Standards Correlations

R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.7, R.8, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will read an article about young migrant workers and then summarize the text.

Key Skills

summarizing, text features, vocabulary, cause and effect, evaluating a claim, inference, critical thinking, informational writing 

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The article describes the hardships faced by migrant workers who work on farms as kids and teens.

Structure: The text includes narrative and informational passages. It focuses on the story of one worker, Reyes. 

Language: The language is mainly conversational.

Knowledge Demands: No prior knowledge is required.

Levels

Lexile: 600L-700L 

Guided Reading Level: T 

DRA Level: 50

Lesson Plan: The Teens Who Feed America

1. Preparing to Read 

Essential Questions

  • Where do our fruit and vegetables come from?
  • How young is too young to have a job? 

Literature Connection

  • Biography: Jessie de La Cruz: A Profile of a United Farm Worker by Gary Soto 

Build Background Knowledge (10 minutes)

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article. Preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Look at the photos of teens at the start of the story and read the caption. Who are the teens? According to the caption, the teens are migrants, meaning that they move from place to place to find work.
  • Read the article’s title and subtitle. What do you think it means that the teens in the story “feed” America? The subtitle refers to kids working on farms. You can assume that the teens feed America by helping to grow and harvest the food we eat. 

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (migrants, eventually, industries, restrict, welding) aloud and discuss the definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading 

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading: Tell students that the article will tell them about the lives of teens who move from place to place to do hard physical work on farms, and that we have these teens to thank for a lot of the food we eat.
  • Point out the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.
  • Point out the activity at the end of the article, and tell students they will complete it after reading. Guide them to briefly scan the questions in the activity and to keep them in mind as they read.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Guide students to read the article. Once they understand it well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

  • In the article’s first paragraph, you learn that Reyes rarely got through a school year in Texas. Why not? (cause and effect) Before the end of the school year, Reyes and his family would leave town to work on a farm in another area.
  • The section “A Hard Day’s Work” says that farm work is dangerous. What details in the section support this statement? (evaluating a claim) The section says that teen farmworkers use sharp tools that can cut off fingers and dodge tractors with huge wheels. It says that 33 young Americans are injured working on farms every day, and that more children are killed doing farmwork than in all other industries combined.
  • Based on the section “Moving On,” how does Reyes feel about farm work? (inference) Reyes thinks farm work is respectable and important, but he doesn’t want to do it for the rest of his life. 

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • The article says that children of any age can work on their own parents’ farm. Do you think this is fair? Why or why not? (critical thinking) Answers may vary. Some students might say that this rule is fair, because parents might need help and can keep their kids safe. Others might say that it’s not fair because farmwork is obviously dangerous and young kids shouldn’t do dangerous work.
  • The article says that many dangerous jobs are off-limits to people younger than 18. Why do you think this is? (critical thinking) Answers may vary. Students will likely say that adults assume older people are more careful and less likely to get hurt than younger people.

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill activity at the end of the article.
  • Use our Summarizing Skill Builder, available in higher and lower level versions. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders.)
  • Writing prompt: Imagine that your friend David, a teen farmworker, has left town to work. Write a note to David, asking about his work and letting him know that you’re thinking about him. Use information from the article for help thinking of questions you might have for David.

Learn Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

Create an Infographic

An infographic is a quick, simple way to record and share information. On paper or on a computer, make an infographic to share facts from the article.  Here are some suggestions:

  • Come up with a title for your infographic. It can be something simple, like “Farmwork in the U.S.,” or something more creative.
  • Find two facts about farmworkers that include numbers. Write the facts on your page, and make the numbers a different color so they stand out. 
  • Find two pieces of information that can be supported by images. Write these facts on the page and add drawings or photos. 

Make copies of your infographic to share with family and friends. Then, during meals, you can take a moment to feel thankful for the hard work that brought fruit and vegetables to your table.

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