Moja means one- Swahili Counting Book

Moja Means One-Swahili Counting Book

Specifics

APA Citation: Feelings, M. L., & Feelings, T. (1971). Moja means one: Swahili counting book. New York: Dial Press.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Picture Book, Bilingual

Lexile Level: Not available. Similar books by same author are at Lexile level of AD640L.

Audience: This is a children's book that is recommended to be read with an adult. 

Summary

This book not only teaches children to count in Swahili to 10, it also gives information on each page about Africa. This is a great read for students who are interested in learning new languages and about other cultures. Each page has a number with digits, then the written version of the number, and also how to pronounce it. Then the page will give an interesting fact such as, "The clothing East Africans wear includes the kanga, busuti, lapa, kanzu, and dashiki" (Feelings 6). 

Evaluation

This children's book portrays African people, culture, places, and language appropriately. It is to be used as a teaching resource, and does not portray any stereotypes. The illustrations go nicely with the text and are gorgeous. 

Before the story starts, the author includes a brief introduction about Africa, the importance of Swahili, and what makes her qualified to write a book like this. 

Mini Lesson

I think it would be fun, and good practice, to turn this into a game. First as a class we would learn and practice counting in Swahili. Then, when we get better at it, the class could play around the world. So two students compete against each other and switch off counting. The first person to say the wrong thing, mispronounce or pause would sit down, and the standing student would move on to another sitting student. This would be a fun game to play every few days to get them to really know the material.