Book: Esperanza Rising
Grade: 5th
Theme: Perseverance
Time Period: 1920's in California
Plot: Esperanza is the daughter of a rich Mexican field owner. The family is known for their grapes. One night her father and the workers are out mending a fence on the property when he is killed by bandits. This begins the story of Esperanza and her family having to leave Mexico and move to California to find work.
In the back of the book there are activities that you can do with the students (eg. making a rag doll) or cooking activities. I would love to have the children dress up and do a skit from a part of the book. This would also be a great book to have them read in literature circles and to talk about the Great Depression. This book is from a Hispanic's point of view in the Great Depression which I also think is a great thing. It also teaches Spanish words, so we can add them to our word wall.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is a very popular book for intermediate grades, both boys and girls. I like it myself as a classroom teacher because it affords so many opportunities for integration and discussion.
ReplyDelete