Ethiopia used as a case study for bigger ideas.

Lesson Activity:

Lesson Objective: This lesson will help students understand the idea of being persistent.

Do Now: Students will be asked to think about an example of persistence. If they are unfamiliar with the term, the instructor will have the term defined before Do Now begins and give an example of a time when they were persistent. Three students will be asked to share their Do Now or each student can pair share their Do Now with someone seated around them.

Direct Instruction: The instructor will let the class know that they will be learning about the idea of persistence through the lens of Ethiopia. How travelers demonstrated persistence and also how the country demonstrated persistence in order to reach end goals. Instructors should pick three of the following 5 examples to share with students. On the board should be three key thoughts- Situation?Persistence?, Was goal attained? For each of the three examples the instructor should read or act out the example (pictures and hands on can be used) and then classify the example according to the three categories presented. Instructor should model think aloud techniques in order for students to learn how to distinguish the persistence shown in each example.

Guided Practice: The instructor takes the two examples that were not used in direct instruction and now allows the students to conduct their own determination of the persistence shown within the situations presented. Students can offer responses as whole group, work in smaller groups to decide. Together the instructor and the class will discuss what being persistent added to each situation.

Independent Practice: Students will then be able to create their own scenario related to the idea of persistence and break it down according to the three key thoughts. They also have the choice of using a persistent scenario presented by the Instructor based on the United States in which they will also break down idea into three key thoughts.

Exit Assessment: Students will fill out an exit slip where they answer in their own words what it means to be persistent.

Take Home Assignment: Students will receive a reporter slip where they will be required to ask a parent, friend, fellow student, or another teacher about a time when they were persistent about reaching a goal. Person that is interviewed will need to initial paper and student will write a three sentence synopsis of what was discovered.

Five Scenarios to use- or teacher can create their own based on information presented from website.

  1. In July, Ethiopia experiences a rainy season and this means that sometimes roadways become muddy and almost undriveable. The Fulbright Hays Group was planning on touring a paleontological site and found themselves on a road that had become difficult to navigate due to the rainy condition. Our bus found itself in a situation where it was in traffic behind vehicles that had become stuck in the mud or were trying to figure out how to not get stuck. Our bus driver and tour guide attempted to strategize how we could maneuver our way around the other vehicles in order to continue. Our bus driver took a route recommended by bystanders and our bus became stuck in the mud. We were in rural Ethiopia with the local community, a few other groups of traveler’s and the 15 of us. It was either stay stuck in the mud or use what we had to change the situation. Several people banded together and roles were established organically. Some people shoveled out mud from the tires, others dug their feet in and grabbed onto a rope that was attached to the front of the bus, and some offered moral support. It took some time to dig the tires out and several attempts at pushing. The end result was the bus on drivable ground and many people with mud stains and smiles of success.
  2. The Nilo-Saharan people live in the Western parts of Ethiopia and the size of their herd determines their status. They also want to keep their clan size large because land is owned on the basis of size of the clan. Because of this, men tend to have three or four wives and each wife typically has 5-6 kids. The dowry for each wife usually involves helping the future husband to increase their herd of cattle. A typical dowry is 20 head of cattle.
  3. Injera is the national bread of Ethiopia and it is made from teft, a grain that has been harvested for centuries by the people of Ethiopia. Farming sustains a livelihood for many people in Ethiopia and to farm teft, one has to use a special plow. The land needs to be plowed 5 times in order to properly harvest teft and bulls are castrated in order to become the oxen that help the farmer pull the plow. The farmer also using sounds, and addictive practices in order to train the oxen to plow the field correctly. The result is a harvest that the farmer can live on and sell.
  4. On September 27, 1187 Queen Tito told King Menelik that she wanted to come down from the mountains and establish the royal home in what now is the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. In order to celebrate this decision, Queen Tito decides to have an elaborate feast bringing together different foods from the country. The event was planned and lasted five days. Queen Tito would only want certain foods from where they were known to be the best. For example, the sheep came from a place where they grazed on wild oregano. All foods were served in a certain sequence and the result was an established National cuisine that can still be experienced today.
  5. The Fulbright Hays group planned a day were they were going to walk to a waterfall in Bahardar. In order to get to the waterfall the group navigated through hundreds of villagers bringing wears to the city market and had to cross the Blue Nile. In order to cross the river, each team member was required to wade up to their waist in water and walk across the length of the river. Crossing the river provided the only option in order to get to the waterfall. Many group members made it to the waterfall.