Curriculum Activities

THEME 5: CELEBRATION

Students will celebrate their new knowledge of Ghana and the culmination of Making Connections Through Gardening by throwing a festival, mirroring how Ghanaian people commemorate special occasions. Students will learn that festivals are extremely important in Ghanaian society. They serve as a symbolic link between the living and the dead and enable the Ghanaian people to pass cultural traditions on from one generation to the next.

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Exploration
Pick a new name

• Have students recall from Theme 2 that while English is the official language in Ghana, the Akan language is still widely used. Have students visit the Language Map of Ghana to see where the dialects of Akan are spoken in Ghana.
• People in Ghana name their children according to the day of the week they were born. Have students visit Fun Facts from around the World to find their name in Akan. Encourage them to use this name throughout the festival.
  
• To learn more about ethnic groups and languages in Ghana, students can visit the Library of Congress: Ghana - A Country Study.
  

Choose a festival
Now that students have assumed their Ghanaian identity, it is time to celebrate in true Ghanaian fashion.

Festival food
Students can prepare traditional Ghanaian food for the festival. For instance, for the Odwira, or Yam Festival–a festival that represents national unity for the Asante people–students might follow recipes for Yam Fufu Balls and Oto (mashed yam with eggs). Even if the festival that students choose is not centered around food, there are plenty of recipes at Ghana Lounge to choose from.

Festival entertainment
There is a rich tradition of music and storytelling in Ghana.

Other festival activities

Making Connections
Ask students:

Branching Out

The Susquehanna School in Binghamton, New York is participating in National Gardening Association's Ambassador Club during its 2000-2001 school year. The students are studying Ghanaian culture through stories, photos, and books. NGA provides curriculum lessons, stories about Ghanaian schools and students, and an online forum for discussion.

The Susquehanna School is an independent, non-profit institution committed to the principle that students construct their own knowledge through the adventure of learning. The classrooms are grouped according to developmental level and assessment is made based on previous accomplishments. Tina Nilsen-Hodges, who is an Upper Elementary Lead teacher at the school, has delved into the Ghana project with her class of 10- to 12-year-old students.

"Our first lesson compared maps of Ghana and Africa with maps of the United States. We looked at atlases and globes and devised methods to translate various scales from different maps," Tina explains. The students created their own scaling device by measuring one map's scale and comparing it to the scale of another map so they could compare relative sizes of different regions and countries. Tina also challenged the class to create a way to translate distances on a round map (globe) to a flat map; some students used string, some used rulers. By comparing different countries' sizes and locations and allowing for the shape of the maps, students were able to create a fairly uniform scale that helped them gain a better understanding of how Africa and Ghana differ in size and location from the U.S.. For more on map scaling, visit Rice University's Mathematics of Cartography page.

"This hands-on activity helped my students with problem-solving, research skills, identifying a problem, and finding their own solution," Tina says.

The class discussed their preconceived ideas about Africa and Ghana. After reading the profiles of schools and students on National Gardening Association's Web site, the class began a list of comparisons between Ghana and the U.S.. Tina asked her students to consider these questions: Imagine yourself as one of the students in Ghana: What would you think about receiving a letter from a student in America? What makes an American? An African? How would you compare the differences and similarities between the U.S. and Ghana in religion, agriculture, gardening, and school? After the class discussed these ideas, she had each student write down two questions that arose during the discussion.

"I wanted us, as a class, to examine our assumptions about culture and poverty and what these mean to someone in Ghana and to someone in America. The class explored the concept of poverty. Does it mean different things to different cultures? The class researched what is relevant to different cultures through National Gardening Association's Web site and related links. I wanted my students to learn more about cultural practices with less comparison to wealth or status," Tina explains.

Tina's students have just finished writing a letter to the students in Ghana and are anxious to begin a pen pal correspondence. The class sent two letters—one composed by the students and one by Tina as an introduction to the class and their studies. Tina and her students feel that hearing directly from the students in Ghana will enhance their knowledge and understanding of life in Ghana and in Africa.

"The Ambassador Club is an incredible resource for us. The Web materials, the curriculum, and the themes provide great potential for educating students and teachers about the cultures, needs, and development issues of other countries. We learn through a better understanding of these issues," Tina observes.

Curriculum Activities

THEME 1: "SENSE OF PLACE"

We all need a sense of place, something to remind us of our own community and our connection to the world. As global geographers, students will gain a clearer understanding of their place -- at home and around the world. By comparing Africa to other continents, to the US, and to individual states, students will develop a sense of place about Ghana and Africa. They will collect essential facts about the country, and continent, which will serve as a foundation for future world studies.

Laying the Groundwork

Ask students:

• What images come to mind when you hear the word Africa?
• Where did those images come from? (e.g., movies, magazines)
• How could we find out if these are accurate?
• Let’s talk about how large Africa is compared to the US. Our home state.
• What would you like to know about Africa?

Construct a KWL Chart

On the board:

• Make four columns. Title the first column "What We Know/Have Heard;" second column, "What We Want to Know;" third column "What We’ve Learned;" fourth column, "Questions We Still Have."
• Fill out the first two columns with the class and leave the others to fill out at the end of the unit.

FRESHMAN GEOGRAPHER (Grades K-4)

Exploration

Materials needed: How Big is Africa? poster

• The places pictured inside the map of Africa include a continent, two countries and two states. Can you name them all?
• Make comparison statements about them. (Africa is bigger than...)
• How would you figure out how many times the U.S. can fit inside of Africa?

How many?

• Do the same with your home state and Ghana using the Lonely Planet Web site.

Look at a map of Africa from The University of Texas Library Online:

• How many countries are there in Africa?
• How many states are there in US?
• Find where Ghana is located in Africa

Create a profile chart for Ghana:

• Brainstorm the kinds of information (such as, number of people, climate, agriculture crops) that would help you learn more about Ghana and write them on the board.
• Brainstorm categories for these items and put them into groups.
• Form classroom groups and assign categories for each group to research.
• Report each group’s findings by creating a combined profile chart on the board.

Helpful sites:

Lonely Planet

The Republic of Ghana Web site

The University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center: Ghana Page

Making Connections

• Complete the information in your KWL chart.

Branching Out

How will you explain to or show your Ghanaian school partners what you’ve learned about how their country compares with yours? What kinds of materials or examples will you send them to share this?

• Reproduce a map of Ghana and your home state (same scale!) and paste in your state as many times as it will fit. Decorate it with state flower, bird, and other things. Send this to your school partner.

JUNIOR GEOGRAPHER (Grades 5-8)

Exploration

Materials needed: How Big is Africa? poster

• How would you figure out how many times the US can "fit" inside of Africa?

Calculate this.

• Do the same with Ghana and your home state using the Lonely Planet Web site.
• How big is 11,668,545 square miles? What are other ways you could describe this size? (For example, Africa is over 11 billion football fields!)

Point to Point:

• Using a globe or atlas and the appropriate scale – either string (for the globe) or ruler (for the atlas) – determine the distance for:
• Africa - Cairo to Capetown
• Asia - Jerusalem to Tokyo
• Europe - Lisbon to Uralsk
• North America - Churchill to Veracruz
• South America - Caracas to Puerto Williams
• What do these measurements say about how the size of Africa compares to other places?

Africa’s diversity:

• Africa is the second largest continent in the world, 15% of it is considered desert, 10% tropical rainforest, 35% savanna/grasslands. The rest of Africa includes Mediterranean climate, mountain climate, tropical wet and dry, rainy and mild, and wet and mild.
• Brainstorm other types of information (such as ethnic groups, agricultural crops) that would help you better understand the diversity of Africa.

Look at a map of Africa from The University of Texas Library Online:

• Locate Ghana on the map of Africa and brainstorm ideas about how its location might affect such things as livelihood, agriculture, industry.
• Look at the map of Ghana in your classroom and discuss how the geography and climate of the country changes from north to south, and where major bodies of water are located.
• Brainstorm questions such as why the capital is located where it is; how life is different in different parts of the country; which areas are agriculturally rich or poor; and other questions that will help you learn more about Ghana.
• Brainstorm types of information (such as, population, ethnic groups, climate) that would help you better understand and answer the above questions (e.g., population, average temperature and rainfall).
• Categorize this information into groups (for example, people, government, environment)
• Form groups and assign categories for each group to research.
• Report each group’s findings by constructing a profile sheet on the board.

Helpful sites:

Lonely Planet

The Republic of Ghana Web site

On the Line: Virtual Journey of Ghana

The University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center: Ghana Page

Making Connections

• Complete the information in your KWL chart.
• Choose another country in Africa and compare it to Ghana.
• How would you explain to someone why we can’t make generalizations about Africa?
• How will you explain to or show your Ghanaian school partners what you’ve learned about how their country compares with yours? What kinds of materials or examples will you send them to share this information?

Branching Out

Map projections and perceptions:

Divide the class into three groups and assign each group a Goode, Mercator, or Peter’s world map. Using their map, each group should answer these questions:

• How many continents are there?
• What appears to be the largest continent?
• List the continents in order of size – largest to smallest.

Helpful sites:

Peters Projection World Map

Mercator Projection World Map

Brock University Computer Science Department: Mercator Projection

Maps in Minutes

Diversophy.com

About.com

• Discuss findings. Are there differences in the size and scale of the continents depending on whose map projection you are looking at?
• Research and find the size of each continent, in square miles, and list them in order of size from largest to smallest.
• Compare this list to the list you made from looking at your maps. Is there a difference?

SENIOR GEOGRAPHER (Grades 9-12)

Exploration

Materials needed: How Big is Africa? poster

• How would you determine how many times the U.S. can "fit" inside of Africa?

Calculate this.

• How big is 11,668,545 square miles? What are other ways you could describe this size? (For example, Africa is over 11 billion football fields!)
• Determine how many times your home state "fits" inside Ghana using the Lonely Planet Web site.

Point to Point:

• Using a globe or atlas, and the appropriate scale -- string (for the globe) or ruler (for the atlas) – determine the distance for:
• Africa - Cairo to Capetown
• Asia - Jerusalem to Tokyo
• Europe - Lisbon to Uralsk
• North America - Churchill to Veracruz
• South America - Caracas to Puerto Williams
• What do these measurements say about how the size of Africa compares to other places?

Africa’s diversity:

• Africa is the second largest continent in the world. Fifteen percent of it is considered desert, 10% tropical rainforest, 35% savanna/grasslands. The rest of Africa includes Mediterranean climate, mountain climate, tropical wet and dry, rainy and mild, and wet and mild.
• Brainstorm other types of information (such as, ethnic groups, agricultural crops) that would help you better understand the diversity of Africa.

Look at a map of Africa from The University of Texas Library Online:

• Locate Ghana on the map of Africa and brainstorm ideas about how its location might affect such things as livelihood, agriculture, and industry.
• Look at the map of Ghana in your classroom and discuss how the geography and climate of the country might vary from north to south, and where major bodies of water are located.
• Brainstorm questions such as why the capital is located where it is; how is life different in different parts of the country; which areas are agriculturally rich or poor; and other questions that will help you learn more about Ghana.
• Brainstorm types of information (such as, population, ethnic groups, climate) that would help you better understand and answer the above (e.g., population, average temperature, and rainfall) questions.
• Categorize this information into groups (for example, people, government, and environment)
• Form groups and assign categories for each group to research.
• Report each group’s findings by constructing a profile sheet on the board.

Helpful sites:

Lonely Planet

The Republic of Ghana Web site

On the Line: Virtual Journey of Ghana

The University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center: Ghana Page

Making Connections

• Complete the information in your KWL chart.
• How would you explain to someone why we can’t make generalizations about Africa?
• How will you explain or demonstrate to your Ghanaian school partners what you’ve learned about how their country compares with yours? What kinds of materials or examples will you send them to share this?

Branching Out

Empire visions:

• Calculate the relative size of various empires at similar times. For example, the Mali empire in the 1300’s was the size of western Europe alone. Compare this to the Inca empire, and the Mongol empire that existed around the same time.

Helpful sites:

World Book

National Museum of African Art: The Mali Empire

The University of Calgary: The Conquest of the Inca Empire

Geocities: The Mongol Empire

Mapmaker’s dilemma:

Divide the class into three groups and assign each group a Goode, Mercator, or Peter’s world map. Using their map, each group should answer these questions:

• How many continents are there?
• What appears to be the largest continent?
• List the continents in order of size – largest to smallest.

Helpful sites:

Peters Projection World Map

Mercator Projection World Map

Brock University Computer Science Department: Mercator Projection

Maps in Minutes

Diversophy.com

About.com

• Discuss findings. Are there differences in the size and scale of the continents depending on whose map projection you are looking at?
• Research and find the size of each continent, in square miles, and list them in order of size from largest to smallest.
• Compare this list to the list you made from looking at your maps. Is there a difference?
• Which map is most commonly used? Why? What are the reasons for using each?
• Which map do you think gives the fairest representation of each continent?
• Go to Diversophy.com to learn more about the map controversy and the Peter’s world map.
• All maps are distorted. Explore the map maker’s dilemma at NationalGeographic.com.

Stereotypes:

• Stereotypes often substitute for knowledge and cross-cultural understanding. Go to DiscoverySchool.com for a lesson that focuses on understanding stereotypes.

• How would you go about examining your own stereotypes of Africans?

Curriculum Activities

THEME 2: DIGGING INTO GHANA'S CULTURAL DIVERSITY

As the world — and our classrooms — become more diverse, it is important to gain an appreciation for different cultures and ethnic groups. Students will gain a clearer understanding of ethnic groups in Ghana and use this experience to explore diversity in their own community. They will also investigate women's roles in Ghana, and the issue of world population growth, making connections to population issues in their own state and the U.S.

Laying the Groundwork

Construct a KWL chart on the board and fill out the first two columns with the class and leave the other two to fill out at the end of the theme.

FRESHMAN GEOGRAPHER (Grades K-4)

Exploration

Materials needed: Map of Africa from about.com

Learning activities:

Helpful sites:

Africa Community Watch

The Ghana Language page

African Ethnic Groups

Ghana Home Page: Fanti Home Page

Oxfam Cool Planet: Ghana - People & Society

Making Connections

Helpful sites:
Africa in the Early 20th Century

The Ohio State University Black Studies Library

The Ghana Language page

Fortune City: Ghanaian Akan Names

Branching Out
Check out these Web sites to learn more about Ghanaian schools online:

Windows on the World

Africa Online

Africast.com

Classroom Exchange: Epals.com

• Go to Kids' Africa to learn how to make your own Adinkra Cloth.


• What cloth or clothing is part of ceremonies or special occasions in your life? How can a piece of cloth be a symbol? What are some symbols of the United States (e.g., eagle)?


• Compose a message using Adinkra symbols and send it to your Ghanaian school partners.


• Are there non-English languages spoken in your community? What are they?


• Look at the list of everyday words and expressions you brainstormed earlier. Can you say these in another language? Do you have a friend, classmate, or relative from another country who can help you learn how to say these in their language?

JUNIOR GEOGRAPHER (Grades 5-8)

Exploration

Materials needed: Map of Africa from about.com

Learning activities:

Helpful sites:

Africa Community Watch

The Ghana Language page

African Ethnic Groups

Ghana Home Page: Fanti Home Page

Oxfam Cool Planet: Ghana - People & Society

Helpful sites:

About The Human Internet

Britannica.com

Art and Life in Africa

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Education Fund: Points of Interest

The Ghana Language page

The Ashanti Region

Making Connections

Helpful sites:

The Ohio State University Black Studies Library

Africa in the Early 20th Century

Africa Community Watch


Branching Out

SENIOR GEOGRAPHER (Grades 9-12)

Exploration

Learning Activities:

Helpful sites:

The Ohio State University Black Studies Library

Africa in the Early 20th Century

Africa Community Watch

About The Human Internet

Britannica.com

Art and Life in Africa

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Education Fund: Points of Interest

The Ghana Language page

The Ashanti Region

West African Wisdom: Adinkra Symbols & Meanings

About.com: Position of Women in Society (Ghana)

Africana.com

Making Connections

Branching Out

Helpful sites:

The Ghana Bike Challenge

International Bicycle Fund