December 2010
Activities Guide
for Librarians
FAVL – Ghana
This guide has been created for you the librarians, to offer ideas of different activities to
do at the library every day. There are activities for children, students and adults. There
are reading, art and theatre activities as well educational workshops. There are a number
of activities for you to try, but please do not be limited to this guide. Use your
knowledge, imagination and creativity to organize other fun activities that are both
educational and productive. Feel free to add activities that you know and you would like
to share in the guide.
Have Fun!
Table of Contents
Reading Techniques ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...... p
Reading Activities ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. p
Art activities ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ....p
Song and Dance ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...... p
Fun Games ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ……………p
Debates ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .p
Theatre ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....p
Educational Sessions ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...... p
Workshops ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...p
Reading Techniques
Introduction
Each child learns in a different way, especially when it comes
to reading. There are various reading techniques that you can
use with readers to improve their reading level.
1) Guided free reading
Each student takes a book of their choice and reads silently
while you the librarian supervise. Students can ask questions
regarding difficult words, phrases or images that they do not
understand.
2) Free reading
Each student takes a book of his choice and sits in the library or out in courtyard to read.
3) Group reading
Divide the children into small groups of 5. Choose a book for each group. One by one,
the child reads out loud as his peers follow and listen silently. When the reader has
finished the passage, he passes the book to his neighbor to continue.
4) Peer tutoring
Place children into pairs, two by two, strong readers with weak readers. The two read
together, the stronger reader helping the weaker reader. This is a very good exercise that
makes weaker readers more comfortable and raises the confidence of strong readers.
Reading Activities
1) Sound workshop
In this activity students practice the alphabet and each letter’s sound.
Write all the letters of the alphabet on a large sheet or blackboard. Go through each letter
one by one pronouncing the letter and its sound. Have the children repeat you. After, give
examples of words that begin with each letter.
Example:
Letter
Sound
Word
B
"buh"
boat
S
"ssuh"
snake
T
"teh”
table
2) Read a story
Let the children choose a book. Have them sit in front of you and read the book aloud to
them. After, ask them questions to see if they followed and understood the story.
3) Guess the ending
Read a story to the children, but instead of reading the end, let them choose the story’s
ending. Students exchange their ideas with the group. After the exchange read the ending
of the story.
4) Look at the cover ... and guess!
Divide the children into small groups and chose a book that no one has read. Show them
only the cover. Tell them to imagine what will happen in the book, simply by looking at
the cover, and to share their thoughts with the group. After, read the book to the group.
5) Book report
Ask a library member to choose a book to take home.
After it is read, have them write a summary or short book
report that you can display in the library. The report
should say what the story is about and what the reader
liked or disliked about it. You can also organize a session
where readers meet and share their summaries and reports
with others.
6) Write a story
Invite readers to write a story or fable of their choice.
7) Share a story with family
This activity is a good way to raise awareness of the library and its importance in the
community. Ask readers to choose a book they like and bring it home to their families.
They should read, share and discuss the story with different family members. The next
day, the child shares or writes about his experience.
8) Reading Tree
Build a large tree trunk with branches (without leaves) using paper, and put it on a wall in
the library (or paint it on). Cut paper tree leaves of different colors and sizes and place
aside. When a reader finishes a book and can describe what he has read, write his name
and the title of the book on a leaf and display it on a tree branch. A reader can read more
than one book but do not repeat titles. Reward those who read more difficult books by
displaying larger sized leaves. Ask the reader a few questions before to verify that it he
has read and understood the book.
9) Poetry Writing
Explain the concept of poetry and rhymes to the group. After have them create their own
little rhyming poem and share them aloud to other children.
Example of a poem:
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder how you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder how you are.
10) Yesse
Yesse means "out" in local language in Ghana. Have the children form a line. Say a word,
like "school" or "book", for example. One by one the students call out the letter to spell
the given word. If someone makes a mistake, the group shouts "Yesse" and they are
eliminated. The last child left standing is the winner. You can add rules if you want. The
first child says the letter, the second says the sound of this letter and the third one says a
word that begins with that letter.
11) Hopscotch
Draw hopscotch on the ground with chalk. In each hopscotch square write a letter of the
alphabet. The children play the game normally, but when they land in a square they must
say the letter, its sound and a word beginning with that letter.
12) Character web
This activity helps students better understand a story, especially focusing on the
characters. Ask students to choose a character in the story. Write the name of the
character in a square in the center of a piece of paper. Around the name, put different
categories including the character’s physical features, attitude, feelings, etc.
Example:
tall
Shy
Traits
African
athletic
Physical
Traits
Obedient
Christine
Family
Two brothers
Deceased
father
13) Diagram the story
Like the previous activity, this is a good activity to help students better understand the
stories they read. Follow the format above. After reading a story, ask a student to draw a
diagram of the story. Write the title of the story in a square in the center of a white sheet.
Surround the title with different categories, such as setting, main characters, the dilemma,
the solution, etc.
Art Activities
1) Drawing
Sit the children comfortably at a table with enough
space and equipment. Materials needed include
paper, pencils, erasers, crayons and colored pencils.
Let them draw freely.
2) Making necklaces
Use old magazines to tear strips, lengthwise, from
top to bottom, about 1 inch thick. Children roll the
pieces into tight coils. Put a drop of glue at the end
to properly close the coils. They must make enough
to make a necklace. Attach the coils onto a thin rope
or twine and tie it around the neck of the child.
3) Collage
Give old magazines to children and let them cut out the pictures and images they want.
With glue or tape, they stick the images onto a sheet of paper. You can give each a
theme, like "my life in village," "at school" “at the library " for example, and they cut out
the pictures and make a collage on the theme.
4) Creating a mask
Pass out sheets of white paper to children and help them draw the mask outline dotted or
solid lines. Masks can be in the form of wild or domestic animals, or even vegetables.
Cut out the mask and let the children decorate their masks freely. Tie the masks to the
head of the child using elastics. Each child should write his name behind the mask and
you can display them in the library.
Materials needed: paper, pencils, colored pencils, erasers, crayons, markers, scissors,
staplers, rubber bands, glue.
5) Making a book
In this activity, children combine writing and drawing by creating their own book. Show
examples of previous books (“Book of Colors” etc.). On each page the student writes a
sentence, "the pants are yellow," for example, and then illustrates it. Children may work
alone or in groups. Display the books in the library.
6) Making bookmarks
Cut white paper into the shape of a bookmark (long and rectangular). Let children
decorate the bookmarks freely with colored pencils or markers. This activity is a good
opportunity to talk about how to properly handle and care for the library books.
7) Origami
Origami is an ancient Japanese art form. Different forms are created (animals, flowers
etc.) simply by folding paper in different ways.
Head of a dog
1) Use a regular sized (8x12) piece of white paper. Turn it
diagonally and fold in two.
2) Fold over the corners; like the diagram below. Use
crayons or colored pencils to draw a face
3) Done!
Origami Boat
Begin with a rectangular piece of paper.
Fold it in half as shown. Then partially fold it again, making a crease near the top:
Here you can see the crease in the photo below left. This helps you line up the corners
which you fold down as shown below:
Now fold each edge of the paper upwards as shown. Use your fingers to open up into a
hat! You can stop at the hat, or continue on to the boat.
Bring the corners of the hat brim towards each other. The edges of the brim will be
pushed outwards. It's kind of like you're "squashing" the hat into a square:
Now take one lower corner of the square and fold it upwards. Flip the piece over and do
the same for the other corner.
You now have a folded triangle. Open up the folded triangle, bring the corners together...
...again, "squash" the triangle into a square (below middle photo).
Now pull the outer corners of the square, one in each hand.
Keep pulling to unfold your boat.
We like to turn the boat over and expand the hole in the bottom. This will help it balance
and float better.
Now we just need some water to float our origami boat!
8) Finger puppets to help with counting
Here is a fun way to help children learn to recognize numbers and count
from 1 to 10…and 10 to 1 !
Materials: peanuts in their shells; scissors or a knife; black marker;
white paint (optional)
Activity:
1. Take 20 peanuts -10 for your fingers and 10 for the child’s. Cut
the peanuts into two. Be careful to cut it so that the peanuts come out without
destroying the shell. The openings must be big enough to put over the child’s
fingers
2. Use the white paint to make a base on the each shell half. Let dry
3. Use the black marker to number the peanut shells from 1 to 10, like shown in the
picture
4. Your finger puppets are ready to play!
Song and Dance
1) Alice the Camel
Alice the camel has 10 humps, Alice the camel has 10 humps
Alice the camel has 10 humps, so go, Alice, GO!
Bom Bom Bom…
[Continue with 9,8,7…humps until…]
Alice the camel has no humps, Alice the camel has no humps
Alice the camel has no humps, ‘cause Alice is a HORSE!
2) Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Head and shoulder, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Head and shoulder, knees and toes, knees and toes.
And eyes and ears, and a mouth and a nose.
Head and shoulder, knees and toes, knees and toes.
[Touch the appropriate body part each time it’s mentioned. Second time: don’t say the
word “head’’ aloud but still touch it. Each verse thereafter, add another body part that
you touch but don’t mention aloud.]
Fun Games
1) Lifeboat (teamwork)
Go outside or in a spacious area. Tell the group to imagine they're floating on a vast
ocean. They need to make rescue boats to survive. Yell out a number, for example "6"!
Participants should form groups of six to avoid drowning. If the group is composed of
more or less than 6 persons, the entire group has “drowned” and is eliminated. The two
remaining people standing are the winners.
2) Spider web (teamwork and leadership)
Participants form small group - about five or six people. Each person grabs hold of the
hands of those in their circle. They cannot hold hands with the person next to them, and
they must hold the hands of two different people. Then they must try to untangle and
return to one open circle--without letting go of one another’s hands. After everyone is
done, ask questions about the activity. What made groups successful? Why? What
techniques were used.
3) Draw the picture (communication strategies and perceptions)
Here is a good activity to illustrate the different perceptions people have of what they
hear. Ask five volunteers to leave the room for a few minutes. Produce a sheet of paper
and ask participants to draw a simple illustration. The illustration might be, for example,
a house, animals, trees and so on. Bring back the first volunteer and show them the
drawing for 20 seconds. Hide the picture and then bring in the second volunteer. The 1st
volunteer must verbally describe the illustration in the second volunteer who in turn
describes to the third volunteer, and so on. When the fifth volunteer has heard a
description of the illustration, give him a new sheet of paper and markers or crayons. He
will then try to make the illustration as he hears it. They should not receive any help from
the group. When he has finished, compare it with the original. There must be some
interesting differences. Discuss the importance or communication and perception.
4) Telephone (communication)
Ask participants to sit in a circle. Think of a phrase like "There are many people who
enjoy working in the garden" or "I will walk toward the river to go fishing," for example.
Whisper your phrase softly to the person to your right. This person then quietly whispers
the same phrase to the person on their right and so on. Each person should only whisper
what he heard, and cannot repeat the phrase more than
once. Finally the person to your left should be the last to
hear the sentence after it has been repeated throughout
the circle. Ask him to repeat it aloud. Then tell the group
what your initial phrase was. The first sentence is usually very different from the last.
Discuss how this relates to communication strategies.
5) Burkina Faso, Ghana and Togo (just for fun)
With chalk draw three lines down on the ground. Mark Burkina Faso on the first line,
Ghana on the middle line and Togo on the third line. All participants must start on the
Ghana line. Begin shouting the names of the three different countries and participants
must jump from one country to another (on the line) according to the country you say. If
any participant jumps on the wrong country, falls or wobbles, they are out of the game.
The last participant standing is the winner.
6) Riddles
Ask a riddle to the children. Give them time to reflect the answer and share with to the
group.
Examples of riddles:
a) What always sleeps with its shoes on?
Answer: a horse
b) What animal walks with four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three legs at
night?
Answer: a human being
c)What wears a jacket but no pants?
Answer: a book
d)What invention lets you look right through a wall?
Answer: a window
e)What has a bark but no bite?
Answer: a tree
7) Puzzles
These are images of an object, map, animal or scenery that are made up of pieces of
wood or cardboard that are disorganized. Each piece represents a piece of the picture.
Begin by carefully observing the entire picture. Remove and then shuffle the pieces of the
puzzle. The student must reconstruct the image to its original image.
8) Lido
A board game involving 2 to 4 players competing to race to the finish, using dice.
9) Ware
A wooden instrument with two parallel rows of six horizontal holes with four pebbles
placed in each hole. Two players sit face to face with the ware game in between them.
The first player randomly chooses 4 stones in a hole and distributes the pebbles one by
one in the other holes from left to right. The second player does exactly the same thing.
Whenever a player runs out of pebbles on one or more of 2 or 3 stones, he picks them up
as a gain. He puts them in his hole in the end. At the end of the game, he who has
amassed the most pebbles wins the game
10) Card Games
There are several kinds of card games. The most popular game with children is called
"wealth" which is played with two or more persons. The cards are shuffled and divided
up amongst all players. Taking turns, each player puts a card from his or her pile in the
center. Whoever submits his card on a similar card (same suit or number) collects the job
(all of the cards that have been placed in the center). The winner is the individual who has
collected the most cards.
Debates
Introduction
Debates are great activities to do with people of all ages and
education level. It is a great way to share ideas and
introduces different opinions.
1) Small group discussions
This is a good activity to do with younger children and get
them to exchange ideas with their peers. Ask questions about
their culture and environment. After giving them a minute to
think, begin the discussion.
Examples of small discussion:
a) How to avoid malaria; b) How to respect the library; c) Maintenance of books in the
library; d) The use of latrines; e) How to succeed at school; f) How to overcome peer
pressure
2) Debates
Discussions organized around formal arguments between two divergent groups on a
controversial issue are very effective. Debates are more effective if you:
-Choose a theme or a very controversial topic that participants really take to heart.
-Insist that the participants team up on the opposite group of the argument they believe.
This forces them to think differently and analyze the discussion on all levels to develop
an effective argument. This also helps them see things from the perspective of others.
Write-themes of the debate one week in advance at the earliest so that participants can
research and collect information to develop their arguments.
-Divide into teams for the debate. Try to make them argue and defend by turns so that
everyone is obliged to think and participate.
-Have judges (parents, teachers, health staff, etc.) come and listen to the arguments and
chose the winning team. Hand out small prizes.
-After the debate, discuss the different arguments used and suggest strategies for a better
debate next time.
Suggested themes for debates:
- We do not need to sleep at night with mosquito nets.
- Why use latrines when we have nature?
- Since every woman will marry and have children and have her husband take care of her,
women do not need to continue school after the primary level.
- Sexual relations before marriage are part of modern life.
- Using condoms is against African cultures.
- "It is good for a boy to experience sex before marriage, but if a girl does so, she is a
prostitute.
- Only men have the right to decide when to have sex with their wives.
- Continuing their education is the best way for women to be independent.
-Having more than one sexual partner gives you a fuller life.
-The use of condoms prevents you to experience true sexual pleasure.
Theatre
1) “Oh Henry”
This activity is a great introduction to theater for
beginners. It is an exercise in expressing our
emotions. Have the group form a circle. Remind
them that there are several ways to communicate, with
our bodies and our voice. Explain that this activity
will illustrate how different uses of our voice and our
body can communicate many different things.
Show how you can pronounce the sentence "Oh
Henry" according to various emotions, such as anger,
fear, and laughter. Circulate through the circle with
each participant practicing different intonations and facial expressions to express various
different emotions.
Some emotions to try:
Sadness
Anger
Fear
Grief
Anxiety
Joy
Love
Passion
Confusion
Depression
Jealousy
Misery
Regret
Guilt
Disappointment
Happiness
2) Using theatre to educate
Scenario: delaying sex
a) Fatima meets a young man named Boubacar at school. She likes him because he is
beautiful and a good athlete. He greets her after class and gives her a gift, saying, for our
future friendship. He invites her to out at night to a bar. Fatima likes him but the situation
makes her uncomfortable. What should she do?
Scenario: peer pressure
a) A group of friends from school are at a dance party. They are dancing and having a
good time together. One of the friends brings out a beer from under his/her jacket. He or
she begins to drink and tries to get the others to drink with him/her. Some of the friends
in the group agree. Show how others might deal with this peer pressure situation.
b) A group of friends are walking around town. They have nothing to do and are bored.
One of them suggests they go steal from the candy shop. Some approve because it will be
something exciting for them to do. On the way there, one of them is afraid and does not
want to participate. Create a role play showing what this person would do to resist peer
pressure.
Educational Sessions
1) Hygiene awareness: Experience with hot pepper
Objectives: Students should be able to:
- Understand that most of the bacteria that cause illness are invisible.
- Wash hands with soap every time you eat
Purpose: To show that invisible bacteria in your body can cause disease, just like chili
reacts with the eyes.
Materials needed: hot pepper, soap, dish, water
Motivational Explanation: Do you know that you can get sick if you do not wash hands
with soap before eating?
Choose a student and ask him to touch the pepper with his hand. Then ask if the hot
pepper is visible on the hand.
Ask the student if he would rub his eyes with his hand. When he refuses, he must say
why. Then, offer a little water to the student and make him wash his hands (without soap)
Again, ask the students to rub their eyes. If he still refuses, he must still explain why.
Now provide soap and water to the student and ask him to wash his hands.
Now he will touch his hand to his face.
Explain that while hot pepper on a hand is not always visible, but it is still dangerous and
painful when you rub your eyes without washing your hands. It is the same for bacteria.
They are invisible, but they can cause illness if students do not wash their hands. When
they eat without washing their hands, their belly will hurt them just like the hot pepper in
the eye. So we always need to wash our hands before we eat.
2) Awareness about female excision
Excision is a practice that often impedes social and cultural well-being of girls and
women
Materials: Picture of female excision
First meeting
List the external parts of the female genital tract. Shows the diagram and discussion.
Animator:
What do you see in this picture
What does she do?
Is excision is a good thing?
Organize into two groups those that are for and against excision. Discuss the different
ideas.
Group 1 (Pro)
Why are you for excision?
Because excised women:
-Can easily participate in all the cultural customs and village ceremonies
-Does not make man impotent. She is clean and well respected
-Children of excised women die at birth because the clitoris touches the baby
- Excision makes women strong and courageous
Group 2 (Con)
Why are you against excision?
Because non-excised women:
-Are clean and respected
- Excised women can be traumatized by the pain she suffered.
- It is not true that the clitoris of the non excised woman kills her baby at birth
- Non excised women do not make their husband impotent
-Excised women feel less during sexual intercourse
-Excision may cause sterility in women
-Excision can cause hemorrhage, tetanus, AIDS, which can lead to death.
Second session
- Recall of the two arguments
Each member of the groups take a resolution to confirm or disprove his choice
Note: The facilitator directs without pressure
3) HIV / AIDS Awareness: The Game Glove
Materials: gloves or plastic bags for each participant
I. Discussion on Universal Precautions
When near blood or other substances (blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk
etc..) You have to put a barrier between the liquid and the gateways mentioned. It is also
important to take all necessary steps to get rid of the barrier such as washing hands after
the activity.
When you are in contact with one of the liquids mentioned above, you need to:
-Use latex gloves or plastic barriers, if there are no gloves
-Clean immediately the blood using gloves or plastic barriers and wipe them with
hydrogen peroxide or a bleach solution, then dispose of soiled items in plastic bags
-Dispose of used syringes in sealed containers. Do not reuse the syringe.
II. Give each participant a glove or plastic bag. Say aloud different situations that would
require or not require the use of a barrier. Participants raise their gloved hands if the
activity requires gloves or their bare hand if it does not.
Possible scenarios can include:
- When you dress the bloody wound of a student (gloved)
- When you shake hands with a person who has AIDS (ungloved)
- When you eat our of the same plate with someone who has HIV (ungloved)
-When you touch a used, bloody and rusty blade (gloved)
-When you braid the hair of a girl who you think is sick (ungloved)
-When you sleep next to someone who has AIDS (ungloved)
Workshops
Shea butter soap
Materials :
To fill molds of about 45-50 pieces (125 CFA pieces) or to make about 40 balls of soap:
Materials
Shea butter
Amount
Unit Price
3 liters or 1 Yoruba or 3 500 liters
big goblets
Coconut, cotton , sesame 3 liters or 3 big goblets 550 liters
or peanut oil
Solder Caustic
1 kg
500 kilos
Silicate
1 kg or 1 big goblet 600 kilo
nearly full
Total Price
1500
1650
500
600
Perfume
1/6 liters or 2 small full 7000 liters
tomato cans
Total
1200
5350 CFA
To fill two molds of about 45-50 (125 CFA pieces) or to make about 80 balls of soap :
Materials
Shea butter
Amount
Unit Price
6 liters or 2 Yoruba or 6 500 liters
big goblets
Coconut, cotton , sesame 6 liters or 6 big goblets 550 liters
or peanut oil
Solder Caustic
2 kg
500 kilos
Silicate
2 kg or 2 big gobelets 600 kilos
nearly full
Perfume
1/3 liters or 4 small full 7000 liters
tomato cans
Total
Total Price
3000
3300
1000
1200
2350
10700 CFA
Preparation:
The night before the day of preparation :
1. Put 6 liters of water (6 big goblets) in a plastic basin (always
use plastic with the soap)
2. Add 1 kg of solder caustic, mix well. The mix will become
hot. Set aside until the next day so that it cools completely.
Wear gloves when using caustic.
The next day :
3. Melt 3 liters (3 big goblets) of the butter and mix with 3 liters
of oil (it is preferable that it be a little hot, you can leave it in
the sun for a while until it becomes warm and slippery.) Let the
mix cool.
4. Slowly pour the oil mix into the water and caustic mix using
a spatula and stir in the same direction until you obtain a thick
enough mixture (about 5 to 10 minutes). Wear gloves.
5. Add the kilo of silicate (or a nearly full goblet) while stirring
in the same direction.
6. After a few minutes add the perfume and continue stirring in the same direction to get
a smooth and heavy mixture.
7. Cover the base of the mold with black plastic and pour the mixture thickly in the
mold. If there is no mold, pour the liquid directly onto a large piece of plastic.
8. Wait until the next morning to remove the molds or make into balls.
Liquid Soap
Materials
Material
Salt
Tansagex
Quantity
1kg
1kg
Unite Price
400
1750
Total Price
400
1750
Water
15L
Perfume (lemon or 1L
flower)
Coloring
Total
7000
7000
1000/color
1000
10150
Preparation
1. Dissolve 1kg of salt in 7 ½ liters of water
2. Be sure to have a separate 7 ½ liters of unsalted water nearby
3. Put 1kg of tansagex in a plastic bucket
4. Stir with a spatula until you obtain a whitish mixture
5. Add little by little the salted solution and then add the unsalted water to help
dilute.
6. Continue until both the salted and unsalted water are finished
7. Mix and leave until the next morning so that the foam disappears.
8. The next morning put the color of choice (blue, yellow, etc).
9. Stir and add 2 measures of perfume using the top of a « Lafi » water bottle as
measurement.
10. Stir and put into bottles.