Planning Guide, Grades 6-8
Drought, Famine, and Geographic Diversity
Virginia Morell and Nevada Wier

Overview

Many Americans have heard of Ethiopia only in the context of drought, famine, and war. If asked what the Ethiopian landscape is like, most people would probably say they have no idea or would describe a flat, parched desert. As they listen to the news stories, it’s important for students to recognize that the media portrayals of Ethiopia are not always complete and that Ethiopia is, in fact, a geographically diverse country. This lesson will teach students about Ethiopia’s different geographic regions.

Objectives

Students will:

• Discuss their perceptions of Ethiopia, based on what they’ve heard in the media.
• Map the Blue Nile and Lake Tana.
• Research and answer questions about Ethiopia’s geographical regions, climate, and agriculture.
• Research and answer questions about the current drought in Ethiopia.
• Write magazine articles explaining to Americans some of the things they might not have realized about Ethiopia and why it might be a good idea for Americans to learn more about the country.

Time

Three to four class periods

Correlation to National Standards

Geography Standards:

• Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographical representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective
• Standard 3: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth’s surface
• Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places
• Standard 6: How culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions
• Standard 7: The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth’s surface
• Standard 8: The characteristics and spatial distributions of ecosystems on Earth’s surface
• Standard 13: How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth’s surface
• Standard 14: How human actions modify the physical environment
• Standard 15: How physical systems affect human systems
• Standard 16: The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources
• Standard 18: How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future

Introduce

Ask students to list the things they know or have heard about Ethiopia. Then have them share their lists with the class. What are some common perceptions of this country? If they know anything about Ethiopia, they’ll likely mention drought, famine, and war. Discuss some of the things they’ve heard about Ethiopia in the media.

Teach

Tell them that Nevada Wier, an award-winning photographer, and Virginia Morell, an acclaimed author, have recently hiked and rafted their way down the Ethiopian Blue Nile, a distance of about 500 miles. Have students ever heard of people traveling in Ethiopia? What about taking a trip on the Blue Nile? What do they imagine the landscape would look like on this trip?

Inform the class that Ethiopia has a diverse landscape that is not fully portrayed in the media. Give each student a blank outline map of Ethiopia from the Xpeditions Atlas (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/main.html), and ask them to map the Blue Nile and Lake Tana. They can refer to this Blue Nile map (http://www.ence.umd.edu/undergraduate.d/nile.d/lecture02.d
/slide24.jpg).

Ask students to conduct research, either individually or in groups, on Ethiopia’s diverse geographical regions and climate zones. Have them visit the following Web sites and answer the questions below:

• Lonely Planet: Ethiopia
  http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/afr/eth.htm
• Africa Guide: Ethiopia
  http://www.africaguide.com/country/ethiopia/index.htm
• ESRI World Thematic Data—Make a precipitation map of Africa
  http://www.esri.com/data/online/esri/wothphysic.html
• Natural Vegetation in Africa
  http://library.berkeley.edu/EART/maps/africa-veg.gif
• Pictures of Ethiopia’s rivers and gorges
  http://hamster.geologie.tu-clausthal.de/~gpla/sites1.html

Questions to answer:

1. What major geographical regions exist in Ethiopia, and where are these regions located?
2. What is the climate and vegetation like in these regions?
3. How does Ethiopia’s climate compare with that of other North African countries? Is it more or less arid than the countries in the Sahara?
4. What types of agricultural activities occur in western Ethiopia? In eastern and southeastern Ethiopia?

Ask students if they’ve heard anything in the news about the current drought in Ethiopia. Have them go to the following Web pages to learn a little about this situation, and then have them answer the questions below:

• Deadly Drought: Online NewsHour Interview
  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/jan-june00
  /drought_6-9.html
• Return of Drought—Have students read the opinions on the message board, but remind them that these are opinion statements and that many of them have strong emotional arguments.
  http://www.ethiopians.com/return_of_drought.htm
• Hitosa Water Supply: A People’s Project—Students will have to scroll down and link to the appropriate page.
  http://www.wateraid.org.uk/research/index.html

Questions to answer:

1. What region of Ethiopia is most affected by the drought?
2. Is the entire country equally susceptible to famine?
3. What factors besides the drought contribute to the lack of water and to hunger in Ethiopia?
4. What would you expect the Blue Nile region to be like during the Ethiopian drought?

Close/Assess

Now that they’ve learned about some of the basics of Ethiopian geography, have students discuss (either as a class or in groups) the ways in which their new knowledge differs from the common perceptions that most Americans have of Ethiopia. What do they think Americans should know and understand about Ethiopia? What information might they gain by learning about Morell and Wier’s expedition down the Blue Nile? What might Ethiopians want Americans to know about their country?

Ask students to pretend that they’re magazine journalists who have been asked to write articles explaining to an American audience some of the things that Ethiopians would like Americans to know about their country. The articles should explain what the geography of Ethiopia is like, what the precipitation levels are throughout the country, which regions are experiencing the greatest drought-related problems, and what factors besides drought may contribute to famine. They should conclude their articles by explaining the ways in which they think Americans might benefit from reading the December 2000 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC article about Morell and Wier’s journey down the Blue Nile. How might that trip contribute to a better understanding of Ethiopia?

Extension Activities

Draw two columns on the board, labeling one “common perceptions” and the other “realities.” Have students contribute words and phrases to each column, based on their previous and new understanding of Ethiopia.

In addition to geography and drought-related issues, have students’ articles discuss Ethiopian culture, food, religion, etc., to add to the audience’s understanding of this country.

Have students go back to the ESRI World Thematic Database
(http://www.esri.com/data/online/esri/wothphysic.html) and look more carefully at the Africa precipitation map. Which African countries do they think would have the highest and lowest population densities, based on water availability? Have them create a population density map at this site to see if their predictions were accurate.

—Betsy Hedberg