This unit will address grade level literacy, social studies, and information literacy standards for third grade students. The unit to be taught focuses on the continent of Africa. Broad ideas that students will be introduced to include, culture, community, geography, and traditional literature. Specific topics to be addressed include, African fables and folktales, oral storytelling, lifestyles, climate, physical environments, and the challenges both historical and modern day Africans face.
This unit is designed to specifically address Areas of Deficit/Gaps in Test Data including:
1. ELA Standard #1-Reading for Information and Understanding
o Performance Indicator: relating one text to another
o Performance Indicator: strategies for note taking, organizing, and categorizing information
2. ELA Standard #2-Language for Literary Response and Expression
o Performance Indicator: understanding story elements and making text to self connections
3. AASL Information Literacy Standard #1-Accessing information efficiently and effectively by identifying a variety of sources of information.
It will also address the following Content Area Standards:
Social Studies-Grade 3 Content Understandings
o Cultures and Civilizations
o Communities Around the World
o Location of World Communities
o Physical, human, and cultural characteristics of world communities
o People depending on and modifying their physical environments
o Challenge of meeting needs and wants in world communities
o Economic decision making in world communities
o Symbols of citizenship in world communities
o People making and changing rules and laws
o Governments around the world
ELA Standards
o Standard #1-Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
o Standard #2-Studnets will read, write, listen, and speak for literary reponse and expression.
o Standard #3-Studnets will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
o Standard #4-Studnets will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
Information Literacy Standards
o Standard #1-The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively.
1. Performance Indicators 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
o Standard #3-The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively.
1. Performance Indicators 1, 2, 3, 4
o Standard #5-The student who is an independent learner is information literature and appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information.
1. Performance Indicators 1,2, 3
o Standard #7-The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society.
1. Performance Indicator 1
Nonfiction Literature
1. Africa for Kids-Exploring a Vibrant Continent By: Harvey Croze
2. Africa-A True Book By: David Peterson
3. Africa-Mapping Our World By: Fran Sammis
4. Ashanti to Zulu-African Traditions By: Margaret Musgrove
5. A Ticket to South Africa By: Mary N. Oluonye
6. The Maasai of East Africa By: Jamie Hetfield
7. The Yoruba of West Africa By: Jamie Hetfield
8. The Asante of West Africa By: Jamie Hetfield
9. A is for Africa By: Ifeoma Onyefulu
10. Africa is not a Country By: Margy Burns Knight
11. Africa for Kids; Exploring a Vibrant Continent By: Harvey Croze
12. Good Morning Africa By: April Pulley Sayre
13. What is a Community from A-Z? By: Bobbie Kalman
14. Where Do I Live? By: Neil Chesanow
15. Me on the Map By: Joan Sweeney
16. Shaka, King of the Zulus By: Diane Stanley
Fiction Literature
1. Why The Sun and The Moon Live in the Sky-an African Folktale By: Elphinstone Dayrell
2. Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears By: Verna Aardema
3. Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa By: Gerald McDermott
4. Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti By: Gerald McDermott
5. Why the Sky is Far Away: A Nigerian Folktale By: Mary-Joan Gerson
6. Murfaro’s Beautiful Daughters By: John Steptoe
7. Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain By: Verna Aardema
Websites
2. www.nationalgeographic.com/maps
4. http://www.afro.com/children/discover/discover.html
6. http://www.teachingbooks.net
Teaching Plan
Week #1: What is a Community?
Classroom:
Books
Centers:
1. Center #2: Writing Center-Paragraph on what we like about Lyncourt, what we would change about Lyncourt, where we could live if we could live anywhere and why. Center #4: Listening/Literature Center-books on communities with graphic organizers.
Library:
1. Jackie to discuss life in our own community, mapping out Lyncourt, putting symbols/landmarks on map with students.
Week #2: Geography-Where is Africa? What is Africa?
Classroom:
1. Guided Reading materials: Incorporate nonfiction books on maps, maps skills, continents, and geography into guided reading groups.
2. Classroom discussion/brainstorm-“What and where is Africa?”-discuss with students continent vs. country. Complete a KWL within groups and then as a whole class on what we already know and want to know about Africa.
3. Social Studies: Reintroduce 7 continents, location of U.S., where Lyncourt is in relation to U.S. and NY, review of compass and cardinal directions, begin talking about Africa as a continent, review geography terms, talk about countries within Africa, varied climate and geography
Books
Centers:
Center #2: Writing Center-Using the book, “A is for Africa”, have the students read the book over the course of the week and write a journal response about what they learned about Africa. Then have the students fill out a Venn Diagrram comparing and contrasting the differences and similarities between Africa and the U.S.
Center #3: Hands-on-7 continents on index cards-cut out continents and glue on back, listing countries within in each continent, fill in maps of the world
Library: Maps-working with maps-there are different kinds of maps, showing students maps of Africa, reading the key, locating cities/capitals, focusing in on certain countries
Weeks#3-4: African Literature and Culture
Classroom:
2. Social Studies: Use the nonfiction book-Africa-A True Book to introduce Africa to students. Have the students work in small groups to read and organize the information they learn about Africa into a graphic organizer. After each lesson, discuss with the students what they have learned that day and compare the lives of people in Africa to our lives and others in the U.S.
Books
Centers:
Center #2: Writing Center-Story writing and story elements-students will fill out a simple story elements graphic organizer and write a simple story .(week 3) During week 4, students will begin writing their own folktale, using all the knowledge about folktales they gained during week 3.
Center #4: Listening/Literature Center Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain-read/listen to story first day, then 4 days of center activities (week 3), Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters (week 4).
Library: Monday “What is a folktale? Introduce folktales with a comparison between Disney fairytales and American folktales. Then move to “Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears”; discuss what makes African folktales unique-focus on animals and moral at the end of the tale. Discuss the nature theme/animal theme throughout the tale and how these tales were traditionally passed down orally to teach children social norms.
Weeks#5-6: African Land and Government
Classroom:
1.Language Arts-Guided Reading materials will include nonfiction books on Africa-economics, physical attributes, geography, people, etc.
2. Social Studies-Break the students into groups and assign them a country in Africa using the series, “Celebrating the Peoples and Civilizations of Africa”: Have the students spend the next 2 weeks of Social Studies reading and fill out a graphic organizer on the country/tribe they have been assigned. Students will fill out information on the country’s foods, religions, families, art/music, and location.
Books:
Centers:
Center #2-Writing-Continue working on folktales, revise/edit, complete final copy, draw a picture to accompany folktale. When students are finished they can freewrite in their journals or begin writing their own A is for Africa book for their final project.
Center #4-Listening/Literature Center-United Streaming Center – Students will watch each video and use the last 5 minutes of each center to write in a packet on what they learned in each video.
Monday: Children of Other Lands: Georgina Williams of Ghana
Tuesday: Africa's Child: Living with Lions: Kenya
Wednesday: Africa's Child: Desert Journey: Niger
Thursday: Africa's Child: Festival of Fire: Ethiopia
Friday: Africa's Child: Living with Ancestors: Swaziland
Library: Jackie will begin instructing the students on the laptops and show them how to complete a powerpoint project on Africa.
Weeks#7-8: Final Africa Project
During one center, social studies, and library time for the final two weeks, the students will complete their own powerpoint project on Africa. The students will create an A is for Africa book on powerpoint to present to the class, within pairs.
Powerpoint presentations will be scored on a 10 point rubric: Content (4 points), Appearance (4 points), Grammar/Spelling (2 points), Presentation (2 points).
Content
4 Excellent 3 Good 2 Fair 1 Poor
Appearance
4 Excellent 3 Good 2 Fair 1 Poor
Grammar
2 Few or no errors 1 Some errors 0 Many errors
Presentation
2 Very knowledgeable 1 Somewhat knowledgeable 0 Unsure of Africa
10 Points A+
9 Points A
8 Points A-
7 Points B+
6 Points B
5 Points C
4 Points D
3 Points or less U
Each powerpoint presentation will count as a Reading, Writing, and Social Studies Grade.
National Information Literacy Standards (K-12)
Accesses information efficiently and effectively.
Uses information accurately and creatively
Appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information.
Participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information.
National Content Standards (K-12)
Uses of Geography
The World in Spatial Terms
Places and Regions
Writing
Reading
Listening and Speaking
Viewing