Resources |
Information Literacy Skills:
Reference sheets and lessons for using resources effectively
|
Click this icon to access the database portal. No passwords are needed when using computers at school. See your library media specialist for login and passwords when using databases at home.
You will want to use a few databases in particular:
|
Locate information from authoritative and reliable resources using the following search terms. Remember that these search terms may need to be combined for effective searching, such as:
California migrant farmworkers
- migrant farm workers
- Mexican immigrants
- Depression
- California
- labor unions
- living conditions
- planting season
Also, use the HELP portal for each database to learn more about effective search strategies.
Once you retrieve your results,a good strategy is to sort the articles by reading level, especially if you find the articles difficult to understand. |
Questions and Internet Resources
|
Information Literacy Skills |
|
|
|
General Internet Resources (for all topics)
|
|
|
Specific Questions and Internet Resources |
Growing Seasons
Subsidiary Questions:
- During which seasons are the following crops planted and then harvested in California?
- grapes
- avocados
- onions
- potatoes
- asparagus
- plums
- peaches
- What was the process for picking and then packing grapes during the 1930s?
- How did the growing seasons mark time on the calendar for the farm workers?
- How could you represent the various crops and their growing seasons on a four-season chart?
Internet Resources:
|
Farm Worker Camps - Living conditions
Subsidiary Questions:
- What were living conditions like in a Mexican immigrant farm workers' camp in the 1930s?
- What were the living conditions like in an Okie farm workers’camp (Oklahomans escaping the Dust Bowl) in the 1930s?
- How did living conditions differ for these two groups in terms of shelter, food, water, clothing, recreation, and jobs?
- Which of these two types of camps had the worst conditions? Which had the best?
- How could you represent these differences in a chart?
If time allows:
- What is a refugee camp? Are farm camps refugee camps?
- How did the company farm camps, the migrant camps, and the Okie worker camps differ?
- How did the living conditions of the Japanese and Filipino camps compare to the Mexican camps in the 1930s?
Internet Resources:
|
Glossary
Subsidiary Questions:
- Research and define the following Spanish words:
- campesino
- huelga
- una tormenta de polvo (dust storm)
- cosecha
- Research and define the following English words:
- phoenix
- tule fog
- Valley fever
- picket lines
- repatriation
Internet Resources:
|
Mexican Customs and Traditions
Subsidiary Questions:
- How are the following special days celebrated and how are they an important part of the Mexican culture?
- quinceanera
- La Navidad
- fiesta
- What is the importance of the following traditions for the Mexican culture?
- dolls (porcelain and yarn dolls)
- piñatas
- crocheted blankets
- Mexican proverbs
Internet Resources:
Note: CulturGrams online will also be helpful for this topic. |
Growers vs. Workers and Labor Unions
Subsidiary Questions:
- Why did many Mexican citizens migrate to the U.S. during the 1930s?
- What prejudices did they encounter once they were there?
- What caused some of the immigrants working on California farms in the 1930s to strike? What did they want?
- What time of year did they choose to strike? Why?
- What is a farm workers' union? Why was it formed?
- How did the growers/farmers/owners of the farms react to these unions and strikes?
- What were immigration sweeps? Why were they used? What is voluntary deportation?
- What are some examples of incidents that occurred because of this grower vs. worker conflict?
- How might you represent this difference in attitudes and beliefs between the two groups on a graphic organizer?
Internet Resources:
|
The Author - Pam Ryan Munoz
Subsidiary Questions:
- How did the author, Pam Ryan Munoz, get the idea for writing the novel, Esperanza Rising?
- What aspects of the story are factual?
Internet Resources:
|
Local Print and Nonprint Resources Skills |
School Library holdings
- Do a keyword search in the Automated Library Catalog to find nonfiction and reference books about your topic.
- Use indexes or tables of contents in nonfiction and reference books to locate information related to your topic and questions.
- Check the indexes of print and CD ROM encyclopedias for articles about your topic.
Baltimore County Public Library holdings
- Do a keyword search in the BCPL Catalog to locate additional resources.
- Going to the Public Library? Use QUEST to get organized before your go (print out a QUEST worksheet in Word or PDF format).
- Chat online with a real live librarian at Ask Us Now! Be sure to have your research questions handy!
|
|
