The Classroom Package:
Where to Begin
1.
Where on the Globe is Kenya? - Use the globe to locate Kenya. Have
students identify their own continent and country, Africa, Kenya and its neighbors,
Tanzania, Somalia, the Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia, Lake Victoria, the Nile River
(starting where it flows out of Lake Victoria in Uganda), the Great Rift Valley,
Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania) and the Indian Ocean. Have students
identify the equator, noting that the equator runs east-west and the Nile River
runs north-south. Have them consider what formed the Great Rift Valley. What other
lakes make up Africa's 'Great Lakes?'
2. Where on the Map is Namibia?
- Using a map, have students identify Namibia and its neighbors, South Africa,
Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Namib and Kalahari deserts, the Etosha pan,
the capital city, Windhoek, the Atlantic Ocean, the Okavango River and the Caprivi
Strip. Have them compare the sizes of their own country and state with Namibia.
For maps of Africa visit the Lessons and Activities
section of The Classroom Package. (Online, the World Atlas <<
http://cliffie.nosc.mil/~NATLAS/index.html
>> has good political maps and Atlapedia << http://www.atlapedia.com/
>> has good physical maps.)
3. How to Get to Kenya/Namibia
- After completing the above activities, have students pick a specific location
they would like to travel to in Kenya or Namibia and trace a route from your home
state/province. Ask students in what direction(s) they will travel and by what
set of means they might go (car, bus, taxi, train, ship, small airplane, jet,
donkey, canoe, bike or feet). Have them estimate the distance in miles or kilometers
and have them estimate a travel time, given their various modes of transportation.
After reading the project's E-Travel Logs from
Namibia, you'll be able to compare your routes with the actual route taken
by the project coordinators.
4. Things That Go to Make Up a Life (K
and up) - Brainstorm with your students to create a long list of things that make
up their lives (allow a wide range of responses both general and very specific).
Have students determine which items on the list are general and which are specific,
then have them break up the items into categories, listing specific items under
general categories. The overall list should provide a snapshot of the life and
culture of your students. Next, have your students do the activity considering
the lives of children who live in Namibia. Save the list and when your classroom
explorations of Africa are complete, review it to determine how accurate the snapshot
your students had in their minds about African children was. Modify the list based
on what you learned by completing the project and discuss it as a cultural snapshot.
5. Similarities and Differences
(4 and up) - A key social skill for all children is to understand that people
are all similar in ways and different in ways. Discuss similarities and differences
between students in your own classroom. Encourage students to speak of similarities
and differences in a inclusive and inoffensive way. Both should be celebrated:
similarities bind us as human beings and differences make us special and able
to make unique contributions to the world around us. After, using the list you
made in Things That Go to Make Up a Life (above), discuss ways that students
in your class are similar to and different from Namibian children. Revisit the
discussion at the completion of the project.
6. Packing Your Bags I (Math
Activity) (K-3) - Have your students make a list of which items they would bring
with them if they were traveling to Namibia for two weeks. Have them take into
consideration the weather and the environment as well as health and entertainment.
Also consider what activities you would be doing in the Namibia and consider what
items you might be able to purchase or acquire there. Make sure they list how
many of each item they would bring. When they've completed the list, have them
add up the total number of items. Next, tell them they have to fit all of their
items into one large suitcase. Have them prioritize the items eliminating those
that are least important. Next have them estimate how many of each item they could
fit in the suitcase. If possible, have each student bring in one item on the list
(or something of similar size that could represent the item - i.e. a small box
instead of a camera). Bring in a large suitcase and see if you can fit all of
your items into it. If not, have students prioritize further until they can get
everything in. Compare the number of items on the original list with the number
of items that actually fit in the suitcase.
7. Packing Your Bags II
(Math Activity) (4 and up) - Modify Packing Your Bags I (above)
by telling your students, after they have made their initial list of items, that
the airline they will be flying to Namibia has a baggage limit of 70 pounds or
(rounding off) 30 kilograms. Have students estimate the weight of all the items
on their list, then prioritize considering their estimations and the weight limit.
When they've pared the list down, have them bring in the items and check them
for actual weight, comparing the results with their estimates.
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