Using their stories in your classroom: Creating global awareness
Scroll down to view the 30 student-made digital stories (each 1-3 minutes long). These stories offer a fascinatingly candid and intimate window into village life, home to 55% of the people living in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In your classroom, the students’ stories may be used to initiate discussions or writing activities. Younger students might compare and contract daily village life with their own lives. Older students might examine how the challenges revealed reflect issues requiring a global commitment or inspire them to consider how they approach their own challenges.
Inspired by their stories: An internationally acclaimed feature film
The internationally acclaimed feature film, TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE (Grande comme le Baobab) was inspired by these digital stories. The movie comes with free materials correlated directly to the CCSS curricula standards for Gr 8-12, plus guided discussions for community groups and universities. The movie can be watched in whole (82 minutes) or in 20 minute increments followed by discussions.
- Runtime
- 0:46
- Description
- Aldiouma Dia shares how her mother takes milk from the cows and prepares it to b...
- Runtime
- 1:13
- Description
- Amady Ba shares his daily ritual of taking cows out to graze.
"This Is Us" emp...
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Description
- Cheikh Dia creates a montage of his typical Sunday.
"This Is Us" empowers Sene...
- Runtime
- 0:48
- Description
- Coumba Dia shares a behind-the-scenes look at her family's meal preparation.
"...
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Description
- Daly Dia shows some of the ways she helps her family.
"This Is Us" empowers Se...
- Runtime
- 1:01
- Description
- Debo Deme shares the jobs she does in the mornings before she goes to school.
...
- Runtime
- 0:46
- Description
- Watch some of the ways that Dior Ba helps her family throughout the day.
"This...
- Runtime
- 0:57
- Description
- Dior Ka shows the importance of her everyday task of fetching water from the nea...
- Runtime
- 0:52
- Description
- Follow Fatimata Sow as she does various tasks to help her family.
"This Is Us"...
- Runtime
- 0:52
- Description
- After school's over, Khardiata Dia takes us with her to see her work and play.
...
- Runtime
- 0:37
- Description
- Mame Diarra shows us the proper way to prepare couscous, one of her favorite foo...
- Runtime
- 0:43
- Description
- Marie Faye gets ready for school in the morning.
"This Is Us" empowers Senegal...
- Runtime
- 0:41
- Description
- Oumar Sow shares a montage of activities that he and other boys do in their spar...
- Runtime
- 2:04
- Description
- Ousman Yade provides an in-depth look, from the fields to the kitchen, of the cu...
- Runtime
- 0:39
- Description
- Sileye Sall walks us through the process of praying, an activity that most Seneg...
- Runtime
- 1:20
- Description
- Waly Yade provides an insider's look at the village "grand place," the central s...
- Runtime
- 0:53
- Description
- Yacine Ngom shares a look at her morning routine before school.
"This Is Us" e...
- Runtime
- 0:51
- Description
- Aldiouma Dia must convince local parents to send their children to school.
"Thi...
- Runtime
- 0:50
- Description
- Coumba Dia shows what it's like to study without electricity.
"This Is Us" empo...
- Runtime
- 1:18
- Description
- Dior Ka discusses the tradition of early (pre-arranged) marriage in her village....
The internationally acclaimed feature film, TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE (Grande comme le Baobab) was inspired by these digital stories. The movie comes with free materials correlated directly to the CCSS curricula standards for Gr 8-12, plus guided discussions for community groups and universities. The movie can be watched in whole (82 minutes) or in 20 minute increments followed by discussions.