Neh: Edsit Ement: Esperanza Rising: Learning Not to Be Afraid to Start Over

In this lesson plan students will explore some of the contrasts that Esperanza experiences when she suddenly is forced to leave the life of a wealthy landowner's daughter surrounded by servants to become a servant herself among an extended family of immigrant farm workers. The lesson plan will also look behind the story at the historical, social, and cultural circumstances that help to account for the great contrasts and contradictions that Esperanza discovers when she comes to the United States.