Esperanza Rising: Growing Up

"No hay rosas sin espinas."

(There is no rose without thorns)

                                                 ~ Esperanza Rising (p. 14)

Essentially, the story of Esperanza Rising is about growing up. It is the coming of age story of not only Esperanza, but of America. A period of learning from past mistakes, suffering from the consequences, and ultimately growing from the experience. Because sometimes life takes us places where we never wished to go. Sometimes things don't always unfold the way we had planned. But even through life's most challenging times, Esperanza inspires us with the message, "Do not ever be afraid to start over" (Ryan, 253).

What I want is for students at this point to connect with the novel and the content on a deeply personal level. While a lot of this period of our nation's history is rather depressing, I ultimately want students to walk away feeling inspired with the belief that it is possible to rise above life's challenges.

Have students respond in their journals to the following question:

• Esperanza Rising is the account of a young girl who is taken away from her familiar surroundings and forced to rediscover herself in an entirely new environment. It is a difficult kind of change, but it is the kind of change that everybody goes through to varying degrees at some time, if not multiple times, in their life. Although it was a long and difficult process, Esperanza ultimately came to love her new home, new friends, and new family. In a well-organized, 2-3 page narrative, describe a time in your life when your surroundings suddenly changed. Describe not only what was changed, but how you felt and eventually came to terms with it.
  

Go to:

• Lesson Ideas 
• Introduction to the Great Depression  
• The Dust Bowl And The Great Migration To The West
• Hard Times In The Migrant Labor Camps
• Growing Up
• Lesson Adaptation  
• Vocabulary  
• Activities
• Resources  
• Dorothea Lange
• Voices From The Dust Bowl
• Pam Munoz Ryan  
• Immigration: A Voice Thread  
• Collaborative Group Project - Immigration

Return to:

• Esperanza Rising Homepage
• Children's Literature
• Building America Front Page