The African Savannah Tools of the Mind Kindergarten

This is a picture of a savannah. Turn and tell your friend what you see.

A savannah is an area of grassland where there are a lot of trees that are spaced so far apart that the canopy does not close like it does in the rainforest. Do you remember what the rainforest canopy is?

The canopy is the layer of the rain forest that is so thick with leaves and branches that very little sunlight gets through. With no canopy in the savannah, when it’s not raining it is hot and sunny with little shade.

Savannahs usually have one rainy season each year. After the rainy season is over, the area is very dry for the rest of the year.

Another characteristic of a savannah is its fire cycle. The fire cycle can happen in the dry season when a fire burns the grasses. After the fire cycle, the grasses regrow even more lushly.

There are savannahs many places in the world; in North America in the western United States, South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa.

The Serengeti is a savannah in Africa, a huge continent far away. Africa is the orange continent on this map. We live in North America, the continent in light green. If you wanted to travel to Africa, how do you think you would get there? Africa North America

Africa has many different habitats- rainforests, deserts, and savannahs. What do you know about rainforest habitats?

The Serengeti savannah is home to many animals. Do you remember learning about carnivores, herbivores and omnivores? Turn and tell your friend what these words mean.

Zebras and wildebeests are two herbivores that eat grass in the Serengeti.

Gazelles are relatives of deer who also mostly eat grass, so the Serengeti is a perfect place for them to live.

Do you remember what kind of feet deer have? What kind of feet do you think the gazelle has? When gazelles run they can move as fast as a car on a highway! Why do you think gazelles might run fast in the Serengeti?

Hyenas also live in the Serengeti. They are carnivore predators that hunt animals in packs, or groups. Hyenas are fast runners, and usually tire their prey out by chasing them for long periods of time. Hyenas hunt herbivores such as zebras, wildebeests... and gazelles!

Lions are the biggest predators in the Serengeti. They hunt wildebeests, zebras and gazelles too. Female lions do most of the hunting because they are smaller and faster. They can hide more easily in the grasses. Do you know which lion is the female and which is the male?

Honeyguides are birds that like to eat the wax from the honeycombs that bees make. Honeyguides work together with humans to get their food; they lead humans to a beehive, and then when the the hive is opened to take the honey, the honeyguide bird eats the wax!

Other animals live in the African savannah, too. Do you see any animals you recognize? Giraffes, elephants, hippos, rhinos, crocodiles and eagles all live in the Serengeti.

Every spring, as the rains in one part of the Serengeti stop, the grass dries up. Turn and tell your friend how you think that might affect the animals who eat the grass.

Did you think that there wouldn’t be enough food? When the dry season starts, thousands of Serengeti animals migrate or move to another area where they can find food.

As they migrate, the animals have to cross the Mara river. Sometimes the river is very shallow and the animals can cross easily.

If the river is very deep, the animals must jump in and swim across! Can you pretend you’re diving in?

The migration of the Serengeti animals usually takes about three months, but it is worth it, because they have plenty of food to eat again.

Do you remember learning about the Old West? Does the land there look similar to or different than the African savannah?

Does the Serengeti look like where you live? Are there things that are the same? Different?

What could your class make to create a savannah habitat? What animals could you make – what will you need to make them? What else would you make to create a savannah; what colors would you use the most? Turn and talk with a friend.