EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment and Discussing Themes in Esperanza Rising: (Chapter 9: "Las Ciruelas/PLums")
Give this skills-based assessment halfway through your unit on Esperanza Rising. After a brief review, class members take the test, which asks them to show that they know how to analyze the novel independently. They are asked to...
EngageNY
Characters Changing Over Time (Chapter 10: "Las Papas/Potatos")
Engage further in Esperanza Rising with a focus on close reading and metaphor. Class members zero in on the tenth chapter, examining characters and big ideas. Pupils discuss the text in small groups and as a whole class, and...
EngageNY
Point of View: Comparing Esperanza's and Isabel's Perspectives About Life in the Camp (Chapter 7: "Las Cebollas/Onions")
Explore point of view and more with a Common Core-designed instructional activity. Learners experience different points of view by representing one of two characters from Esperanza Rising during a partner discussion. They must use...
EngageNY
Understanding Themes in Esperanza Rising
Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...
EngageNY
Contrasting Two Settings (Chapter 6: "Lost Melones/Cantalouples")
Continue working through Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan, by looking into language choices and discussing text-dependent questions. Pupils converse in small groups and as a class about plot, setting, and figurative language. Using...
EngageNY
Connecting Informational Text with Litearature: Building Background Knowledge About Mexican Immigration, California, and the Great Depression
Help your class transition as the setting in the novel Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, moves from Mexico to California. Beginning with prior knowledge, and moving into jigsaw research groups, class members add to and create posters...
EngageNY
Inferring About Characters Based on How They Respond to Challenges (Chapter 4: "Los Higos/Figs")
How do you know what a character's personality is like if an author doesn't tell you? With a focus on character development in Esperanza Rising, pupils complete a jigsaw activity to analyze the actions of Mama, Abuelita, and Miguel. Once...
EngageNY
Inferring About Characters Based on How They Respond to Challenges (Chapter 3: "Las Papayas/Papayas")
Start off your day with a quick reading comprehension quiz about chapter three of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. After they complete the quiz, pupils participate in a discussion and look closely at the text. A strong Common Core...
EngageNY
Getting to Know Esperanza (Chapter 2: “Las Uvas/Grapes”)
Delve into Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan with close reading and evidence-based, text-dependent questions. Part of a unit series, this well-sequenced, Common Core designed instructional activity draws on material from the...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Learning About the Historical and Geographical Setting of Esperanza Rising (Chapter 1: “Aguascalientes, Mexico, 1924”)
Set up your class to read Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, through a class read-aloud and exploration of the setting. The detailed instructional activity outlines each step. First, class members read over the first few pages and...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising: Lesson 5 of 15 in Unit Plan
Sixth graders complete lesson 5 of 15 about the book Esperanza Rising. In this Esperanza Rising lesson, 6th graders build on work done in the previous lesson. They complete response logs, and vocabulary posters. They investigate how...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising: Lesson 7
Sixth graders discuss the vocabulary word, "migrate" and what it means and how it relates to the novel they are reading, Esperanza Rising. In this novel lesson, 6th graders read chapter 7 of their novel in small groups and complete...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising: Lesson 9
Sixth graders explore culture by reading a book with classmates. In this Hispanic history lesson, 6th graders read the story First Day in Grapes, and discuss the tough lives of migrant workers. Students answer study questions after the...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising: Lesson 8
Sixth graders complete activities with the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. In this literature lesson plan, 6th graders read Chapter 8 of the book and discuss the chapter. They practice putting events in sequence and record...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising: Lesson 3
Sixth graders read parts of the book Esperanza Rising and define vocabulary words connected to it. In this Esperanza Rising lesson plan, 6th graders illustrate words and discuss the sections of the books they read.
Curated OER
Sum It Up
Students write summaries of books to exemplify comprehension of the stories. They create a story web to outline the important details of the story. In groups, students make story webs for separate chapters for the book. After the webs...
Other
Pam Munoz Ryan's Web Site
The official website of Pam Munoz Ryan, who won the Pura Belpre Award for "Esperanza Rising." Find the rest of her books noted as well as a biography.
Kids' Wings
Texas Bluebonnet Books: "Esperanza Rising"
This site offers historical links, lesson plans, and student activities to enhance Pam Munoz Ryan's book "Esperanza Rising."
Reading Is Fundamental
Reading Is Fundamental: Meet the Authors and Illustrators: Pam Munoz Ryan
This site includes an interview with Pam Munoz Ryan, a famous author of many children's picture books and historical fiction books. Read reviews of some of Pam Munoz Ryan's books by chidren.
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Author Interview: Transcript From Interview With Pam Munoz Ryan
This article shares the transcript of an interview with the author Pam Munoz Ryan. Conducted by one of the writers from Reading Rockets, autobiographical information is shared regarding the topics for some of the author's most famous works.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Discussion Guide to the Novels of Pam Munoz Ryan
This lesson plan site shares discussion guides for three books written by Pam Munoz Ryan. The discussion guides may be used with Esperanza Rising, Riding Freedom, and Becoming Naomi Leon.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Esperanza Rising: Learning Not to Be Afraid to Start Over
In this lesson middle schoolers will explore some of the contrasts that Esperanza experiences when she suddenly is forced to leave the life of a wealthy landowner's daughter surrounded by servants to become a servant herself among an...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Pam Munoz Ryan
A brief biography of Pam Munoz Ryan and a transcript of an interview in which she tells the story of her connection to the San Joaquin Valley and what led her to write her novel Esperanza Rising.