Becoming Naomi León
Library Lessons
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Grades
3–6
by | Lynne Farrell Stover
• Library Lessons •
E
leven-year-old Naomi Soledad León Outlaw
has a couple issues. For one thing, there
is her unusually long name. For another,
there is little brother, Owen, who has a bent body
but a bright brain. But all in all, her spunky great
grandmother has taken good care of the siblings
over the last seven years, and things are going
relatively well…That is, until the day Naomi’s
unstable mother pays them a visit. It seems that
Skyla would like Naomi to come and live with
her so that she can be a babysitter for her new
boyfriend’s younger daughter. Gram realizes that
if she is going to keep Naomi and Owen safe and
together, she needs to get legal permission from
the children’s father. They head out from their
California trailer park and travel to Oaxaca City,
Mexico. There, Naomi learns about her cultural
identity, experiences the unique festival called the
“Night of the Radishes,” and reconnects with her
long-absent father.
Library Lesson
Naomi’s “Night of the Radishes”
Research
Introduction: Naomi is a great maker of lists.
She also loves her school’s library. If she combined
these two things, she could research the items on
her “Night of the Radishes” list using the reference
tools in the library.
Time Required: 20–25 minutes
Suggested Grade Level: 3–6
Objective:
• Students will review the organization of the
contents of a set of encyclopedias.
Materials:
• Visual: Naomi’s “Night of the Radishes”
Research (page 3)
• Transparency marker
• Activity Sheet: Naomi’s “Night of the Radishes”
Research (page 4)
• Writing tools
• Optional: Sets of encyclopedias for student
inspection
Procedure:
1. Prepare materials prior to class.
2. Introduce the lesson by asking the students if
they know what an encyclopedia is. An encyclopedia is a set of books that contains information
about people, places, things, and events. Note:
Encyclopedias can also be stored on discs and
are also found on the internet.
3. Direct the students’ attention to the library’s
collection of encyclopedias for future reference.
4. Display the transparency. Review the content
with the students. Solicit responses to the questions from the students filling in the answers
with a marker.
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Library Lessons
5.
Answers:
Part I
1. 15
2. Alphabetical and Numerical
3. U-V
Part II
1. Vol 6
2. Vol 11
3. Vol 3
4. Vol 7
Distribute the activity sheet. Explain to the
students that in the book, Becoming Naomi
León, Naomi and her family traveled to
Oaxaca, Mexico in search of her father. While
there they participated in a unique festival,
“Night of the Radishes.” The words on this
activity sheet are ones that Naomi could have
added to a list about the interesting things
about this event.
6. Read the directions on the activity sheet to the
students. Allow them to work independently
or in pairs.
7. Check for understanding:
1. Vol 12 10. Vol 1
2. Vol 4
11. Vol 10
3. Vol 13 12. Vol 3
4. Vol 6
13. Vol 9
5. Vol 10 14. Vol 2
6. Vol 7
15. Vol 15
7. Vol 8
16. Vol 4
8. Vol 5
17. Vol 9
9. Vol 11 18. Vol 3
Extension Activities
• Art: Naomi and her family travel to Oaxaca,
Mexico and get involved in the Night of the
Radishes (Noche de Rábanos) Festival which
is held every year on December 23rd. During
this time, there is an exciting competition
where artists carve scenes out of giant radishes
and display them for judging. Provide materials (small vegetables, toothpicks, etc.) for
students to create their own vegetable displays
that they base on their favorite books. After a
day of display, wash the vegetables thoroughly
and throw them into a pot for soup!
• LibrarySparks • August/September 2010 Web Resources
• Reading: Students who find Naomi’s disabled
younger brother, Owen, interesting may be
interested in reading the following titles:
• Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer
Choldenko. Putnam Juvenile, 2004.
• Freak the Mighty by Philbrick Rodman. Blue
Sky Press, 1993.
• Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos.
Harper Collins, 2000.
• Rules by Cynthia Lord. Scholastic Press,
2006.
• Spanish Language: Scholastic offers a worksheet, Hablo Español?, that promotes the
understanding of some of the Spanish phrases
found in Becoming Naomi León. It can be
found at:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/
bookfairs/currconnection/downloads/cc_
naomi_leon.pdf
• Writing: Mr. Marble, the librarian at Naomi’s
school, is very supportive and understanding.
In fact, Naomi says he is “the absolute best
person at Buena Vista Elementary.” Instruct
the students create a list of ten characteristics
of a good librarian, classroom teacher, bus
driver, or principal. (Remind the students that
one of the things Naomi did best was to make
lists.) Encourage them to share their lists with
the class.
❖ ❖ ❖
Lynne Farrell Stover has over thirty years of
experience as an educator and is currently a
Teacher Consultant at James Madison University in
Harrisonburg, Virginia. She has taught many teacher
workshops and won Teacher of the Year in 1999
from the Virginia Council of Economic Education
and from the Virginia Association for the Gifted.
She is the author of Magical Library Lessons,
More Magical Library Lessons, Magical Library
Lessons: Holiday Happenings, and From Snicket
to Shakespeare from UpstartBooks.
Naomi’s “Night of the Radishes”
Research
An encyclopedia is a book or a set of books that contains information on many subjects. The
spine of each volume displays the number of that book and the letters of the alphabet that the
topics found in it begin with.
Vol
1
===
Vol
2
===
Vol
3
===
Vol
4
===
Vol
5
===
Vol
6
===
Vol
7
===
Vol
8
===
Vol
9
===
Vol
10
===
Vol
11
===
Vol
12
===
Vol
13
===
Vol
14
===
Vol
15
===
A
B
C-D
E-F
GH-I
JK-L
M
N
O-P
Q-R
S
T
U-V
W
XY-Z
Part I
1. How many volumes are in this set of encyclopedias? ____________________________
2. In what kind of order are these volumes arranged? _ ____________________________
3. Topics beginning with what letters can be found in volume 13? ___________________
Part II
Naomi Soledad León Outlaw is a curios girl who loves to make lists. If she wanted to see if the
places on her list below were in this set of encyclopedias, in what volumes would she look?
Naomi’s “Places I Love List”
1. Library
________
2. School
________
3. California
________
4. Mexico
________
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Naomi’s “Night of the Radishes”
Research activity sheet
An encyclopedia is a set of books that contains information about many subjects. The spine of
each volume displays the number of the book and the letters of the alphabet that the topics in
the book begin with.
Vol
1
===
Vol
2
===
Vol
3
===
Vol
4
===
Vol
5
===
Vol
6
===
Vol
7
===
Vol
8
===
Vol
9
===
Vol
10
===
Vol
11
===
Vol
12
===
Vol
13
===
Vol
14
===
Vol
15
===
A
B
C-D
E-F
GH-I
JK-L
M
N
O-P
Q-R
S
T
U-V
W
XY-Z
Which volume of the encyclopedia would Naomi use to find information on the subject list?
Naomi’s “Night of the Radishes” Word List
1. Tortilla
________
16. Epiphany
________
2. Fireworks
________
17. Panther
________
3. Vegetable
________
18. Dragon
________
4. Jacaranda tree
________
5. Radish
________
6. Mariachi Band
________
7. Nativity Scene
________
8. Grasshopper
________
9. Saint Soledad
________
10. Avocado
________
11. Reptile
________
12. Christmas
________
13. Oaxaca
________
14. Butterfly
________
15. Zocalo
________
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Esperanza Rising
Library Lessons
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Grades
4–6
E
speranza Ortega is an only child
and has lived a life of privilege
on a beautiful ranch in Mexico.
But when her father is murdered the day
before her thirteenth birthday, she and her
mother discover that their greedy male
relatives intend to take over the ranch. To
escape a dreadful future, Esperanza, her
mother, and a family of their loyal servants escape to California. Here she lives
with other migrant farm workers looking to make
a living during the Great Depression. Esperanza
grows up quickly and discovers that she can work
hard, solve problems, and be grateful for things
that she loves.
Note: It is not necessary for the students to have
read Esperanza Rising to successfully complete
these activities.
Lesson I: Pick-a-Poem
Introduction: The chapters in Esperanza Rising
do not have numbers. Instead they are titled with
the Spanish names of the fruits and vegetables that
are in season during the time the story is unfolding. (The English names appear underneath.)
Time Required: 30–35 minutes
Suggested Grade Level: 4–6
Objective:
• The student will review various types of
poems.
• The student will write an original poem using
a specific format.
Materials:
• Visual: Pick-a-Poem (see page 3)
• Pick-a-Poem Card Sets (see page 4),
duplicated on card stock and cut out
by | Lynne Farrell Stover
• Library Lessons •
• Paper & writing tools
• Optional: marker, crayons,
or colored pencils
• Optional: Copy of Esperanza
Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• Optional: Pick-a-Poem extension
activities (page 5)
• Optional: Esperanza Rising extension activities (page 6)
Procedure:
1. Prepare materials prior to class. If duplicate sets
of Pick-a-Poem sets are required, run them off
on different colored card stock to help keep the
individual sets organized.
2. Introduce the lesson by telling the students
that Pam Muñoz Ryan, the author of Esperanza
Rising, titled each chapter of the book with the
name of a fruit or vegetable that was in season
during the time the action in that chapter was
taking place. If a copy of the book is available, show the students that the first chapter
(page 4) and the last chapter (page 234) are
both titled “LAS UVAS–GRAPES”. Ask them
what they think this means. Possible answers:
“The story takes place over an entire year.”
“The story beings and ends in the same place.”
“Grapes are important to the story.”
3. Display the transparency and review the three
styles of poems featured.
4. Distribute a Pick-a-Poem Card, writing tools,
and paper to each student. Students may work
individually or in pairs.
5. Instruct the students to write an acrostic poem,
haiku, or couplet based on the fruit or vegetable on the card. Encourage students to illustrate their poems.
6. Display completed poems on a bulletin board
titled “Pick-a-Poem Creations.”
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Library Lessons
Lesson II:
Create a Scarcity Story
Note: Esperanza’s story relates how migrant
workers were forced from their jobs by
Midwesterners arriving from the Dust Bowl, as
well as the fact that groups of strikers, some of
them US citizens who had never been to Mexico,
were rounded up and deported during this time
period. This “voluntary repatriation” was responsible for sending 450,000 farm laborers back to
Mexico during the 1930s.
Time Required: 30–35 minutes
Suggested Grade Level: 4–6
Objective:
• The student will be introduced to the concepts of choice (deciding among alternatives)
and scarcity (when wants are greater than
resources)
• The student will write a creative story using
randomly selected characters, settings, and
situations
Materials:
• Visual: Character, Setting, and Scarcity
Choices (page 7)
• Activity Sheet: Scarcity Story (page 8)
• Writing tools
• Dice or similar selection device
Procedure:
1. Prepare materials prior to class.
2. Explain to the students that they will be writing a creative story based on the characters
(people) and settings (places) found in the
book Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan.
3. Tell the students that their story must also
include a situation where there is not enough
of something. Define scarcity as when wants
are greater than the resources available to
satisfy those wants. Explain that this story
takes place during a time referred to as the
Great Depression, when many people were
experiencing scarcity of essentials such as
food, clothing and shelter.
• LibrarySparks • August/September 2010 Web Resources
4. Read this “Sample Scarcity Story” to the students: Isabel was happy to find her friend Tanya
from school. They were going to go on a train
trip. When they got to the train station, everything was busy and confusing. The girls got on the
wrong train and ended up in a crowded passenger compartment headed for Zacatecas, Mexico.
What were they going to do? They didn’t even
have enough room to sit down. The space was so
cramped that the girls had nothing to hold on to—
when the train rolled over bumps, they nearly fell
down! When the ticket collector came into their
compartment, he became angry and said they
would have to get off at the next stop to get on a
train returning home. The girls were so relieved
that they did not care that there was a scarcity of
seats. They were just glad to be going home.
5. Ask the students the following: Who were the
main characters in this story? (Isabel and Tanya)
What was the setting of the story? (A train traveling to Mexico) What was the scarcity situation?
(There was not enough room on the train.)
6. Display the visual and explain to the students
that they may either make their own choice
(deciding among the alternatives) as to the
character, setting, and scarcity situation they
would like to select, or they may use a selection device and have the choice made for
them. Note: the visual should remain displayed during the lesson for student reference.
7. Distribute the activity sheets and writing
tools. Review the directions with the students.
Encourage the students to either evaluate
their own story or have anther student do so.
Reiterate that when they rate the story, they
are making another choice.
❖ ❖ ❖
Lynne Farrell Stover has over thirty years of
experience as an educator and is currently a
Teacher Consultant at James Madison University in
Harrisonburg, Virginia. She has taught many teacher
workshops and won Teacher of the Year in 1999
from the Virginia Council of Economic Education
and from the Virginia Association for the Gifted.
She is the author of Magical Library Lessons,
More Magical Library Lessons, Magical Library
Lessons: Holiday Happenings, and From Snicket
to Shakespeare from UpstartBooks.
Pick-a-Poem
Acrostic Poem: The key letters of each word are aligned vertically to form the word that is
the subject of the poem.
Pepper
VegEtable
Pimienta
SPicy
GreEn
Ripe
Hiaku: A Japanese nature poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five
syllables.
Spicy veggie treat
Loving the hot summer sun
Green, red, yellow, good!
Couplet: A two-line poem that rhymes.
The hot, spicy pepper
is shaped like a bell.
Eat it too quickly and
teardrops will well!
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Pick-a-Poem Cards
Papayas
Cantaloupes
Potatoes
las papayas
los melones
las papas
Grapes
Onions
Avocados
las uvas
las cebollas
los aguacates
Figs
Almonds
Asparagus
las higos
las almendras
los espárragos
Guavas
Plums
Peaches
las guayabas
las ciruelas
los duraznos
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Pick-a-Poem
Extension Activities
Note: Multiple sets of cards will be required for these activities.
• Alphabetical Order: Organize the cards in alphabetical order twice: first alphabetize the
English words, then the Spanish words.
• Card Sort: Study the cards and select several categories into which they could be sorted.
For example: SIZE (big or small), TYPE (fruit or vegetable), TASTE (yummy or yucky). Sort
the cards and share your results with the class.
• Concentration Game: (2-4 players) Use two sets of cards. Shuffle the cards and lay them
face down on a table. Take turns turning over the cards one at a time. If the cards match,
you may keep that pair and take another turn. If the do not match, return the cards to their
place on the table. Continue playing until all the cards have been matched. The player with
the most matched pairs wins!
• Ranking: Use your knowledge of the fruits and vegetables depicted on the cards to rank
them in a specific order. Possible categories include:
•
•
•
•
Smallest to Biggest
Sweetest to Sourest
Least Expensive to Most Expensive
Delicate to Durable
• Research: Select a Pick-a-Poem card and look up the fruit or vegetable in an encyclopedia.
List five interesting facts about that fruit. Extra Credit Challenge: Write these facts in the
shape of the fruit or vegetable.
• Write a Recipe: Select a Pick-a-Poem card. Either create a recipe of your own using the
selected fruit or vegetable or look for one in a cookbook from the library’s collection (Dewey
Decimal number 641.5). Remember to include the ingredients and the instructions for the
recipe’s preparation. If possible, create a classroom cookbook using these recipes.
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Esperanza Rising
Extension Activities
• Geography: Esperanza’s life began in Mexico. Students can create a Mexico A-B-C book
by using an atlas or encyclopedia to research this county and find a city or landform that
represents each letter of the alphabet. They are to record the word for the chosen location
at the top of a piece of paper, write two or three sentences describing it, and then draw an
attractive illustration. This could be a class project.
• Language Arts Unit: Check out Scholastic’s excellent online “Flashlight Readers” unit,
located at this address: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/unitplan.jsp?id=207
• Reading: Students who enjoy reading historical fiction stories that take place during the
era of the Great Depression may find these books interesting:
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Delacorte Books, 1999.
Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman. Clarion, 2005.
Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine. HarperCollins, 2001.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hess. Scholastic Press, 1997.
Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression by Kate Lied. National Geographic
Children’s Books, 2002.
• A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck. Dial, 2000.
•
•
•
•
•
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Character, Setting
and Scarcity Choices
Roll the dice or use another selection device to determine the character, setting, and scarcity
situation for your creative story.
Characters
1. Esperanza—A happy girl living in Mexico until tragedy forced her to move to California
2. Ramona—Esperanza’s mother, a hard worker who gets very ill
3. Miguel—Esperanza was “better” than him in Mexico, but now that she is poor they can be friends
4. Marta—Went on strike for better working conditions
5. Alfonso—Miguel’s father. He helped Esperanza escape to California
6. Isabel—Is a happy eight year old who sees the good side of most things
Settings (All take place in the 1930s)
1. Near a vineyard at El Rancho de las Rosas, Mexico
2. During a dust storm in California’s San Joaquin Valley
3. In an uncomfortable train compartment near Zacatecas, Mexico
4. In a patient’s room at Kern General Hospital in Bakersfield, California
5. On a bus being deported back to Mexico
6. In a crowded elementary school classroom near a migrant camp
Scarcity Situations
1. There are not enough places to sit
2. There is not enough time to complete a task
3. The little food available is old and stale
4. It is dark and there is only one candle
5. It is hot and the fresh water supply is almost gone
6. It is cold and there is only one blanket
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Scarcity Story
Name_____________________________________________ Date:_______________________
Directions: You may choose a character, setting, and scarcity situation or use a selection device
to decide for you. Write a story using all three of the selected story elements. Be prepared to
share your story with others.
Notes:
Character: ___________________________________________________________________
Setting: ______________________________________________________________________
Scarcity Situation: ____________________________________________________________
Title: ________________________________________________________________________
Story: _______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
How would you rate this story? Circle your choice.
Literary Rating Scale
$$$$
$$$
$$
$
This is the beginning of a best-seller!
This story has potential, but needs some work.
One or two things are working, but changes are needed.
Many changes are needed.
August/September 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks •