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Home › Classroom Resources › Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan

Writing Free Verse in the "Voice" of Cesar Chavez

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Writing Free Verse in the "Voice" of Cesar Chavez

Grades 6 – 8
Lesson Plan Type Standard Lesson
Estimated Time Four 40- to 50-minute class sessions
Lesson Author

Dori Maria Jones

Oxnard, California
Publisher

International Reading Association
 
Preview Standards Resources & Preparation Instructional Plan Related Resources Comments

Materials and Technology

Printouts

Websites

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

  • Cesar Chavez: A Real-Life Reader Biography by Susan Zannos (Mitchell Lane Publishers, 1998)
  • Chart paper

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PRINTOUTS

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WEBSITES

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PREPARATION

1. Obtain a copy of Cesar Chavez: A Real-Life Reader Biography by Susan Zannos.
2. Photocopy the passage about Chavez's early school experiences from Cesar E. Chavez: Middle School Biography (chapter 2, paragraph 1) so that each student can have a copy. Read the passage. Using the graphic organizers Preparing to Write a Free Verse Poem About Cesar Chavez and Focusing on the Language of Your Free Verse Poem, write sample sentences or phrases to convey information about Chavez's early school experiences that you will later discuss with students. Include descriptive words and strong verbs.
3. Select and photocopy one or more passages about Chavez's life from Cesar E. Chavez: Middle School Biography so that each student can have a copy. Appropriate passages include:

  • Chapter 1, paragraph 2 (about Chavez's father, Librado)

  • Chapter 1, paragraphs 3–4 (about Chavez's grandmother, Tella)

  • Chapter 1, paragraph 5 (about life in Mexico after the Mexican Revolution)

  • Chapter 2, paragraphs 3–4 (about the Chavez family's experiences as migrant workers)

  • Chapter 3 (about the migrant experience)

  • Chapter 4 (about Chavez's experiences with racism)
4. Write "A Bad Day at School" on chart paper.
5. Make an overhead transparency of Characteristics of Free Verse Poetry. Also, write the characteristics on a sheet of chart paper and post it in the classroom.
6. Make overhead transparencies of the graphic organizers Preparing to Write a Free Verse Poem About Cesar Chavez and Focusing on the Language of Your Free Verse Poem, and also photocopy them so that each student can have copies of both handouts.
7. Make an overhead transparency of the Rubric for Polishing Your Poem and also photocopy it so that each student can have a copy.

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