Salvador, Late or Early By Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering

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
1/17/12 5:21 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…
1/17/12 5:18 PM
Comment: I remember what it was liked to
be teased at school.
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
1/17/12 5:18 PM
Comment: WOW! That WHOLE paragraph
was ONE sentence!
1/17/12 5:18 PM
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.
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
1/17/12 5:18 PM
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)
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 5:18 PM
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.
Nonfiction
Fantasy: any story of the impossible, characters do
NOT wake up from a dream
Realism
Nonfiction
FICTION
Informational
Biography
Autobiography/Memoir
Newspaper (articles, op-ed, book review, etc)
Argument/ Persuasive
Mystery
Topic (Content) Description, How-To, Field Guide, Recipe, Brochure, Dictionary, Menu, Diary
Factual information is presented about the life of life of an individual, written by someone else.
An individual writes factually about his/her life experiences.
Misc.
The process of presenting or comprehending a reasoned case.
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.
Contemporary
Humor/Satire
A text that uses humor, irony, sarcasm, & ridicule to expose and make fun of humans.
Realistic Fiction:
Coming-of-Age
10+: Focus on self-discovery and independence; focus on the trials-and-tribulations encountered
Tells the story of people
during growth from childhood to adulthood, sometimes about facing and overcoming fears;
during a time period that
featuring protagonists who fear being different, making commitments, and being rejected.
can be considered
Sports
Often present a story in which a child protagonist struggles to be accepted as a member of a
contemporary—
team and does eventually succeed through determination and hard work. Uncover Tailback by
happening in today’s
Matt Christopher.
world.
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)
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
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
Traditional Fantasy:
happenings. (Jack and the Beanstalk)
Stories and tales handed
Fables
A short tale used to teach a moral lesson, often with animals as characters
down from long ago that
Myths
Main characters are usually gods or supernatural heros, set in a “primordial” age; explain how
have no known author;
the world gained it’s current form
When they were finally
Legends
A narrative of human actions perceived to take place within human history and could be “true;”
written down, it was by
within ranges of “possibility” (includes “miracles”) (Big Foot, Trojan War, Robin Hood)
“collectors” rather than
Folklore
Includes fairy tales, music, oral history, jokes, popular beliefs and customs of a
authors.
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.
Modern Fantasy: an
Low Fantasy
Story that deviates from the natural physical laws of the Earth. Something happens that is not
original work of fiction,
truly possible; However the setting of the tale remains on Earth the entire time.
not retelling of folktale;
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.
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