Where i the world is Afri a?
Y / ho ework to e retur ed o Thursday 13th July. Na e:______African letter
Write your own letter to an African child telling them about yourself.
Things you could include:
- How old are you?
- What are your hobbies?
- What is your school like?
- What are your favourite subjects Benne Wafers
Nigerian benne wafers.
A traditional African cookie, these benne wafers are popular in Nigeria. Crispy, nutty, and ridiculously easy to make, these cookies are perfect as quick weekday snacks!
You will need:
1 cup sesame seeds, toasted
¾ cup of butter, melted
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 tspn vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
¼ tspn salt (tspn = teaspoon)
¼ tspn baking powder Directions: Preheat your oven to 375 F. To toast your sesame seeds, place them on an ungreased baking sheet and toast them at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned [they burn easily, so keep a close eye on them!] In a large bowl, mix your brown sugar, butter, egg, vanilla extract, flour, salt, baking powder and toasted sesame seeds together until well combined. Drop the dough using a tspn measure onto a greased baking sheet. These cookies spread out, so make sure that you leave at least two inches of room between each one! Bake at 375 for 5 to six minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container [makes 1 dozen cookies]. Enjoy! Use a atlas to help you fi d the differe t ou tries i Afri a. The la el the ou tries you fi d o the ap elow.
This is Douglas. He is five years old and lives with his mother in Uganda. His mum is a widow and looks after six children – some are his brothers and sisters, some are orphans.
Most of what Douglas and his family eat has to be grown on their small plot of land, which isn’t easy. Thankfully, Send a Cow has helped the family by giving them a cow and showing them how to make special gardens, like Bag Gardens. Unlike other types of gardens, Bag Gardens can survive through all weathers, and you can grow more than one vegetable in them at once. Bag Gardens keep the moisture in when it’s hot, and let water out when it’s raining. They’re also really easy to make and don’t cost a lot, because the materials used to make them are locally sourced or recycled! Their cow gives Douglas and his family milk to drink. They sell the rest of the milk to help pay for school, books and pens, so that they can go to school to learn. However, the cow is not just useful for milk – she also gives them plenty of manure, which is great for the gardens! Douglas helps his mum by looking after one of the Bag Gardens. They have lots of different plants growing – Douglas’ garden has aubergines planted in it. His job is to water it with rainwater, apply an organic pesticide they made, and pick the aubergines when they are ripe. Douglas’ mum is very happy with how the Bag Gardens are doing. The manure has helped me to fertilise my soil, she says, and the vegetables I used to grow were tiny, but now they’re large and healthy! Although Douglas lives with so many other children, the vegetables provided from the Bag Garden and cow’s milk allows them to be fit and healthy. The money made from selling milk and vegetables has really helped to change things and has improved all of their lives for the better! Questions 1. What are the benefits of growing food in a Bag Garden?
2. What two things does a Bag Garden do, that allows it to survive through all types of weather?
3. Look at the picture of Douglas with his bag garden. What sort of materials have been used to make it?
4. How would Douglas and his family’s life be different without the Bag Garden and cow?
5. Why is school important for Douglas and his siblings?
6. How do you think Douglas feels about being responsible for looking after one of the Bag Gardens? Think of at least 2 adjectives. Why have you chosen these words?
7. What questions would you like to ask about Douglas?
Facts about Africa
How big is Africa?
How many countries are in Africa? Give 2 facts about countries in Africa. Name 3 lakes you can find in Africa.
Which is the longest river and how long is it? Name 2 deserts you can find in Africa. In the space below – draw some of these animals.
African Animals: African rock python impala red-billed oxpecker chimpanzee lion rhinoceros elephant ostrich zebra giraffe
Follow the instructions below to create your own African mask: You will need • a piece of coloured corrugated cardboard • a sheet of coloured A4 paper • scissors • white paint • string or wool/dried pasta • sticky tape 1. Find a design of an African mask. There are lots of great ideas in museums as well as images in books and on the Internet. 2. Draw your design onto your piece of corrugated cardboard. 3. Next, draw the facial features of your mask (eyes, nose and mouth) onto a piece of A4 paper and cut these out carefully. 4. Glue these facial features onto your mask. 5. Carefully cut holes in the mask where the eyes are, so you can see when you wear it. 6. Paint the mask. Once it is dry add any extra decorative marks or patterns using the white paint or dried pasta. 7. Using sticky tape, attach string so you can wear your African mask!
Animals of the African Savannah: Measurement Factsheet
Lion African elephant White rhinoceros (Panthera leo) (Loxodonta africana) (Ceratotherium simum)
Height: 1.2 m Height: 3.3 m Height: 1.78 m Length: 2.1 m Length: 6.75 m Length: 3.85 m Weight: 195 kg Weight: 6,000 kg Weight: 2,300 kg
Hippopotamus Leopard Giraffe (Hippopotamus amphibius) (Panthera pardus) (Giraffa camelopardalis)
Height: 1.5 m Height: 0.63 m Height: 5.3 m Length: 4.2 m Length: 1.45 m Length: 4.25 m Weight: 2,400 kg Weight: 50 kg Weight: 1,516 kg
Topi Brown hyaena Plains zebra (Damaliscus lunatus) (Hyaena brunnea) (Equus quagga)
Height: 1.15 m Height: 0.75 m Height: 1.28 m Length: 1.78 m Length: 1.18 m Length: 2.32 m Weight: 118 kg Weight: 48 kg Weight: 280 kg
Handling Data: African Animal Maths Worksheet
1. Fill in the table below with the height, length and weight of each of the species on the ‘Animals of the African Savannah: Measurement Factsheet’.
2. The measurements are given in metres (m). Can you convert them into centimetres (cm) and add them into the table?
Height Length Weight Metres Centimetres Metres Centimetres Kilograms (m) (cm) (m) (cm) (kg)
African elephant
Hippopotamus
Giraffe
White rhinoceros
Plains zebra
Topi
Brown hyaena
Leopard
Lion
3. Draw a bar chart that shows the height of each animal on the factsheet. Think carefully about which measurement to use (m or cm) and don’t forget to label your graph!
4. Look at the graph. What is the name of the tallest animal?
5. What is the name of the smallest animal?
6. Draw a bar chart that shows the length of each animal on the factsheet. Think carefully about which measurement to use (m or cm) and don’t forget to label your graph!
7. Look at the graph. Which animal is the longest?
8. Which animal is the shortest?
9. The graph below shows the weight (in kg) of some of the animals that live in the African savannah. Look at this graph carefully and write out at least five different questions that you could ask to help interpret this graph. Make sure you answer the questions as well!
Graph showing the average male weight of different African animals
6500 6000
5500
5000 4500
4000
3500 3000
2500
2000 Weight in kilograms (kg) kilograms in Weight 1500
1000 500 0
Lion rhino amus Topi e Zebra Giraffe elephant Leopard Whit rican Brown hyaena Hippopot Af Species
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Why the Warthog is on His Knees (An African Fable) Zulu
“Oh, Gogo,” little Sipho asked one evening. “Could you tell us the story of clever Jackal again?” Sipho, whose nickname was Mpungushe “jackal”, never tired of hearing tales of his beloved namesake.
“Hawu, Sipho,” moaned several of his siblings. “Not again, little Jackal! You will wear out our ears with stories of Mpungushe!”
Gogo laughed her deep, round laugh. Soon each of her grandchildren were laughing along with her. “I, too, love the stories of the Jackal.” She looked at Sipho. “But we do not want to cause your brothers and sisters to become deaf. I think there is another tale that I can tell you of an animal who tried to be as clever as Jackal...”
Warthog had made himself a lovely spacious home in an old termite mound that an aardvark had cleared out. He had built it up and made a wide entrance. He thought it was the most magnificent home in Africa, and would often stand at the entrance of his dwelling, with his snout in the air, as the giraffe, wildebeest and zebra passed to the watering hole.
“Hah,” he thought to himself. “No one has such a fine home!”
One day, as he looked out from the entrance of his cave, he was horrified to see a huge lion stealthily stalking towards him. He started to back away, but because he had made the entrance to his plae so grand, the lion would have no difficulty in following Warthog right in.
“Ahhhh,” panicked Warthog. “Bhubesi will eat me in my own lounge! What will I do?”
Warthog decided to use an old trick he’d heard Jackal bragging about. Warthog pretended to be supporting the roof of his hole with his strong back, pushing it up with his tusks.
“Help!” he cried to the lion. “I am going to be crushed! The roof is caving in! Flee, oh mighty Bhubesi, before you are crushed along with me!”
Now Lion was no fool. He recognised Jackal’s old ploy straight away, (“Do you remember that story, children?”), and he wasn’t going to be caught out again. He roared so fiercely that Warthog dropped to his knees, trembling.
Warthog begged for mercy. Luckily for him Lion was not too hungry, and so he pardoned the warthog and left, saying: “Stay on your knees, you foolish beast.”
Lion laughed to himself and shook his shaggy head as we walked away. Imagine, slow-witted Warthog trying to copy Jackal’s trick! Warthog took Lion’s order to heart. That is why, to this day, you will see Warthog feeding on his knees, in a very undignified position, with his bottom up in the air and his snout snuffling in the dust.
Write Your Own African Fable A fable is a very short story that tries to teach the reader a lesson, which is also called a moral. An example moral could be… Honesty is the best policy - always tell the truth Look before you leap - don t rush into things. Fables often use animals as the main characters, particularly in African fables.
Plan your fable like a normal story, but try and include a moral. - Where is your African fable set? Who are the main characters? - What is happening in the story? - What problem occurs? - How do the characters solve the problem? - How does the story end? What is the moral of the story?