In this lesson plan, students will gain a deeper understanding of the information presented in the novel Esperanza Rising by taking part in a literature circle and engaging in peer discussion.
Created by Keli Jacewitz, November 2007
Objectives: The student will review information from the novel Esperanza Rising, characterization, and point of view.
Reading/Comprehension. The student comprehends selections using a variety of strategies. Draw inferences such as conclusions or generalizations and support them with text evidence and experience. Write to inform/tell/explain/define. Including:
- Inferring: take specific information (from text and/or prior experience/learning) in order to draw a conclusion or form a generalization; an inductive process; “reading between the lines.” [The writer implies; the reader infers.]
- Drawing and Supporting Conclusions With and Without Text Evidence: A statement about an individual person, place, thing, or event that is supported by accurate information [Note: On TAKS, that information must come from the text.] Conclusions are “some” or “sometimes” statements. There are many different kinds of conclusions, e.g.:
- a statement about an individual person, place, thing, or event;
- a statement/conclusion about the future = prediction; and
- a statement/conclusion about why something happened = cause/effect
- Forming Generalizations: A statement about a group/class of persons, places, things, or events supported by accurate information. [Note: On TAKS, that information must come from the text.] There are many different kinds of generalizations, e.g.
- a straightforward statement about a group/class of persons, places, things, or events
- a statement/generalizations about the future = prediction
- a statement/generalizations about why something happened = cause/effect Inductive process: draw conclusions and then validate/support it with text evidence, primarily direct quotations from the text
- Deductive process: validate/support conclusions nd generalizations with text evidence (primarily direct quotations from the text)
- Represent text information in different ways such as in outline, timeline, or graphic organizer. Including:
- Drawing Conclusions;
- Analyzing Characters and Events.
And using:
- Venn Diagram: Comparison/Contrast of Traits/Characteristics of Two Characters
- Web: Characteristics of a Character
TEKS §110.22. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 6.(b)(10)(H,L)
Reading/Literary Response. The student expresses and supports responses to various types of texts. Support responses by referring to relevant aspects of text and his/her own experiences. Including:
- Analyze Characters/Motivation
- Analyze Characters/Traits
- Analyze Characters/Conflict
- Analyze Characters/Changes They Undergo
And support those responses with accurate, connected text evidence.
TEKS §110.22. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 6.(b)(11)(C)
Reading/Text Structures/Literary Concepts. The student analyzes the characteristics of various types of texts (genres) Describe how the author s perspective or point of view affects the text, including:
- why the author included certain pieces of text (e.g., introduction),
- why the author chose to tell the story from a narrator’s point of view
- why the author wrote the text (e.g., to inform, to persuade, to entertain)
And the traditional literary concept of point of view: Point of View
- Point of View: The perspective/attitude/stance toward an event, issue, another character Point of view is “the vantage point, or stance” from which a story is told, the eye and mind through which the action is perceived and filtered. …. (this) is sometimes called narrative perspective.”
- 1st Person—“The narrator stands inside the story. The narrator may be the protagonist, a minor character, or a character who is not directly involved in the action but who functions as an observer and recorder. … Employing first person point of view has several advantages. One of these is credibility. A strange or fantastic story is easier to believe if told by someone who is supposedly relating a first-hand experience. And it is far more natural for a character to reveal her own thoughts than it is for the author to tell us what she is thinking and feeling. Another advantage is in intimacy. The ‘I’ narrator seems to address the reader directly and from the heart, sharing his personal observations and insights with an interested listener. But first-person narration also has disadvantages. The reader can see, hear, and know only what the narrator sees, hears, and knows. The reader’s perceptions of other characters are colored by the narrator’s predispositions, prejudices, and personal limitations.”
- 3rd Person/ Omniscient—This is the most common 3rd person narrative perspective. “Here the narrator, standing outside the story, assumes a god-like persona, moving about freely in time and space, revealing the thoughts and motives of all the characters, knowing the past, present and future, and (sometimes) commenting on or interpreting the actions of the characters. The major advantage of this approach is its obvious freedom and unlimited scope. Its major disadvantage is a relative loss of vividness, involvement and intimacy. This disadvantage is overcome somewhat if the narrator assumes limited omniscience?
- 3rd Person/Limited Omniscience—In 3rd person limited omniscience, the narrator focuses on the “thoughts of a single character and presents the other characters only externally. This more restricted approach surrenders the privileges of seeing and knowing everything and typically follows one character throughout the story, presenting only those incidents in which the character is involved.”
- 3rd Person/Objective—This point of view “is an even more restricted type of 3rd person limited omniscience that prevents any subjective commentary by the author…. (This approach) also abandons freedom of movement in time and space, examination of motives, and revelation of thoughts, and restricts the narrator to only those objective details that can be seen and heard by an invisible witness. (This is sometimes) called the scenic method or the fly-on-the-wall technique.
TEKS §110.22. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 6.(b)(12)(H)
Prerequisite Skills: The student will need basic reading and writing skills. It is also important to understand and be able to apply characterization and point of view skills.
Anticipatory Set: Journal – Instruct the students to write a letter from Esperanza in California, to Abuelita still in Mexico. Allow the students to choose one of the following formats for their letter: a formal letter, a thank you note, a travelogue, a poem, or a request for her mother to join her in America.
Modeling: Place the students into small groups of 3-4 people. Pass out the literature circle questions and the novel. Explain to the students that the final test over the novel Esperanza Rising will take place the following day. Remind them that they need to review the information in the novel, as well as characterization and point of view. Give the students 20-30 minutes to complete and discuss the literature circle questions.
Show the students how to look in the book for the answers to literature circle questions. Explain how to politely disagree with each other and how to discuss the answers. Remind them to support their answers and opinions with pages from the book.
Check for Understanding: Have students tell their elbow partner one thing to remember when working together in groups.
Guided Practice: The students will work together in small groups to answer and find supportive text for the literature circle questions.
Closure: Once students have completed the literature circle questions, the teacher will lead a discussion about the answers.
Independent Practice: Students will take home the test review and work on it to study for the test. If time allows in class, students can work on it then.
Enrichment: Students can interview friends or family members who have had the experience of emigrating from one country to another. The student may bring notes from their interview back to school and type it up in the library.
Remediation:
- ESL - Partner with a strong English speaker. Allow students to work in partners. Allow students to draw pictures for their answers.
- GT - Students can complete the enrichment project.
- SPED - Follow the students IEP. Students can work in partners. Students can attend CM. The assignment can be shortened.
Assessment/Rubrics: Literature Circle Questions and Test Review
