Before the Dust Pre-Reading Worksheet
Pre-Reading Activity Esperanza Rising Historical Unit
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Before the Dust: Anticipation & Predictions
Before reading about 1930s Mexico and California, explore these big ideas, sort key concepts, and make predictions.
Part 1: Anticipation Guide
Read each statement below. Check whether you Agree or Disagree, then briefly write why.
1. A wealthy family will always stay wealthy, no matter what happens in the world.
Agree Disagree
Why?
2. Hard work is always rewarded fairly with good wages and safe living conditions.
Agree Disagree
Why?
3. When bad times strike, starting over completely in a new place is possible.
Agree Disagree
Why?
Part 2: Two Worlds Concept Sort
Sort the 8 words from the word bank into the world where you predict they belong in Esperanza's story.
• Silk Dresses • Dust Storms • Rose Gardens • Labor Camps • Porters & Servants • Blistered Hands • Porcelain Bath • Striking Workers
World 1: Life of Privilege (Mexico)
World 2: Life of Labor (California)
Part 3: Personal Connection Quick-Write
Imagine you suddenly had to leave everything you know and could pack only one small bag to move to a faraway place where you had to start over. What is one meaningful item you would bring to remind you of who you are, and why?
Pre-Reading Activity: Esperanza Rising 1-Page Introductory Activity • Ready for Background Reading
Historical Background Worksheet
Background Reading Esperanza Rising Historical Context
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Three Historical Storms of the 1930s
Read the historical background below to understand the real-world events that surround Esperanza’s journey.
1. Land & Revolution in Mexico (1910–1930)
Aguascalientes, Mexico
For centuries in Mexico, a tiny group of wealthy families owned massive ranches called haciendas, while millions of poor peasants (campesinos) labored on the land with little food or money. Between 1910 and 1920, the Mexican Revolution erupted to demand fair land distribution. Even after the war officially ended, tensions simmered. Bandits and angry former soldiers frequently attacked wealthy estates, seeing them as symbols of oppression.
2. The Great Depression & The Dust Bowl (1930s)
California & The Great Plains
In 1929, the U.S. stock market crashed, plunging the country into the Great Depression. At the same time, severe drought and fierce winds hit Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, blowing away topsoil in catastrophic "black blizzards" known as the Dust Bowl. Over 300,000 desperate families packed up and drove west to California hoping to harvest fruits and vegetables in the fertile San Joaquin Valley.
3. Mexican Repatriation & Company Labor Camps (1929–1939)
San Joaquin Valley Camps
As unemployment soared during the Depression, white officials blamed Mexican workers for taking jobs. Through government-led sweeps called Mexican Repatriation, an estimated 1 to 2 million people of Mexican descent were rounded up and deported to Mexico on trains—even though approximately 60% of them were legal American citizens. Mexican laborers in California lived in drafty company shacks without hot water, terrified that striking for fair wages would trigger immigration raids.
Key Historical Terms to Know
Hacienda: A large estate or plantation in Spanish-speaking countries, often owned by wealthy families.
Campesino: A poor farmworker or peasant laborer in Latin America who worked the fields.
Dust Bowl: The drought-stricken southern plains of the U.S. that suffered massive dust storms in the 1930s.
Repatriation: The forced deportation of Mexican and Mexican American workers during the Great Depression.
Historical Background: Esperanza Rising Page 1 of 2 • Continue to Knowledge Check
Historical Knowledge Check
Demonstrate your understanding of the historical background of the 1930s.
Page 2 of 2
Section A: Vocabulary Matching
Write the letter of the correct definition next to each historical term.
1. Campesino
2. Dust Bowl
3. Mexican Repatriation
4. Hacienda
A. The forced deportation of over 1 million people of Mexican ancestry during the 1930s.
B. A large agricultural estate owned by wealthy families in Mexico.
C. A peasant farmworker or field laborer.
D. Severe environmental crisis caused by drought and winds in the southern Great Plains.
Section B: Cause and Effect Analysis
Explain how one historical event led directly to the next reality.
1. Cause: Severe dust storms and drought ruined family farms in Oklahoma and Texas.
What was the Effect on farm jobs and wages in California?
2. Cause: Immigration police and local sheriffs raided labor camps during Mexican Repatriation.
What was the Effect on Mexican workers who wanted to strike for better living conditions?
Section C: Primary Source Spotlight
"The cabins are roughly built of single pine boards. A family of eight lives in a room 12 by 14 feet. There is no running water in the houses. One faucet serves thirty cabins. The toilet is a ditch outside."
— California State Commission of Immigration and Housing Report (1934)
How does this 1934 government report compare to the description of the company labor camp in Esperanza Rising?
Historical Background: Esperanza Rising Page 2 of 2 • Assessment Complete
Historical Threads Worksheet
Student Activity Esperanza Rising Historical Context
Name: Date:
Part 1: Historical Evidence Detective Match
Read each real 1930s historical fact alongside the matching excerpt from Esperanza Rising. Then answer the cause-and-effect question in complete sentences.
Case 1: Post-Revolution Land Tensions (Aguascalientes, Mexico) Chapter 1–2
Historical Fact (1920s–1930s): The Mexican Revolution sought to return land to poor peasants, but wealthy landowners still held most fertile acres, breeding anger.
Novel Excerpt: "There is resentment in our country, Esperanza... The bandits are men who fought in the revolution. They are poor and have no land..."
Question: Why was Papa's ranch targeted by bandits even though he treated his own workers fairly?
Case 2: Dust Bowl Influx & Unequal Camps (San Joaquin Valley) Chapter 8
Historical Fact (1930s): Hundreds of thousands of dispossessed Dust Bowl farmers moved to California; growers drove down wages and segregated camps.
Novel Excerpt: "They're bringing people from Oklahoma. People who are starving. The growers pay them less... And they're building a camp for them with hot water!"
Question: How did the arrival of Dust Bowl migrants make conditions harder and more unfair for Mexican workers?
Case 3: Mexican Repatriation & The Strike Dilemma (California) Chapter 11–12
Historical Fact (1929–1939): Over 1 million people of Mexican descent were forcibly deported without hearings, including many U.S. citizens, to stop labor organizing.
Novel Excerpt: "The immigration officers and the police surrounded the shed. 'La Migra!' someone shouted... 'Anyone who strikes will be sent back to Mexico!'"
Question: Why was joining Marta's strike such a terrifying choice for Esperanza's family and friends?
Historical Threads: Esperanza Rising Page 1 of 2 • Continue to Page 2
Part 2: Two Worlds Comparative Matrix
Compare Esperanza’s life before and after historical events forced her to leave Mexico.
Part 2 of 2
| Category | El Rancho de las Rosas (Mexico) | Company Farm Camp (California) |
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| 1. Home & Daily Living Conditions Rooms, servants, bathing, comfort | | |
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