AFRICA UNIT

This study covers 4 weeks in the continent of Africa. Children discover the different climates of Africa: rainforests, jungles, and deserts. They will also try different recipes from Africa and read a wonderful story about a hyena living in Africa!

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Grade Level: Pre-K to 1st

Length: 4 weeks + 1 review week

Unit Resources - Books

Pinduli

Seeds of Change

Living In...

South Africa

Unit Resources - Worksheets and More

Unit Resources - Website Links

These website links are used in the lesson plan below for additional activities.

Passport Stamps

CRAFTS

African Necklace

RECIPES

VIDEOS

PHONICS READERS (available on Usborne Books & More)

Ape's Great Escape
Chimp with a Limp
Giraffe in the Bath
Hyena Ballerina

Lesson Plan Outline

Lesson plan is based on 5-day weeks.

WEEK 1

Day 1

Craft :: Cut out tree trunks from brown and leaves from light green. Glue onto a piece of dark green paper and add rainforest animal stickers.
Handprint Animal :: Paint hand black on outer edge of palm and pointer finger-pinkie finger (do not paint thumb). Paint inside of palm gray. Stamp onto paper then make an arch of black above the palm. Color the inside gray and agg googly eyes. Use black paint to make facial features (nose and mouth) and ears
Activity :: Animal Eye Match Puzzle

Day 2

Optional Craft :: Paint feet white and stamp onto a piece of black paper (goes along with Ape's Great Escape)
Craft :: Cut out the outer ring of a paper plate and paint like an African necklace (see resource links)
Reading :: Ape's Great Escape and/or Seeds of Change

Day 4

Craft :: Paint a paper plate black. Cut out a gorilla face from gray and glue on top of the black plate. Draw facial features in black marker and cut out eye holes. Add a popsicle stick to the bottom.
Reading :: Seeds of Change

Day 5

Craft :: Dip plastic gorilla's feet in white paint and make tracks across black paper (goes along with Ape's Great Escape).
Video :: Explore Africa with Lonely Planet Kids
Reading :: Ape's Great Escape
Activity :: Printout Africa flashcard with the title and have them color the continent

Day 3

Craft :: Make a rainforest using brown trunks and green leaves (cut from construction paper). Glue all over the page. Cut out a gorilla and glue into the rainforest scene.
Recipe :: Make and eat African Meat Pie (see resource links)

WEEK 2

Day 1

Craft :: Cut out brown tree trunks and green leaves. Glue to blue paper and add jungle animal stickers.
Handprint Animal :: Paint hand brown and stamp sideways onto paper. Cut out a tail, large circle, and two small circles in dark brown and two circles and an oval in light brown (to make up monkey's face). Glue the monkey's head together then glue on top of the palm and glue the tail beneath the palm. Draw a small dot for the monkey mouth near the bottom of the oval and small nose on top and add googly eyes.
Activity :: Build a Rainforest

Day 2

Craft :: Paint a small paper plate brown. Cut out two light brown circles and small pink circle. Glue the pink circle inside on of the circles and fold them in half. Glue to the bottom of the other circle then glue to the plate. Add nostril marks in black marker and glue on googly eyes. Cut out arms and ears. Glue ears to the head then glue the head onto a brown paper back and add the arms
Recipe :: Make and eat Mandazi (see resource links)
Reading :: Chimp with a Limp and/or Seeds of Change

Day 4

Craft :: Make jungle vines using green construction paper - make a ring from one and continue the chain
Reading :: Pinduli and/or chimp with a Limp
Activity :: Decorate the blank Africa continent flashcard

Day 5

Craft :: Trim a brown muffin liner to be smaller than another. Glue the smaller one and a regular one onto a piece of green paper. Cut out arms, legs, ears, and tail from brown construction paper and add to the monkey. Add googly eyes
Video :: Destination World: Africa
Reading :: Chimp with a Limp

Day 3

Activity :: Monkey Packet by Teaching Mama
Craft :: Cut out strips of varying sizes in white, green, red, yellow, and orange. Have them glue them in horizontal and vertical lines on black paper.

WEEK 3

Day 1

Craft :: Cut out light brown grass, brown tree trunks, and green bushy tree tops. Glue onto yellow paper to make a grassland scene. Add grassland animal stickers
Handprint Animal :: Paint hand and fingers (except thumb) yellow and stamp onto paper. Paint a line from palm of hand down to bottom of paper for giraffe's neck. Use fingers to paint brown dots along the neck of the giraffe and at the top of the two middle fingers (for the antlers). Add googly eyes and facial features

Day 2

Craft :: Cut a giraffe shape from yellow paper. Stick bubble wrap around a lint roller and dip into brown paint. Roll across giraffe. Add a googly eye and glue to a piece of construction paper
Recipe :: Make and eat Suya

Day 4

Craft :: Craft Stick Giraffe by Our Kid Things
Reading :: Giraffe in the Bath and/or Pinduli
Video :: Learn About Western African Culture

Day 5

Craft :: Paint an empty toilet paper roll yellow and add brown dots. Cut out two circles of the same size in yellow and brown. Trim the brown to make the mouth of the giraffe. Cut out the antlers from brown and ears from yellow. Tape plastic wrap around top of toilet paper roll and glue the head on. Add corn kernels inside then tape plastic wrap around the bottom.
Video :: South Africa Facts
Reading :: Giraffe in the Bath
Activity :: Practice recognition with the flashcards

Day 3

Craft :: Finger Puppet Giraffe by I Heart Crafty Things
Reading :: Giraffe in the Bath and/or Pinduli

WEEK 4

Day 1

Craft :: Print out and color the African flag (free download under resources)
Handprint Animal :: Paint hand and most of thumb yellow. Add brown dots to most of palm (except bottom where belly would be) Paint rest of thumb and the fingers brown then stamp onto paper. Add a snout and ears in yellow paint. Add googly eyes.
Reading :: Across the Savannah (available on Usborne Books & More)

Day 2

Craft :: Color and Assemble Hyena by Learn Create Love
Activity :: Practice recognition with flashcard

Day 4

Craft :: Color coffee filter with pink in middle, yellow, then orange washable markers. Spray with water to watch the colors run together for a savannah sunset
Activity :: Print out the African continent and color. Add African themed stickers such as country flags, animals, etc.

Day 5

Craft :: Paint lines of light pink, dark pink, orange, and yellow on a piece of paper. Cut out black shapes of savannah trees and land then glue on top of the painted sunset when dry.
Activity :: Add the continent of Africa to a poster board (this poster board will be used as a "globe" for all continents).

Day 3

Craft :: (for ages 3+) Have child draw a hyena, giraffe, chimp, and ape
Reading :: Hyena Ballerina and/or Pinduli

REVIEW

Day 1

Talk about rainforests:

What kind of animals live in the rainforest?
What is the rainforest like?

Day 2

Talk about the jungle:

What kind of animals live in the jungle?
What is the jungle like?
How is it different from a rainforest?

Day 3

Talk about the grasslands:

What kind of animals live in the grasslands?
What are the grasslands like?
How are the grasslands different from the jungle and rainforests?

Day 4

Talk about Africa:

What countries did you learn about?
How is how their people act different from how we act (culture)?
What's your favorite thing about Africa?

Day 5

Flashcard recognition test - have them name the continent when you hold up the flash card ("What continent is this?")

Stamp their passport! They have now completed the Africa Unit!