Storyboarding is an excellent way to focus on types of literary conflicts.
Having students create storyboards that show the cause and effect of different types of conflicts strengthens analytical thinking about literary concepts. Have your students choose an example of each literary conflict in Esperanza Rising and depict them using the Storyboard Creator. In the storyboard, an example of each conflict should be visually represented, along with an explanation of the scene, and how it fits the particular category of conflict.
Tio Luis causes a serious conflict for Esperanza and her mother when he demands that Mama marry him or else...When she refuses, Tio Luis burns down their house and vineyard.
Esperanza struggles to go on when things get difficult. After Mama goes to the hospital, Esperanza cries every night and is not sure she has the inner strength to keep fighting to survive.
Nature is in conflict with Esperanza when a dust storm arises. The high winds and thick dust make it difficult to breathe and cause Mama to get sick with Valley Fever.
As a Mexican immigrant during the Great Depression, Esperanza, her family, and friends face prejudice from the white Americans. The Mexican company camps are poorly built and Mexican workers are often fired from jobs when white workers need the money.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows at least three forms of literary conflict in Esperanza Rising.
Encourage students to work together in small groups to analyze different types of conflict. By sharing perspectives, students develop deeper understanding and learn to appreciate varied interpretations of conflict in literature.
Assign each group one specific conflict type (such as Character vs. Self or Character vs. Society) from Esperanza Rising to focus on. This helps students dive deeper and become 'experts' in that area, making group presentations more meaningful.
Ask each group to find a relevant scene in the novel that fits their assigned conflict type. Have them create a storyboard cell or visual to illustrate the moment, reinforcing text-to-visual connections.
Invite each group to present their scene and explanation to the class. Encourage classmates to ask questions or provide feedback, which builds critical thinking and respectful discussion skills.
Lead a brief whole-class reflection about how each conflict type affected the characters and plot. This helps students connect literary concepts to character development and story outcomes.
Esperanza Rising features several types of literary conflict, including Character vs. Character (Esperanza vs. Tio Luis), Character vs. Self (Esperanza’s internal struggles), Character vs. Nature (the dust storm and its aftermath), and Character vs. Society (facing prejudice as immigrants).
You can teach literary conflict with Esperanza Rising by having students identify examples from the text and create storyboards that visually represent each conflict type, along with short explanations connecting the scenes to specific conflict categories.
An example of Character vs. Society is when Esperanza and her family face discrimination as Mexican immigrants in the U.S. during the Great Depression, experiencing poor living conditions and job insecurity due to prejudice.
Storyboarding helps students break down complex literary conflicts by allowing them to visualize scenes, clarify cause and effect, and deepen their understanding through creative representation and explanation.
Effective instructions include: select at least three conflict types from the novel, illustrate each scene using characters, label the conflict category, and write a brief description explaining how the scene fits that conflict type.