Economics and Geography Lessons

Masai and I

MCPS Status of Book as of 4/4/96:
Approved as Library Book for Grades K-3

Title: Masai and I, by Virginia Kroll (Four Winds Press, New York, NY, 1992)

Lesson Developed by Patricia King Robeson

Literature Annotation: This delightfully illustrated story is told through the words of a young girl. In school one day, a little girl named Linda learns about East Africa and the tall, proud people called the Masai. She wonders what it would be like to be a Masai and makes observations about things that are different and things that are the same, as her imagination opens the door to a place where the Masai live.

Grade Level: 3

Duration: 2 class periods

Economic Concepts: Scarcity, Consumption, Production

Geography Themes: Place, Relationships: Humans and Environments, Movement

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:

• Describe the relationship between economic wants and needs.
• Identify economic resources located within a community.

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.

Indicators:

• Explain the relationship between the physical setting of a community and its ability to satisfy the wants and needs of its people. ÄExplain the factors influencing the size, location and population of communities. ÄDescribe how transportation and communication networks link communities.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

• Explain how the Masai use the physical setting of the land to satisfy their wants and needs.
• Explain factors which influence where the Masai live.
• Describe how transportation and communication networks link the Masai community to other communities.
• Describe the relationship between economic wants and needs for the Masai and Linda's family.

Vocabulary: Masai, pastures, parched sod, grasslands, kraal

Materials:

• Book: Masai and I
• Map of Africa - 1 copy for each group of 4-5 students
• Large World Map
• Masai Picture Card Handout
• "Masailand" transparency
• "How Communities Are Alike and Different" worksheet
• On-line Resources
  • The Maasai People
  • The Maasai People

Teacher Background: Knowledge of the Masai people

Lesson Development:

Review/Motivation:

1. Divide the class into groups of four and give each group a copy of the map of Africa. Allow five minutes for the students to make a list of facts about Africa by using the map and their prior knowledge. As the groups share their facts, list them on the board.

2. Explain to the students that you are going to read a story which will explain how a Masai child's life is similar to and different from the life of a child living in a city in the U.S.

3. Explain that the Masai people live in the countries of Kenya and Tanzania. Ask a student to locate these countries on a world map. Ask a student to locate the equator on the world map and to describe the location of these countries in relation to the equator. Explain that this region is known as the savanna or grassland region. Instruct them to color brown the area on their map where the Masai people live.

4. Use the overhead projector to show the students a transparency of the Masailand map. Ask students to describe where the Masai people in Kenya and Tanzania live using this map. Explain that these people live in a small part of Africa and that many other people live in other parts of Africa and that their lifestyle is very different.

5. Read the story.

Activities:
Story Discussion:

Use the following questions as a guide for discussing thhe story:

1. How would you describe the physical setting of the region where the Masai live? (Grassland region near the equator, dry area, hills and some small trees, cows and buffaloes, and wild animals: giraffes, ostriches, zebras.)

2. How do the Masai use natural resources to meet their needs and wants? (Homes made from the earth, water from water hole, gourd to carry water, honey from honeycomb for sweets, cowhide used for door, sleep on cowhide, sandals made of buffalo hide, cows' fat and clay used on skin, milk the cows.)

3. How are members of the Masai interdependent with each other? (Huts are clustered together and everyone knows and helps everyone else. Boys and men go for water for themselves and the women and children; and the women, girls, and small children help each other to gather honey.)

4. How do the Masai travel? (They walk or run everywhere they go.)

5. Why do you think the Masai have many cattle? (Masai own large herds of cattle because they provide many products to meet the Masai basic needs.) Teacher note: The Masai do not kill the animals for their meat. They only eat the meat after a cow has died naturally.

6. Look at the picture of Linda when school is out; it shows the Masai child running in parched sod. What are the men in the background in this picture doing? (They are running with spears.) Why do you think the men are doing this? (Students will probably say they are going hunting.) Teacher note: The Masai men are probably trying to keep a wild animal from killing some of their cows. They are not hunters or gatherers. They hunt lions only to keep them away from cows. They are devoted to their cows, and the number of cows a person owns is a measure of one's wealth.

7. Masai are nomadic herders which means they move from one place to another. They do not stay in one place. Why do you think they do this? (The land there is very dry and grass and trees are scattered. As the cattle consume the resources, the Masai move them to another location.)

Picture-Card Activity:

1. Distribute to each student a copy of the Masai picture card handout and instruct them to use their new knowledge of the Masai and the pictures to write a description beside each one. They are to include as many details as possible.

2. On the back of the handout, have each student write a description and draw a picture of (a) how a farmer in the U.S. protects livestock, (b) how people in the students' community might share information, and (c) how an adult the student knows earn a living.

Conclusion/Closure:
Have the students share the information which they included on their picture cards and discuss the following questions:

1. How do the Masai feel about their cattle? Explain why.
2. How might the Masai feel when it rains? Explain why.
3. How do the Masai adapt and change their environment?
4. What natural resources do the Masai have available in their community?
5. Could the Masai be hunters? Why or why not?

Thoughtful Application:

1. Divide the students into pairs or cooperative learning groups. Direct each group to complete the chart "How Communities Are Alike and Different."

2. Draw a large version of the chart on the chalkboard (or place a copy on the bulletin board), allowing one group to insert its ideas and the remaining groups to add any ideas which are not mentioned by the first group.

3. Have the students choose another community (in different region of Maryland, U.S. or world) they have studied. Add this community to the large chart and have the class help you fill in the cells to describe the community selected.

Return to the Economics and Geography Lessons introduction page .

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Last updated on April 2, 1997
Maintained by John L. Day

<jday@umd5.umd.edu>