Galimoto
Student Sites
Background Information:
This story takes place in Malawi, Africa. Kondi, a young boy works to construct a galimoto. Galimoto means "car" in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi. It is also the name for a type of push toy made by children. Old wires, sticks, cornstalks, and pieces of yam are shaped into cars, trucks, bicycles, trains, and helicopters. All of these intricate toys are known as galimoto (GAL-lee-moe-toe). The word galimoto may have come form the English word motor car, with the word in reverse order. In Chichewa the sounds r and l are often interchanged (and c and g may have been) and every syllable ends with a vowel.
Activities:
Spelling- see list
Find Malawi Africa on the map
Dream Writing - see sheet
Centers:
Art activity - make something out of pipe cleaner - see directions
Reading - books about inventions and other books by author Karen Williams
Website - Malawi project
Writing - what would you take in a shoe box - see sheet
Writing/drawing: Invention - if you could invent something, what would it be? What would you need? How would you get what you needed? What would it look like?
