|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Water Uses and Children's Lives in East Africa
This unit uses students' interactions with water to help them compare their lives with those of children in Kenya and Tanzania. It looks at the ways that access to water helps define children's roles in the family, and how this relates to culture. Students write essays and make pictures to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts. Time Frame Curricular Areas Grades Essential Questions Materials Standards Life Skills Thinking and Reasoning Standard 3—Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences (compares, classifies) Geography Standard 10—Understands the nature and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics Visual Arts Standard 1—Understands and applies media, and techniques and processes related to the visual arts Math Standard 9—Understands the general nature and uses of mathematics National Science Education Standards
Procedure 1. To introduce the unit, put a list of activities on the board that are all water-related, such as getting a drink, using the bathroom, washing dishes, taking a shower, watering plants, putting out water for pets, washing hands, cooking spaghetti. 2. Ask the students to look at the list and then decide how the items are the same—and how the items are different. Introduce the term"compare" and then make two lists from their ideas using "Same" and "Different" as the headings. When the lists are complete, talk about what the students have included on them. Explain that the class will be practicing how to compare in this unit of study on water and children's lives. 3. Review the list of water-related activities and ask the students to add others from their lives, such as car washing and chores (for rural students). Include eating, since a lot of food is significantly water-based. Tell the students they are going to study the impact water makes on their lives in terms of time and energy. 4. Distribute the Water Log (PDF or RTF). Read the directions with the students. Go over the sample given on the log. Be sure students understand how to keep track of their water usage by filling in the log, and have them record responses for the day up to the current time. Tell the students that good social scientists need valid data, and that they should keep accurate records for the rest of the day. Have students complete the log for homework and bring it to class the next day. 5. Review the list of water-related activities on the board again. Ask the students if people all over the world would engage in these activities. Explain that some activities, such as eating, drinking, and cleaning, are universally performed by people, but activities such as car washing and cooking spaghetti may be localized for cultural reasons. 6. Write the word "culture" on the board and explain that in this unit they will be learning about their own culture (from the water logs) and about cultures in rural Kenya and Tanzania from the photos and stories on the Water in Africa website. 7. List the features of culture on the board (e.g., language, social organization, beliefs and customs, forms of shelter/housing, economic activities, modes of transportation, food, attitudes toward environment and resources, technology, clothing styles, education systems—schooling, role of women in society, role of children in society). Explain that the Kenyan and Tanzanian material will provide examples of these items, and that the students will be looking specifically at water-related activities, especially the role of children in the culture. 8. Optional: To learn more about culture, use the lesson plans in "Building Bridges," which will help students learn more about the elements of culture. Day 2
2. Divide the students in groups of four. Explain that each group is responsible for looking at each other's logs in order to compare results, as they practiced the day before. In order to compute class averages, have each group compute a mean, median, and mode (if they know how to do this from math) for each entry. Instruct them to record results from their comparisons for their report to the whole class on the similarities, differences, and exceptions. When small groups have completed their work (10–15 minutes), have them report to the large group. Compute class averages. Discuss notable similarities, differences, and exceptions with the class. 3. Ask the students what their research on water helped them learn about their culture. Refer to the list of cultural components recorded on the board during Day 1. Review the meanings of the terms listed, and copy the sample list below on the board.
4. Ask the students for examples of activities in their logs that correspond to one or more features of culture on the list. Write them on the board next to the corresponding feature, so students can see the connections. 5. Once each feature of culture has a matching activity, ask the students what conclusions they can draw about their culture from the list. These conclusions could be based on the components of our culture that are affected by water most directly, such as food and transportation and the relatively small amount of time and energy children spend on water-related activities in the United States. They could consider the impact technology has on water delivery and distribution systems in the United States, and the indirect methods used to obtain water (e.g., turn on a faucet, flush a toilet). They could also consider the importance of water to the culture. For example, one conclusion might be: Water is plentiful, widely used, and easy to obtain at most homes, restaurants, and businesses. Water is available at school by turning on a faucet. 6. Discuss the conclusions. Ask if the students have any additions to these conclusions, based on their own experiences and knowledge of their culture. List all conclusions on a piece of chart paper, to be saved for future use. 7. Ask students to research water-related activities in children's lives in Kenya and Tanzania. Locate Africa on the world map, then find Kenya and Tanzania. Show students the maps of Kenya and Tanzania in detail. 8. Introduce the photos and stories for Kenya and then the photos and stories for Tanzania, explaining these are materials from Peace Corps Volunteers who were serving there. Use the section "About the Project" on the Water in Africa website as the basis for your explanation. Point out instances of water-related activities in the pictures and the texts. Explain that the students will be doing their own research on children and water-related activities in the next class period. 9. Optional: It may be necessary to explain the Peace Corps to your students. The Peace Corps website will be helpful for that purpose. Day 3
2. Discuss the essay and pictures that will be the subject of their research. For this essay, they should compose two paragraphs that compare water use by children in villages of Kenya and Tanzania with water use by children in the United States. The essay should contain at least six examples of water use, and should consider three factors: time spent, types of activities, and number of activities. Photos and stories from both Kenya and Tanzania should serve as source material for the essays, and at least two cultural components should be cited. Students should draw a picture to accompany each paragraph in the essay. The pictures should illustrate examples cited in the paragraphs on water use and children's lives, illustrating at least two features of culture. Students should use both Kenya and Tanzania as sources, and be supported by at least two examples of water use from the photos or stories, to prevent focusing on isolated incidents in the source materials. 3. Distribute the Graphic Organizer for Research (PDF or RTF) and the Photo-and-Story Reference Charts for Kenya (PDF or RTF) and Tanzania (PDF or RTF). This Graphic Organizer for Research and the students' water logs will be the resources the students use for their essays and pictures. The organizer will help record what students learn about villages in rural Kenya and Tanzania, and how children use water there. Have students look at the sample entry. Show the photo KE0210 and go over the sample entries on the graphic organizer. Discuss how the entries match the information in the photo and how the information fits into the categories on the chart. Use one or two photos and stories from Kenya to provide further samples for the students. 4. Barbara Hinsman's Daily Usage Story is a good example to model note-taking. Demonstrate how to skim through the paragraphs to locate the information on Water and Children (paragraph 5). Fill in the graphic organizer with the students using the information in the table below.
5. Have students complete the graphic organizer during the remainder of the class. Circulate and assist them in this procedure. Ten to twelve notes from photos and stories from both Kenya and Tanzania would be sufficient to complete the assignment. Students can work in small groups to ensure that they cover as many sources as possible from the photo-story reference chart lists. Day 4
2. Once students have completed the research, have them discuss their results in pairs or in small groups. Ask each group member to share his/her list of similarities and differences from the Graphic Organizer for Research. 3. Have the group record their conclusions about characteristics of the cultures. Ask how the students would describe the Kenyan and Tanzanian villages from what they know now about the culture. Have each group record their results and share them with the large group when all groups are finished. 4. Let the whole group discuss the conclusions, and record them on a piece of chart paper. Have the students use this material, and the material from Day 2 (cultural component list, lists of water-related activities and times, and the list of conclusions about the region's culture) to prepare the essays and pictures. Establish a due date and an audience for the pictures and essays so students can share them with others. Follow these steps in the writing process—drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Assessment Follow-up Activities The book Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain introduces the land of the Nandi. Learn Swahili, a predominant language in Tanzania (and other countries in East Africa). Use the photos and stories from other countries on the Water in Africa website, especially Ghana and Guinea, to see how children's lives there are impacted by water. Find a pen-pal class in Africa, possibly through a Peace Corps Volunteer and World Wise schools, and survey them using the water log in this unit. Additional Resources Aardema, Verna Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, 1992. New York: Dial Books. David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies, 1999. "Culturgram—Republic of Kenya, Culturgram—Republic of Tanzania" Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Drinking-water activities for teachers and students. http://www.epa.gov/kids/water.htm Feelings, Muriel L. Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book, 1992. New York: Dial Books. Feelings, Muriel L. Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book, 1992. New York: Dial Books. Mollel, Tolowa M. The Orphan Boy: A Maasai Story, 1995. New York: Clarion Books. Tanzania's official website. http://www.tanzania.org About the Author
|
