Book Summary

Esperanza Ortega’s happy life as her father’s only, beloved child comes to an abrupt end when her father is murdered and her devious uncles seize his vast land holdings. Rather than accept one uncle’s proposal of marriage, Esperanza’s mother flees their home with her daughter and faithful servants. Abuelita, Esperanza’s grandmother, must stay behind because of an injury sustained when their home is burnt to the ground.

At the end of a difficult journey, Esperanza arrives in a California farm labor camp and, slowly, begins to grasp the harsh realties of her new life. When her mother falls ill, Esperanza takes over the role of breadwinner, working in the packing sheds and helping with chores for her new extended family at the camp. Esperanza undergoes a tumultuous, emotional journey from the pampered girl of her past to the hardworking and compassionate young woman she becomes.

Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the hardships faced by Mexican immigrants during the time, the novel is a testament to the power of hope and the triumph of the human spirit.

Teaching the Book

Esperanza means hope, and hope is what Esperanza needs as she goes from the life of an indulged daughter of a Mexican landowner to the hardscrabble life of a farm labor camp worker in California. This award-winning novel provides the opportunity to teach students to analyze character through text quotes and to use adjectives to describe character traits. Students will engage in researching the history of farm workers, writing a book blog, and creating a book of personal proverbs.

Theme Focus: Change
Comprehension Focus: Analyze Character
Language Focus: Adjectives Describing Character

Get Ready to Read

Pre-Reading Activities

Proverbs

Introduce students to Esperanza Rising with this anticipation guide based on Mexican proverbs found in the book. Display the anticipation guide on a whiteboard or chart paper and ask students to respond.

Ask students to explain why they agree or disagree with each proverb. Tell them to keep the proverbs in mind as they read the book and see if their opinion about them changes.

Guide students to find journal prompts, read author Questions & Answers, and complete crossword puzzles by visiting Esperanza Rising on The Stacks. An excellent discussion of the historical background of the book can also be found on The Stacks. .

Preview and Predict

Discuss with students the title and cover of the book. Prompt them with these questions: What does the word esperanza mean in Spanish? What do you think the title means? Who do you think is the most important character in the book? Where do you think the book takes place?

Vocabulary

Adjectives Describing Character

Tell students that the author chooses words carefully to describe the characters in the book. These words create a picture in the reader’s mind of how the character acts, moves, and talks. The list below contains words that describe different characters in the book. Ask students to look for clues in the text to figure out the meanings of the words then check dictionary definitions.

Use Resource #1: Vocabulary Cards and distribute copies to students. Ask them to write down the definitions of the words as they read them in the book.

• elegant (p. 5)
• capricious (p. 13)
• devious (p. 33)
• pretentious (p. 33)
• extravagant (p. 136)
• despondent (p. 207)
• weary (p. 223)
• obsessed (p. 244)

Words to Know

Ask students to refer to the definitions they wrote on their vocabulary cards to answer the following questions.

1. How was Esperanza’s Mama elegant? Does she remain elegant?
2. Why is Abuelita described as capricious?
3. Give an example of how Tío Luís is devious.
4. What was extravagant about Esperanza’s old life in Mexico?
5. Why did the faces on the deportation buses look despondent?

Have students ask and answer more questions about the vocabulary words, applying them to the novel or to their own lives.

As You Read

Reading the Book

Modeled Reading

Read aloud the first six pages of the book, asking students to follow along. Then ask these questions: Where does Esperanza live? What is her life like there? How does she feel about her father and mother? How would you describe Esperanza as a character? Clarify any questions students have before they begin reading the book.

Independent Reading

Assign students to read Esperanza Rising independently. Remind them to keep the Big Question in mind as they read.

Big Question: Critical Thinking

Ask students to think about this question as they read and be ready to answer it when they have finished the book. Write the question on chart paper or have students write it in their reading journals. Will Esperanza rise to the challenges of her new life?

Comprehension Focus

Analyze Character Change

Esperanza Rising is a novel about a young protagonist who deals with challenges and changes in her life and finally rises above self-pity to become a strong and resilient person. Help students identify how the author expresses this character change through key dialogue in the book. Remind students that a reader can get to know a character by paying close attention to how he or she speaks, thinks, and acts. These pieces of evidence are clues to the character’s traits or personality.

Use the graphic organizer on Resource #2: Analyze Character to model for students how to use Esperanza’s words as text evidence to analyze her character. Project the page on a whiteboard and pass out copies to students.

Model

We’re going to think deeply about things that Esperanza says in the story and what they tell us about her character. A trait is a quality or habit that a person has. The first quotation is from page 67. Esperanza is getting on the train to leave Mexico. She says, “Mama, we cannot travel in this car. It . . . it is not clean. And the people do not look trustworthy.” Esperanza’s words tell me that, even though she has lost her home, she still thinks that she is above other people in Mexico. She does not yet understand what has happened to her life.

Have students fill in the rest of the organizer, analyzing the remaining quotes for what they reveal about Esperanza’s character and how she has changed. Discuss students’ answers as a group and encourage them to support their answers with other evidence from the text.

After You Read

Questions to Discuss

Lead students in a discussion of these focus story elements.

1. Change

By the end of the book, Esperanza is united with her mother and grandmother. What do you think is next for Esperanza? Will she become rich again? Will she marry? What do you predict about her future? (Sample answers: Abuelita might not be able to get her money from the bank, so they may remain poor. Esperanza might marry Miguel because of the scene between them at the end of the book.)

2. Analyze Character

The novel ends with these words, spoken by Esperanza: “Do not ever be afraid to start over.” What do these words tell us about Esperanza’s character at the end of the book? How has she changed? What has she learned? (Sample answers: She has learned that riches in life consist of family and love. Strength comes from believing in yourself. With those things, a person can triumph over life’s challenges.)

3. Adjectives Describing Character

What adjectives would you use to describe Esperanza and the other characters at the end of the story. Which of the vocabulary words apply or no longer apply to them? (Answers will vary, but should be supported by text evidence.)

Questions to Share

Encourage students to share their responses with a partner or small group.

1. Text to Self

Do you think that Esperanza and her mother made the right choice to leave Mexico? Might they have had a better life in Mexico than in California?

2. Text to World

Compare the conditions of the Mexican immigrants in the novel with immigrants from Mexico today. How have things changed? How have they stayed the same?

3. Text to Text

What other young characters have you read about who had to adapt to a different place or different circumstances in life? Compare one of the characters to Esperanza.

Content Area Connections

Social Studies

Cesar Chavez

Challenge students to learn what happened to the farm labor camp workers in California after the Great Depression. Suggest that they research the life of Cesar Chavez, the celebrated Latino leader of farm workers. Ask students to report on how Chavez achieved results for the workers through nonviolent means. Guide students to the PBS website to research Cesar Chavez.

Language

Crossword Puzzle

To engage students in a language activity based on the novel, download the crossword puzzle from the Scholastic website, by visiting. Questions on the puzzle challenge students’ comprehension of the book, as well as, their language skills. Distribute the Answers PDF when students have completed the crossword.

Science

Las Uvas

The author titled each chapter of the book with the name of a fruit or vegetable that plays a role in the story. Ask several students to report on the life cycle of these fruits and vegetables and find out how they are planted and harvested.

Arts

Craft Projects

Guide interested students to create a paper donkey and cart like the one that helped Esperanza escape from the ranch by downloading the pattern from the Scholastic website. Help other students who are inspired by Esperanza learn the zigzag pattern of crocheting taught by Abuelita. Direct them to refer to the instructions of the alternating mountains and valleys, found on page 14 of the book. If students want to make Mama’s Yarn Doll, refer them to the unnumbered back pages of the book to find instructions.

Extension Activities

Reading/Writing Connection

Book Blog

Ask students to review the book by giving it a star rating (one through five), stating their opinion, and then backing it up with at least three text-based reasons.

Don't Forget the Big Question

Critical Thinking

Give each student an opportunity to answer the Big Question. Encourage students to support their answers with details and evidence from the text. Tell them there is no one right answer. Will Esperanza rise to the challenges of her new life?

Big Activity

My Book of Proverbs

Pam Muñoz Ryan begins Esperanza Rising with two Mexican proverbs that reveal their truth in the story. In this activity, have students create their own “Book of Proverbs” by listing old proverbs that have been passed down to them by their parents or by researching proverbs that they think are true for themselves. Print and distribute copies of the Big Activity: My Book of Proverbs. Lists of proverbs can be found at many websites including: the Santa Monica College Reading Lab, Proverb Hunter, and The Phrase Finder.

Storia Enrichments

This Storia e-book has the following enrichments to enhance students’ comprehension of the book.

• Word Scramble (3)
• Word Twister (2)
• Who Said It?
• Do You Know?

About the Author

Pam Muñoz Ryan was raised in the San Joaquin Valley in California. Her Mexican grandmother lived around the corner, and her Oklahoman grandmother lived nearby in Lamont. “When I was with one, I often ate enchiladas, rice, and beans. When I was with the other, I ate blackeyed peas, fried okra, and peach cobblers.” Esperanza Rising is based on her Mexican grandmother’s immigration story from Mexico to California.

After college, Pam became a bilingual teacher and then left her job in education to raise her children. She went back to school for her master’s degree where a professor encouraged her to write. More than 25 books later, Pam Muñoz Ryan is the award-winning author of the novels The Dreamer, Paint the Wind, Becoming Naomi León, and Riding Freedom, as well as, numerous picture books. Today, she is a full-time writer and lives with her husband in San Diego County near the Pacific Ocean. Her four grown children frequently come and go.

To find more information about Pam Munoz Ryan and her books, visit: http://www.pammunozryan.com/.

© 2012 SI ALL RIGHTS RESERVED