An African
Safari
How would you incorporate technology into a
program where there is little access to technology, there is no Internet
available at the school, and your teaching ESL students? This is my situation. The purpose of this unit is to teach the
Hutterite kindergarten (preschool program) the English language and incorporate
the technology that is available. The
African theme is to heighten the students’ interest and make the learning fun.
Invitation
Has anyone ever visited a zoo before? What types of animals would you possibly see
in the zoo? Many of those animals come
from a continent named Africa. This
week we will be learning about Africa and some of the animals you might find in
Africa. We will be reading stories
about some of these animals and other stories that originated in Africa. Let’s take a look at a zoo. This will be Oakland Zoo on-line. I will need to use the Web Whacker software
to transport the website to the colony.
Unit
Details
Subjects:
English/Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, and Technology
Learning Levels:
Preschool/Primary
Author:
Janet Huber
Submitted by:
Janet Huber
Situations
Students will work in the classroom. Students will need to share a computer due
to the fact that computers are limited at the colony. Extension activities will take place in the classroom and on the
playground if possible. This unit will
last approximately ˝ days for two weeks.
There is a possibility to lengthen or shorten this unit. It may also be modified to work in a
‘regular’ kindergarten classroom. The
theme of Africa will be cross-curricular.
Every subject will refer to an element of Africa.
Tasks
As a whole group, the class will use The Animal
Atlas to locate a map of Africa and animals that inhabit the continent. The
students will identify the animals using the animal picture cards. Throughout the week the students will play
“African Animal Bingo” as a whole group.
The students will work in centers. The safari dramatic play will include
puppets, old Halloween costumes/clothes, headbands with animal ears, stuffed
animals, plastic animals, and animal sounds music. Here we will include the habitats of the various animals. The writing center will include the animal
picture cards and writing materials. In the art center the students will be
making animal masks that may be used in the dramatic play area later. The
computer center will have material that has been taken off the Internet using
Web Whacker software. The library
center will include various African stories. The math center will include Number
Safari. They will name the number,
roll the dice, and move that many spaces on the safari game board. The students will visit these throughout the
week in the order each student chooses.
The students will create an animal book, including
pictures and the English and German names, using Microsoft Word with the help
of a volunteer buddy. The students will
work on these throughout the week.
Students will graph their favorite African animal
and interview other classes as to their favorite.
The students will use Microsoft Word to create an
invitation for their family to Family Night.
The class will complete a shared writing activity
listing the animals and the beginning letters. The group will create a poster
with the beginning letter and the animal pictures (i.e. “L is for lion.”).
The students will match up with their buddies to
create an electronic number book using Microsoft Power Point or KidPix (i.e.
“one lion,” “two baboons.”). Each
student, with the help of his/her buddy, will complete his/her own Power Point
presentation.
As a whole group, the students will create a
poster of the animals and their colors (i.e. “A sand cat is brown.”).
The students will share their choice of an
original writing in the “Author’s Chair” throughout the week.
Each day, the students will listen as the teacher
reads an African related story.
Closing Activity:
The students from kindergarten through eighth grade and their families
will come to school that evening for the Family Night entitled “Read Around the
Room.” There will be activities at six
continent stations, including Africa, for the families to accomplish together. The teachers will provide cookies and juice.
Interactions
The children will be working individually and in a
whole group setting on their tasks.
They will also work with a volunteer buddy. The teacher will serve as a facilitator by guiding the students
through these tasks.
Assessment
The children will be assessed through observation
of the English language skills the incorporate throughout the days. They will also be evaluated through the
completion of their storybooks in both Word and Power Point. Each student must share an original writing
during “Author’s Chair.” The teacher
will also use the reading, writing, and math profiles provided in the Joyful
Learning in Kindergarten by Bobbi Fisher.
Tools
*KidPix
*chart paper, poster board, butcher paper, lined
and unlined writing paper, various writing instruments, animal coloring sheets,
construction paper, glue, yarn, animal puppets, and old clothes
*Animal photo cards and “African Animal Bingo”
(home-made version)
*Web Whack software
*Joyful Learning in Kindergarten assessment
profiles on pp. 212-215
*Books such as Baboons by Graham Meadows, Why
Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema, Anansi and the
Moss-Covered Rock retold by Eric A. Kimmel, A Story, A Story by Gail
E. Haley, selections from Zoo Doings by Jack Prelutsky, Galimoto
by Karen Lynn Williams, Moja Means One by Muriel Feelings, and Ashanti
to Zulu by Margaret Musgrove
Projects
The main purpose of this unit is to aid in the
teaching of the English language to the Hutterite students.
Each student will have created at least two
original books working with the English words for animals and numbers.
The whole group will have created at least two
posters, working with the English words for the letters and colors.
All students will be expected to have an active
part in each activity.
Primary
URL
http://www.teachers.k12.sd.us/jh027/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/dinoquest/
http://www.geographia.com/indx06.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/
