My Giving Trees or My Magic Tree: Entering the Text ESL Lesson

NATIONAL ESL STANDARDS:

Standard 1: English for Information and UnderstandingStandard 2: English for Literary Response, Enjoyment and ExpressionStandard 4: English for Social and Classroom Interaction

THEME:

Tree Products, Tree Parts, Environmental Awareness, and Generosity

CONTEXT:

Grade: 5-6Proficiency: Intermediate

CONCEPTUAL OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to identify tree parts, the resources specific trees provide and the products that are made using those resources. Additionally, they will be able to identify what they do with or use the final products for. (E.g. Oranges come from orange trees. They are needed to make orange juice. People drink orange juice with their breakfast.)

LEXICAL OBJECTIVES:

Students will use lexical items that refer to tree parts, (E.g, roots, trunk, branches, leaves and shade). Additionally, students will use lexical items that refer to specific trees, (E.g, maple tree, oak tree, orange tree, apple tree, peach tree, cacao tree, rubber tree and white pine tree), lexical items that refer to resources from those specific trees, (E.g, sap, wood, oranges, apples, peaches, cacao and rubber, woodchips and air), and language items that describe the products that can be made with those resources, (E.g, maple syrup, furniture, homes, orange juice, apple pie, apple juice, peach jam, candy bars, chocolate milk, chocolate cake, balloons, paper and carbon dioxide)

LITERACY OBJECTIVES:

Students will use correct paragraph form and write ten or more sentences describing their real life giving trees or their imaginative magic tree.

MATERIALS:

Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree; What Comes from Trees?(Scholastic News); Tree Type, Tree Resources and Tree Products pictionary (attached); Tree Parts pictionary (attached) My Giving Trees publishing sheet (attached), My Magic Tree publishing sheet (attached), bag containing maple syrup, an orange, orange juice, an apple, apple juice, a peach, jam, a candy bar, chocolate milk, a balloon, paper; transparency of Tree Parts pictionary ; digital camera (optional)

ANTICIPATORY SET:

1. Teacher begins lesson by pulling items out of the bag, one by one. As each item is pulled, the teacher asks a variety of questions (E.g, What is this? What do you do with it? Have you ever seen this before? Where have you seen this before? Has anyone tasted/used/tried this before? How many of you enjoy eating this? Where is this made? Where does it come from? What color is this?) When all of the objects have been discussed and are lying in front of the children, ask the class what the objects all have in common. Guide them to the answer: They all come from trees!

PROCEDURES:

1. Teacher uses overhead machine to blow up the transparency of the Tree Parts pictionary, excluding labels. Teacher points to the different parts of the tree and asks children: Who can tell me what this part of a tree is called? Why is this part important to a tree? Teacher may use the following analogies to assist children in understanding:

a. Roots are like straws that suck up the vitamins and nutrients a tree needs to grow. b. Trunks keep trees firmly in place, like legs keep people standing up.c. Branches are like arms on a coat rack, but instead of holding up jackets they hold up leaves and fruit.d. Shade is like air-conditioning. It keeps people cool in the summer and protects them from the sun’s harsh rays.

2. Teacher engages students in reading and discussing What Comes from Trees? Afterwards, Teacher and Students create a list of classroom items that come from trees. Teacher asks the children to imagine what their lives would be like without these items. Teacher reminds children how fortunate we are to have trees.

3. Teacher explains to students that they’re going to read a story about a magical tree. Teacher proceeds to engage students in reading and discussing The Giving Tree. Afterwards, Teacher may create a Venn Diagram with the students comparing the tree in The Giving Tree to the real trees they read about in What Comes From Trees?

4. Teacher hands out Tree Types, Tree Resources and Tree Products pictionary and The Tree Parts pictionary

5. Teacher explains to students that they have a choice between writing about realistic trees or a magical tree. Teacher encourages those students who are interested in writing about realistic trees to use their Tree Types, Tree Resources and Tree Products pictionary for reference and to utilize the following scaffold three times or more:

My (type of tree), provides me with (resource).With the (resource), I make (product).Then I, (how the product is used).

My White Pine tree provides me with wood chips.With the wood chips, I make paper.Then I write an exciting adventure story on the paper!

6. The teacher writes an example on the board with the children’s assistance. Teacher reminds students that paragraphs must be indented and that paragraphs usually contain 3-7 sentences.

7. For those students interested in writing about a magical tree, the teacher should encourage students to use The Tree Parts pictionary for their writing and the following questions below:

a. What happens if you sleep under the shade of your magic tree?b. Why are the leaves of your magic tree special?c. How are the roots of your magic tree different than regular roots?d. What happens if you break off a branch from your tree?e. What happens if you hug the trunk of your tree?

The teacher should share her/his reaction of My Magic Tree story with the class. Together the students and teacher come up with new ideas. Again, students are reminded about paragraphs and the importance of indenting.

8. Students working on My Magic Tree should be placed in teams of two.

9. Encourage students to publish their stories using the attached My Giving Trees or My Magic Tree publishing sheets.

10.Once completed, place students’ photographs on the hole of the tree trunk on the publishing sheets.

DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION:

Additional scaffolding can be provided for less proficient students. More proficient students may complete both activities, eliminating any unnecessary scaffolding.

ASSESSMENT:

Students will be assessed on their responses to questions asked throughout the lesson as well as their final writing activity.