GUIDE for Silver People by Margarita Engle

One hundred years ago today, the first ship passed through the newly completed Panama Canal changing the route through the Americas forever. Although this was and is celebrated as a technological achievement, I wasn't aware of the cost in human lives and ecological impact till I read Margarita Engle's vivid and compelling novel in verse, Silver People. 

I was fortunate enough to read an early copy of the book and create an educator's guide for sharing the book with young readers. You can download the guide here. To whet your appetite, here are just a few components to explore.

To set the stage for reading this novel in verse, identify the time frame (1906-1914) for the story’s setting as well as the place and geographical location (Panama). Talk about what was going on in the world at this time (during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and prior to World War I) and locate Panama and the surrounding countries (particularly Cuba and Jamaica) on a map. Look for Bottle Alley, Lake Gatun, the Chagres River, the Gaillard Cut, and the island now known as Barro Colorado extensively studied by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Look for historical photos and documents that help provide a context for understanding the building of the Panama Canal. One resource is a jackdaw of facsimiles of primary source documents available at Jackdaw.com, specifically this collection: “Panama Canal: Building the 8^th Wonder of the World.” This includes many maps, blueprints, ship’s dockets, personal letters and telegrams, ledgers, health records, period postcards, etc.

Characters

As students read or listen to this novel in verse, encourage them to visualize each of the main characters and talk about what they look like, what country they are from, what language they speak, how they feel about these events, and what dreams or goals they each have. Work together to draw character sketches or find magazine or web-based images for these characters.

1. Mateo, from Cuba (our protagonist and a canal laborer who aspires to be an artist)
2. Anita, from Panama (an orphan and herb girl, sweetheart of Mateo)
3. Henry, from Jamaica (digger, friend of Mateo)
4. *John Stevens (Chief Engineer) p. 43
5. Old Maria (surrogate mother to Anita) p. 83
6. *Theodore Roosevelt (U.S. President) p. 95
7. Augusto (New York scientist and artist originally from Puerto Rico) p. 115-117
8. *George W. Goethals (Chief Engineer) p. 149
9. *Jackson Smith (Manager) p. 151
10. *Gertrude Beeks (Welfare Department) p. 163
11. *Harry Franck (Census Enumerator) p. 213

(*These characters are actual historical figures.)

Students could also each choose a favorite character and read aloud the poems from her/his perspective readers theater style.

Animals of the Panama Jungle

Each of the following animals is featured with a poem from its perspective. Students can choose one of these to prepare for oral reading, researching (online) images and sound effects to accompany their reading. One helpful resource is Animals.NationalGeographic.com

1. Army ants p. 137
2. Bullet ants p. 138
3. Capuchin p. 200
4. Crocodile p. 105
5. Giant hissing cockroach p. 104
6. Giant swallowtail butterflies p. 201
7. Glass frogs p. 26
8. Howler monkeys (see separate listings)
9. Jaguar p. 106
10. King Vulture p. 202
11. Monkey-eating eagle p. 58
12. Mosquitoes p. 172
13. Poison Dart Frogs p. 231
14. Poison dart tadpoles p. 245
15. Quetzal p. 244
16. Ruby-throated hummingbird p. 136
17. Scarlet macaws p. 230
18. Three-toed sloth p. 59
19. Tree Viper p. 60
20. Vampire bats p. 173-174
21. Violet-Green swallows p. 175

Check out the GUIDE for more information on:

• Teaching figurative language
• Making STEM Connections: Engineering, Machinery, Math
• Exploring themes
• Offering literature links

Now head on over to Heidi's place for more Poetry Friday fun.



Image credits: welldonestuff.com;history.howstuffworks.com;paho.org;a-z-animals.com;revuemag.com