Basic Human Needs Awareness: CHF Links - Food Security & Culture Curriculum strands as based on the Ontario Curriculum requirements See Table of Links to the Curriculum. Student work sheet can be used to introduce the activity as a Language Arts lesson.

Learning Activity: 1x40 minute lesson or 2x20 minute lessons a) Making shakers and drums typical of rhythm instruments from Ghana b) to focus on farming and market practice in Ghana Materials: for shakers: seeds, dried beans, rice, etc. in paper towel/toilet paper rolls, plastic bottles, potato chip cans, margarine tubs, etc. for drums: large margarine tubs, large tin cans with ends cut off covered with heavy paper and elastic bands, etc. for decorating: paint, glue, feathers, shells, colourful yarn, cloth Song: tune of "Old MacDonald" – 1/2 class do as an action song, 1/2 class play musical instruments. "Mr. Kofi and/or Mrs. Asha had some land" had a farm ("hoe, hoe here and a hoe-hoe there, here a hoe, there a hoe, everywhere a hoe-hoe") planted beans ("soybean here and a soybean there, here a bean, there a bean, everywhere a soybean!") wished for rain ("pitter-patter here and a pitter-patter there, here a pitter, there a patter, everywhere a pitter-patter") picked the beans ("pick-pick here and a pick-pick there, here a pick, there a pick, everywhere a pick-pick") cooked the beans ("bubble-bubble here and a bubble-bubble there, here a bubble, there a bubble, everywhere a bubble-bubble") went to market ("Buy beans here! Buy beans there! here a bean, there a bean, everywhere a soybean!")

Possible extension activities: a) vocabulary building from the story b) discussion of similarities and differences between Canadian and Ghanaian farm practice and shopping for food in supermarkets, stores and markets. Learning Stations, as available, for background information: library books, pictures of farming practices, pictures from Ghana, musical instruments, musical tapes/CDs of West African music, woven cloth, internet sites for computer research. People in Ghana play music and sing almost every day. Maybe they are feeling happy. Maybe they are feeling sad. Maybe there is a party or something to celebrate. On the farm, people in Ghana sing while they plant their crops and work in the fields. Often the crops are soybeans. They sing while they harvest the food. They sing while they cook the food. They sing when they go to market to sell the extra food that they grew. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, children and even little babies like to sing and play music with their shakers and drums. Even if they don't have a musical instrument, they clap their hands and dance to the music. People in Ghana might not have a lot of money to buy a musical instrument from a store. They make them from whatever materials they can find, like gourds (which are like pumpkins or squash), seed pods from trees, wood from a tree that fell down, leather from animal skins, seashells, tin cans or boxes. The shakers are filled with rice, corn, seeds or little pebbles. They decorate the instruments so they are pretty and so they can tell who made the instrument. You can make a shaker or drum too! On this page are some designs like the traditional adinkra designs from Ghana. Adinkra designs are very old and have a special meaning. You can use some when you decorate your shaker or drum. When you are finished, you can sing and play your musical instrument to the tune of "Old MacDonald". Kofi is a common man's name and Asha is a common woman's name. Probably there are lots of people called Mr. Kofi and Mrs. Asha who have farms and sing while they work. You can think of Mr. Kofi, Mrs. Asha and their families while you sing and play your music. Maybe your music will even make you get up and dance like people do in Ghana! Produced with the support of the Govenment of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).