Week of November 17-21, 2014

Students are working on a Thinking Map Book for Esperanza Rising. They are learning about plot, summarization, character analysis, compare and contrast, the importance of setting (time and place), infer the implicit-explicit theme of the novel, and author's point of view. 

This coming week we will be analyzing and comparing "Esperanza Rising" to Emily Dickinson's poem "Hope" is a thing with feathers.

Esperanza Means Hope

In Esperanza Rising, the author demonstrates the power of words and language throughout the novel. Esperanza means "hope" in Spanish, and the author creates a character-Esperanza-who continues to rise above valleys of hardship in the novel in order to reach the peak of her mountains, as symbolized by the blanket that she crochets under Abuelita's instruction.  Emily Dickinson's poem "Hope' is a thing with feathers also illustrates that hope con be a powerful source for flight.

Reminders:
Thursday--University T-Shirt
Friday--Falcon Spirit T-Shirt

Earn 10 points:
1. Theme Reread pages 250-251. Why is this book called Esperanza Rising?
2. Inference Esperanza did not receive fancy gifts for her birthday, but she was happy.  How do you know? Explain her reaction and support your answer.