School resources

Linking Resources

This section includes all the important information and resources you will need if you and your school are a part of our school link programme. We at Link Ethiopia are here to help you every step of the way.

The Simpsons Visit Little Ethiopia

Everyone loves ‘The Simpsons’ – why not introduce Ethiopian food using this lovely clip from a Simpsons episode? Here they take a trip to ‘Little Ethiopia’ in Springfield and find themselves being bemused by but then enjoying food in an Ethiopian restaurant. NOTE – If the link doesn’t work try searching for it in YouTube.

Taking Action

One of the central aims of a link is to give young people in both schools the chance to take action to improve their world. Your link will provide opportunities to learn about different issues which your students may wish to address. These could include fundraising, campaigning or action on themes such as fair trade or the environment.

Here is a PowerPoint guide to different ways of taking action and to the benefits and pitfalls of fundraising within your link, with advice on how to make it a learning opportunity and avoid mixed messages and stereotyping.

Ethiopian Candle Ceremony

Christmas is about celebrating with ones family, and sharing the happy moments from the past year. Not everyone celebrates Christmas but this is still an important act for all children to take part in. With this in mind, we’re proud to bring you this non-religious activity you can do with your students which asks students to explore that which they are thankful for, and to express their wishes for the coming year.

Photo © hey tiffany! (flickr)

African stories

Traditional Ethiopian tales.

You can also find a much wider range of stories with accompanying Learning Outcomes and ideas over on the Ethiopian English Readers website, which has dozens of stories from across Ethiopia, with accompanying learning aims and ‘morals’ to consider.

Where do clothes come from?

This activity enables students to find out where their clothes were made and think about the journey a garment may have made to get to them. They can then consider whether the countries of origin have anything in common and why clothing may be produced in some countries more than others.

A day in the Life of an Ethiopian Child

This presentation explores a day in the life of an Ethiopian girl, Tesfanish. The activity linked to this, encourages students to compare their lives to Tesfanish’s.

Video Exchange

At KS1/KS2 level: The aim of the exchange is to share traditional or contemporary songs and dance from the UK, performed by your students. The format is up to you and could be anything from singing nursery rhymes, hymns or pop songs to performances of contemporary dance or ballet.
At KS3/KS4 level: The aim of the exchange is to ask and respond to some questions from a group of students at your partner school.

Here are some guidelines:

– Please keep videos relatively short – we suggest no longer than 15 minutes.
– KS1/KS2: Include an introduction about the song/dance you have chosen, what it means and why you have chosen it.
– KS3/KS4: Discuss questions you would like to ask students at your link school. Decide on the best five questions and record these.
– You may also like to include a brief message to your link school and few clips of general school life.

Please send your video on DVD or CD to your relevant Ethiopian office as with letters. Please keep [email protected] informed when you have done so.

This video will be sent to Ethiopia and shown by our staff to students at your link school. Our staff will also work with students there to record some performances of Ethiopian traditional dance and songs for your school.

A contrasting locality overseas – Gondar

This resource introduces a distant locality through housing, cooking and going to school. It is based on Gondar, a busy town in Ethiopia. It focuses on knowledge and understanding of Ethiopian life, similarities and differences between Gondar and the children’s locality and the effects of change in a less developed country. It is picture and discussion-based and can be differentiated by outcome for different age groups.

International Inspirations

Students investigate a sports-focused international development programme and explore how it relates to the Olympic values.