From Elena
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Transcript of From Elena
From ElenaA novel excerpt
CONNECT TO YOUR LIFE
• How important is your home and community to you?
• How might you feel if you were forced to leave it & go to a new land?
Key to the Novel Excerpt
• Elena is a historical fiction, fiction that is set in the past, during Mexican Revolution.
• Porfirio Díaz was a dictator who favored the rich and stole from the poor; the Mexican people were miserable, so they rose up to make Díaz leave office.
• An excerpt = a part of the novel
Building Background
• Early 1900s during Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)
• About 1 million Mexican were killed• Many Mexicans traveled to the United States
because it was close and easy to get to; they could be safe and make a good life there.
• Pancho Villa The Mexican Bandit
Story Map
Beginning• Elena and her four sisters grew up in Mexico.• In Elena’s day, only boys could go to school &
marriages were arranged.• Elena wanted to study and learn local priest• Elena fell in love with Pablo, an Indian.• Papá refused to let Elena marry Pablo
MIDDLE
• Papá allowed Elena to marry Pablo. • They had children and were happy.• Pablo died, and Elena was filled with grief.• The Mexican Revolution began; soldiers came
to Elena’s town. • Elena gave Pancho Villa Pablo’s last sombrero;
his army guarded her house.
End
• Elena and her children left Mexico; they made it safely to the United States.
• Elena worked hard for her children; she gave them a good life.
Vocabulary Preview
• Notorious adj. well-known for bad deeds• Condolences n. statement of sympathy &
concern• Detain v. stop from leaving• Refugees n. people who flee a country to find
protection from war or political oppression• Barrio n. mainly Spanish-speaking
neighborhood in a U.S. city
Vocabulary Strategy: Foreign Words
• Many English words taken from other languages.
• Some Spanish words:a.) Campesinos = country folkb.)Patio c.) sombreros
1st CHUNKPg. 38-39, line 1-52
VOCABULARY•As he mounted on his horse = to get on•They headed off across the rugged countryside•Down they plunged = fell off into the ravine below = a deep, narrow gap in the earth•To haul my father up to safety = to pull with effort or difficulty
THINK IT THROUGH
• REREAD: How does this passage hint at what might happen in the story?
• What is doctor implying in line 33?• REREAD: What is unusual about Pablo’s
answer?• What great change happens to the family?• What other changes does Pablo predict?
LITERATURE
• Where and when does this part of the story happen?
• How does the setting affect what happens to the narrator’s father?
2nd CHUNKPg. 39-70, line 53-70
VOCABULARY
• She ran weeping into the patio
THINK IT THOUGH
• What is Elena feeling?• What details tell you how deeply the narrator
& her mother, Elena, miss Pablo?
3rd CHUNKPg. 40-42, line 71-131
THINK IT THROUGH
• Do you think the narrator has good reason to feel afraid of Pancho Villa?
• REREAD: Why has Elena’s strength become so important?
• What steps does Elena take in order to protect her family, especially Esteban?
4th CHUNKPg. 43, line 132-160
THINK IT THROUGH
• What is surprising about Pancho Villa’s action?• Why do you think the author included the
scene between Pancho Villa & the narrator’s mother?
5th CHUNKPg. 44-46, line 161-227
THINK IT THROUGH
• What problem causes Elena & the children to leave home?
• REREAD: What sacrifices must the family make so they can leave?
• What new problems do they face when they reach Ciudad Juarez?
• How do they solve their problems?
6th CHUNKPg. 46-48, line 228-280
THINK IT THROUGH
• REREAD: Why is education so important to Elena?
• REREAD: What do you learn about the way Elena views herself and the world?
• Compare Elena’s life in the United States to her life in Mexico. Which do you think she prefers?
7th CHUNKPg 48-49, line 281-322
THINK IT THROUGH
• REREAD: Do you think that Elena’s feelings are common among people who come to the US from other lands?
• What words would you use to describe the narrator’s mother?
• How does the narrator judge her mother?• Do you think Elena would return home if she
could?
WRITE A LETTER
• Students can pretend that they are Elena and write a letter to her sisters in Mexico.
• Have them describe Elena’s life in California and tell what she misses about Mexico.
• Then students can exchange letters with a classmate