Author:  Teachnet

  TEACHER'S NOTE: Here are some ideas I have saved for safari.
  These are not my own.  Hope they help someone.

  Desert :
  Lizards, snakes, cactus....Animals and Plants of the Desert.

  Procedure: 

  1) Make sun dials in paper plates with a pipe cleaner stuck up
  through the middle

  2) Put a 12, 3, 6, 9 on the plate or divide the plate into
  quarters, colored maybe yellow for 12 to 3, blue for
  3 to 6, green for 6 to 9 and orange for 9 to 12, or put a
  picture in each quarter to represent an event for that time
  of day. 

  3) Let the children put their sun dials outside and go check
  on them at intervals during the day.

  4) You can use a marker to trace the shadow onto the plate.

  5) Tell the children how important the sun is in relation to
  time...and how the life in the desert ( or whatever area you are
  covering at the time) revolves around the sun.

                         SAFARI TO AFRICA

  TEACHER'S NOTE: In this unit we will learn about the continent of
  Africa. It has in excess of 50 countries.  Many different languages
  are spoke in these countries.

  Overview:

  The continent  consists of three basic ecosystems.  The grasslands
  or savanna makes up 2/5 of the land.  It is land of low bushes
  and grasses, watering holes and animals.  The men hunt, fish, herd
  cattle,and build homes. The women are the cooks, care for the
  children, and weave cloth and others crafts.

  Agriculture is done by the women.  Products grow in a grassland 
  and include coffee, cocoa, peanuts, cotton, sugar, bananas, tea
  and fruit.

  Animals found in the savanna are elephants, rhinos, wildebeest,
  giraffe, zebra, buffalo, antelope, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena,
  jackal, falcon, and ostrich to name a few.

  In the cities and towns of the savanna, there are jobs, schools,
  factories, and offices.  Many African people live in homes made from
  mud and roofs of bamboo covered with palm leaves. In West Africa,
  people wear clothes like us and live in apartments.

  The Sahara Desert holds 2/5 of the land mass.  It is sand, rocks,
  wind and dust.  It has little or no vegetation..  The animals found
  in the desert are many including  camels, small rodents, insects,
  reptiles, and gazelles.

  The people of the desert are called nomads.  They live in simple skin
  tents with little wooden furniture and grass mats.  They need to keep
  life simple because they are always moving and must pack their
  belongings on camels. They wear hooded cloaks, baggy pants, turbans,
  and slippers to be protected from the harsh climate.

  The Rain forest or jungle is only 1/5 of Africa's land. Here is
  found large tress, much vegetation, much rain, and animals.  Among
  their animals, are the gorilla, chimps, flamingo, snakes, hippo,
  crocodile, and lizard.

  People live in villages in mud homes.  Transportation is mainly by
  foot or  bike on paths from village to village.

                           SAFARI TO AFRICA
                  Time Table for Unit of work:

  Monday : Rain Forest

     Art: Tire rubbings of a snake

     Language:  Poster of the Rain Forest discussed.

     Identifying animals.

     Perception Skills: Animal puzzles.

  Tuesday:  Rain Forest

     Art: African homes.

     Cognitive Skills: 

          What's on Page=D6?

          A game of animal identifying.

     Math: Measuring rice, the staple food of Africa.

  Wednesday:  Savanna

     Art: Animal rubbings and printing

     Language:  Poster of savanna discussed.

     Identifying animals

     Math: Counting animal sets 

  Thursday:  Savanna

     Art: Animals made from wallpaper shapes.

     Cognitive Skills:
        
          Guess What??? 
          A guess game with hints given.

  Science: Natural Environment

  Water, air, land and those animals 

  Friday:   Desert

     Art: Sand paper grading and collage.

     Math: Trail game of counting.

     Small Motor Skills:  Playdough animals.

                     SAFARI TO AFRICA Week Two:

     Monday:  Rain Forest

     Art: Finger Painting a snake

     Cognitive Skills:  Bottle cap match

     Large Motor Skills:  Sneaky Snakes
  
     Animal Dominoes

  Tuesday:  Rain Forest

     Art: Kenta Cloth weaving

     Cognitive Skills:  Color recognition in puzzles

     Math: Sorting animals by spots, stripes, and colors.

  Wednesday: Savanna
 
      Art: Trace and cut animals on wallpaper

     Cognitive Skills:  Animal puzzles
     
     Perception Skills:  Animal Bingo

  Thursday:  Savanna

     Art: Collage of animals and plants
    
     Small Motor Skills:  Water play with Hippos

     Large Motor Skills:  Animal movements

  Friday:  Desert
     
     Art: African Necklaces
    
     Language:  Poster of desert discussed
 
     Identifying animals

     Perception Skills:  Patterning sticker game
 
     Which is Different?

  TEACHER'S NOTE: After taking about what animals live in the jungle,
  I ask the children to draw and cut out three or more animals that
  live in the jungle.  We make binoculars out of toilet paper rolls.
  When the children are not there, I tape the pictures out in the hall
  and then we go out on a safari.  The children are to find the pictures
  that belong to them. 

                        African Animals

     Giraffe are tall, with necks so long.

     Elephants' trunks are big and strong.

     Zebras have stripes and can gallop away,

     While monkeys in the trees do sway.

     Old crocodile swims in a pool so deep,

     Or lies in the sun and goes to sleep.

                         YAK

     Yickity-yackity, yickity-yak,
     the yak has a scriffily, scraffily back,
     some yaks are brown yaks and some yaks are black,
     yickity-yackity, yickity-yak.

     Sniggildy-snaggildy, sniggildy-snag,
     the yak is all covered with shiggildy-shag;
     he walks with a ziggildy-zaggildy-sag,
     sniggildy-snaggildy, sniggildy-snag.

  TEACHER'S NOTE: I do a picture of a yak and have the kids glue
  yellow yarn on it's coat so we have alot of interesting discussions
  of yaks 

                      Rhinoceros

     A rhinoceros, rhinoceros.
     Sometimes he makes a dreadful fuss.
     He has a big horn on his nose.
     He snorts and rumbles as he goes.
     
     He's very long and very wide.
     He has a very wrinkled hide.
     He has big hoofs on his four feet.
     We feed him grass and hay to eat.
 
     A rhinoceros, a rhinoceros
     Is surely not a pet for us.


                I'm Being Swallowed By A Big Snake

  TEACHER'S NOTE: I have been doing the jungle theme and I made a fun
  circle time project I thought that I would share.

  1)Take a twin size fitted sheet.

  2) Fold in half -- right sides together with the elastic parts on the
  top and bottom.

  3) Sew bottom and side to form a tube. Turn inside out and sew a
  long red felt tongue on one side and put eyes on the other.
  (a strofoam ball cut in half and glued with large googly
  eyes on top.)

  Now you have a big snake with a large mouth.

  4) Have a kid step inside and say the following poem.

   TEACHER'S NOTE: Gradually pull up the sheet as you say it.

  I'm being swallowed by a big big snake, a big big snake.
  I'm being swallowed by a big big snake, a big big snake.
  Won't you help me Please!

  Oh no, Oh no he swallowed my toe.
  Oh me, Oh me he swallowed my knee.
  Oh fiddle, Oh fiddle he swallowed my middle 
  Oh heck, Oh heck he swallowed my neck.
  
  Oh dear, Oh dear he swallowed my ear.
  Oh my, Oh my he swallowed my eye.
  Oh see, Oh see, he swallowed all of me.
  SLUP!!!! PLOP!!