to Mrs. Bee's Busy Classroom
as we learn about Africa

Lesson Plan Kindergarten
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/kkenya.htm

Lesson Plan 1st Grade
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/1outofafrica.htm

Lesson Plan 4th Grade
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/4AFRICA2.htm
 
This participation story is a very abbreviated and incomplete
version of what has really happened in Africa over many centuries.
Nevertheless, it gives a dramatic example of the effect of man, 
industrialization and weather changes on an indigenous animal kingdom.

ALL PLAYERS:
Africa - drums (on ground)
Drought - tongues flapping
Fire - wave hands above heads for flames
Rain - swoosh, swoosh

Individuals or Small Groups
Lions - roar
Elephants - trumpet
Birds, bugs and little animals - squeak, zzzzz, whistle
Fish - fins swimming, silent mouthing
Vultures - caw, caw (shrill)
Hunters - bang, bang (gun)
Woodmen - axes chopping

Organize the groups or individuals who will do the sounds. Have everyone practise. Then practise the sounds for "all players". Explain that you will be reading a story, and when you mention their special word,
you will pause and they come in with their sound.

Once upon a time, in Africa, the lion was king of the jungle, and the elephant
was king of the grassland. The lion and his family (called a pride) roamed all over
the jungle, and the elephants with their enormous herds, roamed all over the
grassland. The native people, who lived in Africa, in their mud or grass huts,
respected king lion and king elephant.  In fact, they were a little bit afraid
of them! In the jungles of Africa there were millions of birds,
bugs and little animals. In the waterholes all over Africa were many fish.
Vultures flew overhead always looking for dead creatures
to feed on. Then men came from Europe and they looked for jewels and minerals to make them rich. Hunters came and killed lions because they were ferocious, and elephants because their tusks were valuable as ivory.
The vultures feasted on the dead bodies of the elephants and lions. Woodmen came and cut down the trees in the jungles, because the wood made valuable
furniture for rich European
homes. Then the birds, bugs and little animals had nowhere to live. Then came the drought, and the waterholes dried up and the fish died.
The vultures were kept very busy eating all the dead bodies.
The native people were starving. Careless hunters and woodmen dropped matches
and the dry jungles and dry grasslands were destroyed by fire. Where could
the lions, elephants, fish, birds, bugs and little animals live?
It was decided to set aside special wildlife parks where all of the
endangered animals could live and be protected. Soon the rains came and
the land was beautiful again.
But, don't you think is sad that wonderful, wild animals such as the lion,
elephant, fish, birds, bugs and little animals have to be protected
in their own country?

Sent to me by a friend. If anyone
knows if this is on a website somewhere,please let me know
so proper credit may be given.

Coloring pages
http://www.brainstormfun.com/drawing/draw_fun.html

Africam provides free video feed (converted to still pictures) taken on
African game preserves.  The children can watch live jungle animals in
their  natural habitat.
http://www.africam.com

Galloping Zebras
Have children stand in a large circle and pretend to be zebras.
Have one child stand in the middle and beat a drum using fast
and slow rythyms and the other children can gallop to the beat of the drum.

I'm a Little Zebra
(sung to "I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a Little Zebra, white and black,
Big bushy mane riding down my back,
I like to gallop, run and play,
Out on the Africa plains all day.
Jean Warren

"Zebra" Stripe Matching Game
Draw from one to five pairs of index cards. Mix up the cards and let the
children take turns matching the stripes.

African Primates
http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/primates.html

African Recipes-Plan an African meal:
http://soar.berkeley.edu/recipes/ethnic/africa/indexall.html

African Folktales
http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1996/1/96.01.03.x.html

Africa in the classroom:
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/K-12/chill.html

Monkey See, Monkey Do
Have children stand in a circle. Choose one child to make a funny movement and
have the others try to imitate him/her. Continue until all children have had a turn.

Book Greedy Zebra, Mwenye Hadithi

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Home_Page/AFR_GIDE.html
K-1 2  Africa Guide

Order a poster called "How Big is Africa?" http://www.bu.edu/afr/Outreach/poster.html

Safari Day
Have each child bring to class a stuffed animal of a real animal that could be
from Africa.  Hide them around the room when the children are away from the classroom, or have someone else do this.  Go on a safari hunt to find the animals.
 

Talk about Ancient Egyptians
- pyramids
- ancient writing
- Pharaohs (rulers or kings)
- temples and palaces

The people of Africa
- customs
- villages
- living conditions
- adornments
- food (crops)
- clothing

Animals of Africa
- camels, zebra, etc.
- livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, and camels) also labors

Environment of Africa
- desert
- plains
- forests
- tropical
 
  AFRICAN BEADS
 Let the children make balls with the dough. Poke holes into them. Bake
them and let the children decorate them with markers.These are beautiful!
 2 cups flour,
1 cup salt
small amt. of water to make a dough.
Knead the dough.
 Bake in oven @ 225 for 1 hour.Be sure to make the holes large enough for
a  big needle or easy stringing.
 

 CALABASH BOWLS
 A Calabash is a bowl made from dried gourds.
Make paper-mache to create the bowls. Turn over a small bowl with a piece of plastic wrap taped over it. Let the children lay strips of newpaper that have been dipped in glue over the bowls. Do more then one layer. When dry, remove & cut them into a circle or bowl shape. Paint with bright colors & spray with clear acrylic.

 NUTTY BANANAS
 Let the children enjoy this fun snack,which combines two favorite African
foods-- bananas & peanuts(groundnuts). Make a mixture of finely chopped or
grated peanuts,wheat germ & cinnamon. Place small amounts of the mixture on
paper plates & give each child one half of an unpeeled banana. To eat, have the
children gradually peel their bananas & dip them into the nut mixture before
taking each bite.
*Grape Nuts cereal could be substituted for the peanuts.
*IF USING PEANUTS,BE SURE THERE IS NO ONE IN THE SCHOOL WHO HAS AN ALLERGY TO PEANUTS.
 

 CLAP GAME
 Clap if it lives in Africa or if it is done in Africa or if it is related to Africa.
 zebra,gorilla,Kwanzaa, shoe,taco,hippopotamus,Nile River,
 Sahara Desert,African masks,blue,polar bears,sock,talking drums,lion,dung
beetle,white rhino,peanuts,jambo,balance items on head,pink,sink,t.v.,
 kofi(pronounced>koo-fee),shield,savanna,watch,computer,chimpanzee, ostrich,cape seal,rockpython,flamingo,cheetah,spoon,balloon,monkey,hyena,jackal,elephant,book,
 leopard,aardvark,cape buffalo,wildebeests,anteaters,antelopes,lemur,
 tsetse fly,army ants,chair,hair,fork,table,meerkat,African violet plant,carry baby in a sling,rainstick,2nd largest continent in the world,giraffe,grasslands,jungle,carry pots on top of head,
 

 GAME KISOLO
 It's a fun game played with seeds or stones. It can be played it with
using an egg carton & buttons or beans. Cut off the lid of an egg carton & save
bottom portion for the game. Make two collection boxes 2 inches high by
measuring & cutting off the tops of two half-pint cardboard milk cartons.
Paint all pieces with acrylic paints inside & out. Let dry. Cut a 6 by 18
inch of cardboard or posterboard. Center the egg carton on the sheet,
place a collection box at each end & glue the cartons in place. Decorate. (I
prefer to use two baskets at each side of the egg carton & not bother with
gluing onto cardboard. Easier to transport etc.) To play: Sit across from your opponent & place game between the two of you so that your collection box is to your right & your opponent's box is to your left. Fill each egg-carton bin with four tokens such as buttons, beans or glass blobs. The object of the game is to collect the most tokens in your collection box. The youngest player can go first. Play begins by picking up all tokens in any one bin on your side of the game,which is the row facing you. Place a token in the bin to the right of the empty bin & continue dropping tokens one by one counterclockwise.  If you reach your collection box, drop a token in the box and continue to your opponent's side until all tokens in your hand are distributed. Do not drop a token in your opponent's box. Gain an extra turn when the last token lands in your box. If the last token lands in an empty bin on your side of the game, take all of your opponent's tokens from his bin opposite that empty bin. Place them in your box. Your opponent resumes play. When bins from one side of the game are empty
,the game stops.Count the tokens in the boxes. Use pretty stones or glass blobs for the tokens.
 

Kufi (KOO-fee)
--Use dark const. paper 24"x2" for the headband. Then cut 6
strips 12" longx 2". Arrange strips like a wheel, overlapping in the
center. Staple the center or use a brad(paper fastener). Punch holes all around
the hat and attach the strips with the brads.
 

Wodaabe Mirror Pouch
     Poster board or oaktag, dark in color, 5" X 10", Yarn, gimp 3' long,
 Aluminum foil, 3"X4", pencil, glue tape, scissors and hole punch.
Decorations:Beads, buttons, gold foil, small shells, bits of colored paper
Fold board in half. Open it and draw a 2"x3" box in the middle of top half.
Cut up and around 3 sides,leaving bottom edge attached for a flap. Push flap
through to other side and glue or tape foil to cover inside opening. Fold the
poster board closed. With edges closed. punch holes through both layers on three sides, but not folded one.
Sew up the edges, Even the ends adn tie around the back of your neck. Glue on
decorations. The wodaabe place decorations in rows.
 
 "The Wodaaabe people of Niger wear leather mirror pouches decorated with cowrie shells,beads, and copper, and more, around their necks. Other Africans use found objects like large safety pins and even pieces of zippers in their arts and crafts."
 

 AFRICAN SHIELDS
 Shields were made in a great variety of sizes & shapes. Some only a few
inches long were carried in dance rituals & were merely symbols of their
original use. Shapes varied from tribe to tribe. Using a paper plate, staple a strip of strong paper to the back & staple on each side of the plate. The child will insert a hand into the back of the plate & the paper will keep the shield in place. Let the children decorate the plate. Color & glue on cut up wall paper pieces,sequins,yarn etc.

KOFIS(Pronounced>Koo-fees)--It looks like a pill box hat. A traditional
headdress for celebrations. These special hats add authenticity in role-
playing & the study of African culture. Using a wide piece of strong paper make a wide headband around the child's head & staple. Now cut a circle out of any paper & tape on top.It is easiest to attach by  adding pieces of masking tape to the INSIDE of the kofis. It only takes 3 or 4 pieces of tape to hold in place. Let the kids decorate BEFORE you staple & tape it together.
 

DRUMS
Africa probably has the largest variety of drums to be found in any
continent, but  virtually every other type of musical instrument is also represented throughtout Africa. Of the drums, the most charactteristically
African are those known as "talking drums" because they can reproduce the tonal inflections & rhythms of African languages.  In Zaire, Congo, & other countries in Africa, drums or gongs, as they are called in Congo are still used to send messages.
Use a pot turned upside down & a wooden spoon. Let the children tap out a
drum beat. Tell them that the drums were used to send important messages.
Then ask the kids to tell you what they said on the drum. Pass it around the
circle. Set out a variety of objects for the children to use as drums.
Oatmeal boxes & coffee cans with plastic lids can serve as hand drums.
For larger drums place objects such as wastebaskets, ice cream buckets &
cardboard boxes upside down on the floor. Let the children experiment with
the drums & talk about the different sounds they make. Which ones are the
best for making a sound like falling rain? Which ones are best for making the
sound of elehants stomping? Tap out rhythms for the children to repeat.
Play African music & let the children accompany the music with the drums.
 

RAINSTICKS
For centuries many tribes have used rainsticks to summon the rain.
Have the children fill paper towel rolls with rice,beans etc... Cover the ends with a small circle of poster board & masking tape. Let the children paint. SAVE THOSE PAPER TOWEL ROLLS! Make a huge rainstick using a mailing tube. Let the kids hammer in roofing nails all over the tube. Cover the end w/ poster board & clear tape. Then fill it with rice. Experiment with the sound of different amounts of rice. When you like the sound, tape up the other end. Let the children paint a stripe horizontally until each child did one. Then let each child take a pencil dipped in paint & make dots all over the tube.
 

 The African people go about their daily business with pots of water, food,
blankets, etc. on top of their heads. Let the children practice at
balancing a few folded blankets on top of their heads.
 

 The African women go about their daily business with their children in a
sling on their back. Make a simple sling for the children to use & carry a doll
in the sling.

AFRICA FINGERPLAY
  I'd like to go to Africa   (Point to self.)
 Where natives build straw huts like this;
(Join fingertips of two hands and form roof)
 Where elephants have big, gray trunks; (Use both arms with hands
 clasped, and swing trunk in front of you.)
 Where natives arrow seldom miss;  (Shoot arrow in pantomime.)
 Where lions shake their manes and roar (Shake head & roar )
 I'd like to go to Africa  (Point to self)

Zebra Mask
Need: Paper plate
Paint-black
Construction paper-black
Tongue Depressor
Scissors
Glue
Do:
Give each child a paper plate. Depending on age, either they or teacher cut out eyes. They paint black stripes vertically on the plate.When paint is dry they can add ears and nose using the black construction paper. Glue a tongue depressor as a handle for the zebra mask.

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