Subscriber Only Resources
Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to Action magazine.
Standards Correlations
R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.7, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.6
Learning Objective
Students will identify cause-and-effect relationships in a text about Navajo students who grow their own food.
Key Skills
cause and effect, text features, vocabulary, central idea and details, key details, inference, critical thinking, informational writing
Complexity Factors
Purpose: The text highlights the impact of a school garden on a community and discusses the challenges of living in a food desert.
Structure: The article is written from the third-person point of view.
Language: The language is conversational.
Knowledge Demands: No prior knowledge is needed.
Levels
Lexile: 600L-700L
Guided Reading Level: S
DRA Level: 40
SEL Connection
This article and lesson promote social awareness and self-awareness skills.
Lesson Plan: They Grew This!
Essential Questions
Literature Connection
1. Preparing to Read
Preview Text Features (10 minutes)
Guide students to locate the article in their magazines or at Action Online. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions
Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)
Make a Plan for Reading
Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:
2. Reading and Unpacking the Text
Read the article. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Online. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.
Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)
Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)
3. Skill Building and Writing
Learn Anywhere Activity
An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom
Project the task below on your whiteboard or share it with students in your LMS.
Brainstorm Ways to Support Your Community
Hannah and Nariyah learned to grow food at STAR School, and they used what they had learned to help others. They cooked a monthly meal for their community’s elders, and they taught local families how to grow their own food.
What are some ways you and your classmates can use your skills to do good in your community? Form a group with three or four classmates and discuss the following questions:
Talk over your ideas, thinking about how you might get the supplies, space, or whatever else you would need to make each idea work. Try to agree on one idea (though it’s OK to have more than one). Once you’ve come up with a plan, a member of your group can present the idea to the class. After hearing every group’s ideas, the class can decide on a few to put into action. Then, just like Hannah and Nariyah, you’ll be using what you know to make your community better.
Language-Acquisition Springboard
Review the sound of tion to improve fluency.
After reading the article, direct students’ attention back to the vocabulary box. Point out the first word in the box: reservation. Remind students that the last four letters of the word, tion, are pronounced shun.
Let students know that many words end with tion and that this combination of letters is nearly always pronounced shun. Challenge them to scan the article for another example (for instance, the word nation in the phrase “Navajo Nation”).
Now ask students to look through some reading material and find three more words that end with tion. If they need help, have them look at the table of contents on page 2 of this magazine. They’ll find the magazine’s title, Action, as well as the words fiction and nonfiction. Other examples include:
Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.
