Ujiji

Science: biology

Social-emotional learning: cooperation, respect

theme, how a character changes, character motivation, compare and contrast, key details, cause and effect, inference, vocabulary

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

• Direct students to the illustration on page 15 and invite them to study it. Ask: Based on the question that follows the title, which birds do you think are scared? How do you know this? Which character in the illustration do you think is named Ujiji? Why do you think this? 

• Point out the subheads and the Pause and Think boxes at the end of each section. 

Introduce Vocabulary (15 minutes)

• This story includes six vocabulary words highlighted in bold: chiggers, buck, converse, offended, parasite, and symbiosis. (Although students might not see symbiosis again until middle school or high school, it’s an important idea in the story—and lets them “own” a big word!)

• The words are defined at the bottom of the column in which they appear. Discuss the meanings of the words, looking at how they are used in the story to help students further understand them. Look at the illustrations, where possible, for visuals of the vocabulary words. 

• Distribute our vocabulary activity for more practice with these words. You may also play our Vocabulary Slideshow.

Set a Purpose for Reading

• We have created a fiction package that helps students focus on one important aspect of the story—in this case, identifying the theme. The tasks in the Think and Read and Think and Write boxes work together to support this skill focus. Have one student read the task in each box. 

• Read aloud the first Pause and Think box on page 14. These questions will check basic comprehension. (Students will delve into higher-level work with the close-reading questions, available here.) 

Reading and Unpacking the Text

• First read: Students should read the story through one time for general comprehension. Whether your students read as a class, in small groups, or independently, ask them to answer the Pause and Think questions along the way.

• Second read: Distribute the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking questions. (For struggling readers, you can distribute the sheet of Pause and Think questions.) Preview them as a class. Have students read the story again, pausing to answer the questions. 

Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes)

• Based on the first section, why do the yellow-billed tickbirds stay silent when Ujiji asks a friendly question? (character motivation) The tickbirds don’t answer Ujiji because Kifaru demands that they work silently. They’re afraid that he won’t let them eat the ticks that live on him and that they would starve. 

• How does Ujiji respond to Kifaru’s anger? How is this different from how the other birds respond? (compare and contrast) Ujiji is not afraid of Kifaru and doesn’t fly away like the other birds when he gets angry. She is offended and calls him rude. When Kifaru says he would live in peace and quiet without the birds, Ujiji laughs because she knows he is wrong.

• What example of symbiosis does Ujiji give the tickbirds? (key details) She explains that their feeding off the ticks that bite Kifaru helps them both. The birds get to eat, and Kifaru gets rid of the biting ticks.

• What effect did the birds’ decision to stay in the tree have on Kifaru? How do you know? (cause and effect) The birds were no longer eating the ticks off of Kifaru’s body, so the ticks had the chance to bite him. The itching made him buck, roar, roll, and scratch until he fell over, exhausted.

• Near the end of the story, what does Kifaru do that shows his feelings about the birds have changed?  (inference) First, he quietly and politely asks the birds for their help in removing the bugs. Then, he agrees that the birds can make as much noise as they want. Finally, he even joins in their conversations as they work.

Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)

• How did the relationship between Kifaru and the yellow-billed tickbirds change? What steps did Ujiji take to convince the animals to change? (theme) Ujiji proved to the birds that Kifaru needed them just as much as they needed him. Because of this, they didn’t have to follow his rules or be afraid of him. First, Ujiji showed them how to stand up to him. Next, she taught them about symbiosis and how their work helped Kifaru. She made them stay in the tree to see what happened to Kifaru without their help. Finally, she got Kifaru to admit he needed the birds, and he began to treat them with respect.

• Call on a volunteer to read aloud the Think and Write box at the bottom of page 19.

• Distribute our Fiction Reading Kit, which focuses on key reading skills, including our featured skill, theme. Have students work in small groups to complete it.

Science Connection!

Further explore the meaning of symbiosis by telling the students about the Nile crocodile and the Egyptian plover, which are the subjects of our poem on page 32, “The Wading Bird of Egypt.” The crocodile allows this bird to climb into its mouth to pick out and eat tiny bits of food stuck in its teeth. Ask students why this is a symbiotic relationship. (The plover gets food, and the crocodile gets a teeth-cleaning.)