"It's ironic that those
who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and
other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left
for themselves." César
Chávez, Leader of the United Farmworkers
The migrant farmworkers in The Circuit - and in
real life - follow the circuit of crop harvests from region to region,
season after season, seeking jobs as pickers. Through the eyes of
author Francisco Jimenez, you will experience a child's perspective
on migrant living. As you read the story and begin the activities,
try to imagine how your life might change if your family followed
"the circuit."
Activity One: Francisco Jimenez/Cesar Chavez Venn
Diagram (Partner Project)Like Cesar Chavez, Francisco Jimenez
knew from firsthand experience what life as a migrant worker was all
about. Your first task is to read the biographical information on
Francisco Jimenez and Cesar Chavez and then create a Venn diagram.
How were their backgrounds, their challenges, and/or their accomplishments
similar? How were they different? As you begin the research for your
Venn diagram, be sure to check the Scoring
Guide for the Venn Diagram to help organize your time.
Useful Sites:
Francisco
Jimenez
Cesar
Chavez
Activity Two: Circuit
Diorama (Individual Project)The Circuit is actually
a collection of short, autobiographical stories. The chapters are
arranged chronologically and read like one complete novel. But each
chapter can also be read as a separate and independent story. Your
task is to pick a chapter from The Circuit and then
create a shoebox diorama to show the narrative elements: character(s),
setting, and main event(s). You will also write a chapter summary
on an index card and attach it to your diorama. To make sure you earn
full credit on this task, use the Scoring
Guide for a Diorama as a check list.
Activity Three: Meeting of the Minds Panel Discuss (Group Project)Working
with 3-5 other students, your task is to present a panel discussion
about migrant children. Your panel should include real people and/or
fictional characters from literature who have lived the migrant experience.
Your discussion should examine issues faced by migrant workers from
the 1930's to present day. Through the voice of your characters, the
audience (your teacher and classmates) will travel through the Great
Depression, and on to the grape fields of Delano where nonviolent
activist Cesar Chavez organized farmworkers, and up through present-day
issues concerning migrant children.To help your group focus on the
task, refer often to the Scoring Guide for
the Panel Discussion.
Useful Sites:
Learning
Advice
In
order to meet the deadlines for each activity and to be well prepared
for your panel presentation, you will need to work together cooperatively
and make every minute of classroom and at-home research time count.
You will be completing a Group Participation
Evaluation for Activity One and Activity
Three.ConclusionCesar
Chavez dedicated his life to improving working conditions for farmworkers.
What were his accomplishments? Did he achieve his goals? Have others
stepped in to continue his work?Note:
The photograph of farmworkers in the field was copied with permission
from the Association
of Farmworker Opportunity Programs.
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