The Surrender Tree

The Surrender Tree:

Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom

Margarita Engle

2009 Newbery Honor Book

2009 Pura Belpre Medal Winner

2009 Bank Street- Best Children's Book Award

Published by: Square Fish

Copyright 2008

384 Pages

Unique Structure, Historical, Slavery, Hope, Beautiful

 

The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle, provides a look into the dark, war torn history of Cuba through a variety of different voices. Written in free verse, this text provides a unique format that is sure to challenge the students as they connect with the characters. Rosa is a medicine woman who tends to the runaway slaves who can find her hidden in the caves of the Cuban jungle. Rosa represents the promising side of freedom and eventually falls in love with a freed slave who she later marries. Lieutenant Death represents the darker side as the son of a slave hunter in Cuba. His poems depict a deeper skepticism about his role in the independence of Cuba. The Surrender Tree holds deep meaning for many in the world and is a fantastic text to incorporate with current events as the United States’ relationship with Cuba is slowly gaining momentum.

Reading Level

Ages 12+, Grade Level Equivalent: 5.2

Suggested Delivery

Read Aloud, Guided Reading

Electronic Resources

The discussion guide provided by Macmillan, is a useful resource for teachers who need direction with teaching this text. Since the text is written in free verse, it can be challenging for students to follow along. Aiding in comprehension by incorporating discussion questions is vital to the students success when reading this book.

The authors website is another useful resource as it provides information into the life of Margarita Engle that well prove helpful in allowing students to determine the viewpoint of the author.

Key Vocabulary

·      Mambi – Rebel army

·      GÜIJES – Mermaids

·      Cimarron – Slaves

Teaching Strategies

            Before – Since this story is written in poetry form it is likely that students will struggle a bit with the text structure. I suggest creating a pattern guide before reading in order to allow students to create an organized list of the characters. This will allow students to take proper notes while reading and keep track of the events that happen throughout the text.

            During – This is a prime opportunity to use the CLOSE Reading technique with your students. Allow the students to pick a poem to further dissect with a partner. Each student should first come up with questions they would like answered about the poem and then work together to find those answers by using inferential comprehension.

            After – Continuing with the pairs that were created for the previous exercise, students can collect the poems from a particular character (e.g. Rosa, Jose, Lieutenant Death, Silvia ) and try to decipher a theme or emotion which that character expresses most often. This strategy forces students to use higher-level thinking and comprehension to connect with the characters and experience their feelings. Finish the unit with a class wide sharing session so that the students can express the emotions and conflicts that each character dealt with throughout the text.

Writing

Use this text in unison with a Social Studies unit on American slavery and have students compare and contrast the slavery that was taking place in the America’s with that of Cuba’s.