Slide 1 The Desert Is Their Home What do you picture when you hear the word desert? What might it be like to live in a desert? The Sahara desert is the largest desert of its kind in the world. It stretches for thousands of miles across the northern part of Africa. Its scenery includes huge sand dunes that shift with the wind, as well as tall mountains and fl at plains. The Sahara is dry. And it is hot! Temperatures can soar above 110 degrees in the summer. You might think that a place like this is lifeless, but it is not. There are oases in the Sahara in which palm trees grow and water flows from springs or bubbles up from wells. Animals such as gazelles, antelopes, foxes, hyenas, snakes, and lizards make the Sahara their home. And one group of people has lived in the Sahara for thousands of years. Those people are the Bedouins.

Slide 2 The Desert Is Their Home (Cont.) Bedouins are nomads, or people who move around from place to place. Bedouins raise camels, goats, and sheep. They travel around the desert to take their animals to spots where there are enough plants for them to graze. At one time Bedouins also helped guide caravans, or groups of traveling traders, through the Sahara. The traders paid the Bedouins for the use of their camels and for protection while crossing the vast desert. Even though Bedouins are always on the move, family ties are very important to them. Bedouin society is organized by family connections. The smallest Bedouin group is made up of close family members such as a husband and wife, their children, the children’s grandparents, and sometimes aunts and uncles. Larger Bedouin groups are made up of many members of an extended family. The largest Bedouin group of all is called a tribe.

Slide 3 The Desert Is Their Home (Cont.) Bedouins have developed special strategies for living in the Sahara desert. They wear loose, fl owing robes that not only protect them from the sun, but also shield them from wind and sand. They live in tents made from goat and camel hair. The tents can be picked up and moved whenever the herds travel to new grazing lands. Also, much of the Bedouins’ food comes right from their own animals. Milk, yogurt, and cheese make up the main part of the Bedouin diet. Flat bread, dates, and rice are also everyday foods. Meat dishes are sometimes prepared for festivals or for visitors. Having visitors is a high point in Bedouin life! Beduoins are known for their hospitality. When visitors stop at a Bedouin tent, they are offered tea, coffee, and food. They are often entertained with music, songs, and poetry. Children, whose normal chores include gathering firewood or herding animals, are called upon to join in the festivities.

Slide 4 The Desert Is Their Home (Cont.) Today the old way of life is disappearing for the Bedouins of the Sahara. Grazing areas have grown smaller and modern-day borders make it harder for Bedouins to wander freely from place to place. Many Bedouin families have gathered in settlements where they live in homes and raise their animals without moving around. Other Bedouins have moved to large cities where they earn their living working at various jobs. Living in a home is very different from roaming freely through the desert, but it has some advantages. Bedouin children can get better health care and can also attend school when their families stay in one place. But whether they live in a home or a tent, Bedouins still think of themselves as people of the desert, who are always ready to extend their hospitality to any visitor who comes to their harsh desert land. Unit 6, Week 1 The Desert Is Their Home 1. What are the advantages of being in second grade? 2. What two countries share borders with the United States? 3. What do cows graze on? 4. What place do you know of that has harsh weather? What is the weather there like? 5. What kind of scenery do you see where you live? 6. How does the weather change when the seasons shift from summer to fall? 7. What do you do when the temperature soars? 8. What are some of the rules of our classroom society? 9. What is one strategy that you use when you don’t know the meaning of a word? 10. What would you wear if the temperature outside was 90 degrees? 11. Which states in the United States have vast amounts of land?