Text Type:
Nonfiction / Biography

Word Count:
2,189

Pages:
26

Text Summary
This book recounts the life and work of Cesar Chavez, from his childhood on the family farm in Arizona, to his adolescence as a migrant worker, to his dedication to the fight for dignity and fairness for farm workers everywhere.

Reproducibles
Worksheet 1: Summarize using the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, why) questions plus how
Worksheet 2: Vocabulary prediction

Lesson Objectives

Comprehension
You will likely address a number of comprehension skills as students work to understand the text, for example, students could discuss their personal reactions to the text and the work of Chavez. The targeted comprehension strategy for this lesson is: summarizing information.

Word Work

Content Vocabulary
barrios
boycott
civil disobedience
drudgery
fast
grass-roots
Great Depression
labor contractors
labor unions
meager
migrant farm workers
nonviolent
picket lines
poll

Topic Vocabulary
Understand how vocabulary can help the reader make predictions about what they read

Grammar
Prefix in
Identify words with prefix in meaning "not" 

Before Reading

Build Background
Involve students in a discussion about labor unions and Cesar Chavez.
Ask: What could you do if you were working for someone who was not paying you fairly? Who could help you? What do you know about labor unions? What is the purpose of a labor union? What do you know about Cesar Chavez? What is he famous for? 

Introduce the Book
Introduce the book by showing students the front cover and reading the title.
Ask: What do you see on the cover? What can you tell about Chavez from this picture?
Explain that Chavez led the fight to gain better pay and working conditions for farm workers. Give students worksheet 1. Explain that these are some words they will encounter as they read the book. Have students predict how the words might be used in the context of Chavez’s life, and have them write their ideas in the first column. Tell them that they might know the meaning of the word, but they should think about how the word might relate specifically to Chavez and the struggle for rights for farm workers. Explain that after they read, they will come back to the worksheet and discuss the words as they were used in the book. 

Give students their copies of the book, and have them turn to the table of contents.
Ask: What do you think you might read about in the chapter “A Humble Beginning”? What do you think activism in Chapter 4 might mean? What do you think happened at the Delano grape strike?

Skim and Scan
Have students skim the book, previewing the photos and illustrations. Point out the bold-faced words in the text. Explain to students that often they can use the context of the sentence or paragraph to figure out the meaning of the word. Point out that they can find these words in the glossary at the end of the book. 

During Reading

Set the Purpose
Tell students that you want them to read the story to find out if their predictions about the vocabulary words and their significance to Chavez are correct. 

After Reading

Building Comprehension
Model how to summarize the story
Say: This text is a type of recount called a biography. Often biographies answer the 5 w questions: who, what, where, when, and why, plus how. By using these questions, you can provide a summary of the main things that happened in the biography. 

Give students worksheet 2 and explain what they are to do.
Say: I want you to briefly answer each question. Include only the most important information from the book to answer it. You can refer back to the book if you need to. When you have finished, we can use your answers to retell the life of Cesar Chavez.
After students have completed the worksheet, have them share their answers. Point out examples of good summarization, and explain why they are good examples. 

Discuss students’ personal reactions to the text.
Ask: Did you learn something you didn’t know before by reading this biography? What did you learn? How do you feel about Cesar Chavez? Do you think he deserved to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom? Why or why not? What did he do to promote freedom?  

Word Work
Content Vocabulary
Have students refer to worksheet 1. Have them find the words from the worksheet in the text and read the sentences in which they are found. Then have them complete the After Reading column. When they are finished, have them compare their ideas about the words before and after reading the text. Their definitions or ideas about the vocabulary itself may have been correct, but the definition may not have explained the specific significance the words had to the life of Chavez and to the topic of farm labor unions. They may have chosen a different meaning of the word than was used in the text. Ask if thinking about the words before they read the book helped give them some ideas or questions about what they were going to read. Discuss how they were able to work out the meanings of the words. Review other bold-faced words in the text. Ask whether students were able to use the context, or whether they used the glossary to determine the meanings. 

Grammar
Prefix in
Have students find and read the sentence on page 4: “he and his younger brother were inseparable.” Ask students what the word inseparable means. Explain that it begins with the prefix in, and that sometimes this prefix means "not." In this case, it means that the boys could not be separated. Have students read the sentence on page 5: “She insisted that Cesar never react violently to the injustice he witnessed and experienced” and define the word injustice. Have students brainstorm a list of words that use the prefix in meaning "not." Some words they might suggest are: insensitive, inhuman, indifferent, independent, indefinite, inanimate, incapable, indirect. 

Writing Connection
Have students write an imaginary letter to the President in which they recommend that Chavez be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom. To begin, have them brainstorm a list of reasons why he should receive this award. Review the structure of a formal letter, and provide an example for students who may need a format to follow. 

Assessment

• Listen to students’ ideas about the vocabulary prior to reading. Note if their predictions about the vocabulary are logical based on the information at hand. Review their completed worksheet after reading to determine if they understand the vocabulary and how it relates to Chavez’s life.
• Review completed worksheet 2 to assess if students can summarize the text using the questions who, what, why, where, when, and how. Note if their answers to the questions are concise and contain only important information.
• Note if students can use the conventions of a formal letter correctly. Note if they can provide persuasive reasons for awarding the medal.