Fruit Belt Lesson Plans for High School (9-12) 


GRADE 5: ENGLISH/HISTORY

LESSON: Campesinos-Fieldworkers, Analyzing Contemporary Texts

  • Lesson Objectives: Students will read Leobardo V. Cortez's poem, Camesinos (Fieldworkers).

Campesinos

Fieldworkers


Temprano

cuando sale el sol,

bultos se mueven por los campos como

relojes en cada amanecer

hasta que la luna sale.

 

Sus manos de bronce

saludan

como

rifles en una guerra.

 

Luchando

para sobrevivir

un nuevo manana

para nuestros hijos....

 

Los chalecos blancos

de nuestra inocencia

pureza

y riqueza....

 

Ven nino, deja tu vida sobre la tiera.

Yo soy

el esclavo de mis hijos.

 

Yo soy

 tambien su dueno.

!Si!

 

Yo soy

el campesino

en los campos....

Early,

when the sun comes out,

lumps move throughout the fields like

clockwork every sunrise,

until the moon comes.

 

Their bronze hands

wave

like

rifles in a war.

 

Fighting

for survival

a new tomorrow

for our children....

 

The white vests

our innocence

purity

and wealth....

 

Come child, leave your life upon the land.

I am

the slave of my children.

 

I am

their owner as well.

Yes!

 

I am

the campesino

in the fields....

Leobardo V. Cortez

  • Questions  

    1. What are the prevailing images of migrant fieldworkers? How do they compare with these in this poem? 
    2. Discuss why the poet is the "slave of my children" as well as "their owner as well."
    3. How are poems like these guiding and influencing migrant workers and the overall awareness of migrant work to the country? The world?
    4. How well does the poet send his message of how difficult is migrant labor and the lifestyle?
  • Follow-up: Using the Labor website in Online Exhibit, have students view photographs of fieldworkers from the Great Depression for a comparison. 
  • Relevant Standards: English Language Arts / Strand III / Content Standard 5 / High School:  All students will read and analyze a wide variety of classic and contemporary literature and other texts to seek information, ideas, enjoyment, and understanding of their individuality, our common heritage and common humanity, and the rich diversity in our society.

    • Benchmark 3: Analyze how the tensions among characters, communities, themes, and issues in literature and other texts reflect the substance of the human experience.

    • Benchmark 4: Analyze how cultures interact with one another in literature and other texts, and describe the consequences of the interaction as it relates to our common heritage.

    • Benchmark 5: Analyze and evaluate the authenticity of the portrayal of various societies and cultures in literature and other texts. An example is critiquing print and non-print accounts of historical and contemporary social issues.


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WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY / FT. MIAMI HERITAGE SOCIETY OF MICHIGAN