Esperanza Rising and Mexican American Labor Strikes - a Lesson Plan

This lesson plan should be used by late elementary and early middle school students as they read the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. Students will conduct in depth research on the Mexican American labor strikes in California during the Great Depression, using multiple print resources. Students will organize the information collected through research in a chart, representing the who, what, when, where, why and how. Students will understand the meaning of "objective journalism" and understand how objective news stories differ from editorials. Students will craft organized research into a short, accurate and objective newspaper article. Students will share and respectfully critique other student's news articles. And students will relate the Mexican-American labor strikes they and their peers researched to the strikes they read about in the novel Esperanza Rising.

Advance Preparation

-Class will meet in library

-Bring example book and model worksheet

-Before class arrives, teacher should pull all relevant books, encyclopedias, magazines, journals and other resources for historical research.

-If the library does not have sufficient print resources, teacher should seek additional print resources from the local public library, or her own collection

-teacher may also seek journal and magazine articles or other print resources online and print these print resources out for students

-print resources should be kept together on a library cart

Management:

-Hand out "who," "what," "when," "where" "why" and "how" charts

-After explaining all directions, the students may find their books on the designated library cart

-Students will be given a special "newspaper" worksheet on which they will draft their article from the charts

-Students who don't finish their research may check out their library books and finish the project later

Introduction:

"Yesterday, we read a very suspenseful chapter in Esperanza Rising. Who can tell me something important that happened in the story yesterday?

Listen to answers

"Now, as you may remember from reading the author biography, Esperanza Rising is a work of fiction, but it was written based on true events. One event that occurred in the book also took place several times all over the United States during the Great Depression. Does anyone have an idea what that was?"

Listen to answers

"Today, we will pretend to be newspaper reporters from the 1930's and we will investigate what really happened at these Mexican American led labor strikes."

Development:

"You will begin by choosing one book, magazine, article or encyclopedia to research. All the research materials have post-its marking what part of the book covers the 1930's labor strike. For example, I chose the book, "California: A History" by Kevin Starr.

Open to the page on Mexican American labor strikes

"Now, when I do research, I find it easiest to skim the material first. Doing this helps me find exactly where the information I need starts and where it ends. "

"After I finish skimming the material, I read it more in depth, looking for the information I need on my chart. For example, I'll read through the section and search for information that tells me who exactly was involved in the Mexican American labor strike described. A more thorough reading of the material shows me that the Mexican American labor strike was begun by an organization known as the "Associated Farm Workers of California." So, now that I know to write "The Associated Farm Workers of California" in the part of the chart marked "who." But the Mexican American strikers weren't the only people involved-they had to strike against someone, right? So, I'll look to see who they were striking against. If the book doesn't mention who the strikers were protesting (and there may be one or two print resources that don't include this information) it is safe to write "farm owners.""

"I will continue this process until I've filled in every box on my chart. Then, I will use the information I've found to draft an objective newspaper article. But when I write my unbiased newspaper article, should it sound like this?

Read "wrong" example that is clearly biased in one way or another, then listen to answers

"OK, how about this? "

Read another example, biased with the other opinion.

"What would you call this type of article?"

(Editorial, Opinion Article)

"There is nothing wrong with editorials, but for today, we are writing newspaper articles that steer clear of huge biases like the articles I just read. So, you are best off with an objective article like this."

Read an objective article, then instruct students to select materials and quietly begin research and writing the news story. During this time, circulate the library and help students as necessary. After students have finished their articles, assign them partners and have them share their new stories. The listening partner should be checking for answers to "who," "what," "when," "where" "why" and "how" questions

Closure:

"As you continue to read more about Esperanza in the next chapter of Esperanza Rising, keep the information you learned today close-it will help you understand the reasons some people chose to strike, and why others avoided it. Researching and writing an objective article probably also helped you learn more about the farm owners and why they treated the Mexican Americans the way they did. Understanding the true motives behind the events described in Esperanza Rising will help you understand the historical context of the novel, which is key in understanding Esperanza and her family