Lessons & Units :: The Mangrove Tree 4th Grade Unit

Read-Aloud Lesson: The Mangrove Tree

Lesson Plan

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families | 1190NC

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families
Learning Goal
Identify and describe the problems faced by the people of the village of Hargigo, and what they did to attempt to solve the problems.
Duration
Part 1: Approximately 40-45 minutes
 
Part 2: Approximately 15-20 minutes
 
Part 3: Approximately 15-20 minutes
Necessary Materials

Provided:
1. Detailed lesson plan
2. Graphic organizer for guided practice
3. Independent student worksheet

Not Provided:
The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families

 
  1. This lesson is a close reading of the entire text. So it’s important to engage students often, to enhance their learning. Here are two tips:

    •   When you ask the more complex questions from the lesson, ask students to “turn-and-talk” or “buddy-talk” before answering.

    •   Once you are deep into the lesson, instead of asking students every question provided, ask them to share with you what questions they should be asking themselves at that point in the text. This is also a great opportunity to use "turn-and-talk."
       
  2. Suggested teacher language is included in the lesson.

  3. We recommend you read the book once to your students, either the day or morning before teaching the lesson.

  4. This research-based, read-aloud lesson may seem long. Why do students need the lesson to be this way?
 

Part 1: Teacher Modeling & Questioning

 

Write the following student-friendly learning goal on the board, then read the learning goal out loud with the class: 

We will describe the problems faced by the people of the village, and what they did to try and solve the problems.

 
Prepare Students for the Lesson
 
  • Show students where Eritrea is on a map of Africa.
  • Review with students that fresh water is found in water sources such as rain, lakes, and rivers, while oceans and seas have salt water. Remind students that people and animals, as well as most plants that live on land, need fresh water to survive.
 
Transition Students into the Text
 
Teacher says (showing students the cover of the book): Please take a close look at the cover of this book. Identify or describe the things that you see (answers will vary). Let’s read to see what these different illustrations on the cover have to do with each other.
 
Please be sure to read the poetry on each left-hand page, and to show the illustrations in detail.
 
Read page 2 out loud, then stop. Page 2 ends with, “...all because of a tree.”
1.

Teacher says: The author just gave us important information about the setting of this story.

  • The story takes place in a little village called Hargigo [har-GEE-goh].
  • The village of Hargigo is in a country called Eritrea [er-eh-TREE-uh], in Africa.
  • The author also states that Hargigo is by the Red Sea.
2.
Teacher says (models thinking): When I read that the setting of this book was a village called Hargigo, in Africa, I wanted to know what it was like in Hargigo and what life was like there for the people. So I looked for words and phrases that described what life was like in Hargigo.
3.
Teacher asks: Where do the children play?
 
Students answer: The children play in the dust.
4.
Teacher asks: What are the houses made of?
 
Students answer: The houses are made of cloth, tin cans, and flattened iron.
5.
Teacher asks: What did we read about whether the families and their animals used to have enough to eat?
 
Students answer: The families and their animals did not have enough to eat. The author wrote that they used to be hungry.
6.
Teacher asks: Based on the evidence we’ve read so far about what it is like in Hargigo, explain whether Hargigo seems to be a wealthy village with many resources or a poor village.
 
Students answer: Hargigo is not a wealthy village. Hargigo is a poor village. The author describes how the houses are made of cloth and tin cans, the children play in dust, and families and animals were hungry.
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7.
Teacher says: If the people of Hargigo were poor and didn’t have enough to eat, that would be a big problem.
8.

Teacher says: I’m going to read the last three sentences again. “The families used to be hungry. Their animals were hungry too. But then things began to change . . . all because of a tree.”

9.
Teacher asks: Are there any words or phrases in these sentences that give the reader a clue that there was a solution to some of the problems in Hargigo?
 

Students answer: Yes, there was probably a solution. The author used the past tense and wrote that the families used to be hungry and that the animals were hungry. So they probably aren’t hungry anymore.

Also, the author wrote that “things began to change,” so that suggests, or gives a clue, that they were beginning to solve their problems.

10.
Teacher asks: Does the author tell us the reason why things might have changed for the better?
 
Students answer: Yes, the author states that things changed because of a tree.
 
Read pages 3 and 4 out loud, then stop. Page 4 ends with, “...the fat green leaves of the trees.”
11.
Teacher asks: What is the land like in Hargigo?
 
Students answer: The land is dry and dusty.
12.
Teacher asks: How much rain does Hargigo receive?
 
Students answer: Hargigo receives very little rain.
13.
Teacher asks: With little rain, how easy was it for leafy plants to grow?
 
Students answer: It wasn’t easy for leafy plants to grow.
14.
Teacher asks: If it was hard for leafy plants to grow, what did that mean for the goats and sheep that needed to eat those leaves to live and be healthy?
 
Students answer: The goats and sheep did not have enough food.
15.

Teacher says: Animals are important for people. Some animals are pets. But many animals are important for food.

  • People drink the milk from animals such as goats and sheep.
  • People eat animals like goats and sheep.
  • Some people make their money by raising and selling animals like goats and sheep.

So in a poor village if the animals are hungry and are not healthy, then it means that the people probably won’t have enough food and milk for themselves.

16.
Teacher asks: So what was the problem in Hargigo?
 
Students answer: The problem in Hargigo was that the people and animals were hungry. Because there is very little rain, few plants were able to grow. Without plants, there was not enough food for the sheep, goats, or people.
17.
Teacher asks: What idea did the scientist Dr. Sato have to solve these problems?
 
Students answer: Dr. Sato had an idea to plant mangrove trees near the salty Red Sea, so the animals could eat the fat green leaves of the mangrove trees.
 
Read pages 5 and 6 out loud, then stop. Page 6 ends with, “...started his planting project.”
18.
Teacher asks: What do the thick leaves of the mangrove trees do to salt if the tree drinks water with salt in it?
 
Students answer: The thick leaves of the mangrove trees squeeze out the salt.
19.
Teacher asks: Why did Dr. Sato specifically choose mangrove trees as the trees to plant in Hargigo?
 
Students answer: Dr. Sato chose to plant mangrove trees in Hargigo because there was very little rain and most of the water available to them was the salt water of the Red Sea. The mangrove trees were able to grow in salty water.
 
Read pages 7-12 out loud, then stop. Page 12 ends with, “...for their kids and lambs.”
20.
Teacher asks: Explain whether just the mangrove leaves were sufficient to make the goats and sheep heavy enough and healthy enough.
 
Students answer: No, the mangrove leaves were not sufficient. The animals needed more protein.
21.
Teacher asks: What was done to make sure the animals were eating enough protein?
 
Students answer: The animals were fed a mixture of mangrove leaves, seeds, and dried fish.
 
Read pages 13-18 out loud, then stop. Page 18 ends with, “...for their families to eat and sell.”
22.
Teacher asks: How do mangrove trees help the local fishermen and families in Hargigo?
 
Students answer: The trees help the fishermen and families by providing places to live for small sea creatures, such as crabs and shrimp. The people can eat these creatures. These small sea creatures also attract bigger fish for the fishermen to catch, eat, and sell.
 
Read the remainder of the book, pages 19-24.
 
Conclusion
23.

Teacher says: Let’s summarize what we read in the beginning, middle, and end of the book. First, at the beginning of the book, what were the problems in Hargigo that we read about?

Then, in the middle of the book, what did we read about what was happening to try and solve the problems?

Finally, by the end of the book, what did we read about whether those solutions seemed to be working or not?

 
The Afterword is full of excellent information and photographs for your students. We highly recommend you take the time to read aloud the Afterword to your entire class a day or two after completing the entire read-aloud lesson, including the independent practice.
 

Part 2: Guided Practice & Discussion

 
For this oral lesson, use the provided questions to complete the graphic organizer. Then use the main discussion questions for a full class discussion to push student thinking.
1.
Teacher says: Now we are going to take some time to review the problems and the solution we explored in The Mangrove Tree.
2.
Teacher asks: What were the main problems for the animals and people in Hargigo?
 

Students answer:

  • The families in Hargigo used to be hungry.
  • The sheep and goats did not have enough food in Hargigo.
3.
Teacher asks: And why did the sheep and goats that eat leaves not have enough food to eat in Hargigo?
 
Students answer: The land in Hargigo was dry and dusty and there was little rain, so it was hard for leafy plants to grow that the sheep and goats needed to eat.
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4.
Teacher asks: Why did the families in Hargigo used to be hungry?
 
Students answer: The families in Hargigo did not have enough food, as there were not enough healthy sheep and goats to produce food and milk.
5.
Teacher asks: What solution was developed to address the main problems in Hargigo?
 
Students answer: Dr. Gordon Sato started the mangrove tree planting project to plant mangrove trees by the shore of the salty Red Sea.
6.
Teacher asks: What happened to the animals in Hargigo as a result of Dr. Sato’s project?
 
Students answer: The animals gained weight and became healthier. The animals lived longer, and the flocks multiplied.
7.
Teacher asks: And what happened to the people of Hargigo as a result of Dr. Sato’s plan to plant mangrove trees?
 
Students answer: The shepherds had more animals in their flocks, and the people of Hargigo had more food to eat and milk to drink. The children became healthier. Local fishermen caught more fish for their families to eat and sell.

 

After the answers for the graphic organizer have been completed with the class, ask the following main discussion questions.

 
Teacher asks: What specific things or resources were needed to make the mangrove tree planting project possible?
 

Students answer: Answers may vary but could include:

  • Resources such as mangrove seeds and fertilizer with nutrients were needed.
  • Money to purchase equipment and supplies was needed.
 
Teacher asks: What people were necessary to make the mangrove tree planting project possible in Hargigo?
 

Students answer (may vary but could include):

  • Dr. Sato, who had the ingenuity and knowledge to create the project and who invested the time to develop and guide the project, was necessary.
  • The hard-working people of Hargigo who helped plant the mangrove trees and grow the plants were necessary.
 
Teacher asks: Using evidence from the text, please explain whether or not the mangrove tree planting project was worth the resources and the effort of the people.
 

Students answer (may vary but could include):

  • The mangrove tree planting project was worth the effort, as it provided the people of Hargigo with a life-changing, long-term solution to their hunger problem.
  • The mangrove tree planting project was worth the effort, as it helped to improve the lives of the people of Hargigo by increasing their number of livestock, by giving the women of Hargigo a way to earn money close to home, and by helping their environment.
  • The project may not have been worth it. The extent of the costs and investments were not discussed in the book. Without that information, it is hard to know whether the project was worth it.
  • The project was not worth it because it didn’t seem to help a lot of people.
 

Part 3: Student Independent Practice

 
Both the student question set and teacher answer sheet are provided in the 'Text & Materials' section.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.)

User Comments

Very useful lessons and more interactive for the students. I love this site.

Submitted by rvarug56_2434082 on 11/20/16

hope more people know about this site because its free and people can really help their kids by using them .

Submitted by as_we_r_2193605 on 8/17/16

I've been using READworks all school year for the first time and my students are highly engaged in the reading activities. The close reads are very interesting and create very dynamic discussions. This is the most engaged my students have been in the two years of working with them in regards to reading.

Submitted by elevenmilesoneway_1575248 on 3/22/16

My ESL students found this story interesting, and they were asking questions about the story which encouraged them to listen and think about the answers to their questions. Also, my students were interested in locating the places on the globe. Very interesting.

Submitted by hammettm on 5/4/15

nice

Submitted by nptoan.vl on 2/25/15

The pairing of the two readings will be a great source of information and bring forth students' awareness of the problems of society and government not only in our own country but also in other countries or continents.

Submitted by Irene C. on 10/3/13