Kindergarteners Go Around The World: Week 12 ~ Nigeria and Zambia

Around The World in 28 Weeks For Preschool Through First Grade Collage Button 2 OK2This post is part of the series “Around the World in 28 Weeks: Art, Literature & Geography Lessons for Kindergarten.” For an introduction, overview of the entire course, and links to more lesson plans, please click here. Thank you for visiting Cotton Ridge Homeschool!

Introduction to Week 12

This week you will be returning with the children in your class to the continent of Africa and introducing them to the countries of Nigeria and Zambia You can do the lesson plan activities in the order that you prefer.

For a Printable Lesson Plan Schedule for the entire 28 weeks, please see the Around the World introductory post. Below is a free printable lesson plan for week 12 in PDF format. Just click on the thumbnail below to open and view. For best results, download to your computer or open in Adobe Reader before printing.

 Kindergarten Around The World Lesson Plan 12 Nigeria Zambia

Prep Work

  • Gather books and supplies (see Checklist below)
  • Cut squares of colored and plain fabric (see Art section below)
  • Print out handouts and 3-hole punch them for notebooks (see Checklist below)

Check back during the year, as I will be adding pictures of completed projects and let you know if the kids enjoyed the lesson and any changes I would make for next time. Thanks for joining us!

Disclosure: The books and supply links below lead to products on Amazon. I am an affiliate and will receive a small commission if these links are used to make a purchase.

Victoria Falls in Zambia

Victoria Falls in Zambia by Pius Mahimbi on flickr

Week 12 Lesson Plan

Date and Destination

Date: Third Week of November**
Continent: Africa
Countries: Nigeria and Zambia

Pretend Passport: Please see Week 2 for suggestions on how to use the Play Passports during your lesson. Below are free printable Passport Stamps. Please click here for free Airline Tickets and Cruise Ship Tickets printables. Just click on the thumbnails below to open and view. For best viewing/printing results, open in Adobe Reader.

Passport Stamps

Reading (10 – 15 minutes)

Story:  Rescue By Airplane, Stories from Africa OR Africa Stories from The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book(check the Table of Contents for stories from Africa).

Discussion: Ask questions to determine reading comprehension; tailor these to your children’s ages and abilities. Depending on the size of your class and as time permits, try to allow each child to participate. Don’t drag this part on too long or your kids will lose interest. Here are a few to get you started:

  • Did you like the story? Why or why not?
  • What was your favorite part?
  • Questions based on the Who?, What?, Why?, When?, and How? of a story are great for getting kids thinking.

Geography (5 – 15 minutes)

Globe or Wall Map Activity: With your class,

  • find the Continent of Africa
  • point out the different countries on the continent, including Nigeria and Zambia
  • find the capitol of Nigeria: Abuja and the capitol of Zambia: Lusaka.

Zambia Map Handout*: Pass out the Map Handout to your class and allow them to color the page as time permits. You may want this to be the last activity of your class so they can be kept busy until the next class starts or until their parents pick them up. Have the kids place their handouts in their World Traveler Notebook (3-ring binder) before they leave.

Below is a free printable Map Handout in PDF format. Just click on the thumbnail below to open and view. For best results, download to your computer or open in Adobe Reader before printing.

Map of Africa

Art (30 – 40 minutes)

Colorful Baskets from Global Art: Activities, Projects, and Inventions from Around the World by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Jean Potter. Read the “Did You Know?” sidebar on page 15, then explain the process to your children, following the project instructions. 

You will need:

  • White glue
  • Water
  • Plastic Spoon
  • Small Styrofoam bowls
  • Cotton fabric, cut into 1-1/2″ to 2″ squares – Colored fabric for the outside layers, and plain muslin for the inside layers
  • Scissors
  • Plastic tablecloth to protect work surface

Note: I use Styrofoam bowls for this project, so I don’t use the plastic wrap called for in the Global Art instructions.

Other Activities (10 – 15 minutes)

Zambia Facts & Flag Handout*: Pass out and read this handout to your class and allow them to color the page as time permits. You may want this to be the last activity of your class so they can be kept busy until the next class starts or until their parents pick them up. Have the kids place their handouts in their World Traveler Notebook (3-ring binder) before they leave.

Following is a free printable Facts & Flag Handout in PDF format. Just click on the thumbnail below to open and view. For best results, download to your computer before printing.

Zambia Facts and Flag


*If there is not time in class, provide these as handouts for the kids to do at home. The pages can go in their World Traveler Notebooks as a record of their journeys.

**Our homeschool coop begins during the last week of August, but the Around the World course can be started at any time of year. Some re-arranging of the weekly plans may be necessary due to holidays, but with a little planning ahead of time, this should be very manageable.

Supply Lists

General Supply List

Week 12 Supply List

Week 12 Art Supply List

  • White glue
  • Water
  • Plastic Spoon
  • Small Styrofoam bowls
  • Cotton fabric, cut into 1-1/2″ to 2″ squares – Colored fabric for the outside layers, and plain muslin for the inside layers
  • Scissors
  • Plastic tablecloth to protect work surface

Copyright 2014 Kathryn Depew

Image of Victoria Falls in Zambia from flickr.com used under the Creative Commons license. Image credit: Pius Mahimbi.



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