Download and print this free The House on Mango Street word search — 15 hidden words drawn from Sandra Cisneros’s novel, told in short VIGNETTE chapters by Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina growing up in a Chicago neighborhood. It’s a free PDF with the answer key included, sized for standard printer paper and useful as a first-week vocabulary activity, a task for early finishers during the unit, or a light review before a class discussion of the book’s themes.
The word list runs easy-to-medium: DREAMS, VOICE and CHICAGO are quick finds, while COMINGOFAGE, STORYTELLING and NEIGHBORHOOD take a slower scan. It suits solvers from about 12 up. COMINGOFAGE and GROWINGUP are printed with no spaces, so remind students to search for each as one unbroken string.
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The 15 Words in This Puzzle
Every word here points back to the book. ESPERANZA narrates, CHICAGO is where she lives, and the story unfolds in short vignettes rather than long chapters. Themes such as IDENTITY, BELONGING and POVERTY come up again and again as she wishes for a house of her own. Here’s the full word bank you’ll be hunting for:
- BELONGING
- CHICAGO
- COMINGOFAGE
- COMMUNITY
- CULTURE
- DREAMS
- ESPERANZA
- GROWINGUP
- IDENTITY
- LATINA
- NEIGHBORHOOD
- POVERTY
- STORYTELLING
- VIGNETTE
- VOICE