Pole Pole Lesson Excerpt

African Culture

-Project the maps of the world and Africa onto the board.

(8 min)

-This is Hawaii (indicate the small circle) and this is Africa (indicate the
larger circle).
-Now, in Hawaii, we speak English and a few other languages. In parts
of Africa, they speak Swahili. Can you say Swahili?
-On the map of Africa, indicate the box and say these countries speak
Swahili.
-Today we are going to learn a song about animals who live in Africa.
-Project the images for the animals on the board
-Ask the students to identify the animals (lion, giraffe, cheetah, and
elephant)
-Have the students repeat after the teacher and begin to sing Pole Pole.
-alternate the verses, first singing Pole Pole, go slow, go
slow and then singing Take your time, go slow, go slow
-Pole Pole; the first time we sing it through, sing wild beasts
-Take your time; Then sing Lion
-Pole Pole; Then sing Giraffe
-Take your time; Then sing Elephant
-Pole Pole; Finally sing Cheetah
-Sing twice (if there is enough time)
-Pretty good! Lets go back and this time, I want you to spell out the
animals.
-Which animal is this? (lion) Lets spell lion: L-I-O-N
-Repeat for each of the other three animals
-In Swahili, the animals have different names
- The lion is called Simba, the giraffe is called Twiga, the cheetah is
called Duma, and the elephant is called Tembo
-Have the students repeat each name as the teacher indicates the image

Transition to talking drum.

-In Africa, the different tribes also use a talking drum
-This drum can be used to send messages over long distances. The player

Pole Pole
Visuals

Talking drum

can change the sounds the drum makes just like a voice changes.
-Demonstrate the range of sounds that the drum can make.
-You can send a message like The elephants are coming! Who
remembers what the elephants name was in Swahili? (tembo)