[ UBUNTU ]
Aperte o PLAY +
Embedded Files
Here you will find: ► Illustrations ► Story (text, audio, video) ► Lesson plan
ONCE UPON A TIME, A WHITE MAN WENT TO VISIT AFRICAN COMMUNITY. HE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE THERE.
How do they organize themselves? What do they like doing? Are the children from that region very different from the children from other countries? What do they have in common? This man wanted to investigate and understand the culture of that people and, in order to do this, he proposed a game.
He put a basket full of fruit under a tree and told the children that the first child to get to the tree could keep the basket for him/herself.
When the race started, something unexpected happened. The children ran to the tree holding each other’s hands! As they were all linked together, they got to the tree at the same time and were able to appreciate the fruits equally. There was not ONE winner. All of them won. On seeing that scene, the man was intrigued, so he asked:
— Kids, why did you run together when one of you could have been first and won all the fruits?
Immediately, the children answered:
— UBUNTU! How could one of us be happy while the others are sad?
Touched by their answer, the white man who was visiting that village noted this down so he would never forget it:
"UBUNTU - I am who I am because we are us. By collaborating, we can achieve happiness TOGETHER. This is HUMANITY.”
What if we could play without having to compete? What would it be like?
How about trying that?
[ LESSON PLAN AND RESOURCES ]
[ LESSON PLAN AND RESOURCES ]
PEDAGOGICAL AIM
PEDAGOGICAL AIM
TO CARE FOR THE COMMUNITY
To understand perspectives and put oneself in the shoes of others, especially those of African descent.
Socioemotional skills
I understand black perspectives and act with empathy because:
I understand perspectives and put myself in the shoes of others, especially those of African origin, as well as their diverse cultures and contexts;
I understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different environments and recognize family, school, and community resources and support;
I recognize situational demands and opportunities and engaging in projects aimed at collective well-being;
I question the imposed reality;
I project myself into futures free from prejudice and racism;
I cultivate communities that support each other so that black individuals feel welcomed, heard, and valued;
I engage in activist discussions, valuing the black people around me.
Maker skills
Observe games and play activities carefully, and explore their complexity to visualize the potential of building, adjusting, redesigning, or hacking play based on the Ubuntu philosophy.
Explore the internal mechanisms — how things, ideas, and systems work — what are their parts and interactions?
Develop, organize, and build based on the findings.
The environment
A school that fosters community life allows for a plural construction of the collective, and values African culture.
1) ACTIVATE TO ENGAGE:
>> Before the story:
Ask the children to sit side by side in a circle with their feet forward. To the sound of African rhythms, the teacher or one of the children should start a movement with their feet, and the others should follow until everyone is making the same movement. The children can take turns suggesting new movements that everyone must follow, forming a sort of dance.
Image: Osani Circle Game | Source: Connecting Dotz
Adaptation of the Osani Circle Game
>> LET’S SIT DOWN BECAUSE HERE COMES A STORY!
Time for Aperte o PLAY+. Tell the group that they are going to listen to a story called “Ubuntu”. Show the students the illustrations on the top of the page or print them (download area). The teacher may choose between telling the class the story or presenting the audiobook with the dubbed version of the story. These are different challenges to the readers: listening to the audiobook without the images, or holding a story-telling session performed by the teacher with illustrations. There is a third option: press play for the story, either in English or in Portuguese, and at the same time present its scenes. Choose the option that will suit your class best!
2) PLAY TO CREATE:
2) PLAY TO CREATE:
>> After the story
Ask the children to identify the characters from the story and inquire, using the thinking routine Think, Feel, Care":
Who is this person, and what do they do? How do you know?
Imagine you are this person: how do you feel? Why?
What do you care about? What is important to you?
Inspired by the story, propose that the children participate in a race, but with a twist: in this race, everyone wins only if all arrive together!
Ask the children to explain in their own words what Ubuntu means. Mention that we will choose different games to play, but they should pay attention and notice if Ubuntu is present. Provide various suggestions for cooperative games and let the children choose which ones they want to play.
Some suggestions include:
Teca-Teca or African Hopscotch
Teca-Teca is a game of Mozambican origin in which a diagram is drawn on the ground and players jump rhythmically from one square to another, following a specific sequence. The goal of the game is to reach the end without stepping outside the diagram or losing balance.
Pass the Baton
In this Egyptian game, students form a circle, and each one supports a baton vertically. The goal is to grab the baton from the classmate to the right before it falls. How many rounds can the class complete without knocking down any batons?
This game has a song in Swahili, one of the languages of Tanzania. The challenge is to dance according to the instructions in the song.
Roll the Tire:
An African game whose main objective is to have fun rolling a tire. How about exploring speed and ramps with the students?
³ Swahili, also known as Kiswahili, is the Bantu language with the largest number of speakers. [Wikipedia]
HOT TIP!
In this link, you can find a free catalog with various African and Afro-Brazilian games. You can choose the ones that align the most with the Ubuntu philosophy.
Gather the children again. Ask which game they liked the most and why. Then, ask them to suggest other games they enjoy playing and list their contributions. Create two sections: Ubuntu X Non-Ubuntu and have the children categorize the games. Which ones are Ubuntu? Which ones are not? What do the Ubuntu games have in common?
How about creating an Ubuntu playroom with our favorite games, play activities, and toys?
Planning
Planning
Before starting to build the playroom, the children can work together to plan how the playroom should be. They can decide on the size of the playroom, which toys and games will be included, and how they will be organized.
Design
Design
After having a general idea of how the playroom should be, children can start designing the space in more detail. They can draw sketches or models of the playroom and think about how to organize the toys and games.
Construction
Construction
With the planning and design completed, the children can start building the playroom. Depending on the scale of the project, they may need the help of adults to cut and assemble pieces, but they can assist with painting and decoration.
Organization
Organization
After the playroom is ready, children can work together to organize toys and games in an appealing and functional way. They can think about how to divide the space for different activities, such as board games, construction play, or imaginative games.
HOT TIP!
Some suggestions for collaborative games and toys for the playroom include: building blocks, marbles, puppet theater, group painting, puzzles, storybooks, musical instruments, balance sculptures, ramps and rollers, light and shadow.
3) REFLECT TO SHARE:
3) REFLECT TO SHARE:
After the playroom is ready, invite the children to reflect:
Are all the games in our playroom Ubuntu?
How can we expand our collection of games even more?
How can we make our playroom even more appealing and ensure that everyone will have fun in a Ubuntu way without competing?
[TAKING IT FURTHER]
The Gallery Hour - Nelson Mandela
“It's time to blacken the references," as stated by Lélia Gonzales, philosopher, anthropologist, intellectual, and activist in the black and feminist movements. That's why we've created a GALLERY for children, bringing in prominent black figures and references that need to be present in schools. We come from a Eurocentric education, and decolonizing is a complex process. It's important to see and recognize your body, your hair, and your peers; to see successful black individuals; to understand their potential. Every time you, as an educator, are building a project, choosing a story, introducing new references, how about reflecting on these questions:
>> What representations do we present to our children when we tell them a particular story?
>> Do the stories I tell portray black characters in secondary or supporting roles? Have I ever told a story with black people as protagonists in prominent positive roles in society?
With these questions and the urgent need to enrich children's repertoires and references with black representation in mind we created Aperte o Play. And the Gallery is one of the actions we developed.
Click >>HERE<<
to download the Gallery kit.
Inside, you'll find the scenery to set up with the children. The scenery, of course, is the school, the space we want to transform! The kit includes various toy art characters. Each illustrated personality allows the children to play with it, introducing and valuing new representations.
In this round, our featured character is Nelson Mandela
Print the toy art from our kit and build Mandela's little doll with the children. They will be collectible toy arts, and each student can have their own. The teacher may also suggest that it be a collective collection.
Present the toy to the class and ask if anyone knows the personality. Encourage conversation by asking if they can imagine what he does in life. What does he work with? Why is he important?
[ Nelson Mandela ]
[ Nelson Mandela ]
was a very special man who was born in South Africa. He grew up during a time when people were treated unfairly because of their skin color. Mandela fought hard to change that. He wanted all people to be treated fairly and equally.
He spent a long time in prison because he advocated for people's rights, but even though he was in prison, he did not give up. Mandela believed in peace and equality, and when he finally left prison, he continued his fight to make the world a better place.
Later, he became the first black president of South Africa. He always preached the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation, bringing people together instead of tearing them apart.
Nelson Mandela is an incredible example of courage, love, and perseverance, and his legacy teaches us the importance of fighting for a more just and equal world for everyone.
Image: Nelson Mandela with changes | Source: Wikimedia
Right after that, present the real story of the character in question, always valuing his contribution to the world.
With this activity, we want to put into practice, in a playful way, what the Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para Educação das Relações Étnico-Raciais e para o Ensino de História e Cultura AfroBrasileira e Africana (National Curricular Guidelines for Education in Ethnic-Racial Relations and for the Teaching of Afro-Brazilian and African Culture) say:
[...] “to strengthen, among blacks, and awaken, among whites, the sense of black awareness. Among blacks, they can offer knowledge and security to take pride in their African origin; for whites, they can allow them to identify the influences, contributions, participation, and importance of the history and culture of blacks in their way of being, living, and relating to other people, notably blacks.”
(2004, p. 16-17)
Page updated
Report abuse