Skip redundant pieces

African Women – Yesterday and Today
By Bianca Elliott

African Studies Lesson Module

elliottb@usd469.net

Introduction:

This is a high school (9-12 grade) World History subject assignment. It may also be used as a women’s studies assignment or as a geography/cultural assignment.

Many students only have a limited view of the positive contributions made by African communities. Students know many African American people, but not many/any solely African people. Waiting for textbooks to provide this information is not a promising idea. So, have the students use the powers of the Internet to discover some of the secrets to the continent of Africa. This unit focuses on the contributions of African women as well as her country and time period. Encouraging the students to dress up, have music, make foods, etc. will add to the value of the project.

This lesson may be approached many different ways. Teachers may want to use it as a unit (as it is currently written), or teachers may want to take parts of it and create mini units or day assignments to strengthen the present curriculum. This unit is presented as a work in progress and any feedback is always appreciated.

Importance: This lesson/module is important on several levels. The first is that is not much in the Kansas Social Studies Standards referencing Africa. This allows stereotypes of Africa to continue and not be corrected. Africa is perceived as only a starving continent with wars and AIDS/HIV when, though there are these issues, that is not an all encompassing truth about Africa. The second point of importance is that what is presented in the standard teaching curriculums, concerning Africa, is predominately concerning men and their contributions to the continent. There are other voices on the continent, the women, that need to be heard, as well. High school students are also interested in how their peers in other countries are similar and different from them, so including an assignment that allows the students to focus on voices not normally heard is very important. The final point of importance is that allowing the students to look at Africa from an artist’s, scientist’s, musician’s, etc. point of view not only allows students to correct stereotypes (“all Africans live in the bush”) to a more realistic view that Africa is a continent of wide opportunities and creativity. A less obvious advantage to this assignment is to help students who desire to make social change, or explore careers paths, the opportunity to explore such options in a low-key fashion.

Objectives/Goals:

  • Students will be able to understand contemporary African culture from a female perspective.
  • Students will be aware of the many opportunities offered in contemporary Africa.
  • Students will identify similarities and differences between contemporary Africa and their culture.
  • Students will confront stereotypes of African women and children/teens.

Knowledge Skills/Attitudes:

  • Knowledge skills – include but are not limited to: compare/contrast, discuss, debate, understand, and synthesize the information accumulated during the lesson/module.

Time:

This should be about 10 to 15 school days. Less time is needed if using a few ideas. (The procedure below will be for a ten day module.)

Materials:

  • Resources and materials from the University of Kansas.
  • For maps I would recommend either using those in your textbooks or those available through Google/images.

Suggested women…there are many more

  • Annette M'Baye d'Erneville. Sénégal (1926- ) Poetess
  • Lydie Sophie Dooh Bunya, writer, Cameroon.
  • Nadine Gordimer, South Africa ; novelist, 1991 Nobel Prize winner for literature
  • Amanda Coetzer,South Africa; international women Tennis tour player
  • Wangari Muta Maathai, Kenya, Nobel Peace Prize, 2004
  • Zawditu, Empress of Ethiopia
  • Candace, the Ethiopian Empress
  • The Zulu queen Nandi,mother of Shaka Zulu (early 19th century)
  • Madagascar Queens (1800s)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo (singer)

Procedure:

Day 1: I would explain what we will be doing as a class, how long it will last, if it is a test, homework, quiz grade, and how much in class time will be used. I also like to explain how what we will do meets Kansas State Social Studies Standards as well as national standards.

I like to introduce this unit using KWL (which stands for: “What I KNOW; what I WANT to know; and what I LEARNED”.) chart. I would ask questions such as . . .

  • What do we KNOW about Africa?
  • What do we KNOW about African women and children?
  • What do we KNOW about African women’s contributions to society, past and present?

Then I would lead the class into the “W” part of the KWL by asking . . .

What we want to know about African woman?

I might provide the following as starter questions.

  • Do all African women live in villages?
  • Do all African women wear grass skirts?
  • Do all African women have AIDS?
  • What do African women do for fun?
  • Are all African women Muslim?
  • Were there any famous African women?
  • Were there any African women rulers?

I would also make adjustments if I want to focus on one time period or one region of Africa. Then I would guide the questions to begin to create an anticipatory setting for the students.

I would guide the students to consider what primary sources we could use to obtain this information as this is very important for Kansas State Social Studies Standards.

Day 2: I would discuss stereotypes at length and again discuss primary sources as well as information sources so the two days in the computer/library lab will be profitable. I would provide class time to consider what topic (will the student look for a topic or a country for research?) and other narrowing the focus. This may be structured as the class needs.

The assignment itself, with attending due dates (drafts, written work, final product), is given to the students and a copy of the rubric is provided to them. I stress that they will know their grade for the assignment before I do as they know what I am looking for and what they will do.

I would then have the students begin to list things they want to learn and begin to settle on a plan to discover that information. I do not usually allow group work as that gets unmanageable but I do like peer editing and review. There may be some duplication of information but I stress using more primary sources usually eliminates duplication as there is much primary information available.

Students will turn in a draft of their proposed plan of study to include topic, plan, and rationale as well as their KWL chart for a completion grade at the beginning of Day 3.

Days 3-4: The students will then work in the computer/library lab to gain current information about their project. The students will turn in a log of what they have accomplished at the end of each class period.

Day 5: This is a day to help the student begin to internalize and better understand what s/he is discovering. It also functions as a day to correct wrong information or work, provide guidance for project direction, and generally share the information. There is no assignment for this day.

Day 6: Today the students are encouraged/required to create an outline of their final project. They will need to decide what is in the final project and what is not. If the class is struggling, I may give a time limit as this helps them to decide what is essential. I also provide feedback regarding potential problems and praise students who are “going that extra mile.” Drafts of their project outline are due at the end of the hour.

Day 7: Work in the computer lab to make any last minute corrections or get that citation they need.

Day 8: Students are debriefed about what they have learned. We go over their KWL charts to see if they learned what they had stated they wanted to learn. Additional time is slated for discussion over the things the students did discover that need to be address or corrected. If time permits, a discussion on stereotypes is included here too as there may need to be some redefining of belief structures. The students sign a form to state when they want to present (Day 9 or Day 10. This is done so students are prepared and to determine if there will be food, dance, music, clothing, etc. issues that take class time.)

Days 9 – 10: Presentations. (You may want to videotape them so you can show the students next year what your expectations will be.)

OPTIONAL: You may want to have the students write an essay using their KWL charts as an outline for additional assessment purposes or as a practice for any state writing (persuasive) or Social Studies assessments.

Assignment

  • Choose a country in Africa.
  • Prepare a PowerPoint, or other type presentation incorporating the following items:
    • Brief history of the country going as far back in time as possible.
    • Brief cultural explanation (include religion, dance, food, and music).
    • Little know facts (at least 5) of the country or people.
    • Information (at least 5 facts each) about women and children in that country.
    • Include samples of the languages spoken in the country.
    • Include a story from that country.
    • Include a game from that country.

 

Variations of Assessment Suggestions:

  • A closing ceremony celebrating the women and countries presented. (Be sure to include drums and dance where appropriate. Email KUs African Studies department for ideas. http://www.ku.edu/%7Easrc/resources/outreach/checkout.shtml#cd )
  • An article for the school or community newspaper.
  • A broadcast interview taped for the teacher, school, or local community news station.
  • Have the students create a webquest for other students guiding them to what is important.