Literature often tells the story of
underdogs who rise up in the end. The
Mighty Ducks is the story of a rag-tag
hockey team that ends up winning the state
championship. Cinderella tells the story of
the rejected youngest sister who ends up
marrying the prince. “The Marble Champ,”
by Gary Soto, is also an underdog story. It
tells not only about Lupe winning the
marble championship, it also tells that she
overcomes her athletic difficulties through
hard work and family support.
Lupe overcomes her difficulties through
the support of her family. For example, one
dinner, Lupe asks her father to come to the
marble competition. Her father drops his
fork and drops into deep thought. He had
finally planned to spend that very day
playing racket ball, his favorite activity. But
he looked into Lupe’s eyes, thought about
how important it was that she was risking
entering a sports competition, and
announced he would be there. Lupe
grinned. There are other ways in which
Lupe’s family showed their support. Her
parents let her practice marbles even after
dark, her brother gave tips on how to
shoot marbles, and her whole family was
there to encourage her when she was
worried. Gary Soto shows how important
family support was to Lupe. His story
contains a full page description of the
family dinner. This section was not
important to the plot of the story but it
needs to be in the story because it shows
how supportive Lupe’s family was to her.
Lupe also overcame her difficulties
through hard work. Lupe’ decision to work
hard and succeed in sports was made
when she lay in front of her shelf full of
academic trophies and medals. She wished
there was at least one trophy that showed
that she could do sports – but there were
none. She decided that she would work
hard, day and night, to win a marble
tournament. A bit later, she came home
from school and immediately tossed down
her backpack and got out her marbles. Let
me point out Lupe usually came home
from school and did her homework - that
is why she had a shelf full of academic
trophies. She put on a determined face,
and started to flick her marbles. At five
o’clock, she hadn’t started homework. It’s
six o’clock, she had flicked 500 times, and
she hadn’t started her homework. At
seven o’clock, she’ll die if she goes on any
longer. Final score—marbles: three hours;
homework: zero hours.
Lupe overcomes her difficulties by
squeezing an eraser 100 times for thumb
strength, by doing “fingerups” for finger
strength, and by practicing after dark even
when she could be tired to improve her
overall marble game.
Gary Soto shows Lupe’s hard work through
repetition. For example, he says unnecessary
lines like “Tried again and again,” and
“Practice, practice, practice, squeeze,
squeeze, squeeze.” These lines support my
idea that Lupe is working hard.
I enjoy underdog stories because they
make me have a feeling of strange success
inside. I have experienced being an
underdog, in soccer. But in the end, like
Lupe, my soccer team succeeded. The
hidden lessons I learned from this story
taught me that even if you don’t think
about it, there is a part inside of you that
says your parents are there; just remember
who held you when you learned how to
swim.
3. Answer the following on this email and send your responses to me:
1. How many paragraphs are in this literary essay?
5
2. Copy and paste the claim in this literary essay.
he support of her family. For example, one
dinner, Lupe asks her father to come to the
marble competition. Her father drops his
fork and drops into deep thought. He had
finally planned to spend that very day
playing racket ball, his favorite activity. But
he looked into Lupe’s eyes, thought about
how important it was that she was risking
entering a sports competition, and
announced he would be there. Lupe
grinned. There are other ways in which
Lupe’s family showed their support. Her
parents let her practice marbles even after
dark, her brother gave tips on how to
shoot marbles, and her whole family was
there to encourage her when she was
worried. Gary Soto shows how important
family support was to Lupe. His story
contains a full page description of the
family dinner. This section was not
important to the plot of the story but it
needs to be in the story because it shows
how supportive Lupe’s family was to her
3. There is an introduction paragraph, a conclusion paragraph, and three body paragraphs in this literary essay. Why is the literary essay organized this way instead of just having a block of text with no spaces?
Because its a revue or an essay
4. Copy and paste the first sentences from each of the three body paragraphs.
Body Paragraph 1:Literature often tells the story of
Body Paragraph 2:Lupe overcomes her difficulties through
Body Paragraph 3:Lupe also overcame her difficulties
5. How do the first sentences in each of the three body paragraphs help you understand the literary essayist's claim?
Because it is helps you under stand the story
6. The claim must be supported with evidence from the text. There are three body paragraphs in this literary essay. Which paragraphs contain paraphrased evidence from the text and which contain direct quotes from the text?
Lupe also overcame her difficulties
7. Copy and paste a direct quote from the text:
Lupe also overcame her difficulties
8. On a scale of 4-1, grade this literary essay. Give at least three reasons why you would give it the grade that you would.
Because its easy to under stand
It's a book for kids
It's a good book to read
9. Email your responses to me now. If you need more time, finish this by tonight and email me.
10. If you finish before the end of class, go back and complete the Evidence Collection sheet from yesterday's lesson. If you've done everything you can do, then use your time for sacred writing.
