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Activities with Coretta Scott King Award Winners
Activities by Nancy Polette © 2002

AFRICA DREAM
by Eloise Greenfield. Illustrated by Carole Byard. John Day Co., 1977.
1978 Winner

A young child dreams of visiting long ago Africa, crossing an ocean in "one smooth jump." The animals are waiting, elephants, zebras, and camels. The child visits a market place and sees ancient civilizations with their tall stone buildings.
Pre Reading Activity: Topic Talking.
Partner A speaks to Partner B on a topic given by the leader for five seconds. The leader says"switch" and B speaks to A until the leader says"stop." The second round is ten seconds and the third round is fifteen seconds. Topics are related to the selection to be read.
Topic Focusing.
Work with a small group to guess the answers to these questions. Total all the numbers. Then listen to the poem to support or deny guesses.
  1. How many counties are there in Africa?
  2. How many miles is it from north to south in Africa?
  3. What percent of Africa is jungle?
  4. What percent of land in Africa can be farmed?
  5. What is the most common African animal?
Total your numbers answers for 1-4 ____________________________

Africa Poem (Answers to Africa quiz)
The number of African countries you see
Numbers right at fifty-three
It's 5000 miles from north to south
Where the Nile River has its mouth.
One fourth is jungle where wild birds cry
The rest is desert, hot and dry.
Only six per cent of the land is tilled
Not enough to keep food baskets filled.
A land with many animals blessed
The most common one is never guessed.
The camel wins, for it survives
In deserts where it lives and thrives.