I Lost My Tooth in Africa – narrative

Materials needed:

• I Lost My Tooth in Africa, by Penda Diakite
• Throw Your Tooth on the Roof, by Selby B. Beeler
  

Web Resources:

• Biography of Baba Wague Diakite
• Artwork of Baba Wague Diakite
• Lessons for Throw Your Tooth on the Roof

Vocabulary:

gourd

Lesson: (this lesson may take several days)

Before reading the book, ask the class who has lost a tooth? What happened when they lost the tooth? What did they do with the tooth? In Mali, it is tradition to put the tooth under a gourd. The African Tooth Fairy will then replace the tooth with a chicken!

Read the story to the class.

After reading, have the children write their own narratives about loosing a tooth: I Lost My Tooth in ___________________________.

You can further the discussion by reading: Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World, by Selby B. Beeler