussion of illustration “Before you read” (p147; illustration on back)U Short intro to book and author. Note that stories are autobio-
graphical (more on author TUE in conversation class)
READING (FIRST) (c.10”)
U Story—through line 115 (p148–152)
READING (AGAIN) (c.15–20”)
U Story—through line 115, summarizing by paragraphs U Discussing add’l vocabulary/questions on meaning along the way
BREAK (c.10”)
POST-READ ACTIVITY (c.15”)
U Make “Life Circuit” for Panchito’s family, then check with partner U Do composite on board as class
WORKSHEETS—CONTENT (c.5–10”)
U Content questions: “You can answer these” (p155) 1–4 and 8–10
WORKSHEETS—VOCABULARY (c.5–10”)
U “Exercise B” 1–7 [TBD yet]
CHARACTER ANALYSIS (±15” will continue tomorrow)
U Make grid on board and fill in: Who is the narrator? Where does he fit in his family? (Perhaps draw stick figures for family on top of grid columns.) List other characters and specify relationship to narrator.
What does he/she do / what is his/her role? Is life easy or hard for him/her? How does he/she deal with difficulties? [see Q1, p164]
EXIT TICKET (c.5”)
U Say a complete sentence having to do with something in your life cycle. Start your sentence with “Every year/January/etc., …”
PREP/MATERIALSThe story: “The Circuit” p148–154 >> NOTE: SAME AS DAY 1 Worksheets: “Exercise A” p156–157, and “Exercise D” p161 Plain sheet of paper for each student for illustrating the setting
WARM-UP (c.15”)
U BALL TOSS for vocabulary• Students chose a vocab word or idiom from board and use it
in a sentence. Every time a word gets used correctly, the T will check it off. Ball is tossed until all words and idioms are checked
U BALL TOSS for story recap • If the student was in class yesterday, he/she must say something
about the story so far • If not in class yesterday, he/she must ask a question about the
story
PRE-READ ACTIVITY (c.10”)
U Draw setting as described in paragraph that starts on line 116, or start at line 103. These will be ROUGH sketches! That’s okay!
Teacher reads phrase by phrase and draws on board as students do their own drawings. Make sure students’ papers are horizontal.
READING (FIRST) (c.10”)
U Story—starting at line 116 to the end (p152–154)
READING (AGAIN) (c.15–20”)
U Story—line 116 to the end, summarizing by paragraphs U Discussing add’l vocabulary/questions on meaning along the way
BREAK (c.10”)
POST-READ—CHARACTER ANALYSIS (c.15”)
U List add’l characters and specify relationship to narrator.What does he/she do—what is his/her role? Is life easy or hard for him/her? How does he/she deal with difficulties?
POST-READ—DECODE THE ENDING (c.15”)
U Discuss the surprise ending.
U Panchito “opened the door, he saw that everything they owned was neatly packed in-cardboard boxes.” Explain how this incident makes the conclusion of the story sadder and more powerful. [see Q4, p164]
WORKSHEETS—CONTENT (c.5–10”)
U Content questions: “Exercise A” (p156–157)
WORKSHEETS—VOCABULARY (c.5–10”)
U “Exercise D” (p161)
EXIT TICKET (c.5”)
U Say a one-sentence setting of some place you’d like to be, or not like to be. (Give them examples)
PREP/MATERIALSThe story: “The Circuit” p148–154 >> NOTE: SAME AS DAY 1 Worksheets: “Exercise C” p159–160, “Exercise E” p162 Set of 10 vocabulary cards, and 5–8 colored sets of sentence strips
WARM-UP (c.15”)
U Pairs put sentence strips in order (makes a rough summary) U Share/check/debate with other pair(s).
VOCABULARY (c.10”)
U Divide students into 3–5 groups; give each group 2–3 vocab cards Challenge: make sentences using more than one of the words.
PRE-READ ACTIVITY (c.10”)
U Discussion: When Panchito arrived at the school, his first instinct was to speak Spanish. However, he “held back” and struggled in English. Have you ever experienced a time when you felt that your English was weak, but you “struggled through”? Tell what happened. [see Q6, p164] NOTE: shorten discussions if need more time for grammar work.
READING (ONCE) (c.15”)
U Story—complete; note setting changes as you listen/read (explain)
BREAK (c.10”)
POST-READ ACTIVITY (c.15”)
U Make a list of all the settings in the story “If you were filming this for a movie, how many different locations would need to be set up—briefly describe main features.” U Do on board as class
WORKSHEETS—CONTENT (c.5”)
U Content questions: “Exercise E”
GRAMMAR (c.25”)
U Present: using subordinating conjunctions to combine sentencesU “Exercise C” p159–160
CHARACTER ANALYSIS (10”± depending upon time)
U Discuss Panchito’s/Francisco’s characteristicsU Write a one-paragraph bio for Panchito/Francisco
EXIT TICKET (c.5”)
U Imagine that you’re writing your bio; say a compound sentence using a subordinate conjunction that could be part of your bio.
Aurelia: I remember you writing that you did a fun thing with multiple vocabulary one day a while ago; would you mind sharing that again?
PREP/MATERIALSThe story: “The Circuit” p148–154 >> NOTE: SAME AS DAY 1 Worksheet: “Sharing with Others / Part B” p165 Plain paper sheets cut into fourths, about 30–40
WARM-UP / VOCABULARY (c.20”)
U Divide students into teams of 2–5 and give each team 10–20 slips of paper. Give them 10 minutes to come up with drawings that illustrate the vocabulary. Teams then take turns showing illustrations one-by-one and the other teams confer with the members of their group and alternate presenting their guesses. If a team can guess the vocabulary word on the first try, the drawing team gets a point; on a second try, a half point. Most points win.
SUMMARIZE STORY (c.10–15”)
U Story—summarize.
WRAP-UP DISCUSSIONS (c.10–15”)
NOTE: Consider incorporating some of these discussion points into the making of the summary. NOTE: shorten the discussions if want more time for writing activity.
U Why was it necessary for the family to move from place to place? What were some of the hardships the family had to endure? What strengths and qualities did the family possess that helped them deal with the difficulties they encountered? [see Q1, p164]
U How do you think Panchito/Francisco felt about Mr. Lema? Do you think he liked him? Why? Did Mr Lema influence Panchito?
U What were the various ways in which Mr. Lema helped Panchito and tried to make him feel more comfortable at school. How do you know that Panchito was a very enthusiastic student? [see Q3, p164]
U Is “The Circuit” an appropriate title for this story? [see Q5, p164]
WRITING—INTRODUCE/OUTLINE (c.10”)
U Worksheet: “Sharing with Others / Part B” p165 Present introduction and explain letter to be written
U Make short outline of letter, using content/words/etc., from bio written yesterday (and reference today’s discussions as relevant)
BREAK (c.10”)
WRITING—LETTER (c.50”)
U … continue presentation/writing.
U Share letters (as time permits)
EXIT TICKET (c.5”)
U Say a complete sentence that gives your opinion about this story.
The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez Published by Houghton Mifflin, 1997 ISBN: 978-0826317971
BOOK SUMMARY
After dark in a Mexican border town, a father holds open a hole in a wire fence as his wife and two small boys crawl through. So begins life in the United States for many people every day. And so begins this collection of twelve autobiographical stories by Santa Clara University professor Francisco Jiménez, who at the age of four illegally crossed the border with his family in 1947.
“The Circuit,” the story of young Panchito and his trumpet, is one of the most widely anthologized stories in Chicano literature. At long last, Jiménez offers more about the wise, sensitive little boy who has grown into a role model for subsequent generations of immigrants.
These independent but intertwined stories follow the family through their circuit, from picking cotton and strawberries to topping carrots–and back again–over a number of years. As it moves from one labor camp to the next, the little family of four grows into ten. Impermanence and poverty define their lives. But with faith, hope, and back-breaking work, the family endures.
(Taken from http://www.amazon.com/The-Circuit-Stories-Migrant- Child/dp/0826317979/ref=tmm_pap_title_0).
VOCABULARY LIST | BOOK INFO (TEACHER REFERENCE)
—“THE CIRCUIT”—
FYI:
This site has lots of supporting materials, summaries, etc.:
http://www.shmoop.com/the-circuit/
Another resource:
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IMAGES (TEACHER REFERENCE)
—“THE CIRCUIT”—
more images TBD
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OCT
SEP
AUG
JU
L
DEC
NOV
APR
MAR
FEBJA
N
JUN
MAY
—“THE CIRCUIT” (Day 1 of 4)—
zz
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PERSONAL EXAMPLE (TEACHER REFERENCE)
—“THE CIRCUIT” (Day 1 of 4)—
zz
My Family Circuit
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STORY EXAMPLE (TEACHER REFERENCE)
—“THE CIRCUIT” (Day 1 of 4)—
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ILLUSTRATION CONTENT (TEACHER REFERENCE)
—“THE CIRCUIT” (Day 2 of 4)—
Start with a plain sheet of paper in a horizontal position.
Suggestions (see rough sammple):
• Sketch quickly, and don’t worry about how it looks. Just draw to suggest the elements of the setting.
• Have a rough plan as to where you’re going to draw what beforehand to help keep the components somewhat in proportion.
• Before starting with the text, sketch some grape vines in a couple of rows on one side of the page (see sample),
• There are two possible parts to the sketch: starting before or after lunchtime.
(line 103) … we took a break to eat lunch. It was past two o’clock and
we sat underneath a large walnut tree that was on the side of the road.
While we ate, Papa jotted down the number of boxes we had picked.
Roberto drew designs on the ground with a stick.
Suddenly I noticed Papa’s face turn pale as he looked down the road. “Here comes the school bus,”
he whispered loudly in alarm. Instinctively, Roberto and I ran and hid in the vineyards. We did not want
to get in trouble for not going to school.
The yellow bus stopped in front of Mr. Sullivan’s house. Two neatly dressed boys about my age got off.
They carried books under their arms. …
(line 116) After lunch we went back to work. The sun kept beating down.
The buzzing insects,
the wet sweat,
and the hot dry dust made the afternoon seem to last forever.
Finally the mountains around the valley
reached out and swallowed the sun.
(draw the road and tree first, then the people)
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ILLUSTRATION EXAMPLE (TEACHER REFERENCE)
—“THE CIRCUIT” (Day 2 of 4)—
Start with something like this, and then while reading to the students item by item add other details (see highlighted text on previous page).
NOTE: these are only to give an idea of one way to represent the setting. Please choose your own way of drawing the setting.
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g. When the sun had tired and sunk behind the mountains, Ito signaled us that it was time to go home.
m. As we drove home Papa did not say a word. Yes, it was that time of year.
o. When I opened the front door to the shack, I stopped. Everything we owned was neatly packed in cardboard boxes.
b. That night I could not sleep. I lay in bed thinking about how much I hated this move.
h. As we drove away, I felt a lump in my throat. At sunset we drove into a labor camp near Fresno.
j. Mr. Sullivan said we can stay there the whole season,” she said gasping and pointing to an old garage near the stables.
d. The garage was worn out by the years. It had no windows. The walls, eaten by termites, strained to support the roof full of holes. The loose dirt floor, populated by earthworms, looked like a gray road map.
k. Early next morning Mr. Sullivan showed us where his crop was and after breakfast, Papa, Roberto, and I headed for the vineyard to pick.
f. Around nine o’clock the temperature had risen to almost one hundred degrees.
c. When we arrived home, we took a cold shower underneath a waterhose. The next morning I could hardly move.
l. It was Monday, the first week of November. The grape season was over and I could now go to school.
n. After struggling for English words I managed to tell her that I wanted to enroll in the sixth grade.
i. One Friday during lunch hour Mr. Lema asked me to take a walk with him to the music room.
a. That day I could hardly wait to get home to tell Papa and Mama the great news.
e. When I opened the door to our shack, I saw that everything we owned was neatly packed in cardboard boxes.
SENTENCE STRIPS (correct order shown)—“THE CIRCUIT” (Day 3 of 4)—
