Vignettes inspired by Sandra Cisneros House on Mango Street

1. Auto-Bio Poem
An Auto-Bio Poem is all about one person. It is a way for you to
introduce yourself to others. Take some time to think about
yourselfthoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Then, use the template
below to write your own Auto-Bio poem.
2. Logo piece
a. Create a personal logo design: develop a meaningful personal
symbol representing something about you: your values, family
heritage, hopes, beliefs etc. Place it on the top part of your paper.
b. Develop a careful piece of writing that brings your logo to life
and fit it on the page below the logo.
3. I Remember piece
Pick one annotation from your memory map a memory (some
incident, someone, or something) to focus on in this writing. Pick
something small that matters to you and you want to describe in
more detail.
Start writing with the I remember form and write a paragraph,
continue using I remember 4 more times to write your
paragraphs. End your writing with But mostly I remember
Use strong imagery, avoid clichs and write from the heart and
real.
4. Word Photos moments from our lives
Think about the major events of your life in chronological order.
These events can be anything that changed your life and became
turning points. Pick any 3 moments from your life-line you want to
work with and create a word photo from each. The idea of a word
photo is to describe carefully a small moment in your life, showing
rather than telling in 50-75 words. Do this writing in the 3 rd person
(do not say I, use she/he or call yourself by your name).

5. Lost Poem metaphor work

Loss and change are part of life. We lose our car keys, we lose our
temper, and we lose our friends and loved ones. Our loses need to
be acknowledged, grieved and healed. Take the time to
acknowledge the things and people that have gone from your life.
Then pick one change or loss to focus on and follow this format:
Before this, it was like this
Like
Like
It was
And
And now it has changed because
Now its like this
Like this
Like this
OR
5. Scar Stories
People like to tell stories about their wounds, surgeries and
accidents. We must come to love our scars. Look at your physical,
literal scars and write the stories that come with your wounds and
need to be told.
OR
5. Heart Scars
Heart scars are a variation of literal scars. You will explore your
emotional wounds and hurts and write a story about a heart scar
that you have tried to hide from yourself and the others. Sharing
your stories helps you and helps others, giving them permission
to tell the stories of their wounds in order to begin the healing
process.