Redwoods by Jason Chin

Redwoods

By Jason Chin

Copyright 2009

Roaring Brook Press

Reading Level: Lexile- 1100L, grade level- 3

“redwoods, imagination, nature, discovery, habitat”

Plot

When a boy riding the subway finds a book about the redwood forests, strange things begin to happen. As he emerges from the subway still reading the book, he finds himself right in the middle of the forest described in the book he holds in his very hands…

Suggested Delivery

Read aloud in support of geography lesson.

Electronic Resources

http://jasonchin.net/books/

This is the author, Jason Chin’s, website containing information and reviews of all his books and illustrations. Chin is a very accomplished author/ illustrator and would make an interesting subject for students to complete an author/ book study on.

http://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm

            This is the National Parks Services website which includes many informational articles on the redwoods forests for additional support for the book. The website also provides many photographs and vocabulary pertaining to the Redwoods to help give students a better understanding of what the redwoods look like.

Teaching Suggestions

1. Vocabulary:

• Ancestor: a person who was in someone's family in past times
• Diameter: the distance through the center of an object from one side to the other
• Fungal: relating to or caused by a fungus
• Infestation: to be in or over (a place, an animal, etc.) in large numbers
• Resistant: not affected or harmed by something
• Penetrate: to go through or into something
• Evaporation: to change from a liquid into a gas
• Ingenious: very smart or clever
• Condense: to remove water from (something) to make it thicker
• Crevasses: a deep, narrow opening or crack in an area of thick ice or rock
• Endangered: a type of animal or plant that has become very rare and that could die out completely

2.  Before, During, and After Reading Strategies

Before reading:

Show students a picture of a redwood tree in proportion to other objects such as people or cars so students can see how tall and wide the tree grows. Ask students what they know about the trees, or what they notice about the appearance of the trees. Briefly explain that the tree shown in the picture is a redwood tree that grows in forests in the west. Use google earth to show the location of the redwood forests in the U.S and how big they are.

During Reading:

While reading the story to the class, complete with student input a note-taking activity to highlight main ideas from the text. divide a large piece of paper in half and fill out one side with questions for reading and label the opposite side as the "answers” column. Engage in a dialogic reading with the class, making sure to pause and point out sentences or pages that answer the questions. Students should also be encouraged to listen for answers to the questions and to raise their hand to respond.

Questions for Reading	Answers
How long can Redwoods live?	More than 2,000 years
How tall can Redwood trees grow to?	More than 200 feet tall
What kinds of animals/ insects live in Redwoods	Eagles, ospreys, woodpeckers, flying squirrels, beetles, slugs etc
Where are the Redwood forests located?	California

After Reading

Since the book “Redwoods” contains aspects of both fiction and non-fiction. Have the students create a graphic organizer of their choice (venn diagram, compare contrast chart, t-chart, etc.) that they will use to identify and contrast the fiction and non-fiction elements in the story.

Writing Activity

After reading, ask student to write a poem about Redwood trees. Student poems can mention the trees’ history, habitat, purpose, or simply their beauty. Students should use specific facts and details from the book but can also be encouraged to research the trees further. When finished students can illustrate and publish their poems to share with the class.

Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh

  

Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation

By Duncan Tonatiuh

Copyright 2014

Abrams Books for Young Readers

Reading Level: Lexile- 870 L, Grade Level- K-3

2015 Sibert Honor Book

2015 Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award

2015 Pura Belpre Award

“segregation, civil rights, education, Hispanic, community”

Plot

            Almost ten years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped put and end to school segregation in California. Being an American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, Sylvia was denied enrollment to a “whites only” school and sent to a small and poorly equipped school. Sylvia’s family took action by organizing the local Hispanic community and eventually filing a lawsuit in the federal district court, which eventually brings an end to segregated education in California.

Suggested Delivery

            Read Aloud

Electronic Resources

1.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2011/02/16/2010-presidential-medal-freedom-recipient-sylvia-mendez

This video displays Sylvia Mendez’s acceptance speech for winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. Watching this video before or after reading will give students a chance to understand the importance of  the story explained in the book

2. http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views5.htm

This site discusses the history of Mexican Americans in California, giving students information that will help them better understand the history of racism and segregation surrounding Mexican Americans especially in the time period during which the Mendez vs. Board of Education case took place

Teaching Suggestions

1.  Vocabulary

• Appeal: a request after a trial is complete for a higher court to review the outcome
• Citizen: a person who pledges allegiance to the government and is entitled to civil rights and duties
• Degrading: loss of self respect
• Inferior: of lesser quality
• Integrate: to open to memners of all races, ethnicities, and groups
• Petition: a formal document reqesting a right or benefit from a person or group
• Segregate: to separate people based on race, ethnicity, class or other factors

2. Before, During and After reading strategies

Before Reading: 

A great way to introduce this story is to link it with a lesson on the Civil Rights Movement. Students learning about key figures in the movement such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., and events such as Brown vs. Board of Education will give students the essential background knowledge they need to understand this story. Activate student’s schema by asking questions such as: “What do you know about the Civil Rights movement?” “What is segregation?” and “Why was Brown vs. Board of Education so important to the civil rights movement?” introduce the book as a story about segregation in schools against Hispanics and encourage students to notice similarities and differences in how Sylvia Mendez and her family are treated and the African Americans involved in the civil rights movement.

During Reading: 

Read the story aloud to students using dialogic reading strategies. Take the time to pause at vocabulary words and ask students what they think the definitions of the words are and work towards building correct definitions. Pause at specific events and key details to point out the importance of the event and ask students literal and inferential questions about the story as well as questions that prompt students to make connections between the story and the civil rights movement. 

After Reading:

After reading, students will identify the major plot events that led to the integration of California schools in the story. As students provide events, create a chart or timeline of the plot for a visual reference for students to refer back to

 Writing Activity:

Students will work as a class to write a script and perform a Reader’s Theatre reenacting the Mendez vs. Westminster court case. Names will be pulled out of a hat to assign roles to students to act as Sylvia, her parents, the principal, the judge etc. (if need be large roles can be split between two students). Students will gain a better comprehension of the story by acting out the court case scene since it is likely many students have little understanding of court proceedings. Also, students will be able to better understand he importance of each character and the scenario Sylvia and her family were in.