Motor car and galimoto: An intercultural lesson in pragmatism, creativity, and perseverance

In this lesson for grade three, students read the book Galimoto, about a young boy in Malawi, Africa, and his quest to gather wire in order to make a toy car. Students discuss the literary elements of the book, study the language used, and complete their own quests to gather wire and create their own galimotos.

A lesson plan for grades 3–4 Visual Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Social Studies

By Edie McDowell

Galimoto made by a boy in Zomba, Malawi. (Image source. More about the photograph)

Learn more

• Flickr: The Galimoto pool Collection of galimoto photos from people around the world on the photo-sharing website Flickr.
• Williams Writes: Teacher guides The website of Karen Lynn Williams, the author of Galimoto, offers teacher guides to accompany her books. Click on the Galimoto link to download the teacher guide in PDF format.

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Related topics

• Learn more about Africa, Malawi, arts, language arts, literature, sculptures, social studies, toys, and world cultures.

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This interdisciplinary lesson invites elementary students to explore the circumstances of a Kondi, a seven-year-old boy living in Malawi, Africa, through the book Galimoto, by Karen Lynn Williams. Kondi’s quest for wire, with which he makes a galimoto (toy motor car), is used as the basis for teaching language, cultural differences, sculpture, and math.

Students will learn about the inspiration, determination, resourcefulness, and pragmatism demonstrated by Kondi, who must collect wire from a variety of people and places in his village, not all of whom are friendly or sympathetic to his cause.

Learning outcomes

• Students will develop an awareness of different cultures and the circumstantial challenges and needs presented by geographical location. Students will be involved in discussions about poverty, pragmatism, and recycling of materials.
• Students will gain an understanding of how art can be linked to a mathematical understanding of 2-dimensional design and 3-dimensional sculpture by designing their own galimoto wire toys.
• Students will gain experience with the artistic process, and will have an opportunity to engage in creative self-expression by designing and creating wire sculptures.
• Students will gain experience with instructional writing by creating a set of instructions detailing the materials and process by which the galimoto was made.
• Additionally, students may participate in an optional activity which reinforces consonant sounds: /r/, /l/, /c/, and /g/, by contrasting their use in two languages: English and Chichewa, the language of Malawi.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

Three hour-long class periods, or six half-hour class periods

Materials needed

• Galimoto, by Karen Lynn Williams.
• Sketch paper
• Notebook paper
• Pencils
• Various grades of wire (available in craft stores for jewelry making or other wire arts)
• 5 x 7 index cards
• Story log for recording literary elements
• Chart of students and tasks (example provided below, under “Activities.”)
• Optional: At least one computer with internet connection, streaming video capability, and audio speakers. (Required only for pre-activity introduction and overview of Malawi.)

Pre-activities

• Students should know where Malawi is within the continent of Africa. They should have some understanding of the modern environment and economy of Malawi.
• Optional: The following links on the National Geographic website offer an excellent overview of geographic concepts and the relationship between people and geography in real-life situations in modern-day Malawi:
  • Malawi map and fast facts
  • Man-eaters of Malawi - View a 2 min. 21 sec. streaming video to help students visualize the setting and the extraordinary survival challenges faced by citizens of Malawi. Encourage students to discuss the facts presented in this short film. (E.g. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Crocodiles sometimes attack Malawians who need to share the river for survival.)

Activities

Activity one

One hour for reading, discussion, and writing reflections.

1. Introduce the book Galimoto, by Karen Lynn Williams, by showing the cover and sounding out the title. Ask students to guess what a galimoto might be and to keep their guesses secret until after the story has been read. (Students may whisper their guesses to one other student, or jot them down in their journals for later reference.) Tell students that the main character in this story is named Kondi and that he is seven years old. Kondi lives in Malawi, Africa. Remind them that Malawi is a land-locked country in Africa and that it is on the Sondi River, where there are dangerous crocodiles. Remind them also that Malawi is one of the poorest nations in the world.
2. Ask students to listen for clues in the text and to look for details in the illustrations that serve to create the setting (both time and place) of the story. Read the story aloud.
3. Have students complete a literary analysis by completing this story log:
   

   Story log of literary elements: Characters, plot, setting, theme

   Who?
   When? Where?
   What?
   Why?
   How?

4. The following discussion questions may be posed for reading comprehension:
   • What was Kondi’s quest in this story? Did he succeed?
   • What was the purpose of his quest?
   • What challenges did he face?
   • What was the final product?
   • What can you tell about the setting (Malawi, Africa) from this story?
5. Ask the students to brainstorm facts about Malawian culture, tradition, history, religion, family life, work, food, environment, or dress based on information from the story and its illustrations. Share these aloud and create a collaborative web of observations. Students should use this web as a reference for words to use in writing answers to each question. Remind students to support their answers with specific details from the story.
6. Extension: Briefly discuss which of these are known facts and which are possible inferences. Students will be able to distinguish between fiction, which is creative in nature, and facts, which can be verified. Ask students to fact-check whether or not there actually are giant ant hills in Malawi, or whether or not the people depend upon maize for food.

Activity two: Language study (optional)

If you choose to do this activity, plan to spend approximately fifteen minutes for introduction to the Chichewa language of Malawi; fifteen minutes to review nouns, adjectives, and linking verbs, and to introduce the epithet; fifteen minutes for students to self-author a personal epithet and translate it into Chichiwa; and fifteen minutes to share these with the class by introducing one another in Chichewa.

1. Ask the students: What do you think the word galimoto means? It is in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi. In Chichewa the sounds r and l, and c and g are often interchanged and every syllable ends in a vowel. Explain that the word “galimoto” probably came from the English word “motor car,” with the words in reverse order and with a Chichewa pronunciation. Challenge students to say their own names as translated into Chichewa.
2. Ask students to select at least one adjective that accurately describes their individual talent, interest, character traits, or personality. Have each student write a sentence with a linking verb connecting the student’s name with the adjective that describes him or her. (For example: “Ruby is friendly.”)
3. Challenge the students to translate their sentences into Chichewa, exchanging the sounds r and l, c and g, adding an a at the end of each syllable that does not already end in a vowel, and putting the adjective before the noun, thus eliminating the linking verb. (For example: “Ruby is friendly” would be translated: “Fliendry Luby.”) Students should write their sentences in English on one side of an index card, and their translated epithets in Chichewa on the other side.

Activity three (optional)

1. Begin with a discussion of toys. Ask students what they would make if they had no toys to play with and could not buy anything in a store.
2. Review the challenges Kondi faced in his quest for wire to make a galimoto.
3. Invite students to design and sculpt a galimoto. Tell them that they will simulate Kondi’s quest for the necessary wire by completing a series of challenges throughout the next day of school. (Assure them that they will not be climbing fences into junkyards!) Students may help establish reasonable challenges, such as completing math homework or other academic tasks, performing a good deed, showing perseverance, etc.
4. Create a class roster with a graph to keep track of each task and whether or not each student succeeded in fulfilling it. (See mini-chart below for an optional template.)
   

   Student’s name	Task one (complete to earn green wire)	Task two (Complete to earn red wire)	Task three (Complete to earn copper wire)	Number successfully completed

5. Give the students the following assignment: Sketch a design for a galimoto made from wire and found objects. Give it a name in Chichewa. (Remember that a galimoto does not necessarily need to be a motor car; it can be any miniature toy object made of wire.) Students should have these sketches and names complete before the next lesson.

Activity four: The quest

1. Students will spend the day, or several days, earning wire parts (three colors or grades of wire) by completing established tasks. Have students check off their own columns as they complete each task. (This reinforces comprehension of columns and rows.)
2. Tell students that once the quest period has ended, they will use their materials to create a wire sculpture based upon their design sketches.

Activity five: Galimoto design and creation

1. Introduce two-dimensional design should as the method by which students will sketch plans for their galimoto wire toy creations. They should be encouraged to consider the size, scale, and general outline as they plan their projects. Show students the examples of simple line drawings in the book’s illustrations, by artist Catherine Stock, on pages 21, 24, and 25.
2. Once students have finished their design ideas, remind them that they may need to revise them or simplify their projects as they begin to work with the wire. Discuss the properties of wire and give each student a little piece of wire with which to experiment. Students should measure their wire and estimate the amounts needed of each type or color to complete the design.
3. Allow students time to create their galimoto projects, which may take up to an hour.
4. When the students have finished their creations, give them the following assignment:
   How to make a galimoto
   Write a paragraph describing its material parts, the steps you will go through to construct the toy, its size, shape, and special features. Edit your writing and read the final product aloud to a peer.

Assessment

• Activity one:
  • Assess by story log of literary elements (characters, plot, setting, theme). Students should demonstrate ability to identify literary elements by completing story log with specific examples from the text Galimoto, by Karen Williams.
  • Assess by participation in discussion. Students should extend their literary analysis by participating in a discussion of the comprehension questions. They should be able to identify the protagonist, Kondi; to outline his quest and its purpose; and to make inferences about the setting of the story.
• Activity two (optional language study):
  • Students should be able to identify the following parts of speech: noun, adjective, linking verb. Students should supply each in writing sentences about themselves.
  • Students should demonstrate understanding of epithet by creating a descriptive nickname.
  • Students should demonstrate ability to recognize consonants.
• Activity three (optional quest):
  • Students should demonstrate understanding, through discussion, that our American society takes much for granted. Note: obviously, this activity is optional, but it does afford the students first-hand experience in not taking things for granted. Furthermore, it might encourage them to think of other ways to salvage and recycle materials.
  • Assess by student ability to record data on a graph, using columns and rows.
• Activity four (galimoto design and creation):
  • Assess by students’ ability to create a two-dimensional line drawing. Students should use the line drawing design as a guide for creating a three-dimensional wire sculpture.
  • Assess by students’ paragraphs describing the creation of their galimotos. Students should demonstrate mastery of the writing process by editing, revising, and proofreading final drafts of these “how-to” instructions. Students should be able to identify and describe the materials, process, size, shape, and purpose of the 3-dimensional creation, including the two-dimensional planning sketch.

Websites

• The following links on the National Geographic website offer an excellent overview of geographic concepts and the relationship between people and geography in real-life situations in modern-day Malawi:
  • Malawi map and fast facts
  • Man-eaters of Malawi View a 2 min. 21 sec. streaming video to help students visualize the setting and the extraordinary survival challenges faced by citizens of Malawi. Encourage students to discuss the facts presented in this short film. (E.g. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Crocodiles sometimes attack Malawians who need to share the river for survival.)

Critical vocabulary

• Math:
  • column
  • row
  • graph
  • two-dimensional
  • three-dimensional
• Language arts:
  • parts of speech, including noun, verb, linking verb, and adjective
  • consonant
• Literature:
  • literary elements, including characters, setting, plot, and theme
  • epithet
  • fact
  • fiction
• Social studies and geography:
  • continent
  • country
  • Malawi
  • Africa
  • land-locked
  • poverty
  • survival
• Environment and ecology:
  • recycle
  • salvage
  • reuse