Lara Martinez
SLIS 5960
Multicultural Literature Activity
Young Adult:
Ryan, P.M. (2000). Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic.
Information about the book:
Esperanza Ortega is a young,
spoiled girl from a beautiful ranch in Mexico who goes through a complete life
change when her father is murdered by bandits and the remaining family must
escape to Mexico to become migrant workers during the Great Depression. She must find inner strength and become a
different person to face the great demands that have been placed on her at a
young age.
The story is based on the
true story of the author’s grandmother.
Information about the author:
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Pam Muñoz Ryan, has
written over twenty-five books for young people including the novel,
Esperanza Rising, winner of the Pura Belpre Medal, the Jane Addams Peace
Award, an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults, and the Americas Award
Honor Book. Her novel, Riding Freedom has garnered many awards including the
national Willa Cather Award, and the California Young Reader Medal. Her
picture books for the very young and picture books for older readers, include
the award-winning Amelia and Eleanor Go For A Ride and When Marian Sang, the
recipient of the ALA Sibert Honor and NCTE's Orbis Pictus Award. She was born
and raised in Bakersfield, California and received her Bachelor's and
Master's Degrees at San Diego State University. She now lives in north San
Diego County with her husband and four children. During many long, hot
valley summers, she spent most of her time riding her bike to the
library. It became her favorite hang out because her family didn't have
a swimming pool and the library was air-conditioned! That's how she got
hooked on reading and books. After college, she knew that she wanted to
work in a profession that had something to do with books, and she thought
that would be teaching. She became a teacher, an administrator and
then, at the encouragement of a friend who thought she could write, began her
first book. That's when she finally knew what she really wanted to do. v From http://www.pammunozryan.com/bio.html
May 20, 2003 |
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Before Reading Activity:
The story of the Great
Depression is often told from the perspective of "Okies," white
migrant workers who fled the Dust Bowl and headed west for a better future in
California. But an important chapter of the Great Depression story is the
Mexican and Mexican-American perspective. What were working and living
conditions like for those who crossed the border and headed north, seeking jobs
and a chance at the American Dream?
Activity: A Closer Look at the
Historical Context (Partner Project)
In order to understand the
setting of a novel, you must know where the novel takes place and when it takes
place. Understanding where is as simple as referring to a map to pinpoint the
main geographic location(s) of the story. Understanding when a story takes
place is sometimes a more complex task. Esperanza Rising is set during the
Great Depression in the United States. Esperanza's story also stems from a
series of historical events in Mexico. Her story bridges two cultures and two
countries.
The activity is designed
to build on your background of the historical context for the novel. Your task to select one of the topics
below, visit the links under that topic, and then choose one site to become an
expert on. You and your partner will write a summary of the information
given at that site.
History of Mexico:
Celebrate the Mexican
Revolution:
http://www.inside-mexico.com/revolucion.htm
The Great Depression:
The
Great Depression Simplified
http://home.jps.net/~gailhd/crossing/esperanza/greatdep.htm
How the Depression
Affected Children-Read each of the three sections
http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/er2a.htm
I Remember-Pick one of the
“I Remember” Stories
http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17451_18670_18793-53511--,00.html
Migrant Labor:
Valley Fever
Sons of Zapata
http://www.farmworkers.org/sonsofz.html
A look at challenges facing children of farm
workers today:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/education/25education.html
Before writing your summaries, be
sure to review these sites:
Tips for Writing a Summary
http://www.east-muskingum.k12.oh.us/AT&T%20%20Grant/Att&t/summary_writing.htm
and
The Essence of a Summary
http://lsa.colorado.edu/essence/
After
Reading Activity:
Have
students get into small discussion groups.
Write the following discussion questions on index cards and distribute
one to each group to discuss:
v Why does Esperanza's father have a special feeling for his land?
v Do you think every landowner in Mexico felt the "heartbeat"
of the earth?
v How does Abuelita's experience of leaving Spain for Mexico compare to
Esperanza's of leaving Mexico for the United States?
v Compare the two train rides — the one Esperanza and Miguel took as
young children and the one they take to California. What is significant about
the description of the earlier train ride in the story?
v Compare the setting in Aguascalientes to the company camp in
California. How is Esperanza's life different in each place? How is it similar?
v Why do Josefina and Hortensia tell Esperanza and Miguel to shop only
at the Japanese store? What does Alfonso mean when he tells Miguel that Mr.
Yakota is "getting rich on other people's bad manners"?
v Compare the strikers' camp to the company camp. How does seeing the
strikers' camp affect Esperanza?
After students have discussed
their group topics and written their group response on the back of the large
index card, have them come together as one big group. A representative from each small group will then present their
group’s question and answer. The larger
group can join the group discussion after each question is presented.
v From http://home.jps.net/~gailhd/crossing/esperanza/student.htm
May 20, 2003