JHS 13, Central Park East Middle School, Spanish Harlem, Manhattan, District 4

Matt De La Pena, We Were Here:

Visit 1: December 11, 2010
Visit 2: Decemeber 18, 2010

An eighth grade class read We Were Here by Matt de la Peña. The book is written from the point of view Miguel, a teenager who escapes from a juvenile detention center with two friends and is struggling with forgiving himself the event that landed him at the center. Told through Miguel’s journal, the reader follows the boy’s journey to self discovery and forgiveness. De la Peña led a two part writing workshop where he encouraged students to develop their own ‘voice’. Students kept daily journals (just like
Miguel) and during the workshop expanded an entry about an event or situation into a first
person narrative.

Matt de la Pena talks to the class. dddddddddddddd		Matt de la Pena helps a student during the writing workshop.
Students line up as Matt de la Pena signs their copies of We Were Here.		Smiles abound after a fun and informative day. ddddd

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