* Start the class with a clip of the movie, Selena.  (One scene in particular is really good:  Selena is trying to convince her father that she can do a concert in Mexico.  He starts talking about being a Mexican-American and being caught between two cultures with a constant need to prove yourself in each one.) In small groups, have students draw a line on a piece of paper to create two columns.  They should then brainstorm a list of things a new Mexican arrival to the U.S. would have to know or know how to do in order to consider him/herself a "true American" and what an American would have to know in Mexico.  These should be things unique to or that originated in the United States.  Discuss the lists the students created.
*  Read the poem, Tú Que Sabes de Amor.  Questions to ask might include:
1. Is “that country” Mexico or the U.S.?  Why do you think so?
2. What river is referred to in Stanza Two?
3. Why is this river referred to in such a gruesome tone?
4. What is meant in by “where the world was twice-named”?
5. Why do the “clouds laugh”?
6. Do you think the speaker is American or Mexican?  Male or female?  Why do you think so?
7. Do you think the speaker is happy on his/her side of the border?  Why?
8. Do you think the “you” is American or Mexican?  Why?
9. What does love have to do with this poem?
10. What effect does the Spanglish have on the poem?
*  Assignment:  Create a picture collage from magazine pictures on construction paper of what a new arrival to the U.S. might be unsure of or confused about.  These should be things unique to or that originated in the United States.

Day Two:
*  In journals:  Write a list of at least ten stereotypes Americans have of Mexicans.  Of Arabs.  Of the French.  Read the poem, Mexican in France.  Questions to ask might include:
1. What is the main theme of this poem?
2. The Frenchman refers to U.S. racism.  List the stereotypes he refers to in the poem:
3. How does the speaker feel about the Frenchman?
4. a.  Name a movie with a Mexican character.
    b.  How is that character portrayed?
    c.  Does that fit the stereotype of the poem?
5. What is meant by “the knife you carry is abstract”?
6. a.  Create a list of five stereotypes a French person might have of Americans.
    b.  Where might these stereotypes have come from?
*  Assignment:  Using the list of stereotypes other countries might have of Americans, choose one.  Write a paragraph that explains why this stereotype is wrong.  Use specific examples.

Day Three:
*  Read Perras. Questions to ask might include:
1.  What do you think the theme of the poem is?
2.  Can you think of a context for this poem?
3.  How old do you think the speaker is?  Why?
4.  Can another ethnic group be substitued for Mexican?  Would you have to change any part of the poem?
*  Ask students to write a skit which would represent this poem and the feelings in it.

Day Four:
*  Begin by asking students to think about what cultures have influenced Mexican history (such as Aztec, Mayan, Spanish, etc.).  Go to http://www.vub.ac.be/khnb/itv/oktober/apr/sp97-4.htm to read the Aztec legend of Popocatepetl ("Smoking Mountain" and name given to the active volcano located SW of Mexico City) and Ixtaccíhuatl ("Sleeping Woman" and name for a volcano close to Popocateptl).  Do the activities which follow on the site.
*  Read You Bring Out the Mexican in Me.  (The glossary will be a big help with this poem.)  Have students pay close attention to the different cultural references in the poem.  Afterwards, ask students to try to create categories for the allusions referred to in the poem (such as people, places, events).
*  Assignment:  Have students write a poem entitled, You Bring out the American in Me.

Day Five:
*  Read the book, If you're not from the prairie... by David Bouchard.  Review the two verbs, saber (to know a fact or how to do something) and conocer (to be acquainted with someone/something).  Ask students to write a poem using the two verbs.  The poem could be about the town, the state or the country--Si no eres de... An example can be found on the student page.  Have students share their poems with the class.
*  Read one time With Lorenzo at the Center of the Universe, el Zócalo, Mexico Citywithout the glossary.  Questions to ask might include:
1.  What are some images the poem creates?
2.  Why does she call the Zócalo the center of the universe?
3.  Is the image of the city she creates vivid?  Describe what you see.
4.  Are there images you can't visulize because you don't know what the words mean?  Give examples.
5.  a.  Do you think the speaker and Lorenzo are boyfriend/girlfriend?
     b.  Have they been dating for a long or a short time?
     c.  Are there any words that make you think they are splitting up?
 *  Reread the poem using the glossary.
6.  Does this change your image of the city?
7.  How does knowing what some of the words are referencing change your view of the poem?
8.  Tie the poem to the book we just read.  What are the similarities?

Day Six:
*  Read the lyrics to the Brooks and Dunns song, Mi Corazón Perdido en ti.  Ask students to identify possible references to the Hispanic culture.  What words create images in their mind?  Listen to the song.  Does the music change the feeling of the lyrics they just read?  Read You Called Me Corazón and Amorcito Corazón.  Questions to ask might include:
1.  a.  Why do you think the person on the phone used the word, Corazón?
    b.  Can you think of another word that could be substituted in with the same effect?
    c.  What word would you want someone to call you?
2.  What effect does the combination of the present and past tenses have on the poem?
3.  a.  How is the use of the word, Corazón, different in the two poems?
     b.  How does the word differ from the way it used in the song?
*  Assignment:  Pick a pet name you would want your boyfriend/girlfriend to call you and illustrate it.
 

Day Seven:
*  Read Arturito the Amazing Baby Olmec Who is Mine by Way of Water.  Questions to ask might include:
1.  a.  Why does the speaker call the baby, Olmec?  (The poem was written for Cisneros' godson, Arturo Javier Cisneros Zamora.)
     b.  How does comparing the baby to an Indian god enhance the baby's arrival?
2.  What are some characteristics of the baby?
3.  Is the baby Mexican or American?  Why do you think so?
4.  What does the speaker say about herself?
5.  What is the role of a godparent in the Mexican culture?  In the Catholic church?
6.  What does she wish for the child?
*  Assignment: Write three wishes for your future child.  Explain your wishes.
 
 

From the North Carolina Standard Course of Study
Second Language Competencies
Level IV:
Goal 1-6
English Language Arts Competencies:
English I:
Goal 1:  The learner will express reflections and reactions to print and non-print text as well as to personal experience.
Goal 4:  The learner will create and use standards to critque communication.
English II:
Goal 1:  The learner will react to and reflect upon print and non-print text and personal experiences by exmanining situations from both subjective and objective perspectives.
Goal 4:  The learner will critically interpret and evaluate expereiences, literature, langauge, and ideas.
English IV:
Goal 1:  The learner will express reflections and reactions to print and non-print text as well as to personal experience.
Goal 2:  the learner will inform an audience by exploring general principles at work in life and literature.
Goal 4:  The learner will analyze and critiqe texts from various perspectives and approaches.
 
 

This unit was created by Julie Dudgeon for ENGL 517 (Western Carolina University) and Dr. Mary Warner
Summer 2002
 

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