Eleven

Eleven

by Sandra Cisneros 

Open Ended

1-What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t. You open your eyes and everything’s just like yesterday, only it’s today. And you don’t feel eleven at all. You feel like you’re still ten. And you are—underneath the year that makes you eleven.

What point of view is this story being written from?

Multiple Choice

2-Like some days you might say something stupid, and that’s the part of you that’s still ten. Or maybe some days you might need to sit on your mama’s lap because you’re scared, and that’s the part of you that’s five. And maybe one day when you’re all grown up maybe you will need to cry like if you’re three, and that’s okay. That’s what I tell Mama when she’s sad and needs to cry. Maybe she’s feeling three.

At the end of this paragraph the point of view shifts. What point of view does the writer change to in the final two sentences?

• First Person Point of View

• Third Person Point of View

Multiple Choice

3-Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk or like my little wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one. That’s how being eleven years old is.

The author uses figurative languge in paragraph three (in green). What type of figurative language is used here? (Remember "like or as")

• hyperbole

• simile

Open Ended

4-You don’t feel eleven. Not right away. It takes a few days, weeks even, sometimes even months before you say Eleven when they ask you. And you don’t feel smart eleven, not until you’re almost twelve. That’s the way it is.

How do you think the narrator feels? Why do you think she feels this way? Use complete sentences.

Ex.

I believe the narrator feels like........

I believe she feels that way because the text states........

Multiple Choice

5-Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box. Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven because if I was one hundred and two I’d have known what to say when Mrs. Price put the red sweater on my desk. I would’ve known how to tell her it wasn’t mine instead of just sitting there with that look on my face and nothing coming out of my mouth.

Again, we see figurative language (simile). Which sentence contains figurative language?

• Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box

• Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven because if I was one hundred and two I’d have known what to say when Mrs. Price

• I would’ve known how to tell her it wasn’t mine instead of just sitting there with that look on my face and nothing coming out of my mouth.

Multiple Choice

6-“Whose is this?” Mrs. Price says, and she holds the red sweater up in the air for all the class to see. “Whose? It’s been sitting in the coatroom for a month.”

7-“Not mine,” says everybody. “Not me.”

8-“It has to belong to somebody,”Mrs. Price keeps saying, but nobody can remember. It’s an ugly sweater with red plastic buttons and a collar and sleeves all stretched out like you could use it for a jump rope. It’s maybe a thousand years old and even if it belonged to me I wouldn’t say so.

How do you think this sweater looks?

• delicate

• raggedy

• impeccable

• strewn

Open Ended

9-Maybe because I’m skinny, maybe because she doesn’t like me, that stupid Sylvia Saldivar says, “I think it belongs to Rachel.” An ugly sweater like that all raggedy and old, but Mrs. Price believes her. Mrs. Price takes the sweater and puts it right on my desk, but when I open my mouth nothing comes out.

10-“That’s not, I don’t, you’re not…Not mine.” I finally say in a little voice that was maybe me when I was four.

In one word, how would you feel in this situation?

Multiple Choice

11-“Of course it’s yours,” Mrs. Price says. “I remember you wearing it once.” Because she’s older and the teacher, she’s right and I’m not.

Does being older always make a person right?

• yes

• no

• only if it is Mrs. Nelson

Open Ended

12-Not mine, not mine, not mine, but Mrs. Price is already turning to page thirty -two, and math problem number four. I don’t know why but all of a sudden I’m feeling sick inside, like the part of me that’s three wants to come out of my eyes, only I squeeze them shut tight and bite down on my teeth real hard and try to remember today I am eleven, eleven. Mama is making a cake for me for tonight, and when Papa comes home everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you.

What does the narrator mean in the underlined statement?

Open Ended

13-But when the sick feeling goes away and I open my eyes, the red sweater’s still sitting there like a big red mountain. I move the red sweater to the corner of my desk with my ruler. I move my pencil and books and eraser as far from it as possible. I even move my chair a little to the right. Not mine, not mine, not mine. In my head I’m thinking how long till lunchtime, how long till I can take the red sweater and throw it over the schoolyard fence, or leave it hanging on a parking meter, or bunch it up into a little ball and toss it in the alley. Except when math period ends Mrs. Price says loud and in front of everybody, “Now, Rachel, that’s enough,” because she sees I’ve shoved the red sweater to the tippy-tip corner of my desk and it’s hanging all over the edge like a waterfall, but I don’t care.

Why do you think Rachel tries to move her things as far away from the sweater as possible?

Fill in the Blank

14-“Rachel,” Mrs. Price says. She says it like she’s getting mad. “You put that sweater on right now and no more nonsense.”

15-“But it’s not – “

16-“Now!” Mrs. Price says.

Rachel would likely have said "But it's not____"

Open Ended

17-This is when I wish I wasn’t eleven because all the years inside of me —ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one —are pushing at the back of my eyes when I put one arm through one sleeve of the sweater that smells like cottage cheese, and then the other arm through the other and stand there with my arms apart like if the sweater hurts me and it does, all itchy and full of germs that aren’t even mine.

What do you believe this means?

Open Ended

18-That’s when everything I’ve been holding in since this morning, since when Mrs. Price put the sweater on my desk, finally lets go, and all of a sudden I’m crying in front of everybody. I wish I was invisible but I’m not. I’m eleven and it’s my birthday today and I’m crying like I’m three in front of everybody. I put my head down on the desk and bury my face in my stupid clown -sweater arms. My face all hot and spit coming out of my mouth because I can’t stop the little animal noises from coming out of me until there aren’t any more tears left in my eyes, and it’s just my body shaking like when you have the hiccups, and my whole head hurts like when you drink milk too fast.

Defend - copy (word for word) one statement from the text that lets the reader know how Rachel feels at this moment.

ALTHOUGH CORRECT, I'M CRYING IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY IS NOT ALLOWED FOR USE.

19-But the worst part is right before the bell rings for lunch. That stupid Phyllis Lopez, who is even dumber than Sylvia Saldivar, says she remembers the red sweater is hers. I take it off right away and give it to her, only Mrs. Price pretends like everything’s okay.

Multiple Choice

20-Today I’m eleven. There’s a cake Mama’s making for tonight and when Papa comes home from work we’ll eat it. There’ll be candles and presents and everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you, Rachel, only it’s too late.

Why does Rachel say "it's too late"?

• She hates birthday cake.

• Her day has already been ruined.

• She is to sleepy to celebrate.

• The birthday song has been repeated all day.

Open Ended

I’m eleven today. I’m eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one, but I wish I was one hundred and two. I wish I was anything but eleven. Because I want today to be far away already, far away like a runaway balloon, like a tiny o in the sky, so tiny —tiny you have to close your eyes to see it.

Why does Rachel want the day to be like a baloon,

"so-tiny--tiny you have to close your eyes to see it"?