Author: Monica L. Hanks
Grade Level: Early Elementary

Objectives:

• The children will be able to find Kenya, Africa on a world map.
• The children will draw a picture of the African plains and a herdsman.

Materials Needed:

• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema:
  Dial Books for Young Readers, New York, 1981.
• A world map or globe.
• Write the words of the book on chart paper or an overhead transparency (extension activity).

 
Procedures:

• Ask the children if they think that people in other parts of the world act like, dress like, eat like, or talk like they do. When they say "No," ask the children if they know where Africa is. Have them point to a world map or globe and show you where Africa is. If they don't know where it is, show them, and tell them that they are going to learn about a man who lives in Kenya, Africa (point to Kenya on the map), and they're going to learn about the way he lives, and how it might be different or the same from the way they live.
• Read and discuss the book Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain. Discuss the book with the children, asking them questions about Kenya and the Nandi people so they'll have a better understanding of Ki-pat and his way of life.
  • Information and Suggested Questions:

    Cover:

    • Why do you think the book is called Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain?
    • What do you think the man is doing? Tending his animals.
    • Do you think these animals (giraffes, antelope) are afraid of the man?
    • What kind of place do you think they are in? Is it somewhere dry or somewhere with a lot of rain? Why do you think so? There could be different answers, but it is hot for part of the year and wet the other part.

    Pages 1-2:

  • Kenya is located on the East Coast of Africa and the equator runs through the middle of it. Kenya is considered a tropical area because it is hot and humid. There are sandy beaches, lagoons, rain forests, and swamps. The average temperature is 80 degrees all year long. Most (3/4) of Kenya consists of plains. It's very dry and the soil isn't very good for farming. The plains receive about ten to thirty inches of rainfall each year. There aren't any major cities here, but nomads roam the land tending their flocks. There is a highland area in the southwest that receives enough rainfall (forty to fifty inches a year) and has enough good soil to support farming. The majority of the people live here. There are forests and grasslands, and Nairobi, the capital city, is located in the highland area.
    • What is an acacia tree? The tree on the cover; any of a genus of trees or shrubs of the pea family, having finely divided leaves and growing in tropical or warm regions. (Scott, Foresman Advanced Dictionary, 1988)
    • Which animal in the picture is an animal that might eat the others? The leopard.
    • Do you think this place is like where we live? Discuss the plains and the highlands of Kenya, and discuss that not all places in Kenya look like this picture because there are beaches, swamps, etc.

    Pages 3-4:

  • The wildlife in Kenya is diverse. There are elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinoceroses, zebras, antelope, buffalo, cheetahs, leopards, crocodiles, eagles, ostriches, storks, and more.
    • What are these animals?

    Pages 7-8:

    • In this picture it is very dry, what is it called when an area doesn't have water and it is very dry? Drought.

    Pages 9-10:

  • Most of the people in Kenya live in rural areas, but many people go to the cities every year. The people in rural areas farm and raise livestock. Some people live as nomads and they travel the land with their herds to find food and water. The Nandi people are an example of a nomad group; they live in Western Kenya, in the plains, and they keep cattle, sheep, and goats as their way of life.
    • Did you think that cows lived in Kenya?

    Pages 11-12:

  • Most of the men in Kenya wear cotton shirts and pants or shorts, but some wear business suits. Most females wear cotton dresses or skirts and blouses. Some people that live in rural areas wear a cloth that they wrap around their bodies. The nomads are especially known for this.
    • This man dresses differently than we do, why do you think he wraps a piece of cloth around him? It's most likely cooler and less expensive than shirts and pants.
    • Why do you think he stands on only one leg? There could be many answers to this question.

    Pages 15-16:

    • What do you think Ki-pat will do with the arrow he made? The children could give any answer, but he is going to shoot the cloud to make it rain.

    Pages 17-18:

    • Now he made a bow, let's predict what he is going to do with the bow and arrow.

    Pages 19-20:

    • Is it really possible to shoot an arrow at a cloud to make it rain? No.
    • Is it okay to pretend in this story? Yes!

    Pages 21-22:

    • What is it called when it rains and rains and rains, in Africa? The Monsoon season.

    Pages 23-24:

  • Most rural people live in small houses made of mud or bundles of branches. The cities have modern houses of stone and cement.
    • Look at the houses they live in and notice that they are different than ours. What do you think they're made of?

    At the End:

    • Do you think this is a real story, why or why not? No, because you can't shoot a cloud to make it rain.
    • Why do people tell these stories, what is their purpose? To explain things that occur around them.
    • Do we do this? Yes, we do sometimes. Even though Ki-pat lived far away from where we live now, and we are very different, we also have some things that are the same.

     

• Have one or two children show where Kenya is on the map, and have the other children tell them if they are correct.
• Tell the children that they have learned about the plains in Kenya and the people who raise animals, and now they are going to draw what they think the plains look like and what the people look like watching their animals. Have them draw these pictures.
• Ask the children if they think it is important to learn about other people. Yes! so that we can know that we are very different but also have things in common.

Evaluation:

• Ask one or two children to point to the map and show where Kenya is. Have the other children correct or agree with the helpers.
• Assess the accuracy of the children's drawings.

To find all the background information listed together, and some extra bits of information.

Extension Activity: Choral Reading