Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers

 

Author: Sarah Warren

Illustrator: Robert Casilla

Genre: non-fiction

Grade level: 1-4

Reading age: 6-9 yrs old

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English audiobook

Spanish audiobook

Summary: 

Dolores Huerta is a woman, who advocates for the rights of underpaid farm workers. In this book, we learn about Dolores Huerta's fight for safe working environments and fair wages. We venture through a timeline of her life noting the illustrations as she goes from career to career on her journey as a social justice warrior. It begins when she is a teacher and she begins to question why her students are struggling in class. Detective Dolores Huerta finds out that the parents were getting underpaid and working conditions were harsh. Organizer Dolores Huerta was not going to stand for this injustice, so she gathered the families and many others to raise their voices. This is a story about justice, activism, immigration equality, womanhood, workers' rights and so much more. 

Element 4: Social Movements and Social Change:

Dolores Huerta is a warrior of change. Her story is to be shared as a still current labor leader and civil rights activist. In her earlier days, she organized farmer workers in order to advocate for safer working conditions and better pay. In the story, she leads a strike, boycotting grapes, which ends up allowing farmers to receive better wages and conditions. A peaceful movement that included people of all ages and genders. She is an agent of change and the story captivates her life through many journeys, but also the people who contributed to the movement's success. 

"While some workers argue with the bosses, others watch the children dance and keep them safe"

Mother, Father, sisters, or brothers all contributed to the movement and she is someone who can share the story. 

What Would I do:

After reading I would like to discuss and reflect as a class. The idea would be to talk more about how this appears in our day-to-day and what can be done. When reading you can hear the struggle, but I would want the students to act it out in small groups. I would make groups of 2 and would ask them to act out occurrences on a day working on the farm. 

(The script is from here page 107)

I would follow by asking the discussion questions about what issues were discussed in the script, what would they do, what could they do, and who could help them. 

Other ideas for the classroom:

Kindergarten Unit

Elementary Units- using music

Grades 3-5 Unit- activist poster

Grade 6-12 Unit- includes César Chávez

ALL the WAY to the TOP

Author: Annette Bay Pimentel 

Illustrator: Nabi H. Ali 

Foreword: Jennifer Keelan- Chaffins 

Grade Levels – K- 3rd grade 

Element 4 : Social Movement and Social Change 

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Teacher Resources

Summary

ALL the WAY to the TOP by Annette Bay Pimentel is a true story about Jennifer Keelan- Chaffins. The book depicts her experiences as she is just starting the school year in kindergarten. The school makes it known that Jennifer does not belong there since she is in a wheelchair. For for this reason, she must change schools, but only attend in the afternoons. Right away, she stands out in her new kindergarten classroom as her peers have never seen a person in a wheelchair before.Jennifer and her family hear about activists meeting where they are organizing a protest to bring awareness about inaccessibility and the lack of wheelchair lifts on buses. Jennifer participates in many more protests and demonstrations and hears about the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) proposal in Congress. If the law passes, people with disabilities will have equal access to streets, elevators etc. With the lack of news/updates around the ADA, Jennifer and her family decide to go to Washington, D.C. They attend a protest and Jennifer reaches the steps of the U.S Capitol but the steps are a barrier to those in wheelchairs. She is there for all the people who have been told “They cannot do this or that” because of their disability. Jennifer slides out of her wheelchair to climb the steps while the protest is happening! She goes ALL the WAY to the TOP! In the end, Members of Congress pass the law. Jennifer knows that she will continue fighting for what she believes is right. 

Element 4 : Social Movement & Social Change 

This book explores the social movement ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act): this law paved the way for equal access to employment, transportation etc. for people with disabilities. As the reader, we meet Jennifer who learns firsthand about the discrimination and inequalities of how People with disabilities are treated. Jennifer and her family familiarize themselves with the current social justice issues that affect Jennifer. She then takes matters into her own hands and uses her body voice to help create social change in a powerful way by crawling to the top of the Capitol steps. This book promotes social movements and social change in such an authentic way because it stems from someone’s real life experience. It also brings awareness to how social movements and change can be enacted when a person is passionate about the cause. One person’s voice and determination like Jennifer’s can help change people’s lives for the better. 

Activities 

In an inclusive classroom, this would be a great book to include in one’s library. One way to use this book in my early childhood classroom would be to focus on setting and explain to students the beginning, middle and end of the story. It is also important to focus on how the students think Jennifer might have felt from the beginning of the story to the end to tie in the socio-emotional piece to an activity. Another way to use this book in my classroom for example in 3rd grade as a read aloud and focus on the vocabulary used in the book. Students would write a letter to Jennifer either supporting or opposing her stance in how she handled the situation at the protest. This will include drafts, revision, and final copy so this activity could be prolonged in a unit. Teachers can even from this activity into a debate where students are grouped, and they need to decide whether they agree or disagree. Teachers may also want to focus on Point of View, where they put the students in Jennifer’s shoes, this is a “perspective taking” strategy that teachers can use so students can imagine themselves having the same experience as Jennifer. Many activities can be done in the classroom with this book.

Rosa

Author: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrated by: Bryan Collier
Grade Level: 3rd grade - 5th grade

Summary:
The book begins with with Rosa Parks, a well loved seamstress, leaving work and getting on the bus.  When she gets on the bus, there are no more seats in the "colored" section and she sits in the white section.  When she refuses to move, she is arrested.  Word travels to Dr. Jo Ann Robinson, a professor at the University of Alabama and the President of the Women's Political Council.  Dr. Robinson gathers twenty- five women in her office to start organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  The book goes on to show how these events lead to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and the November 13, 1956 Supreme Court case Browder v. Gayle Ends Bus Segregation that ruled segregation in public places to be illegal.
Element 4:
Rosa is a great example of Social Movements and Social Changes because it shows how a social movement can start. Rosa Parks' story and the Montgomery bus boycott shows how a everyday person's choices and bravery can start a movement.  The book also shows light to the strong women of the Civil Rights movement who usually get over shadowed by other male civil rights leaders. Rosa does a great job of scratching the surface of the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement and Montgomery Bus Boycotts and introducing the players students may know, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., and introducing people like Dr. Jo Ann Robinson into these events.

Activity:
Rosa does a great job of showing how everyday people, seamstresses, mothers and teachers, can start a movement.  This opens up a great journal prompt of what can you do as an everyday person that can be extraordinary.  To start the lesson brainstorm ideas with your students about what they could do that could help there community.  Remind students these do not have to be as big as helping start the Civil Rights movement, but rather small changes we would like to see in our community.  Use examples like cleaning the playground, snack choices in the cafeteria, and other ways they can become more active in helping the community and create change.  Than let the students go back and write about what they may like to do to help their community.

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Resources!

Gandhi: A March to the Sea

Author: Alice B. McGinty
Illustrator: Thomas Gonzalez
Grade Level: 6-8
Summary: In this book, it explores Gandhis 24 day march from March 12 to April 5, 1930. It explains the reason as to why Gandhi led the revolution such as high taxes and unfair trade. It shows how he peacefully managed to lead people who had hope of a better future and life into freedom. The book is a fairly short read and leaves the reader to focus mainly on illustrations. It explains how he taught Indian natives how to sew their own garments instead of having to buy from the British as well. It also shows how he managed to unite people of all backgrounds and religions to come to the same victory of true independence for unfairness. At the end of the book it also shows maps and deeper explanations to the things discussed in the book.
Element 4: Social Movements and Social Change
This book directly relates to this element because it shows how an "everyday person" was able to transform the lives of a nation to the better living that they deserve. It also shows how small changes and the voice of one can lead to a worldwide movement agains unfairness and inequality. This books shows this through peaceful protests and unity.
Activity:
I think that a mini play/skit would go great with this book. Students would be able to act out citizens having issues with laws and unfairness (such as tax on salt and clothes) and how they are desperate for change. Students would also be able to show Gandhi's frustration yet peaceful lead. Students can also act out the march, the pushback from the government, and peoples doubts. I think that there is enough roles in this book alone for an entire class!
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The Youngest Marcher

Author: Cynthia Levinson
Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley Newton
Grade level: 1-3

                                           
                       
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Summary:
The Youngest Marcher  is the true story of Audrey Faye Hendricks.  Audrey was a nine year old child who grew up with Dr. King coming to visit her house as well as others who were bringing dreams of justice for black people.  Audrey wanted to experience eating inside Newberry's, comfortable movie theater seats, and new school books which were only for white children. While attending church with her family Audrey heard testimony of the experiences of other black people in her community and she felt it was very unfair.  Audrey wanted to do something, but she was only a child. When Dr. King suggested a march to fill the prisons many people were afraid they would get into to much trouble so it was suggested the kids march.  Audrey was the youngest to volunteer.  She was arrested and spent a week in jail.  The children were successful and managed to fill the jail. 

Element 4:
The Youngest Marcher  teaches children the social movement of the Children's March which took place May 2-7 1963 in Birmingham Alabama.  3,000 to 4.000 children were arrested during this time filling the jail.  Audrey Hendricks was the youngest known child to be arrested and jailed.  The Youngest Marcher allows students to see that even young voices can come together to make an impact in standing up for issues of social justice.  When ordinary people unite they can create change.

Activity:
The Youngest Marcher can be used to help children understand movements and demonstrations that took place during the civil rights movement.  When Audrey volunteered to march she knew that she would be spending time in jail.  After reading and discussing The Youngest Marcher have students turn and talk to discuss what they think was going through Audrey's mind when she was in jail.   Have students independently fill out a thought bubble on what they felt were Audrey's thought on the Children's March and/or, spending time in jail.

As Good as Anybody

Title: As Good as Anybody

Author: Richard Michelson

Illustrator: Raul Colon

Grade Level: K-3

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Resources

Summary

Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in a loving family in the South during a time when African Americans were not treated with kindness and a lot of doors were closed in their faces. King made it his mission in life to become a minister like his father before him and to end racial discrimination in the United States. Across the Atlantic ocean in Poland, a Jewish man named Abraham Heschel was also on a mission to end discrimination against the Jews caused by Adolf Hitler. Heschel traveled to the United States, became a Rabbi, and joined Martin Luther King Jr. in his march for social justice and together, they turned their personal experiences of discrimination into a story of equality and acceptance for all.

Element 4

This element allows teachers to share examples and experiences of movements with their students and to address the main issue of social injustice that these movements represent. Element four allows for students to explore the idea that even ordinary people can unite, do something great and create change. Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Heschel were just ordinary people, but they had similar beliefs and passions. They were able to transfer this passion onto other ordinary people who felt their pain and their struggle, giving them the strength to rise up and fight for a change.

Activity

This book can definitely lead into a large classroom discussion as well as a meaningful activity. To connect my students to this story and the moral of the story, I would begin by doing a read aloud of the book and a discussion afterwards. I would ask questions such as, "What was it that Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting for and why was it so meaningful to him? Why do you think he had so many supporters? What is it that King and Heschel have in common? What did they both believe so strongly in?" I would then have my students create name poems for either King or Heschel. They would take their chosen person's entire name and pick a word or adjective that describes them for every letter. For example, if a student chose Abraham Heschel, he/she would begin their poem by writing A- amazing, B- brave, R- righteous, etc. These poems would then be colored/designed and hung up in the classroom.

What Was the March on Washington?

Title: What Was the March on Washington?

Author: Kathleen Krull

Illustrator: Tim Tomkinson

Reading Level: Age 8-12

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Purchase What Was the March on Washington? here!

Click here for more What/Who Was...? series titles!

For lesson plans about famous African Americans, including leaders from What Was the March on Washington, click here!

Summary

What Was the March on Washington? is a non-fiction informational chapter book detailing the March on Washington in August of 1963 and the events and injustices that led up to it. The author, Krull, defines the March on Washington in the first chapter, and then returns to the history that led up to the March. The chapters are in chronological order. Krull includes historical information on the Jim Crow laws, Brown v. Board of Education, and the KKK. Illustrations and real photographs are included in the text for readers. Influential black leaders like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, and Bayard Rustin are included, highlighting their direct or indirect roles in the March on Washington. The last chapter "We Shall Overcome" depicts what happened after the March (assassination of MLK and JFK, passing of the Civil Rights Act) and ends with reminded readers that although a lot has been accomplished, people are still treated unfairly because of the color of their skin. It ends the book with a beautifully simple line: "Every door that is opened meets with resistance. But the doors open, anyway." 

Element #4: Social Movements and Social Change

Although this book uses the March on Washington as a focal point that all these events led up to, this book simply and accurately explains the Civil Rights Movement. Krull does not sugarcoat the injustices that African Americans were subjected to, which can happen with the retelling of history to children. She outlines them in an age appropriate manner but without withholding information. Element four calls for teachers to highlight everyday people standing together to make change. The March of Washington had 300,000 everyday people from all races and walks of life come and stand together against racism. What Was the March on Washington? displays the type of social change that can take place when everyday people join together to demand social change.

Use in the Classroom

This book would be a great resource to use in a history curriculum about the Civil Rights Movement. What Was the March on Washington? is appropriate for fourth or fifth grade guided reading assignment. Teachers can take the chapters to explain events within the Civil Rights Movement, like the bus boycott, Brown v. BOE, and the Birmingham riots. There are difficult and horrific topics in the book that are discussed, like lynching and other atrocities committed against people of color (as well as illustrations and photos). Teachers must give proper context and support if assigning this as an independent reading assignment. 

Harvesting Hope

Title:  Harvesting Hope
The Story of Cesar Chavez
Author:  Kathleen Krull
Illustrator:  Yuyi Morales
Publisher:  Harcourt, Inc.
Ages 6 to 9

Where this book is available for purchase:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/harvesting-hope-kathleen-krull/1102540739?ean=9780152014377
 
This book is found on goodreads.com with reviews:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/640476.Harvesting_Hope


 

Summary: 
This book is a biography about a young boy named Cesar Chavez who lives with his family on a ranch on Arizona and in a sturdy house that Cesar’s grandfather built. Cesar starts school, although he is nervous about it and his mom instills in him and his siblings that physical fighting is wrong and that they should use their words to resolve problems.  When Cesar is a little older, the ranch he lived on begins to die; there is a drought and his family can no longer harvest crops.  Therefore, money cannot be made to pay bills.  Cesar’s family has to leave their ranch and move on to California to look for jobs.  Cesar’s life has undergone dramatic change and he and his family have to work on other people’s farms, overcoming challenges such as filth, fighting, poor shelter, and meager portions of meals.  Cesar still continues to work hard with his family as they still have faith that they will be able to earn enough money to get their ranch back one day.  Cesar goes to many schools, but none of them are safe for him; Cesar is put down by teachers and he hates school, yet likes to learn.  He eventually drops out of school and works in the fields full-time.  Cesar works hard to help provide for his family even though the landowners treat their workers terribly; this upsets Cesar very much.  As outsiders show up on the land to help, Cesar begins to become a little more hopeful.  He wants to make a drastic change and starts talking people into joining his fight for better treatment.  He starts to hold meetings and raise awareness to the issue of how the landowners are treating their workers very poorly.  People begin to trust Cesar; he is committed to making a change in a nonviolent way, just as his mother had taught him.  As Cesar gains more followers, he organizes a march to ask the government for help.  Cesar and his followers march on and on, even with blistering feet.  People become aware of the marchers and support them, giving them feasts.  As the march goes on, more people become aware of the issue and everyone gets involved to help.  Cesar’s goal is to get a raise in pay and better working conditions.  When the marchers eventually make it to Sacramento, the parade is made up of ten thousand people.  Finally, Cesar signs the very first contract for farm workers in American history.  The parade joyously celebrates, as Cesar has won his fight nonviolently and starts to create change.




Element 4: 
This book portrays element 4 from the 6 elements of social justice.  This book shows readers how a social movement started by one person’s idea (Cesar’s idea to take a stand against unfair treatment of farm workers) led to a great social change in history (Cesar signed the contract for farm workers in American history).  Social injustice was shown in how Cesar and other workers were treated by landowners, as well as by teachers because of their background.  This book showed that one person can stand up, gain a strong group of supporters, and create a drastic change.




Activity:
This book would be good for teachers to do a read aloud with and conduct a follow-up discussion about what the students’ ideas would be if they were in Cesar’s situation or a similar situation in which they felt as though they were being treated poorly and/or unfairly.  Teachers can ask what they would do to try to get people to join their side and help create a positive change.  Students can share these ideas in front of the whole class and have an open discussion about each others’ ideas.  Students can also each write a letter to Cesar expressing whatever they would like to say to him if they had the chance to give him the letter.  This allows students to express their thoughts on paper.  I would use this book while teaching students about the power of working together in a nonviolent matter to make a change and/or to take a stand in one’s beliefs.