Harvesting Hope Probing Questions

Why did Cesar’s family have to move to California? 

• His mother was sick.
• Cesar needed to protect migrant workers there. 
• The family lost their ranch because a drought destroyed their crops.
• The parents wanted Cesar and his brother Richard to have an education.

What generalization can you make about people in Arizona in the 1930s? 

• Few people farmed the land. 
• Most farmers were successful. 
• The drought affected many farmers. 
• There were no migrant workers there

What does the idiom it was turned upside down mean in the sentence below?
Yet Cesar had never forgotten his old life in Arizona and the jolt he’d felt when it was turned upside down.

• his house was destroyed 
• his belongings were scattered 
• his life completely changed for the worse
• his life began to become more meaningful

Why were the California landowners able to mistreat their migrant workers?

• The migrants were desperate for work, so they took jobs without contracts.
• The landowners all worked together to establish the same living conditions.
• The migrants didn’t care about making money as long as their families were together. 
• The landowners paid the migrant workers extra money to keep quiet about the conditions on the farms

Why did Cesar consider his eighth-grade graduation a miracle?

•  He knew he wasn’t very smart.
• He knew he didn’t like to learn. 
• His parents didn’t allow him to attend school often. 
• The many schools he attended were hostile (not nice to him) and full of conflict.

What is the FIRST step Cesar took to try to solve the problems of migrant workers? 

• He asked outsiders for money. 
• He called a strike at the biggest farm in the state.
• He organized meetings of workers throughout the state. 
• He led a march of workers to the state capitol in Sacramento.

What does the idiom battle such odds in the sentence below mean?
Who could battle such odds?

• Who could fight with such strange opponents against them? 
• Who could fight when there was so little chance of success? 
• Who could fight with only odds and ends of information for guidance? 
• Who could fight when they had little energy to spare after working all day?

What step did Cesar take when the vineyard owners cut the pay of the workers in the San Joaquin Valley in 1965?

• He organized a strike and a march to the state capitol. 
• He ordered the workers to arm themselves with weapons. 
• He ordered the workers to set all the vines in the field on fire.
• He wrote letters to government leaders and to local TV stations.

What generalization could the reader make based on the life of Cesar Chavez? 

• Most leaders are motivated by a desire for fame and personal success. 
• Sometimes the people who work the hardest never gain any recognition. 
• Sometimes one person’s leadership can improve the lives of millions of people.
• Good leaders are usually born with outgoing personalities and a desire to improve the world.

Why didn't the people of California support the migrant workers until after they heard about Cesar's activities?

• Most didn't care until their own food supply was threatened.
• Most weren't aware of the workers' problems until they received publicity.
• Most were afraid of the wealthy landowners until the migrant workers spoke up.
•  Most didn't think migrant workers deserved higher pay for their unskilled work.