Subjects
Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts
--Literature
--Visual Arts
Science
--Agriculture
Social Studies
--Civics
--Current Events
--Economics
--Geography
--Regions/Cultures
Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
One Georgia family will help African villagers by trading their big mansion for a smaller home.
Anticipation Guide
Before reading, ask students to list some of the things they need in order to have a good life. Then challenge them to look at the list and decide if they might be able to give up any of those things and still have a good life." Ask them to list other things that they possess that they might not really need to have in order to have that good life." Write students responses on a whiteboard or a sheet of chart paper.
News Words
Next, introduce these words that appear in the News Word Box on the students printable page: possessions, charity, fortunate, elevator, expensive, and Ghana. Discuss the meanings of any of those words that might be unfamiliar. Point out the location of Ghana (which borders the Ivory Coast and Togo on West Africas Atlantic coast) on a world map. Then ask students to use one of those words to complete each of these sentences:
Read the News
Click for a printable version of this weeks news story Family Sells House to Help the Hungry.
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More Facts to Share
You might share these additional facts with students after they have read this weeks news story.
Comprehension Check
Ask students to tell if each of the statements below tells something true or false about this weeks news story.
You might follow-up that activity by asking some of these questions:
Recalling Detail
Think About the News
Discuss the Think About the News question that appears on the students news page. You might use the think-pair-share strategy with students to discuss this question. If you use this strategy
Follow-Up Activities
Geography. If you scroll over the Where We Work tab on the Web site of The Hunger Project, you will see the list of countries where the project is working. In Africa, those countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, and Uganda. Provide students with an outline map of Africa. Have them color the African countries where The Hunger Project is working. If you teach older students, you might use this Africa map with no country labels. They might create a color key for their maps, too. Alternate idea: Provide a world outline map and have them color those African countries and these other countries where The Hunger Project is working:
South Asia: Bangladesh, India
Latin America: Bolivia, Mexico, Peru
Comparing cultures. Share with your students this brief story and photos of how students in Ghana live and learn. After sharing the story, invite students to make a list of things they and students in Ghana have in common and ways in which they are different. Extend the lesson: Provide students with a Venn diagram. Label one circle Ghana and the other Where I Live. Have students write phrases in the Ghana circle that describe life for students in Ghana only. Have them write phrases in the Where I Live circle that describe their lives only.. In the area where the circles overlap, have them write phrases that describe ways in which their lives and Ghanaian students lives are similar.
Literature/Readers Theater. Share with students one of two African folk tales from the Web site Absolutely Whootie: Stories to Grow By Web site. For each story, you will find a picture book version to print out and read and a script the students can use to perform the story as a short play.
Assessment
Use the Comprehension Check (above) as an assessment. Or have students work on their own (in their journals) or in their small groups to respond to the Think About the News questions on the news story page or in the Comprehension Check section.
Lesson Plan Source
Education WorldNational Standards
National Standards
FINE ARTS: Theatre
GRADES K - 4
NA-T.K-4.2 Acting By Assuming Roles and Interacting In Improvisations
GRADES 5 - 8
NA-T.5-8.2 Acting By Assuming Roles and Interacting In Improvisations
GRADES 9 - 12
NA-T.9-12.2 Acting By Assuming Roles and Interacting In Improvisations
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.1 Reading for Perspective
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.9 Multicultural Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.11 Participating in Society
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Civics
GRADES K - 4
NSS-C.K-4.2 Values and Principles of Democracy
NSS-C.K-4.4 Other Nations and World Affairs
NSS-C.K-4.5 Roles of the Citizen
GRADES 5 - 8
NSS-C.5-8.2 Foundations of the American Political System
NSS-C.5-8.4 Other Nations and World Affairs
NSS-C.5-8.5 Roles of the Citizen
GRADES 9 - 12
NSS-C.9-12.2 Foundations of the Political System
NSS-C.9-12.4 Other Nations and World Affairs
NSS-C.9-12.5 Roles of the Citizen
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Economics
GRADES K - 4
NSS-EC.K-4.7 Markets and Market Prices
NSS-EC.K-4.8 Supply and Demand
NSS-EC.K-4.11 Money
GRADES 5 - 8
NSS-EC.5-8.7 Markets and Market Prices
NSS-EC.5-8.8 Supply and Demand
NSS-EC.5-8.11 Money
GRADES 9 - 12
NSS-EC.9-12.7 Markets and Market Prices
NSS-EC.9-12.8 Supply and Demand
NSS-EC.9-12.11 Money
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Geography
GRADES K - 12
NSS-G.K-12.1 The World in Spatial Terms
NSS-G.K-12.2 Places and Regions
NSS-G.K-12.4 Human Systems
NSS-G.K-12.5 Environment and Society
See recent news stories in Education Worlds News Story of the Week Archive.
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Article by Ellen Delisio and Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2008 Education World
09/17/2008