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EXCITING ETHIOPIA
William Fitzhugh
University of Maryland/Baltimore County, Department of
Education, Academic Building IV-A, 1000 Hilltop Circle,
Baltimore, MD w21250
USING THE FIVE FUNDAMENTAL THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
IN ORDER TO DISCOVER ETHIOPIA
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. What are examples of each of the five themes that
are found in Ethiopia?
2. How does the geography of Ethiopia compare with our
region’s geography?
GRADE LEVEL: These lessons can be used with grades 2
through 5.
TIME: Each exploration of the five themes takes one
class period, approximately, 30 minutes. The art-based
activities will take longer, but are just as necessary.
Introduction
to
the
five
themes
and
selected
activities:
`
The five fundamental themes help organize our
thinking about an area under study. Children learn more
and can use their understanding to write effectively
when their thoughts are organized. Teach the five
fundamental themes to students. This is one way to help
them become better students of the social studies.
1. The first fundamental theme is LOCATION. Whenever we
give or receive directions, we use the theme of
location. This theme can be introduced to students as
part of literature based reading. In the story "Lyle,
the Crocodile" the author purposely gives an exact
location, East 88th St., New York City, as the setting
of the story.
2. The second theme is that of PLACE. The author in a
text creates a sense of mood by describing a place so
vividly that the reader feels as if he/she were there.
At an elementary level, "The Secret Garden" is an
excellent example of how the theme of place sets the
mood for the story.
3. The third geographical theme is one of MOVEMENT.
Ideas,
concepts,
languages,
and
vocabulary
move.
English has borrowed many words from other languages.
"Mike Mulligan and His Steam shovel" are a good book to
use when introducing the concept of movement to
students.
4. The ENVIRONNMENT places an increasingly important
part of the change man has wrought on the environment
and the ways man has adapted to his environment are
important parts of geography. "The Great Kapok Tree" is
a good book to introduce children to the concept of
human environmental interaction.
5. The last theme is that of REGION. "The Story about
Ping", written over fifty years ago, is a good
literature based text to introduce this concept to
children. There are many examples of location, place,
environment, and movement in this book, which teach
children about life in China.
ACTIVITY: Children complete a web for the five
fundamental themes as they read through the text. The
web becomes an outline for writing articles (reports)
or personal narratives. The web is also useful when
constructing travel posters, or travel maps. The web is
important in itself in that children organize specific
social studies vocabulary, which assists in retention
of concepts. Cutting pictures from the National
Geographic Magazine and pasting them onto the web can
also be done. The photographs in the magazine better
show the themes of geography to the children.
OBJECTIVES:
Children will read information about Ethiopia in order
to make comparisons between Ethiopia and their own
neighborhood.
STRATEGIES:
The unit uses a variety of strategies. Children read
and respond to a variety of writing prompts. There are
different kinds of data to compare.
MATERIALS:
*The unit includes a text to read about Ethiopia
followed by questions for discussion.
*There are activities for incorporating the text with
the five fundamental themes of geography which teachers
can use for individual assessment or for group
projects.
*There are suggestions for small group projects.
EVALUATION:
Activities for written responses are included after the
text.
NATIONAL SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS:
I Social Studies programs should include experiences
that provide for the study of culture and cultural
diversity so that the learner can:
a. Explore and describe similarities and differences in
the ways groups, societies, and cultures address
similar human needs and concerns
III Social Studies programs should include experiences
that
provide
for
study
of
people,
places,
and
environments so that the learner can:
g. Describe how people create places that reflect
ideas, personality, culture, and want and needs as they
design homes, playgrounds, classrooms, and the like
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS:
3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people,
places, and environments on the earth's surface
12. The processes, patterns, a and functions of human
settlement
13. How the forces of cooperation and conflict among
people influence curriculum.
FUN THINGS STUDENTS CAN DO WITH
THE FUNDAMENTAL THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
LOCATION:
1. Before beginning the unit, ask children to draw a
free-hand map of Ethiopia and our community. Ask
children to locate and label as much information as
they know. This is an example of MENTAL MAPPING. It
allows the teacher to assess what children already know
and what misconceptions they might have.
2. After completing the unit, again ask students to
draw a free-hand map of each country. You can use the
two sets of maps to assess how much information the
children have learned during the unit. Learning to draw
free hand maps is an important skill. Remember to
introduce the elements (attributes) of a map so that
children construct maps correctly.
3. Locate Maryland (or your own point of reference) and
Ethiopia on class maps. Relate geography as to
differences in points of references.
4.
Children
encode/decode
physical
data
and
political/cultural maps for Ethiopia and Ethiopia. The
grade/ability level of each group determines the amount
of information. Always reinforce the attributes of a
map. Use words like encode, decode, or construct when
working with students.
PLACE:
1. Children make Ethiopian post cards to send to a
friend. Post cards represent physical or cultural
landmarks. Children address the back of the post card
and write a one or two sentence note about the landmark
on the front. This is a language arts/social studies
integrated project.
2. Children construct commemorative postage stamps for
each region. A cultural landmark, a physical landmark,
an emblem, icon, mascot of a country is suitable. Show
children real life examples of Ethiopian postage
stamps. Children can design their own currency, too.
3. Use pictures of landmarks from National Geographic
Magazines to help children identify man-made (cultural)
and natural landmarks from Ethiopia. You can use these
pictures for a bulletin board as well.
ENVIRONMENT:
1. Write reports on any of the indigenous plant or
animal life found in Ethiopia. This is a good
integrated activity for science units.
2. Children investigate an environmental concern in
Ethiopia and how Ethiopia has worked to solve the
problem. Some concerns are: lack of water, sewage
treatment, over grazing, desertification.
MOVEMENT:
1. Children make a list of types of transportation in
Ethiopia. They list the people, goods, and services
which use each method of transport. Intercity and
intra-city transport can be studied.
2. Children locate and label countries from around the
world for immigration and emigration. This can be made
into a pictograph for an integrated math activity.
Statistical data is available for immigration to the US
from Ethiopia.
4. Children locate and label places throughout the
world,
which
receive
imports
from
Ethiopia,
or
countries
from
which
Ethiopia
imports
goods
or
services.
REGION:
1. Children construct mobiles for Ethiopia with coat
hangers (ala Calder) or hang the pictures on one single
string. Each picture should reflect a fundamental
theme. Picture from Travel brochures is a good size for
this kind of project.
2. Children watch a video of Ethiopia. As they watch
they fill in a web using the five themes. They become
active viewers of a primary source.
3. Children construct a travel poster for Ethiopia with
3 parts: country name, large illustration, and a
descriptive sentence telling why tourists should visit
Ethiopia.
4. Children develop a travel poster using one item from
each of the five themes. Prior experience using travel
brochures is helpful. Travel agencies will give these
to you, especially in November when prior editions
become obsolete.
DISCOVERING ETHIOPIA RESOURCE SHEET 1: LOCATION
Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the
world. If we fly from Baltimore to Addis Ababa, we
travel almost 7,000 miles in a mostly
south easterly
direction. Ethiopia is located in the northeast region
of Africa. This region is often called the Horn of
Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by these countries:
Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, and Djbouti. Since the
peace treaty with Eritrea, Ethiopia does not have and
coastline. Ethiopia is a landlocked country. The
absolute location of Ethiopia is 40 degrees East
latitude and 10 degrees North longitude. Ethiopia is
one of the largest countries in Africa. It has about
the same land area as the states of Texas, Oklahoma,
and New Mexico. Use an atlas to compare these states
with Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the second most populous
country in Africa. The population is estimated top be
85,000,000. This is about the same population as the
four most populous states: California, Texas, New York,
and Florida.
EXCITING ETHIOPIA RESOURCE SHEET 2: PLACE
There is so much that tourists visiting Ethiopia enjoy!
There are many natural and man-made landmarks which
people think of when they remember their visits to
Ethiopia. Natural landmarks were created by nature.
Ethiopia is roughly divided into three regions. Each
region has distinctive man-made landmarks and natural
landmarks. These regions are: Ethiopian Highlands,
Great Rift Valley, and the Ogaden.
The Ethiopian Highlands is a plateau region. Elevations
vary greatly. It is sometimes called the “Roof of
Africa.” The capital city of Addis Ababa has an
altitude of 7,000 feet. This area is highly populated.
The country’s highest mountain, Ras Dashen, has an
altitude of 15, 158 feet. The Blue Nile Gorge, a canyon
deeper than the Grand Canyon, is found here. The source
of the Blue Nile is Lake Tana which is also the largest
lake in the country. The beautiful Blue Nile Falls are
called “Tisiat” which means “smoke of fire.”
The falls on the Blue Nile
The Great Rift Valley was formed through widened of
faults along tectonic plates. The Great Rift Valley
runs north easterly through the middle of the country.
The city of Lalibela is found here. It is famous for
its many churches carved out of solid rock. These
churches are on UNESCO’s World Heritage site list.
A rock hewn church in Lalibella
The lowest place in Ethiopia is found at the Dekali
Depression. Like Death Valley, in California, or the
Dead Sea in Jordan, the Dekali Depression is below sea
level. It is also one of the hottest places on earth.
The Ogaden is a region which occupies the southwest
part of Ethiopia. It is a semi-arid region. Many Somali
people live here.
On the road far from Addis Ababa
EXCITING ETHIOPIA
RESOURCE SHEET 3: HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION
Ethiopia has a very large population and is also a
large country. Agriculture is the most important
industry. Even so, it is difficult to grow enough food
to feed a large population. There are several factors
which make growing enough food difficult. Erosion of
fertile spoil is caused by high rainfall. Much soil
flows into the Blue Nile River. Many times in the past
years severe drought has hindered crop production.
Normally, there is ample rainfall for crop growth. Poor
transportation system makes it difficult to take crops
to market. Crop yields are low because farming methods
are old-fashioned or inefficient. In many semi-arid
areas, nomadic herding or grazing of animals is an
important form of agriculture.
Farming is a major industry in Ethiopia.
Another problem is deforestation. More and more forests
are destroyed for crop land. Forests are cut for
firewood.
An
increasing
population
demands
more
cropland. When people move from rural areas to urban
areas, other kinds of problems occur. Many diseases
arise due to poor sanitation. Malnutrition also affects
disease rates. The life expectancy in Ethiopia is 45
years.
Traditional farming methods, tilling fertile soil.
The falls on the Blue Nile show greatly reduced water
flow. Water is used for hydro-electric production.
Rural dirt roads
asphalt roadways.
are
gradually
being
replaced
with
EXCITING ETHIOPIA RESOURCE SHEET 4: MOVEMENT
Ideas, people, and goods all move. Ethiopia is a very
old
country.
Sometimes
it
is
called
Abyssinia.
Historically, Ethiopia is an important trading center.
Trade between Israel and Egypt existed as far back as
Biblical times. Many churches have beautiful paintings
of Bible stories and pictures of saints. These
paintings are done in a very distinctive Ethiopian
style.
Nowadays
coffee
is
an
important
export.
Livestock and hides are also exported. Ethiopia is a
poor country. Most people rely on radio for news and
entertainment.
Christianity and Islam are important religions in
Ethiopia. Christianity arrived in the fifth century
with the conversion of Emperor Ezana. Muslims settled
on the Red Sea coast in the 8th century. A large Jewish
population once existed. Many of them have immigrated
to Israel in the 1980’s.
Fifty percent of Ethiopians
percent are Muslims.
are
Christian.
Forty
Modern
transportation
is
also
traditional forms of transportation.
supplemented
by
EXCITING ETHIOPIA RESOURCE SHEET 5: REGION
Ethiopia is a country large in area and large in
population. It has a long history. The population is
diverse. Ethiopia is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic
country. The Ethiopian people work together to preserve
their national heritage. Over 80 different languages
are spoken. Amharic, Tigrinya, Orono, and Somali are
the most frequently spoken languages. Ethiopia is a
religiously diverse country. Forty percent of the
people belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Fortyfive percent of the people are Muslim. Other religions,
including, Judaism, are represented.
Ethiopia is a developing economic region. Eighty five
percent of the people are engaged in farming/. Ethiopia
has a large rural population. Ninety percent of exports
are agriculture. Coffee is the leading export. Ethiopia
is a poor country. The average income is $324 per year.
EXCITING ETHIOPIA RESOURCE SHEET 6: QUESTIONS FOR
DISCUSSION OR USE AS WRITING PROMPTS FOR USE WITH
"EXCITING ETHIOPIA”
1. Using a world map and the text, compare the location
of Ethiopia and our community.
2. List three kinds of physical landmarks and three
kinds of cultural landmarks found in Ethiopia. List
some of landmarks for our community. How are these
landmarks similar? How are these landmarks different?
3. Describe the weather conditions in Ethiopia. How are
they the same or different from weather patterns found
in our community?
4. Describe farming practices found in Ethiopia.
Describe a rural community near your school. How is
farming the same or different in your community?
5. List farm products from Ethiopia. List farm products
grown on a farm near our school. In what ways are these
products similar or different?
6. Explain transportation networks in Ethiopia. Which
of these are found in our community? How has
transportation helped make Ethiopia a better place to
live?
7. List the ways Ethiopia is an important region. Next
to each way list an example.
EXCITING ETHIOPIA RESOURCE SHEET 7:
FIVE FUNDAMENTAL THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY FOR ETHIOPIA
LOCATION
absolute
relative
PLACE
Man made landmarks
Natural landmarks
MOVEMENT
ideas
transportation
migration
Import/export
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTION
climate
resources
pollution
REGION
language
religion
Ethnic groups
Industry/Agriculture
RESOURCE SHEET 8 COMPARING GEOGRAPHY
OUR COMMUNITY
Land features
Water features
Temperature/cli
mate
Farming
Industry
ETHIOPIA
EXCITING ETHIOPIA
RESOURCE SHEET 9: COMPARING GEOGRAPHY:
1. Contrast Ethiopia and our community use the data
from your chart. Include two ways they are different.
Include two ways they are alike. Choose data from
different categories.
2. What are some special land forms and water bodies
that make Ethiopia special? Use the atlas to help.
3. What are three natural landmarks and three cultural
landmarks a visitor (tourist) might like to see? Choose
one of each and explain why a tourist would want to see
them.
EXCITING ETHIOPIA RESOURCE SHEET 10:
COMPARING CLIMATES OF TWO REGIONS
CATEGORY BALTIMORE/ ADDIS ABABA
Latitude
Climate type
January average temp.
July average temp.
Average rainfall
% Winter rainfall
Altitude
Answer these questions about 2 climates.
1. List three ways climates are similar.
2. List 2 ways climates are different.
3. Which region probably needs irrigation for farming?
Why?
EXCITING ETHIOPIA RESOURCE SHEET 11: COMPARING AVERAGE
MONTHLY WEATHER
Daily high temperature (degrees C.) number of rainy
days
Baltimore /Addis Ababa
Baltimore /Addis Ababa
January
February
March
April
May
June
July 3
August
September
October
November
December
6
7
12
18
24
28
1
29
25
19
13
7
15
16
17
17
18
17
16
16
16
15
14
14
11
10
12
11
12
11
11
11
8
8
9
10
3
5
7
10
10
20
27
26
18
4
1
1
1. Make a bar graph for each weather category.
2. Compare daily temperature within Baltimore and Addis
Ababa
Describe seasonal weather in Baltimore and Addis Ababa.
3. Compare daily temperature between Baltimore and
Addis Ababa. How is seasonal temperature alike? How is
it different? How are patterns the same?
4. Repeat questions 2 and 3. This time compare rainy
days instead of temperatures.
EXCITING ETHIOPIA MENTAL MAPPING
In this activity each group is asked to write down what
they already know about the Ethiopia. This is a kind of
mental mapping, sometimes called brainstorming. Brain
storming encourages divergent thinking. Accessing prior
knowledge is concept most elementary teachers of
reading are familiar with. The children brain storm
(mentally map) and make a group list. The teacher gives
each group an outline map of Ethiopia or Ethiopia to
focus their thinking processes. Older students can draw
their own freehand outline map to focus their thinking.
After brainstorming, each group then takes turns
reporting their map of ideas to the whole class.
Sometimes, the teacher acts as recorder and writes the
entire class's ideas on a chart paper. Mental mapping
is important in vocabulary and concept development.
It's also important to discover misconception children
have
and
correct
these
misconceptions
during
instruction. Mental mapping can also be used as a posttest to see what the children have learned about
Ethiopia during the unit.
EXCITING ETHIOPIA USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:
WEB
After reading the text and making notes about their
reading, children use a
Graphic organizer to display their data. A web is
convenient and each group needs to decide which
categories will be included in their web. Suggest that
the students use the five fundamental themes of
geography: location, place, movement, environment, and
regions as categories. Or, the social studies concept
chart (the ABC's for Ethiopia) hanging in the room will
offer many other categories for students to use.
Students need to make a group decision concerning the
use of categories for their web.
Some examples of web categories are: food, clothing,
shelter, adornment, tools, weapons, housing/shelter,
transportation,
personal
possessions,
household
articles, play, recreation, folk art, fine arts,
Language
and
nonverbal
communication,
social
organization: societies, families, and kinship systems
social control: systems and governments institutions,
rewards, and punishment economic organizations, trade,
exchange, manufacturing, property, division of labor,
standards of living, education, religions (From what
are Universals of Culture? (Cleveland, Craven, and
Danfelser, 1979).
VENN DIAGRAM
Use a Venn diagram to compare what we have learned
about Ethiopia or Ethiopia with what we already know
about the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland. We use our
own region as a springboard to learn more about other
regions. It helps students understand new regions when
they have their own community/ neighborhood/ region as
a reference point. Each group will present their
findings to the class. Classmates are encouraged to
listen politely and ask questions.
EXCITING ETHIOPIA
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND/OR WRITING PROMPTS
1. Describe the location of the setting of this story.
2. Tell about the, theme of place. How does the author
let you know where you are.
3. Describe ways people travel in the story. This is
part of the theme of movement.
4. Describe ways people communicate in the story.
5. Describe the desert environment. Tell about ways
people have adapted to their environment in this story.
6. Describe the region in the story. You can describe
the desert, the way people live, the language they
speak, their religion.
7. Make a graphic organizer in order to compare and
contrast food. clothing, housing, daily activities of
Ali and children in your own neighborhood. Discuss
interpretations of your organizer.
8. Locate Ethiopia on the world map. Calculate the
distance from our community to Addis Ababa.
You can
calculate distances from other cities, too.
EXCITING ETHIOPIA MAKING A DIORAMA
Students refer to the illustrations found in trade
booths or on line as well as magazine pictures you have
in your file.
You need:
12x18 white (or sky blue) paper, 6x18 brown paper,
3x14 yellow paper, 9x12 white paper for cut-outs,
crayons or chalk, scissors, paste
Procedure:
1. The background is white. Children draw and color a
cloudless sky with blazing sun.
2. The brown paper is middle ground. Cut the top to
look like rolling hills.
3. The yellow paper is foreground. Cut the top to look
like gentle rolling fatm fields.
4. On the 9x12 paper draw: a farm character, a
Farm animal, and another animal- maybe a wild one. Cut
out these characters and paste them on the middle or
foreground. (If you would like you can duplicate
drawings of each for your students to color, cut, and
paste.)
To assemble:
1. Match the ends of all three sheets and staple
together.
2. Match the other ends of all three sheets and staple
together.
3. The three sheets will be bowed like an arc. This is
what keeps the diorama standing up.
MAPS OF ETHIOPIA
WORLD MAP
1. Use the elements of a map to complete your map.
2. Use your scale of miles to determine the distance
from your community to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
3. Use your compass rose to determine the direction you
travel in order to arrive in Addis Ababa.
POLTICAL MAP:
1. Add map elements to your map.
2. Label countries bordering ETHIOPIA: KENYA, ERITREA,
DJBOUTI, SOMALIA, SUDAN
3. Label these cities: Addis Ababa, Lalibela, Gondar,
Dire Dawa, and Harer
PHYSICAL MAP:
1. Add map elements to your map
2. Label: Ras Dashem (15,158 ft.)
3. Label: Denakil Depression (-381 ft.)
4. Label: RED SEA, GULF OF ADEN
5. Label: BLUE NILE, LAKE TANA
6. Label: GRERAT RIFT VALLEY, ETHIOPIAN
OGADEN
HIGHLANDS,
ETHIOPIAN FOOD
Dining in Ethiopia is characterized by the ritual of
breaking "injera" and sharing food from a common plate,
signifying the bonds of loyalty and friendship. The
traditional way of eating is with fingers. "Injera" is
placed on the plate with variety of dishes decoratively
arranged around it. A small portion of "Injera" is torn
off and wrapped around a mouthful of the selected dish.
"Injera", our staple bread, is a flat bread made of
"Teff", a fine grain unique to Ethiopia. "Wot" is
dipping sauce which maybe prepared using a variety of
meats, fish, and vegetables. "Wot" is cooked with
"Berbere" (Ethiopian seasoning prepared from matured
red chili pepper and other exotic spices) which may
range from very mild to spicy hot. "Alitcha" is more
mildly spiced dipping sauce prepared with a variety of
meats or vegetables.
Ethiopian dishes are prepared with a distinctive
variety of unique spices for an unforgettably striking
dimension to exotic cookery. To help you make the best
of choice for this truly different and exciting dinning
experience we offer the following descriptions:
Berbere : A popular Ethiopian seasoning prepared from
red chili peppers, garlic, & other spice. Berbere is
sun-dried then mixed with more spices & used in wots.
Nitir Kibe : Another Ethiopian basic, Nitir Kibe is
pure clarified butter seasoned with several condiments
and used in traditional sauteing.
Kaey Wot : A lively sauce prepared with berbere, nitir
kibe & meat, fish or legumes.
Alitcha : A delicately mild sauce made from meat,
legumes or beans with garlic, ginger and Ird.
Mitmita : Bird's eye red pepper spiced with cardamom &
salt, usually served with Kitfo.