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Economics and Geography Lessons

Emeka's Gift: An African Counting Story


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Title: Emeka's Gift: An African Counting Story, Ifeoma Onyefulu (Cobblehill Books, New York, NY, 1995)

Lesson Developed by Barbara S. Yingling

Literature Annotation:
An African boy, Emeka, wanders around his Nigerian village looking for a gift to take to his grandmother. Along the way he counts what he sees; one boy, two friends, three women on their way to market, four new brooms, etc.

Grade Level: 1-3

Duration: 60 minutes

Economic Concepts: Resources, Production, Consumption

Geography Themes: Place, Relationships: Humans and Environments

MSPAP Outcomes and Indicators:

Economic Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers in American society.

Indicators:

Geography Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of geographic concepts and processes as needed to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activities.

Indicator:

Objectives: Students will be able to:

Vocabulary: chief official, plaited hair, mango trees, grounds, earthenware, mortars and pestles

Materials:

Teacher Background:
Knowledge of village life in Nigeria would be helpful. Information is provided in the "Author's Note".

Lesson Development:

Motivation:
Divide the students into pairs. Distribute one toy "jack" to each pair of students. Introduce the African game from Nigeria called Okosa. Have the pairs of students take turns spinning the jack. The person in each pair whose jack spins the longest is the winner.

Activities:

  1. Locate Nigeria on a world map. Have a student trace the route that would be followed to travel from Maryland to Nigeria. Point out the location of Nigeria in relation to the equator. Distribute the outline map of Africa and have students color Nigeria and label the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Equator. Tell the students that most of Nigeria has a tropical climate, with warm temperatures throughout the year, but that the amount of rainfall varies greatly in northern and southern Nigeria.

  2. Divide the students into six groups to prepare the bars for a bar graph of climate information which will be constructed on a bare section of wall in the classroom:

  3. Make a wall bar graph comparing the average rainfall of northern Nigeria, southern Nigeria, and Baltimore by taping the strips with rainfall information on the wall, starting from the floor. (Some of the tapes may be too tall for the wall. Allow the top to fold up onto the ceiling, if necessary.) Tape the sign with the title "Average Yearly Rainfall" above the bars.

  4. Make a wall bar graph comparing the average high temperatures of Nigeria and Baltimore by taping the cash register tapes with temperature information on the wall, starting from the floor. Tape the sign with the title, "Average High Temperature", above the temperature bars.

  5. Discuss with the students the information displayed on the bar graphs. Ask the following questions:

  6. Introduce the students to the term rainforest and explain that the southern coast of Nigeria gets so much rain, especially in the months of May through September, that it is called a rainforest. The area in the northern part of the country is practically a desert. Ask: "What effect would the amount of rainfall have on the lifestyles of the people in Nigeria?" (The people in the dry regions wait for the rains that fall in May and June to help them raise enough yams and grain to survive the dry seasons. Some of the areas in the south are too swampy to raise crops.)

  7. Show the cover of the book Emeka's Gift, to the students. Tell them that Emeka, the boy in the story, lives in a village called Ibaji, in southern Nigeria, and comes from a tribe called Igala. The Igala people, who speak the Kwa language, are traders, farmers, fishermen and healers. Ask the students to watch and listen for more information about what life is like in Emeka's village and other parts of Nigeria.

  8. Read the book aloud as the students read along.

  9. Remind students that, as Emeka walked to his grandmother's house, he passed many hand-made objects. Show the transparency "How the Igala People Use Natural Resources." Revisit the book, page by page, to list the objects Emeka saw on his walk, and to identify the natural resources from which the objects were made.

    Objects Natural Resources Used
    Okosa game piece small shells
    colorful clothing cotton (?)
    brooms straw
    hats straw
    necklaces dried akodegbe seeds, rubber, plants for dye
    musical instruments (ishaka) gourds, dried seeds, rubber, plants for dye
    water pots earth
    mortars and pestles tree trunks

  10. Have the students work in pairs to find traditions of the Igala people that were mentioned in the story. Distribute a "Traditions in an Igala Village" worksheet, to each pair. Have them write 3 traditions they learned from the story. Share the students responses. Post the worksheets near the bar graphs.

Conclusion/Closure:
Have the students write a few sentences telling which object they think Emeka should get for his grandmother and why.

Thoughtful Application:
Remind the students that Emeka wanted to choose an item to give as a gift to his grandmother. Many of the items he liked were hand-made from natural resources. Say: "Suppose you want to give a gift to your grandmother or another older person. Make a list of 5 possible gifts. The items should be gifts you could make with natural resources found near your home. Next to each item, tell the purpose of the item and the natural resources you used to make it." Note: By third grade, the students also should be able to identify some of the human resources (skills) and capital resources (tools) needed to make each of the gifts.

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Last updated on March 14, 1997
Maintained by John L. Day
<jday@umd5.umd.edu>