1.

NameofChildrensBook:
Aardema, Verna., & Vidal, Beatriz. Bringing the rain to Kapiti Plain: A Nandi tale. New York:
Dial Press for Young Readers. 1981. Print.
2.SummaryofChildrensBook
BriningTheRainToKapitiPlainisanAfricanFolktaleaboutamannamedKipatwho
watchesovertheKapitiPlainandthebeautifulcreaturesthatcallthislandhome.Oneyearthey
haveahugedarkstormcloudcoveruptheplain.Thiscloudcausesaterribledrought,which
leadstheanimalstomigrateandthelandtobecomedry.Kipatstillwatchesovertheplainand
thinksabouthowhecanbringwatertohiscowsthatmoofortherain.
OnedayaneaglefliesbyanddropsafeathernexttoKipat.Heconstructsabowand
makesanarrowoutofthiseaglesfeather.Kipatusesthatbowtoshoothishomemadearrow
intothedarkcloudthathangsovertheKapitiPlain.Thearrowpiercesthecloudandrainfalls
downfromtheskyinbetweenloudcracksofthunderandlighting.Therainturnsthegrassback
toitslushgreencolorandallowsthecowstogrowfat.Kipathasasonwhonowwatchesover
theKapitiPlainandshootsdownrainwhenstormcloudsloomovertheland.
3.Questions
Prereading
Wheredoyouthinkthisstoryisgoingtotakeplaceandwhydoyouknow?
HowdoyouthinkKenyaiscomparestoIowa?Isitclosetous?Isitfaraway?Letslook
atourclassmapandsee!
Whatstandsouttoyouonthecoverofthisbook?
Whodoyouthinkthemanonthecoverisinthisstory?
DuringReading
(Onpage4)Lookattheseanimalsinthestory,whataresomeotheranimalsthatmigrate
ortravelfromoneplacetoanother?
Whydoyouthinkanimalsmigrate?
(pages5/6)Haveyoueverseenacloudlikethisallheavywithrain?Whatdoyouthink
thecloudisgoingtodo?
(Page13)Talktoyourpartneraboutdifferentwaystheeaglefeathercouldhelpthe
weatherchange.
(Page17)WhatisKipatgoingtodowithabowandarrow?Howisthisgoingtohelp
withtheweatherchange?
PostReading
Wasyourpredictionaboutwhothemanonthecoverofthestorycorrect?Thumbsupor
down.
WhywaswatersoimportanttoKipatandtheKapitiPlain?
Whattypesofanimals,plants,orlanddidyouseeintheKapitiPlain?Whatkindsof
plants,animals,andlanddoweseeinIowa?Howdotheycompare?
WhatwouldyouhavedonetomakeitrainifyouwereKipat?

ACTIVITYONE
ContentDiscipline:Creativewriting
NCSSStrand
IndividualDevelopmentandIdentityistheNCSSstrandforthisactivityisaddressing.
Throughthisactivitystudentswillexplorehowtheirpersonalidentityisshapedbytheirculture
orgroups(family)influences.
GoalorObjective:
Afterreading,Bringing the rain to Kapiti Plainstudentswilluseoneoftheprompts
providedtowriteaminimumoftwojournalentriesfromlittleKipat.sperspective.
ActivityDescription:
MaterialsNeeded:
Bringing the rain to Kapiti Plain
-Paper student journals
WritingUtensils
Colors(crayons,coloredpencils,markers,etc.)
JournalPrompts

AsaclasswewillreviewwhathappenedinthestoryBringing the rain to Kapiti Plain.

I will bring the students attention to the last few pages of the story where we meet Kipats family.
Wewillhavealargeclassdiscussionaboutwhattheythinkitmeanstobeaparent.The
studentswillhavetimetotalkwiththeirshoulderpartner.
Wewillthenshareoutideasandwritethemdownontheboard.
Studentswilltalkwiththeirshoulderpartneraboutwhatitmeanstobeasonora
daughter.
Wewillheararesponsefromeverygroupandwritethemdownontheboard.
Theclasswilldiscusshowwhatourparentsorguardiansdoaffectwhoweareandwhat
webelieveinandwhoweareasindividuals.
Nextexplaintostudentsthattheywillbewritingjournalentriesfromthepointofviewof
littleKipat.Themustcompleteonejournalentryforeachofthefollowingprompts.
Studentsshouldexpresshowtheyarefeeing,whattheyarethinking,andhowwhattheir
fatherhastaughtthemcaneffecttheiractions.Ifthestudentsarefinishedwritingquickly
havethemgobackandproofreadtheirentry.Studentsmayalsoaddanillustrationif
timeallows.
o YourfatherhastakenyououttotheKapitiplaineverydayandyouhavestudied
hiseverymove.Todayisthefirstdayyourfatherhastrustedyoutowatchover
theplainandallofthecattle.
o IthasrainedeverydayontheKapitiPlainsincefatherletyoutakeover.The
groundisbecomingsoftandwaterhasstoppedsinkingtotheground.Thecattle

arehavingtroublemovingaroundtheplain.BigKapitusedhisproblemsolving
skillstofigureoutawaymakeitrain.
Givethestudentstherubricandgothroughtherubricwiththestudents.
Oncethejournalentriesarewrittenallowtimeforthestudentstoshareouttheirjournal
entrieswiththepeopleattheirtables.

Differentiation:
Giftedlearners
o Willcomeupwithathirdpromptandgenerateajournalentrybasedonthat
prompt.
o Studentscanwritefromtheperspectiveofoneofthecattletouchingonhow
theyfeel,howthedrought/weatherhasaffectedtheirdailylife,etc.
StrugglingLearners
o Studentswillbegivengraphicorganizerstoorganizetheirthoughts
o Studentswillhavesentencestartersthattheycanusetostarttheirjournal
entries
ActivityAssessment:
Studentswillbegradedonthefollowingcriteria.

Creativity

Content/Book
Support
Capitalization
&Punctuation

4
Thejournalentry
containsmany
creativedetails
andimagesthat
helpthereader
seethingsfrom
littleKipats
pointofview.
Authorincludes
specificand
importantdetails
fromthebookin
theirjournal
entries.
Authormakesno
errorsin
capitalizationor
punctuation.

Minimumoftwo
journalentries

3
Thejournalentry
containssome
detailand
imagerythathelp
thereadersee
thingsfromlittle
Kipatspointof
view.
Authorincludes
somespecific
andimportant
detailsfromthe
bookintheir
journalentries.
Authormakes1
2mistakesin
capitalizationor
punctuation,but
journalisstill
easytoread.

2
1
Thejournalentry Thejournalentry
containsminimal containslittleto
detailsand
nodetailsand
imageryandthey imageryandthey
maydistract
maydistractfrom
fromthereaders
thereaders
understanding.
understanding.

Authorincludes
Authorincludes
minimalspecific
nospecificand
andimportant
importantdetails
detailsfromthe
fromthebookin
bookintheir
theirjournal
journalentries.
entries.
Authormakes
Authormakes
severalmistakes
manyerrorsin
incapitalization
capitalizationor
orpunctuation
punctuationthat
thatmakethe
makethejournal
journaldifficult
difficulttoread.
toread.
Onejournalentry Onejournalentry Onejournal
iscompletedand
issemi
entryissemi

Completion

arecompleted
andturnedinon
time.

turnedinon
time.

completedand
turnedinon
time.

completedand
turnedinlate.

ACTIVITYTWO
ContentDiscipline:Geography
NCSSStrand:
NCSSforthisactivityisPeople,Places,andEnvironmentsbecausestudentswillbe
lookingatalandthatisdifferentfromtheirsandidentifyingdifferentlandformsthatarenativeto
thatland.
GoalorObjective:
Afterreading,Bringing the rain to Kapiti Plain,fifthgradestudentswillbeabletousea
mapofKenyaandlabelatleastthreedifferentlandformswithnoerrors.
ActivityDescription
MaterialsNeeded:
TopicalmapofKenya(1perstudent)
WritingUtensil
Colors(crayons,coloredpencils,markers,etc.)
Computerstocompleteresearch
Classmap
TopicalmapofKenya
Bringing the rain to Kapiti Plain
Accesstothelibraryandnumerousbooks
Chartpaper
Printeraccess

AsaclasswewilltalkaboutthetypeoflandthatKipatlookedoverinthebook.Wewill
lookbackoverthepagesofthebookandcreatealistasaclassonthewhiteboardofwhat
wethinkcategorizesthislandasaplain.
Wewillthenpulldownourclassroommapandhaveastudents,whofeelscomfortabledoing
so,comeupandpointoutwhereKenyaisontheworldmap.
NextIwillaskthestudentswhattheycantellaboutthelandinKenyafromlookingatthis
map.WewilldiscussopenlyandIwillaskquestionsthatwillhopefullyleadthemtothe
conclusionthatthismapdoesnottellusmuchbouttheland.Iwillnextintroduceatopical
mapofKenya.
Iwilldescribetothestudentsthatatopicalmapshowsyoualldifferentkindsoflandforms.
Youcanuseakeytohelpyoudeterminewhatkindoflandformsareinthatcountry.

Studentswillbreakupintogroupsof34dependingontheclasssizethatdayandgroupswill
bepredetermined.Studentswilleachgetacountrythathasplainsasalandform,justlike
Kenya.
Studentswilllookatwhatcitiesorregionstheplainscoverandresearchwhattheplainslook
like,whattypesofanimalslivethere,whatweatherislike,howbigofanareatheplain
covers,whattheanimalsneedtosurviveoffoftheplain,andanyotherinterestingfactsthey
canfind.
o StudentsmaystudycountriessuchastheNetherlands,Denmark,Poland,Germany,
etc.
o Notwogroupscanstudythesamecountry.Iftheplainexpandsovernumerous
countriestheycanlookatthesameplain,butnotinthesamearea.
o Goovertherubricwiththestudentsbeforetheystarttheassignment.Makesureto
answeranyquestionstheyhaveorclarify.
OncestudentshavecompiledinformationandresearchfromcrediblesourcesontheInternet,
worldmaps,worldatlas,booksaboutcertaincountries,etctheywillsharethisinformation
withtheclass.
Eachgroupwithcreateaposteronchartpaperwiththefactsthehavecollected.Students
shoulddrawasketchofthecountrytheyhaveresearchedandshadewheretheplainis
located.Theycanusetheirmapasareference.
Wewillhangthepostersuparoundtheroomandstudentswillcompleteagallerywalk.
Theywillhaveafewminutestolookateachposter.Studentsshouldjotdownnotes(on
compareandcontrastsheettheywillbereceivingfromme)aboutthingsthataresimilar
totheplaintheyhaveresearchedandthingsthataredifferent.
Wewillhavealargegroupdiscussionwherethestudentswillshareoutwhatthey
noticedwhenwalkingaroundtheclass.

Maps:
IwillprovidestudentswithamapofKenyasoIcandemonstratetheactivitywewillbedoing
andtheywillbeabletoseewhattypesoffeatureswewillbetalkingabout.Whenstudentspick
theircountryandplaintheywillbeprovidingamapwiththeirposter.

Differentiation:
GiftedStudents
o Cancomparetwodifferentlandformsinthesamecountry
o Canlookfurtherintohowpeopleandanimalssurviveontheseplains
o Canlookatplainsinmorethanonecountry
StrugglingLearners
o Willhaveallmaterialsprintedoutsotheycantakenotesinthemarginsasthe
readofmakemarkingstohelpthemprocesstheinformation
o Studentscanprintoffapictureoftheircountryandjustshadeinwheretheplain
islocated
o Studentscangetafillintheblanksheettohelpthemtakenotes.Thesheetwill
haveallofthedetailsasheadingsandspaceforthemthewritedownwhatthey
findundereachheading.
ActivityAssessment:
Studentswillbeassessedonthefollowingcriteriaforthisassignment.

ACTIVITYTHREE
ContentDiscipline:MusicandExpressiveArts
NCSSStrand:
TheNCSSstandardwewillbeusingisCulturebecausestudentswillstudyhowdifferent
culturescommunicatetheirideasandbeliefsthroughdance.
GoalorObjective:
Ingroups,fifthgradestudentswillbeabletoresearchculturaldancesandsharewiththe
classoneculturaldancethatisatleastthirtysecondsinlengththroughanartisticmanner.
ActivityDescription:
MaterialsNeeded:
Computers
AccesstotheInternet

Openspace(gym,cafeteria,etc.)
Notebookorpaper
Writingutensils
VideoclipsfromGhana

StudentswillbeshownvideoclipsofculturaldancesthatIexperiencedfirsthandinGhana.
Iwillaskstudentswhattheythinktheseperformsarecommunicatingthroughtheirdance.
Studentswillhavetimetotalkwiththepeoplearoundthem.Wewillshareoutstudents
responses.
Iwillexplaintothestudentsthatsomeculturesexpresstheirideasorbeliefsthroughtheart
ofdancing.Therearedancesforallsortsofthings.
WewillreferbacktoBringingtheraintoKapitiPlainandthestudentswilltalkabouthow
KapitproblemsolvedtobringraintotheKapitiPlain.Iwillaskthestudentsiftheyknow
anyotherwaystomakeitrain.Wewilldiscusstheseideasasaclass.
Iwillaskstudentsiftheyhaveeverheardofaraindanceandtheywillrespondtothe
questionwithathumbupiftheyhaveheardofaraindanceorathumbdowniftheyhavenot
heardofaraindance.
Iwillexplaintothestudentsthataraindanceissomethingthatisdoneincertainculturesin
thehopesthatitwillcreateorcauseraintofallfromthesky.
Studentswillthenbeputintopredeterminedgroupsof5or6dependingonhowmany
studentsareinclassthatday.Eachclasswillbeassignedaculturethatconductsraindances.
Thestudentswillhavetolocatethatcultureonamapandresearchhowatraditionalrain
dancelooksinthatculture.
Thegroupsofstudentswilllearnatleast30secondsoftheraindance.Thismeansthewill
studytomovementsoftheirculturesraindanceandtheywillperformthisdancefortheir
classmates.Showthestudentstherubrictheywillbeassessedon.
Studentswillhavetimetoresearchandpracticetheirraindance.
Studentswillthenperformtheirraindancefortherestoftheclass.Studentsinthe
performinggroupwilltelluswhatculturetheystudiedandwheretheircountryislocatedon
amap.

Differentiation:
GiftedLearners
o Willbeencouragedtoresearchwheretheideaofaraindancewasfirstincorporated
intoculture
o ResearchwhatistypicallywornduringaraindanceandbringinvisualsORdressin
traditional(ascloseaspossible)attire
o Studentswillbeencouragedtolearnmorethanoneraindance
o Studentswillbeencouragedtocreatetheirownraindancebasedoffoftheresearch
theyhavecompleted
StrugglingLearners
o Canreceiveaculturetoresearchinsteadofpickingonerandomly
o Canreceiveawrittenlistofstepsormovesthatareintheirraindance

o Canperformaseriesof5stepsormovesinaraindanceopposedtoperformingthe
wholeritual
ActivityAssessment:
Thestudentswillbeassessedforthisassignmentonthefollowingcriteria.
4
3
2
1
Audience
Studentalways
Studentusually
Student
Studentrarely
Behavior
demonstrates
demonstrates
sometimes
demonstrates
appropriate
appropriate
demonstrates
appropriate
audience
audience
appropriate
audience
participationfor participationfor audience
participationfor
thecontext/style thecontext/style participationfor thecontext/style
ofmusic(e.g.,
ofmusic(e.g.,
thecontext/style ofmusic(e.g.,
clapping,
clapping,
ofmusic(e.g.,
clapping,
standing,singing standing,singing clapping,
standing,singing
along)
along)
standing,singing along)
along)
Participation
Studentlistensto Studentlistensto Studentlistensto Studentlistensto
instructionsand instructionsand someinstructions fewinstructions
participates
participates
andparticipates andbarely
willinglyand
willinglyin
indancesfrom
participatesin
successfullyin
dancesfrom
another
dancesfrom
dancesfrom
another
time/culture.
another
another
time/culture.
time/culture.
time/culture.
Content
Whenaskedto
Whenaskedto
Whenaskedto
Whenaskedto
speakaboutthe
speakaboutthe
speakaboutthe
speakaboutthe
culture,the
culture,the
culture,the
culture,the
studentspresent studentspresent studentspresent studentspresent
5accuratefacts, 3accuratefacts, 2accuratefacts, 1,butalso
withno
withno
withno
include1ormore
inaccurateor
inaccurateor
inaccurateor
inaccurateor
questionable
questionable
questionable
questionable
facts.
facts.
facts.
facts.
*ModifiedfromRubistar.com
References:
MapofKenya:

https://www.google.com/search?
q=map+of+Kenya+for+kids&es_sm=91&biw=1333&bih=784&tbm=isch&imgil=zTSXS97Kcu_3WM%253A
%253BzvvCytRF5ywWM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.atozkidsstuff.com
%25252Fkenya.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=zTSXS97Kcu_3WM%253A%252CzvvCytRF5ywWM
%252C_&usg=__rzaNbiSKMmH5Q07YLaWPTNiU0fM
%3D&dpr=0.9&ved=0CCkQyjc&ei=j0QWVMOGBYmdygTfooKQCg#tbm=isch&q=topical+map+of+Kenya+for+
kids&facrc=_&imgdii=0xoJIhT1gG5PoM%3A%3BFJ1re00l5FM%3B0xoJIhT1gG5PoM
%3A&imgrc=0xoJIhT1gG5PoM%253A%3BDSXOBJJjSIcYxM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.glpinc.org

%252FGraphics%252FProject_Sites%252FAfrica%252FKenya%252FKenyaadmin.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F
%252Fwww.glpinc.org%252FGraphics%252FProject_Sites%252FAfrica%252FKenya%252FKenyaoverview.htm
%3B340%3B384
RubricforActivity#2:
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?ts=1410755832

Aardema, Verna., & Vidal, Beatriz. Bringing the rain to Kapiti Plain: A Nandi tale. New York:
Dial Press for Young Readers. 1981. Print.
BookImage:
https://www.google.com/search?
q=bringing+rain+to+the+kapiti+plain&es_sm=91&tbm=isch&imgil=MEC3hpED_PDrNM%253A
%253BqtkNI8vBIeVvM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fkellykorenek.wordpress.com
%25252F2012%25252F01%25252F27%25252Fbringingtheraintokapitiplain
%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=MEC3hpED_PDrNM%253A%252CqtkNI8vBIeVvM
%252C_&usg=__G70ibUo8wJDWXHMIZLy_MZukog
%3D&biw=1333&bih=735&dpr=0.9&ved=0CE0Qyjc&ei=
jwXVOHpDIGdyASx0IDYBw#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=MEC3hpED_PDrNM%253A%3BqtkNI8vBIeVvM
%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fkellykorenek.files.wordpress.com%252F2012%252F01%252F317862.jpg%3Bhttp
%253A%252F%252Fkellykorenek.wordpress.com%252F2012%252F01%252F27%252Fbringingtherainto
kapitiplain%252F%3B596%3B475