Literature Study: Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan – Wednesday – Winter 2024 – 10 Weeks – Grades 5 – 7
Wednesday, January 10 2024 @ 9:00AM – Wednesday, March 20 2024 @ 10:30AM EST
Instructor:
Eva Goldstein-MeolaInstructor Email:
eva@opententacademy.comGrade/Level:
5 – 7Day of Week:
WednesdayClass Times:
9:00AM – 10:30AM (ET)Terms/Semesters:
Winter 2024
Esperanza Rising is an incredible story of overcoming and perseverance. On one level Esperanza Rising is a heartwarming story of a young girl who learns the importance of love and sacrifice for family and friends, but on another level, it is also a lesson in the cultural as well as personal struggles that poor families, especially immigrants and farm laborers, must experience.
Esperanza thought she’d always live a privileged life on her family’s ranch in Mexico. She’d always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. Esperanza isn’t ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances-because Mama’s life, and her own, depend on it.
Together, students will read and discuss the story of Esperanza and find relationships between what is happening in the novel and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is a study in history, human rights, and reading comprehension.
What is a Literature Circle?
In literature circles, small groups of students gather to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students’ responses to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author’s craft, or personal experiences related to the story. Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response.
NOTE: This class must reach the minimum of five students by December 15, 2023 to run. If we do not reach this minimum, parents will be notified via email.
Excellent class with clear and detailed guidance
I believe my rising 7th grader has greatly benefited from taking the summer Powerful Paragraphs class from Eva. There were precise and detailed instructions on brainstorming, constructing varied and expressive sentences, and usage of transitional phrases, all in the context of the different writing structures they studied each week. The weekly reviews of past lessons and the incremental addition of new stylistic techniques were great reinforcement for the concepts being thoughts. It was also useful to have the numerous sample writings provided for reference with each lesson. Through out the class, they kids had a growing list of “banned” words to encourage them to choose more expressive and nuanced alternatives (started with one or two and grew to maybe ~15). Overall, a great class for my child who is still in the early stages of honing his essay writing skills.
Unsung Heroes
My daughter loved learning about “unsung heroes” of the Civil Rights Movement: individuals who deserve recognition, but receive little in the history books. Ms. Eva ties in historical background information extremely well to the book to help understand the bigger picture to further appreciate Claudette Colvin’s courage.
10 out of 10!
My son just finished ESSAY INTENSIVE, a 10-week course focusing on Critique Writing, Expository Essays, Persuasive Essays, Compare/Contrast Essays and Narrative Essays.
I really appreciate what you have accomplished in the course of 10 weeks!
What a change I saw in my son’s writing.
He would never admit it, but I think that he even likes writing a little now that he understands how to write!
As with our original OTA class, this experience has been incredible!
Forget 5 Stars – it is a 10 out of 10 in my book.
Eva’s Literature Classes are Amazing!
All of Eva’s Literature Classes are amazing.
My daughter MOST RECENTLY loved learning about “unsung heroes” of the Civil Rights Movement: individuals who deserve recognition, but receive little in the history books. Ms. Eva ties in historical background information extremely well to the book to help understand the bigger picture to further appreciate Claudette Colvin’s courage.
She has taken HIDDEN FIGURES, TWICE TOWARDS JUSTICE, AMERICAN GIRLS, WONDER, FISH IN A TREE, TO HOPE AND BACK and REFUGEE with Eva.
Each class was better than the one before!
Do not miss out on Eva’s literature classes!
This class should be mandatory!
I signed up my 8th grader for this class because I wanted him to start thinking about his future.
What I didn’t expect is him initiating meaningful discussions about our cost of living inflation, budgeting, work-life balance etc.
My son will be attending a college prep high school this fall and has already told me he won’t “going to be an idiot who blows over $100 a month on lattes at the cafeteria”.
I am so thankful for this class.
It really got my son thinking about the future.
