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9-12 Teaching Modules

KS Standards MO Standards National History Standards Back

**Important note: When printing modules, set your page margins to zero (0).

Subject Areas:

History Geography/Cultural Studies Science Economics Government Literature Journalism Art/Music Other

History

• Africa Speaks Out [.pdf]
  Covers colonialism within Africa and its effects; independence; stereotypes; includes readings of different perspectives

• Images of Africa [.pdf]
  Stereotypes; physical and human geography; African kingdoms, colonial history, independence; mankala (game)

• Ghana, Mali, Songhai: Kingdoms of West Africa [.pdf]
  Survey of the three west African kingdoms (900-1591 AD); includes readings about Sundiata and Mansa Musa

• Still Carrying the Burden of the White Man and Wishing to be Kicking Kipling - A World History Unit Studying the Legacy of Colonialism in Africa [.pdf]
  Colonialism; Africa's future

• West African Impact on American Spoken English [.pdf]
  Relocation of Africans to the United States and influence on language

• Islam in West Africa [.pdf]
  Pre-Islamic societies of Northern and Western Africa; impact of Islam on areas

• African Women [.pdf]
  Contemporary African culture from a female perspective

• Examining Africa's History & Global Connections (Michigan State)
  Module 4 - Exposes students to the diversity of African history from ancient times to the present; great maps

• Early African History Until 16th Century CE (Michigan State)
  Module 7a - History of Africa until mass arrival of Europeans

• African History, the Era of Global Encroachment (Michigan State)
  Module 7b - 15th century to the present marked by European colonialism, African independence; motivation, methods, and impacts of European involvment in Africa

• Africa and the World (Michigan State)
  Module 15 - African Diaspora - the dispersion of peoples of African descent throughout the world; movement before and after slavery

• Africa: Names and Nations of Note (Discovery)
  History of selected African nations, including Zimbabwe; impact of European colonization; significance of African nation names

• The Empires of Early Africa (Discovery)
  Nefertiti and Akhenaten of ancient Egypt

• Tut Technology (National Geographic)
  Students investigate the death of King Tut

• Classroom: Wonders of the African World (PBS)
  Multiple lesson plans: Black Kingdoms of the Nile, The Swahili Coast, Slave Kingdoms, The Holy Land, Road to Timbuktu, Lost Cities of the South

• Imperialism in North Africa - Treatment of Women in Colonial North Africa (Women in World History/Center for History & New Media)
  Summarizes the treatment of North African women by African men, colonial powers; compares this treatment to women of Europe; evaluates the multiple perspectives of the treatment of North African women

• Islamic Empire - The Significant Contributions of Islamic Women to the Growth and Expansion of Islamic Civilization (Women in World History/Center for History & New Media) Summary / Lesson Plan
  Includes primary and secondary sources

• South Africa's Role in Foreign Affiars (world-affiars.org)
  Focus on South Africa's role in foreign affiars during and after apartheid

• No Easy Road to Freedom: The New South Africa (National Council for the Social Studies)
  A great resource to help teachers and students better understand South Africa; includes information on S.A. geography, population composition, environment, and the establishment of democracy; GREAT historical timeline included

• West African Slave Ports (Slavery in America)
  Students will learn the geography of the slave trade; in-depth research on the main countries that participated, port cities

Geography/Cultural Studies

• Images of Africa [.pdf]
  Stereotypes; physical and human geography; African kingdoms, colonial history, independence; mankala (game)

• A Social Social Studies Unit on Sub-Saharan Africa [.pdf]
  Covers the five themes of geography - location, place, human/environment interaction, movement, and region

• Africa No More Blinders [.pdf]
  Stereotypes; physical and human geography of Africa

• "Dalono" Africa! [.pdf]
  Students work for an independent research company and travel throughout the continent, encountering obstacles; physical and human geography

• A New Look at Africa [.pdf]
  Detect and identify negative stereotypes pertaining to Africa in various media sources

• Cultural Similarities of Africans and African Americans [.pdf]
  Physical and human geography; cultural similarities of two groups

• Got Milk? World Hunger: Causes and Possible Solutions [.pdf]
  Working vocabulary on world hunger; why? and possible solutions for the problem

• West African Impact on American Spoken English [.pdf]
  Relocation of Africans to the United States and influence on language

• Africa Through Open Eyes [.pdf]
  Stereotypes; human geography; masks and masquerades

• Exploring the Diversity of Africa (Michigan State)
  Module 1 - Introduction unit

• Learning About Africa (Michigan State)
  Module 2 - Introduction; what we know about Africa already

• Examining Africa's Diversity (Michigan State)
  Module 3 - Geography, religion, culture, making a living, transportation, where people live

• The Geography of Africa (Michigan State)
  Module 6 - Geography of Africa and the interconnection between people, places, and the environment (5 themes of geography)

• Culture and Society in Africa (Michigan State)
  Module 8 - Emphasizes the diversity within cultures and societies

• Religion in Africa (Michigan State)
  Module 14 - Introduces students to the rich and diverse tradition of religious beliefs and practices in Africa (traditional African religion, Islam, and Christianity)

• Women in Africa: Tradition and Change (EDsitement)
  Students gain insight into the lives of women in Sub-Saharan Africa; artwork, literature, way of life

• Africa Bingo! (Boston)
  Bingo game that illustrates connections we have with Africa

• No Easy Road to Freedom: The New South Africa (National Council for the Social Studies)
  A great resource to help teachers and students better understand South Africa; includes information on S.A. geography, population composition, environment, and the establishment of democracy; GREAT historical timeline included

Science

• Paleo-what? The Life and Works of Emerging Explorer Zeray Alemseged (National Geographic)
  An introduction to the field of paleoanthropology; hominid species of Africa

• Investigating our Past: Where did Humans Come From? (Discovery)
  Process of evolution; hominid groups; Out-of-Africa theory

Economics

• African Economics (Michigan State)
  Module 9 - Introduction to the economics of Africa; increase student's understanding of economic concepts

Government

• African Politics and Government (Michigan State)
  Module 10 - Introduces students to political systems, systems of government, and politics in Africa beginning with pre-colonial times and ending with post-colonial period

• South Africa's Role in Foreign Affiars (world-affiars.org)
  Focus on South Africa's role in foreign affiars during and after apartheid

Literature

• African Literatures (Michigan State)
  Module 11 - Introduces students to the beauty and diversity of African literatures - southern, west, east, north, and central Africa. Includes poems by Zimbabwean author Charles Mungoshi and Moroccan author Fatima Mernissi

• Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Teaching Through the Novel (Edsitement)
  This lesson introduces students to Achebe's first novel. It can be used alone or in conjunction with the related lesson Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Oral and Literary Strategies

Journalism

• Africa in the Media [.pdf]
  Students to analyze media portrayal of Africa; compare and contrast writing styles of U.S. and African newspapers; and use research skills to understand a country and its people

Art/Music

• Advanced Placement in Art - Unit I: Looking at Culture - A Global View [.pdf]
  Cultural bias; study of African culture; connection of African art to 20th century European artists

• AP in Art - UNIT II: Looking at African Culture [.pdf]
  Stereotypes of African art; basic facts; specifics on West African art

• African Art in the Curriculum [.pdf]
  Discourse on incorporating Africa in art; sample activities for students available

• Explore African Immigrant Musical Traditions with Your Students (Smithsonian)
  Teaches children more about their culture through the medium of music and dance (recommended for grades 5+)
  
  
• Aida and its Relevance to the World Today (ArtsEdge/Duke Ellington School of the Arts)
  Uses the opera Aida to describe North African and Middle Eastern history/issues; geography & music vocabulary

• Mnemonics - Africa and India (Oxfam.org - Cool Planet)
  Introduces the idea of using mnemonics as an aid to learning rhythms and drum strokes, as practiced by many traditions around the world

Other

• Methodological Approaches to the Teaching of Africa [.pdf]
  Incorporating Africa into the classroom

• Why Teach Africa? [.pdf]
  Be brave - teach Africa in the classroom; a strong and passionate statement