Teacher's Guide for FACES ^® Jamaica

Learn more about the Jamaica iguana. You and your students can read about the rediscovery of these iguanas and the ongoing efforts to protect them in the October 10^th, 2000, issue of the New York Times (available for $2.50 on the New York Times Web site - search with "Jamaica iguana"). Have students use the dates provided in the Times article to create a timeline of the last one hundred years for the Jamaican iguana.

Throughout history, many species have become extinct. Some experts estimate that two-thirds of all the animal species that existed are now extinct.

1. Discuss some causes of extinction.
2. Have students create a catalog of extinct and / or endangered species.

For more information, try these web sites:

• Extinct Species (American Museum of Natural History)
• Expedition: Endangered! (American Museum of Natural History)
• Endangered Species on EE-Link

About fifty years after Christopher Columbus wrote about the Taino, Spanish missionary Bartolome de Las Casa wrote A Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies. Have students read his account of the Taino. It is available online at Bartolome de Las Casas, Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies.

1. How does Las Casas describe the Taino?
2. How did the Spanish treat the Taino?

Students may enjoy reading the book Encounter by Jane Yolen. This book tells the story of Columbus landing in San Salvador in 1492 from the perspective of a young Taino boy. Have students explore Taino history from the native perspective by creating a poster, writing a story about their experience with the Spanish, or even dramatizing their interactions.

Read more about Marcus Garvey and his views on racial inequality and Africa. Some of his writings are available online at the PBS siteAmerican Experience - Marcus Garvey.

1. How do Rastafarians celebrate their African heritage?
2. Have each student research his / her cultural heritage and create a poster showing how they and their families celebrate it.

You and your students can learn to play dominoes. Many different games can be played with dominoes. Simple sets of dominoes contain 28 pieces, called bones, marked at each end with 1 to 6 dots, called pips. Almost all games start with the bones face down in the boneyard. The players shuffle the bones by moving them around with their fingers. Then they draw a specific number of pieces to form their hand. The rest remain in the boneyard. Generally the object is to get rid of all the pieces in your hand. Directions for number of different games of dominoes are available at the folllowing web site: Dominoes.

English has been shaped by a great number of other languages. Even the English spoken in England is different from that spoken in the United States.

1. Look around your town or city. What are some of the places named?
2. Find out the significance of those names.
3. Are they named for places the first settlers knew in their homeland?
4. Does the name indicate an event that happened there or something that was found there?
5. What do you call the rooms in your home and school?
6. What is the significance of those names?

You and your students can learn how to talk Jamaican.

• A number of Jamaican phrases are available online at Speak Jamaican.
• A glossary of Jamaican words can be found at Jamaican Glossary of Terms.
• Students can explore stories about Anansi in Jamaican patois at Jamaica Anansi, Anancy Stories.
• Have students use the glossary to help make sense of one or more of the stories.

Did your students enjoy "The Spider Man"? Anansi is a African spider and a trickster. Because he is small, he must use his wits to outsmart his larger opponents. In Jamaica, Anansi is admired for his cunning, which enables him to survive against overwhelming odds. More Anansi stories are available online at:

• Anansi
• Anansi Goes Fishing

Or, perhaps your students would prefer to read more tales such as:

• Anansi & the Moss-Covered Rock and Anansi & the Talking Melon by Eric A Kimmel
• Anansi's Narrow Waist by Len Cabral
• Tiger Soup: An Anansi Story from Jamaica by Frances Temple

Have students write their own Anansi story. Anansi should be small, but smart, and trick his opponent.

Home

Back

Print

Updated: 2/8/12 05:40 pm
Log In