Celebrating Creativity and Voice in English Class
We are delighted to share a wonderful moment of creativity and learning from our Grade 11-12 English classes. Recently, students completed a special project inspired by The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, and the results were truly inspiring.
As part of our exploration of themes such as identity, belonging, and self-expression, students took part in a creative assignment called “Rooms of Identity.” They designed symbolic “rooms” representing the inner world of a character from the novel, using images, objects, colour, and quotations to show each character’s hopes, struggles, and dreams. The variety of ideas and artistic approaches was remarkable, and it was wonderful to see students thinking deeply while expressing themselves so creatively.
The highlight of the project was the performance element. Each student wrote and performed a short monologue in the voice of their character, inspired by Cisneros’ poetic style. These presentations were thoughtful, expressive, and often very moving. Students demonstrated impressive confidence, empathy, and maturity as they brought their characters to life, and the classroom was filled with attentive listening, encouragement, and genuine appreciation for one another’s work.
We concluded with a gallery walk, where students explored each other’s creations and shared positive feedback and reflections. The atmosphere was warm, supportive, and celebratory and a real reminder of how powerful literature can be when students are given space to interpret and create.
We are incredibly proud of the imagination, insight, and courage our students showed throughout this project. It was a joy to watch them connect literature to larger questions about identity and voice while developing strong analytical and presentation skills.
Monologue:
By: Rebeca (Grade 11, Mexico) and Ivanna (Grade 12, Mexico)
“If This Room Could Speak”
If this room could speak, it would tell you I am more than this street. More than the small house.
More than the broken stairs and the loud neighbors. I sit by the window and I imagine another life.
A house that belongs to me.
A house with my name on it.
Quiet. Clean. Mine.
Sometimes I feel ashamed of where I live.
Sometimes I feel like I don’t belong anywhere.
Not here. Not there.
But inside me, I know I want something bigger.
The door is locked, but I am not afraid.
One day I will have the key.
One day I will leave.
But I won’t forget this place.
Because this street made me who I am.
And when I come back,
I will come back stronger.