Farah Loves Mangos is one of my favourite stories to use in the classroom for all ages. This book can be used to support differentiated curriculum for a variety of diverse learners. The book is one that many students can connect with through discussion. For primary students you can ask questions such as

• What makes mango season special for Farah and her family?
• Farah has to be patient while waiting for the mangoes to ripen. Can you think of a time when you had to wait for something you really wanted? How did it feel?

In a junior classroom you can dig deeper and ask questions such as:

• Why do you think Farah loves mangoes so much? What do they represent to her and her family?
• Farah has to be patient and wait for the mangoes to ripen. What does this story teach us about patience? Why is it sometimes hard to wait?

In an intermediate classroom you can extend this idea to:

• The story shows Farah learning to be patient for something she values. How can learning patience benefit us in other areas of our li
• Farah and her family share mango season together as a cultural tradition. Why do you think cultural traditions are important to families and communities?

I’ve used Farah Loves Mangos with multilingual learners to build vocabulary.  Many students love to look at the image of the tree with the wide variety of objects in it. This image itself is a great tool to build vocabulary and begin to create sentences with the words. This story resonates with many students because it explores family connections and can be linked to plant growth and cycles. For example, you could research with your class why some plants produce abundantly one year but less the next. What causes these changes? How can we help plants thrive every year?

A full lesson plan will be available in the resources section soon—stay tuned!