Kwanzaa History Games
Kwanzaa is a holiday created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 to help African Americans celebrate their roots. It is based around the harvest celebrations of the Ashanti and Zulu tribes. Use Kwanzaa history games in your classroom to help your students learn about this important holiday.
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Seven Days
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Kwanzaa lasts seven days, from December 26th to January 1st. Each day has a different theme. Celebrate these themes with the "Seven Days" game. Write down a list of seven themes. Day one is unity; day two self-determination; three is collective work and responsibility; four is cooperative economics; five is purpose; six is creativity and seven is faith. Play a simple game on each day that represents each of these themes. For example, "unity" could have your students attempting to hold hands in a way that leaves nobody out of the circle. "Creativity" could find your students making different Kwanzaa based crafts.
Swahili Day
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Swahili is the language of the original Zulu tribes. Hold a "Swahili" day while you are learning about Kwanzaa. Teach your students a few simple phrases and words from the language. Teach a few phrases to them every day. Test how well they retained the information at the end of each day by holding a simple quiz-show game. Write a phrase on the board in Swahili and speak it out loud. Call on random students and have them tell you the meaning of the phrase in English. Reward a correct answer with a small prize. Ask each student a few questions and try to make sure each student gets at least one small prize.
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Word Puzzles
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Make a crossword using Kwanzaa history terms, such as important names, customs and other appropriate items. Print out the crossword puzzle at the Party Supplies Shop website or make a word search. Pick your list of words and write your words on the graphing paper in a word search format. Put one letter of each word in each graphing paper square. Fill in the rest of the squares with random letters to hide your words. Copy and print the puzzle a few times to eliminate the graphing paper lines. Hand them out to your students.
Online Games
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There are several online Kwanzaa history games available at the Kwanzaa Kidz website as well as others. These games include carving a marionette. Click on the game buttons to interact with the sculpture, including rotating it and coloring it online. Print out the image to have your students color it and take it home to show their parents or hang on their walls. Another image they can print is a traditional antelope headdress. A Kwanzaa mask puzzle is also available. Students move the puzzle pieces to the correct position by clicking and moving them on the game board.
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