Completely "TOGETHER" Lessons
Important note! The technology ideas in these units can be used
with ANY CONTENT...these are 3 Units to start you off
   Africa
   Egypt
    Immigration

These lessons that incorporate technology  begin with a social science theme and cross all subject areas. Each lesson has 5 parts and is designed to take one week . Each lesson's content can be adjusted to suit several grade levels, and the technology techniques can be applied to almost any grade level.

Africa

Getting Started
Exploration Stations:
Make A BooK Software
Swahili Math
Kid Pix Number Books
 Coffee Beans and Calculators
 Virtual Safari / Making an "E" Sheet
 Resources...Print
                    Web

Remember to start with an Instructional Objective...it's not how you use the TOOLS, its how you USE the tools


Getting Started


What did the kindergarten, first or second grade teachers want me to help the students understand about the African continent?

The organization of the lessons are all similar: they start with a general introduction that "HOOKS" the student, then the questions they are interested in answering, Exploration Stations that help the students to answer those questions and a Sharing Session.

The Hook (getting their attention)...In a backpack put the following:
                 Coffee beans, a pineapple, cotton, cashews, sweet potato, coconut (these are all cash crops), beaded jewelry, figurines of some African animals, a soccer ball (most popular sport), an index card with the word JAMBO (the Swahili word for HELLO), a map of the world, a safari item like a hat, or binoculars, and a few books about Africa.

Lesson...You have been away for a month. You were very, very far away. Can your students guess where you have been?

One at a time take the items out of the bag and give them a little information about that item without giving away where that item was found. Help students draw conclusions about this mystery country. Is it hot or cold? Near or far?

When the country is identified...use the map to show where they are and where Africa is located. (I also used a laser disc image to show the Earth from space, then the western hemisphere, the Atlantic Ocean, the eastern hemisphere and then a close view of the US and our state).

Background (associate the new information with what they already know)...I read a book about Africa called A Country Far Away by Nigel Gray. Each page of the book is divided in half, one half shows a scene from the American way of life, while the other half shows a comparable scene from African life. 

We make a list on a chart of all the things we learned about Africa. Then we list all the things we would like to know about what it is like to live in Africa.

We cut the chart apart and put each question on an easel at the Exploration Station that will answer that question.

 

EXPLORATION STATIONS

Make a Book...a software program from TSS (or you can use any publishing software)
Students will use the program to make a small book titled...A Trip from America to Africa. (The pages on the left side of the book can be preprinted and saved to the desktop) On the first left hand inside page type...Today I am leaving my home in America. On the right hand side type...I am going to live in Africa. (Under each picture they may use clip art to illustrate the picture, or the drawing feature of the program if available. Students can hand draw after printing out their book.

Now they may continue on their own to finish their book. Other pages might include: 

In America my school looks like this/ In Africa my school looks like this
In America children dress like this/ In Africa children dress like this
In America this is what we do for fun/ In Africa this is what we do for fun

Swahili Math...at the center on a chart have the numbers from one to ten in number form, number name and Swahili.
One...moja
Two...mbili
Three...tatu
Four...nne
Five...tano
Six...sita
Seven...saba
Eight...nane
Nine...tisa
Ten....kumi


 Open the program...KID PIX on the computer. Click on the Kid Pix Icon in the center of the screen. Use the line tool to divide the screen into 4 boxes. In the top of each box have the Swahili word for the number it represents. the students will choose the stamp tool and put the proper number of items in the box.

 

Coffee Bean Calculations...have simple number problems written on ten 5 by 8 inch cards. Give the student a small cup of coffee beans and have them visually represent the problem and the answer using the beans. Use a primary calculator (big buttons and numbers...usually in bright colors) to check the answers.

CD Corner...a really good CD to accompany this unit is one called Imo and the King, an African folktale. It is the story of a little boy who in order to be king must accomplish several tasks.

Web Activity...A Virtual Safari...students will have an E-Sheet (tech talk for a worksheet)...they will go to a page I have created on this site as an example of how to use the E-sheet. http://www.tech-bytes.com/African_Safari.htm

Students will follow the directions on the E sheet to explore the page.

You can make an E sheet with the word processor...it might look like this...
Note: for older students you can save the E sheet on a disk, they open the sheet, save it to their name and may print it out when finished or store in a folder on the desktop.

Safari E Sheet

LOOK…then COUNT…then DRAW

  1. Go to the Lion Cubs Picture

Write down the number for how many cubs you see

Draw to show how many cubs

 

 

Now Draw a group with one more

 

 

2. Go to Pride with Many Cubs
Write down the number of cubs you see

Draw the number of cubs you see

 

 

 

 

Draw a group with fewer

 

Resources...Print (all book icons are linked to Amazon)

Jambo Means Hello; Swahili Alphabet Book by Muriel Feelings, 1992


Moja Means One; Swahili Counting book by Muriel Feelings, 1996


African Food and Drink by Martin Gibrill, 1990
Juba This and Juba That by Dr. Darlene Powell Hopson, 1996


Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema, 1992



Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

Anansi and the Talking Melon by Eric Kimmel, 1994
Dr. DeSoto Goes to Africa by William Steig, 1959
When Africa was Home by Karen Lynn Williams, 1994

Song of the Giraffe by Shannon Jacobs, 1991
The Worms of Kulumlima by Daniel Pinkwater
Masai and I by Virginia Kroll, 1997 

 

Resources...Web

African Folktales

Anansi and Firefly
http://www.afro.com/children/myths/firefly/page1.html

Anansi and the Turtle
http://www.afro.com/children/myths/turtle/page1.html

Why Crocodile has a Rough Back
http://www.afro.com/children/myths/crocodile/page1.html

The Lion and the Hare
http://www.afro.com/children/myths/lion/page1.html

See pictures of South African Wildlife
http://www.shamwari.com

An African animal coloring book that you can print out page by page.
http://www.meandmephoto.com/Extras/ColorBk/ColorBk.html

Official site for the movie where the Thornberry family goes on an African safari. Check out the trailer, play games, meet the characters, and more.
http://www.nick.com/all_nick/movies/wildthornberrys/

Have you ever thought about becoming a wildlife photographer? In Serengeti Photo Safari, you can capture fantastic images of animals on the Serengeti plains.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/serengeti/game.html

Play Animal Scramble...Can you put the mixed-up pictures of animals together to solve our Animal Scramble puzzles?
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/fun/scramble_panda_flash.html

Animals of Africa Jigsaw Puzzle
http://www.adveract.com/gamestogo/jigsaw/africa/jsdemo3.htm

You are on safari in Africa look through your binoculars and try to find two of the same animals. Print out the check sheet and check them off as you look around.
 http://www.calacademy.org/research/library/biodiv/kids_page/africa/ie.html

African animal limericks and tales
http://www.ctap3.org/_lperry/africa/African%20emails/animal_limericks.htm

Learn About President Mandela
http://www.anc.org.za/people/mandela.html

Send someone you know a postcard from AFRICA!
http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/postcards/index.html

 

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