Resources for this Week's News-2-You: Water for Africa

Crafts:

• DTLK African Crafts for Kids
• African Masks
  

Online and Computer Based Activities:

• Africa at Pete's PowerPoint
• PBS Kids - Africa (great site)
• Time for Kids - South Africa
• Clean Water, Clear Choice
  

Video a Day (you may need to download videos and show off line if video sites are blocked)

• Play Pumps Videos
  
• Soweto Gospel Choir
• South African Children Dancing
• African Children's Choir
  

Science

• have children add green glitter to cups of water to represent germs (review germs from the news-2-you flu unit) and offer them a variety of materials to use to attempt to filter out the germs such as a coffee filter, burlap, and cheesecloth. Compare the results of filtered to unfiltered water. Possible embedded concepts - clean vs. dirty, conservation of liquids, more and less, sanitation in relation to hygiene and clean water
• collect a variety of actual pumps such as hand soap pumps, the pump off of a large container of laundry detergent, bicycle pump or the pump part of a water gun (you may need to break it apart) have students predict what will happen if they activate the pump and then compare to what actually happens. Possible embedded concepts - up and down, press, stop and go
  

Sensory

• after you make drums you can dance and play to South African music
• fill a sensory tub with water and various pumps (see science) and allow students to explore. Possible embedded concepts - wet vs. dry, hot vs. cold, up vs. down

Adapted Physical Education

• if your school has one go to the playground and use the merry-go-round if not try spinning on other toys/physical therapy items (sit and spin, stand pivot disc)
• try out African dancing (see videos above for ideas)