Lesson Plans On African Culture
Lesson Plans on African Culture and Traditions
As a student teacher back in 1985, I was given the task of creating a unit and teaching it to a group of elementary school students. I had just read a number of books for my children’s literature class written by the wonderful Vera Aardema who was a Muskegon native and whom I’d personally heard speak. Mrs. Aardema was an elementary school teacher who traveled with her husband,local dentist Dr. Vugteveen to Africa. On her return, Mrs. Aardema wrote a number of children’s literature pieces which were retellings of local African stories. Interestingly, one of Mrs. Aardema’s works, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (Aardema/Dillion) won the Caldecott medal for art in children’s literature in 1976. Another interesting point is that Mrs. Aardema’s sister was my third grade teacher.
This book inspired me to design a unit based upon literature from Africa. During the late 1970′s and early 1980′s there was a plethora of literature emerging from African culture, so I was fortunate to have grist for the mill. The materials were written on legal pads and spirit masters (those purple inky ditto sheets). I was a zealous young thing and the unit had everything: math, social studies, literature, artifacts, music, dance, science, art and even a culminating food fair to raise money for relief in Ethiopia. That the classroom I wrote it for was a multi-age special needs classroom makes no difference; everyone needs and loves culture. On the eve the 25th anniversary of my not-so-momentous graduate project, I bequeath it to you, my readers, for what it’s worth.
First, I used about ten books, without which the unit would never have existed. Here’s the list.
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (Aardema, Leo/Diane Dillon)
Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions (Musgrove/ Dillon)
Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book (Muriel and Tom Feelings)
Jambo Means Hello (Muriel and Tom Feelings)
Bringing Rain to the Kapiti Plain (Aardema)
What’s So Funny Ketu?
Vigananee and the Tree Toad (Aardema) Liberia
Tales from the Story Hat (Aardema)
Shadow– Marcia Brown (poetry of Blaise Cendrars)
Written by Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben
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