Teacher notes
Wishtree is told by a 200-year-old oak, which makes a story about hate and welcome gentle enough for Grades 4–7. The unit is built around the book's dedication, "for newcomers and for welcomers," and works well for English language learners: short chapters, clear prompts and support ideas in the guide. It also brings in science, since Red is a habitat.
Quick answers
Is there role-play of the hate scenes? No, and no student is asked to share their own family's story or faith.
How long is it? Seven weeks, or three with the shorter option.
Priced in Canadian dollars, so it costs less here than the US-dollar price on TPT. Instant download after checkout.
Full details
Red is a northern red oak, more than two hundred years old, and the neighbourhood's "wishtree." Every May, people tie their wishes to Red's branches. Then a new family moves into the little blue house, someone carves LEAVE into Red's bark, and a tree that is supposed to stay silent decides it has something to say. This Wishtree novel study never asks students "what happened?" Every prompt asks what it means, why characters did what they did, how Katherine Applegate told it, and what students think. The unit is built around the book's dedication, "for newcomers and for welcomers." It follows the story in six parts, each named for something tied to the tree: The Pink Wish, Five Letters, The Silver Key, The Hollow, The Journal and The Index Cards. Each part has a menu of prompts, a hands-on activity, and trackers. The trackers follow every wish in the book, every welcome and every push away, every time someone speaks up or stays silent, Red's hope against Bongo's worry, and the animals who share Red's hollows. It is made with care for a book about anti-Muslim hate: there is no role-play of the hate scenes, no student is asked to share their own family's story or faith, and the prompts keep the grown-ups human ("just … afraid of things") without excusing what they do. The teacher guide includes content notes by part, a support line, and a page of background notes on the real things behind the story. WHAT'S INCLUDED (59 pages, letter size) Student booklet (45 pages) • 6 part menus with 36 prompts (6 per part). Students pick two per part from five lenses: Roots, Branch Out, Speak Up, How It's Told and Make a Wish. • 6 hands-on activities everyone does: Wish Sort (just for fun or serious? for me or for others?), One Word (how everyone reads LEAVE), Friendship Plans (why Plans One and Two flop, then design Plan Three), Then and Now (Maeve long ago beside Samar today), Just a Tree? (weigh the case for cutting Red down) and A Messy Garden (what changed, what didn't, and what is still a hope). • 5 trackers: Wish Log (wishes), Newcomers + Welcomers (belonging), Speak or Stay Silent (voice), Optimist + Pessimist (hope, with a hope-o-meter) and The Residents (community). • Pre-reading hook (I Wish…), Know Before You Go background, and an anticipation guide with a sealed prediction. • Organizers: Root It (claim, evidence, so what), Chain Reaction, Two Houses, Bad Into Good, and a relationship web. • Socratic seminar prep ("Big Questions") with 9 questions and a moves tracker. • 6 final project choices: a welcome tree for your school, Red's Rings (a tree-ring timeline), a two-voice poem, A Welcomer's Story (an interview), Save a Tree (research a real heritage tree) and a book talk. • 6 profile pages (Red; Bongo; Samar and Stephen; Francesca and Maeve; Flash and BigYou; Katherine Applegate and the real red oak), 5 toolkit templates (debate builder, craft spotter, two-voice poem, storyboard, interview + research planner) and a 24-word vocabulary page. • 6 exit tickets, a project planner, a single-point rubric and two Level 1–4 rubrics. Teacher guide (14 pages) • Visual implementation map: the whole unit on one page, week by week, with the chapters, the shared activity, and the chapters to read with care • Start-here checklist, unit map, and a 7-week plan (3-week option included) • Teaching with care: content notes by part, do's and don'ts, and a 24/7 support line • Background notes: why Applegate wrote the book, real wishing trees, Maeve's time and the Irish famine migrants who came to Toronto, Canada's National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia (January 29), and Toronto's 250-year-old heritage red oak • Full story key, plus how the ending is planted • Look-fors for all 36 prompts and 6 activities, with extension prompts • Tracker and vocabulary keys, and a parent letter • Ontario Language (2023) curriculum links, assessment plan, and Science and Social Studies connections WHY TEACHERS LIKE IT • No recall questions, so students can't answer by skimming. • The same routine every part: read, activity, two prompts, trackers, exit ticket. • Built around the book's big question: what does it take to make a newcomer welcome? • Made with care: no role-play of the hate scenes, and no student is asked to share their own family's story. • Works well for English language learners: short chapters, clear prompts, and support ideas in the teacher guide. • Science link built in: Red is a habitat (Grade 4 Habitats and Communities). • A one-page implementation map shows the whole unit at a glance. Pin it up. • Every page number is a clickable link in the PDF, so it works on paper or on screen. • White pages, designed to photocopy in black and white. PLEASE NOTE Students need their own copy of Wishtree by Katherine Applegate, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Feiwel and Friends, 2017). References use chapter numbers and short quotes, not page numbers, so any edition works. The book includes a hateful word carved into the tree, eggs thrown at a family's home, men yelling at a Muslim family, and a baby left in a tree hollow long ago; the teacher guide flags each one by part. All illustrations in this study are original. This is an independent teaching resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author, the illustrator or the publisher.
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