1. Written by Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza Rising
Written by
Pam Munoz Ryan

2. Background about Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza Rising
Questions and Answers
Family Photos
Pam Munoz Ryan

3. Chapter 1-4
Find Aguascalientes, Mexico
map of Mexico

4. A Birthday at El Rancho de las Rosas
Birthday Song
Who comes to Esperanza's birthday party?
How many friends her own age does she have?
What gifts does she expect to receive?
What are the games they play and songs they sing?
What is the birthday song?
What it would have been like to be Esperanza on her birthday?
What have you learned about Esperanza and her family from the birthday party?
Did you notice any cultural differences between Esperanza’s birthday party and your birthday parties?

5. Read through "Los Melones"
Find
Map of Mexico
find Aguacalientes then find the route to Mexicali
Map of California
find Los Angeles and Arvin which is not named but is near Bakersfield

6. Life and Times Lives of Ordinary People Picture of a child
Columba Quintana
Water Carrier in Mexico
Portrait of indigenous man
Portrait of indigenous men
Lechero )Milkman)
Tlachiquero (Maguey cutter)
Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution Pictures

7. Read through "Los Esparagos"
Great Depression
Pictures during the Great Depression
Mass Exodus from the Plains
Timeline of the Dust Bowl
Migrant Farm Workers
Interview
House Cars
Squatter Camp
Arkansas Squatter Camp

8. Use the Immigrant Worksheet and answer the following questions.
Who are the main characters in the novel?
Where does the story take place?
Can you identify any objects, like the rose bushes that Miguel and his father save from the fire, which act as symbols or seem to have some deeper meaning in the story?
What are the important actions in the story, when something important happens?
What lessons and meaning do you take away from your reading of the story?

9. Final Project
Write a personal response to the changes that Esperanza experiences by the end of the novel. Describe the most important lesson or lessons that Esperanza learns from her experiences. How has Esperanza grown as a young woman from her experiences?
Write a letter home to Abuelita, Esperanza's grandmother, in which you imagine you are Esperanza describing what life is like for her and her mother in the United States. You should include as much news as you can, but try not to alarm your grandmother unnecessarily by writing only of bad news.
Compare Esperanza's experience with leaving her home in Mexico for the United States with the stories Abuelita tells her in the chapter titled "Los Higos" (figs) about leaving Spain to come to Mexico when she was a young girl. Does her grandmother's experience help to prepare her for her own? How does the story of the phoenix seem to fit with the life Esperanza experiences in California?
Compare the camp where the strikers are staying to the camp where Esperanza is living and the new camp being built for the Okies. What do the differences in the living conditions at these camps suggest about the differences among the social status of these different groups of laborers?

10. Extension Activities
Mexico for Kids