The House on Mango Street Characters: Who's Who

Activity Overview

As students read, a storyboard can serve as a helpful character reference log. This character map allows students to recall relevant information about important characters. When reading a story, small attributes and details frequently become important as the plot progresses. With character mapping, students will record this information, helping them follow along and catch the subtleties which make reading more enjoyable!

You can click on this map and create a copy on your teacher account. Feel free to use it as is, or to edit it for the level or interest of your class. Printing it as worksheets for your students to use while reading is a fast and easy way to incorporate this character map into your classroom. Or, if you prefer, create a blank template for your students to complete!

Esperanza introduces us to many characters, and not all of them are included in the character map. Choose the characters you or your students feel are the most important. You may wish to change the box headings in the storyboard to focus on different aspects, such as occupation or treatment of women/Latinos etc.

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Template and Class Instructions

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Student Instructions

Create a character map for the major characters.

Identify the major characters in The House on Mango Street and type their names into the different title boxes.
Choose a character to represent each of the literary characters.

Select colors and a pose appropriate to story and character traits.

Choose a scene or background that makes sense for the character.
Fill in the text boxes for Character Traits, How Does This Character Interact with the Main Character, and What Challenges Does This Character Face.

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Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 6-8

Difficulty Level 2 (Reinforcing / Developing)

Type of Assignment Individual or Partner

Type of Activity: Character Map

Common Core Standards

[ELA-Literacy/RL/6/3] Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution
[ELA-Literacy/RL/6/6] Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text

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Rubric

(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)

Character Map Rubric for Middle School

Create a character map of the characters in the story. Put the character's name in the title boxes and choose a character and scene to represent each one. As you read, take notes on the characters by answering the questions.

	Proficient 33 Points	Emerging 25 Points	Beginning 17 Points
Character Picture & Scene	The characters and scenes are all appropriate for the book's characters. They reflect strong understanding of the book's most important characters.	Most of the characters and scenes are appropriate for the book's characters. They reflect emerging understanding of the book's most important characters.	Many of the characters and scenes do not match the characters in the book. The project reflects a lack of understanding of the major characters.
Accuracy of Notes	Most of the information of the notes is correct.	Many of the notes have correct information, but some are incorrect or missing.	Much of the information of the notes is incomplete and/or incorrect and irrelevant.
Effort and Editing	Work is complete, thorough, and neat. Spelling and grammar are correct.	Most of the sections of the character map were at least attempted and work is presentable. The text contains some errors in spelling and/or grammar.	Character map is unfinished and/or disorganized. The text contains many errors in spelling and/or grammar.