Exploring cultures through maps.

First and second graders can understand that the African continent is made up of many countries and cultures, especially when you have maps, picture books, photographs, and artifacts on hand for them to explore. It's important for young students to develop an understanding of maps and how to use them.

Using Progressive Maps

1. Display a map of the county and/or city students live in. Look at it closely. Locate the roads your students live on, local landmarks, schools, and the location of towns in your school district.

2. Display a state map. Ask students to find your county and/or city.

3. Display a map of the United States and locate your state.

4. View both a world map and a globe. Help students locate Africa and the United States. Point out that Africa is the second largest continent in the world.

This kind of integrating of geography and art helps create a foundation for understanding of world cultures.

Exploring the African Continent

Using maps with illustrations that show resources, climate, or wildlife can be beneficial for students. Use a map of Africa to help students see the fifty countries in Africa and the many geographical features ranging from snow-capped mountains to tropical rain forests, savannahs, semi-arid regions, and deserts. Remind students that hundreds of languages are spoken in Africa. Compare artifacts (or pictures of artifacts) from different countries in Africa: Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, for example. Locate the country of origin for these artifacts on the map.

Using Children's Literature 

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (Verna Aaderma, 1981) is a lyrical children's book set in Kenya, on the eastern coast of Africa. It is a popular folk story about Ki-pat, a young herdsman who shoots an arrow at the clouds to bring the rain. I use this story to help students understand the problem of drought in certain African countries, the importance of water, and the migratory habits of animals across the plains of East Africa. To reinforce the importance of water to all people around the world, I have students examine rain sticks from the Amazon, water jars from the Southwest, and wood carvings of water spirits from West Africa. I ask students to consider similarities and differences between the use of these artifacts and Ki-pat's use of an arrow in the story.

Using Knowledge to Create Art

Knowledge about the migratory habits of animals on the plains of East Africa, along with an understanding of the importance of rain and water, gives students a context and sensitivity for creating illustrations of the animals of the Kapiti Plain.

I encourage students to put themselves on the Kapiti Plain with KiPat and visualize the animals moving across the grassland. I play East African music to set the mood for their crayon-resist creations. Students draw and color their animals and scenes with crayons. Then they use blue watercolor to paint the rain across the entire picture. Students mount their paintings on larger pieces of white tag board and fill the borders with East African scenes and symbols.

Sharing Knowledge

At the annual art show, students are usually eager to explain the story of Ki-pat, the persistent problem of drought, and the importance of water around the world. They enjoy talking about the watercolor resist technique, and why they chose the animals, details, and traditional African symbols in their pictures. This particular lesson provides an easy way to introduce the importance of research to enhance and validate artistic creation. It also provides a basis to expand the study of African cultures at the intermediate level.

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students know that the visual arts have both a history and specific relationship to various cultures.

Bev Grady is a National Board Certified elementary art teacher in the Highland School District in Sparta, Ohio.