Esperanza Rising Novel Study
Have you been looking for a new way to teach reading comprehension and vocabulary skills? Well, look no further! This Esperanza Rising Book Study Unit is an engaging 4-week book study designed to engage learners while building important reading and thinking skills.
With both printable and Google Slides versions included in this novel unit, you can use it in your digital classroom or with in-person learners. And if that wasn't enough - a bonus mini-journal project is included with this Esperanza Rising Literature Study Guide for post-reading fun and reflection.
This Esperanza Rising Novel Unit includes:
1) Student comprehension practice (10 instructional days)
- Each day's work focuses on a single standards-based comprehension skill
- Short, written responses include opportunities to apply thinking to text
- Designed with reluctant and struggling learners in mind
- Available in printable trifolds, reading journal prompts, and as Google Slides
- Built-in graphic organizers to support skill acquisition
- Approachable questions help make connections & start conversations
- No boring multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions!
2) Approachable practice with key reading standards and skills including:
- Generating main ideas & writing a concise summary
- Text analysis from the perspective of the reader & characters
- Identification of cause and effect relationship
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions based on text clues
- Analyzing problems and their solutions
- Considering character traits and relationships
- Identifying and supporting key themes of the story with text evidence
- Exploring the author’s use of figurative language & symbolism
- Utilizing context clues to make meaning of unknown vocabulary
- And so much more!
3) Text-based & academic vocabulary
- One target word identified for each day's reading
- The foldable format allows for the study and application of new vocabulary
- A digital option has vocabulary and comprehension on one slide for ease
- Opportunities to make connections to academic vocabulary for daily skills
4) Teacher support materials
- Unit scope & sequence lays out the day's comprehension & vocabulary focus
- Answer Keys for comprehension activities
- Tips for preparation and implementation
- Instructions for digital Google Drive version
5) Culminating project option
- 11-page mini-book perfect for inclusion in reading journals
- Includes both text reflection and creative options based on the plot
- Great for enrichment or post-reading
*Digital Access Note: This resource includes digital access via GOOGLE SLIDES. For the digital versions, you will need Internet access and a free Google account OR Google Classroom. Learners will work on computers or iPads. Upon purchasing, you will download documents containing links to the digital files, along with easy-to-follow instructions that will get you started in minutes! These are easily shared digitally between you and your students.
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How Novel Units from Differentiated Teaching Work...
▸ Teachers can introduce the day's vocabulary word & discuss before reading.
▸ Students complete just one section of the trifold or a single Google Slide each day.
▸ Daily work focuses on target skills needed for success in reading vs. plot recall.
▸ The low-pressure format provides novelty & encourages student engagement
▸ Less overwhelming to reluctant readers and writers
▸ Requires deep analysis and application of text-based knowledge
▸ Encourages discussion about skills & strategies
Here's what teachers have to say about the novel units...
♥ We used these for a whole-class novel study. Pre-printed brochures fully encompassed ELA skills for the novel. This is an extremely easy, but very rich set of activities for understanding and enriching student's ELA skills. I will be using this for our first novel study again in class this fall. I highly recommend this! -Allison M.
♥ This has helped me so much in teaching novels to my students this year. Other resources overwhelm students with too much vocabulary and literal comprehension questions but these slides give students one vocabulary word for each chapter and a grade-level higher-order comprehension skill to practice. - Kristin P.
♥ This does a really good job of focusing on vocab and using context clues, practicing quoting from the text, and target skills. I really liked the way it focused on one skill for every two chapters, which made things really manageable for my students. - Beth A.
♥ I loved using this resource! The questions are engaging, yet they are not too overwhelming for the students. It provides higher-order thinking and we have great class discussions while completing the questions. My students really liked these. - Chelsea M.
Feedback from homeschool families about the novel studies...
★ I LOVE the layout and how it guides my son and I through our reading time. As a homeschool parent, I still wanted to give him that opportunity to discuss and grapple with the text and I love this quick format as a brochure. I also love the vocab focus for each section and the skill listed so I can monitor his understanding of these as we move through a variety of texts this year. - Antonia S.
★ My kids LOVED this book companion. The vocabulary was rich, and I liked the focus on one word a day. I also liked that they had to use context clues rather than dictionary definitions... The tasks were a great review of skills I covered throughout the year. Parent-friendly and easy to implement. - Corinne M.
★ I am a homeschool mom and my daughter is enjoying the book and I am loving that she is able to respond to the reading through various aspects and not just answering questions. She is more engaged in her reading and asking more questions after she completes each task. - Terri B.
★I purchased this resource for my son to use with his novel that I planned for our homeschool education. The last couple of years, I have really struggled to get him to work in his reading journals or to even get him to just discuss his reading with me. I came across your studies... It has literally CHANGED reading in our homeschool. He is reading more than ever without struggle but he is also completing the digital work for the chapters without issues and his responses have been amazing...it's been a HUGE change and reading is one of his favorite parts of every day. - Kristy D.
