Rwanda+Class+Activities


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__**Take a Virtual Bird Tour (Early Elementary)**__ Take the kids in your class on a virtual Agahozo-Shalom bird tour. The link below will provide you with access to a virtual tour of some of the birds of Rwanda. The virtual tour provides children with a story to accompany the photographs. The birds are very colorful and interesting.

http://rwandaonthewing.blogspot.com/2011/11/agahozo-bird-watching-virtual-tour.html

You can also have your students visit the capital of Rwanda using Google Earth. It will allow the students to get an understanding of what Rwanda really looks like. It will show your students the geography, 3D buildings, and other places.

__**Meet the Mountain Gorillas (Late Elementary)**__ 1. Ask students what they know about mountain gorillas. Ask them where they have seen gorillas. Ask the students to then use this information to create the first two columns of a KWL chart. Use a piece of paper to create the chart with labels "What I know," "What I Want to know," and "What I learned." 2. Write the following words on the board: Africa, primates, silverback, communicate, intelligent, gentle, endangered, and knuckles. Tell the students that each word has something to do with a mountain gorilla. Put the students into small cooperative groups. Have each group research the words and write one sentence explaining the significance. If you wish to direct students to a web site that provides information regarding gorillas, have them visit www.koko.org.

3. When students complete this portion of the activity, have one student from each group share their sentences. 4. Explain to the students why mountain gorillas are endangered.

5. Ask the students to return to their groups. Have the students discuss how humans and mountain gorillas may be similar. Have a different volunteer from each group report to the class on what they came up with.

6. Have students finish the last column of their KWL chart.

7. Download and distribute Student Activity 1: Meet the Mountain Gorillas (PDF). Answer Key: 1. Africa; 2. Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, & Mediterranean Sea; 3. East; 4. Uganda; Rwanda, & DRC; 5. Answers may vary.

8. To explore further, read aloud Looking for Miza: The True Story of the Mountain Gorilla Family who Rescued One of Their Own (Scholastic, 2008).

Lesson adapted from: http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3750160

__**Have a traditional Rwandan Meal (You can also try this at home!)**__ 1. Have your students research traditional Rwandan cuisine. 2. Allow the students to come up with a menu filled with traditional Rwandan foods. 3. Encourage the students to also research traditional Rwandan dress and decorations. 4. Allow them to wear similar clothing and bring decorations on the day of the meal. 5. Give each student the responsibility to bring a different part of the meal. 6. On the day of the meal, serve it as the people of Rwanda would. 7. To further immerse the students into the culture of Rwanda, play Rwandan music during the meal.

**© 2012 Samantha Jean Day - Revised April 25th, 2012 ** **Email: sjday5@ilstu.edu ** **Ph: 309-438-433 **