Black History Month

Bean Bag Toss

Age/Grade Level or Audience

Kindergarten or elementary school geography classes.

Description

Organize games of bean bag toss on an oversized map of Africa.

Procedure

Outline a color-coded map of Africa approximately eight feet long on an asphalt or concrete playground. Color code the countries with chalk or paint. To protect the map from rain damage, spray with a fixative, such as polyurethane or water seal. This game could also be drawn on a tarp or piece of canvas and rolled up for storage, then played in a gymnasium, hallway, community center, church activities room, or neighborhood street festival.

Vary rules with each use. Have students toss bean bags onto the map or play variations of hopscotch. For example:

• Score points only for bags that land on a particular country or island, such as Benin, Comoros, Principe, Sao Tomé, or Mali. The smaller the country or island, the greater the number of points.
• Have students name the country they are aiming for before tossing bean bags. If they are successful, they win points.
• Have students continue tossing so long as they hit the countries they name beforehand. When the bean bag lands on another country, the turn passes to another player.
• Have students hop on one foot onto a series of countries without touching borders. In order to win points, they must call out the name of the country they land on.
• Have students name the capital of the nation they land on.

Sources

Computer software such as Data Disc International's World Data or MECC's World Geography.
Adams, W. M., The Physical Geography of Africa, Oxford University Press, 1996.
Africa: A Lonely Planet Shoestring Guide, Lonely Planet, 1995.
Africa Inspirer (CD-ROM), Tom Snyder Productions.
"Africa Online," http://www.africaonline.com.
Binns, Tony, The People and Environment in Africa, John Wiley and Sons, 1995.
Chadwick, Douglas H., "A Place for Parks in the New South Africa," National Geographic, July 1996, 2-41.
Collins Nations of the World Atlas, HarperCollins, 1996.
Demko, George J., Why in the World Adventures in Geography, Anchor Books, 1992.
Halliburton, Warren J., and Kathilyn Solomon Probosz, African Landscapes, Crestwood House, 1993.
Hammond New Century World Atlas, Hammond, 1996.
Jeunesse, Gallimard, Atlas of Countries, Cartwheel Books, 1996.
Labi, Esther, Pockets World Atlas, Dorling Kindersley, 1995.

Alternative Applications

Extend the use of the oversized African map with a whole world map covering an entire asphalt or concrete playground. Organize a PTA committee or other volunteers to lay out continents and color code countries. Lead students in comparative studies of Africa with other nations. For example:

• Use small steps to measure the Nile, Niger, Limpopo, or Congo river. Compare the length with that of the Amazon, Yalu, or Missouri river.
• Blindfold players and have them hop to a stopping point on a continent, country, or island populated primarily by black people, such as Jamaica, Haiti, Zaire, Barbados, or Guiana.
• Estimate, then walk the distance from Africa west to Brazil and east to India. Contrast the difference in numbers of steps.
• Name the countries directly north of Africa and the languages spoken in each, such as French in France, Greek in Greece, Italian in Italy and Sicily, Turkish in Turkey, and Spanish in Spain.
• Play follow-the-leader by pretending to fly over the whole world. Name countries in each continent where you intend to land.