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Peace Corps Challenge - Peace Corps - Grades 4
to 12
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This site helps students make the global connections that we are all human and must help each other. The challenge is to help the people in the tiny village of Wanzuzu. Narina (your Peace Corps guide) will lead students throughout the many challenges of this website. Students meet up with the mayor to discuss the water contamination (and ways to fix the problem). Many natives meet up with students along the way to offer help and tips. Students learn about the overall health and health care by visiting the clinic. Many other points of interest are visited during the journey.
The site includes eight detailed lesson plans with standards, video clips, online stories and games, and much more to enhance the lessons. Teachers, click on the Teachers link on the main page to access all of the lesson information. The actual activity opens in a new window, so you can easily go back to the lesson plans at any time throughout the journey. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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In the Classroom:
Use the ready-to-go lesson plans to take your students on this life-changing journey to Wanzuzu. The interactive tour and activities would work well on an interactive whiteboard or projector. However, if individual computers are available, have students work with a "Peace Corps Partner" to navigate the site together. The lesson plans and activities can be used in language arts classes, social studies, geography, health, and science class. Use this site to help students think globally not just locally. |
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| Owen & Mzee - Turtle Pond Publications - Grades 1
to 8
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This colorful and creative website shares the beautiful true story of the friendship between Owen and Mzee (a young hippo and a 130-year old tortoise). The resources available at this website are truly amazing. The sound clips alone are guaranteed to delight your students. Teachers will find several interdisciplinary lesson plans, documentary videos, a detailed teachers' guide, a "picture pond" slide show of the area of Kenya where Owen and Mzee reside, interactive activities to learn Swahili, and more. The beauty of this website (and story) is its ability to teach acceptance, resilience, diversity, African culture, and more in a fun and engaging style. This website is truly a MUST SEE for any elementary or middle school class. Don't miss the "KIDS BOMA" link. This highly engaging link includes sing-alongs, games, video makers, and even "Mzee's Swahili Rebus". Many of the activities require Flash, some require Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
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In the Classroom:
Opportunities abound at this image-rich website. Share the documentaries, video clips, and the story of Owen and Mzee on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Take a peek at the "ready to go" lesson ideas for grades 2-7. Use this excellent resource as a springboard for a class meeting on acceptance and diversity. Use the link for "KIDS BOMA" as a learning center. Share the video slide show as an anticipatory set on a lesson about the animals of Africa.
Be sure to share this link with the parents of your students in a class newsletter or on your class website. |
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| Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent - University of Wisconsin Digital Collections - Grades 3
to 12
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Africa Focus offers a wealth of digital images and sound recordings from contemporary Africa. This collection from the University of Wisconsin contains more than 3000 slides, 500 photographs, and 50 hours of sounds from 45 different countries. Click Search the Collection to see image categories which include artisans, buildings and structures, cities and towns, education, landscape, religion, and women. Sound recordings include drums, greetings, rites and ceremonies, songs, and signing. The site is easily searched by keyword or by subject heading. This site requires RealPlayer. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
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In the Classroom:
Teachers will find this site rich in resources for units on science, social studies, geography, architecture, music, art, and culture. Make Africa a “real” place by sharing on a projector as you share stories or learn about homes (“Structures”)and habitats or landforms (“Landscape”) with younger students. Use the sound recordings for lessons on oral history, myths, languages, and music. Assign student groups a topic area, which they can research and present to the class as a PowerPoint or another multi-media format using an interactive whiteboard or projector.
Images, text, or other content downloaded from the collection may be freely used for non-profit educational and research purposes under Fair Use. That means that you may NOT put them on the web in a public site, blog, or wiki, since you would not be limiting access to class members. If you want students to create blog or wiki pages, create passworded access for class members only to areas displaying these images and resources. Check the website for instructions on how students can cite this source in their bibliographies. |
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| The Africa Guide - africaguide.com - Grades 2
to 12
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This website provides a colorful interactive map of Africa. Users are able to click on any country in Africa to learn more about that particular country. The website includes basic geographical information (capital cities, landforms, elevations, exact locations, etc.) along with other general information. The reading level is too high for younger students, so they will need an adult reader. Some of the links provide authentic music from the country, information about accommodations available, and tourist attractions. There are some interactive elements that require FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
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In the Classroom:
What a fabulous tool for online research or student-guided learning. This website presents a wonderful, concise summary of all of the countries in Africa. Why not assign individual students (or groups or 2) a specific country to research. Then the students can create an interactive PowerPoint or other presentation to share on a projection screen. With younger students, use your interactive whiteboard to share the site (turn up the speakers), allowing students to click and guide the class "trip." Music links go to Amazon, and only some have the listening feature available (scroll down the Amazon page to "Listen to Samples"). You will want to check before class. |
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| Endangered Animals in Africa - Africa Conservation Fund - Grades 3
to 12
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This site offers up-to-date news on conservation issues and incidents in Africa. Organized by reporters in the different regions of this large continent, the site gives users the option of selecting news, videos, or blogs with videos to keep themselves informed on the very latest events impacting animals, both good and bad. The fastest way to find the animal information is to click on "Find Blogs about Hippos, Gorillas, Colobus monkey, Rhinos, amd other Endangered Animals"
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In the Classroom:
Once you become familiar with specific naturalist bloggers on this site, you may want to revisit their posts throughout your unit on animals, biodiversity, or the environment. These real world connections would be good lesson starters. Teachers may also use this site when studying world cultures and geography of Africa. Elementary teachers will want to share selected portions of this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector as they teach about animal habitats and adaptations. Since some of the incidents that threaten the animals may be involve violence or be frightening to students, teachers should preview before sharing with younger students. The reading levels are adult, so this is not a good site to suggest for elementary students to use independently. |
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| Drought In Africa - BBC - Grades 4
to 10
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This site (created by BBC) includes a wealth of information on the drought in Africa and the continent of Africa. There are videos, music clips from each country, demographic information, authentic pictures and diary entries, interactive maps and numerous articles on specific topics relating to Africa. Some of the interactive learning requires FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
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In the Classroom:
Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to take your students on an African visit. The main topic of this website is the drought in Africa, however there is a great deal of information on many African subjects. Include this on your teacher web page as one of several links on different continents as you study world geography, cultures, or climate change. |
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| Brookfield Zoo: In Search of The Ways of Knowing Trail - Brookfield Zoo - Grades 3
to 8
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This animated site is amazing! The entire site is a journey throughout the African forest. Along the way, students have four African children offering advice. Their parents include a researcher, forest ranger, farmer and more! The African characters' expertise helps the student to choose which way to go next. The site includes a forest fact book, information about African animals and forests. A special asset of this unique site is that it incorporates problem-solving skills. Hints are given, but the student has to choose which option would be best. The site requires FLASH! Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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In the Classroom:
Your students will need a good 15-30 minutes to complete this activity either as a class or individually. Don't forget to use an interactive whiteboard if you are doing this as a class activity. Students will want to visit again at home, so include the link on your teacher web page, as well. |
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| Africa for Kids - PBS - Grades 4
to 6
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Guided by Femi, a young Nigerian, students can learn about the culture of Africa by taking a virtual tour of the country, reading and listening to an interactive folk tale, learning to play the kalimba, and making a traditional Dogon mask. Click on Teacher Tools for a teacher's guide and related lesson plans.
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| Ways of Knowing Trail - Brookfield Zoo - Grades 4
to 8
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This flash-based jungle adventure for elementary students asks users to make decisions about a jungle journey during the presentation. Along the way, the site introduces students to the work of biologists and researchers in the African jungle habitats. It’s an engaging presentation that could be used individually or in group sessions.
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| Wrapped in Pride - Kente Cloth - Smithsonian Institution - Grades 4
to 12
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For an interesting lesson idea, start with this presentation on the creation and use of Ghanian Kente cloth, used in African festivals and ceremonies. This site from the Smithsonian shows how the cloth is made and describes the various ways in which Africans use it. The content is adaptable to many age levels.
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| Deep in the Bush, Where People Rarely Ever Go - Privately Published - Grades 4
to 8
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This is a collection of folk tales from Liberia which could be used orally, or as an on-line introduction to African culture.
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| Building Character: Remaining Resilient, Resourceful, and Responsible - Yale University - Grades 4
to 5
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Introduce your students to The Blues culture and "instill in them a sense of appreciation for struggle."
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| Africam - - Grades 4
to 12
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Here's a South African site that offers images and camera feeds from a variety of wildlife parks and refuges in Africa. There's no way to know exactly what you'll find, and the speed of your connection will certainly affect the performance, but you can find great images here.
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In the Classroom:
This is an excellent site to supplement a unit on Africa specifically, or one that is focused on different environments over the world. Save the site as a favorite on classroom computers, and have students look at in pairs or cooperative learning groups. Use the site to show kids how different the African country-side is from their own. Because one can not predict when or where animals will appear, it is probably best to have students check periodically through the day or classroom period. Have students observe the camera-view, and write a comparative piece on the differences between the region shown and their own. Post pictures of the site and students work to display around the classroom during the unit! |
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