Exploring Africa

Exploring Africa
Elizabeth McAloon and Amy Davis


9th grade
Class periods? One
Number of hours? Minutes? 90 minutes

Students will be doing this lesson as part of a unit in Africa. They will be researching the eight regions of Africa on pbs.org. They will examine the culture, traditions, demographics, and ecosystem. They will graph the countries within that region and each group will make a Power Point presentation to present to the class as a final assessment.

GHW.1.3 Analyze agricultural hearths and exchanges of crops among regions. Evaluate the impact of agriculture on the subsequent development of culture hearths in various regions of the world.
GHW.9.3 Identify and describe ways in which humans have used technology to modify the physical environment in order to settle areas in different world regions. Evaluate the impact of these technologies on the physical and human environments affected.
GHW.10 Students will analyze and evaluate the physical and human geographic factors that contribute to the formation of states (countries) and the forces that function to either unite and bind a country together or to divide a country.

1. Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
3.Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
4.Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

The students will be formatively assessed during the research process in their groups. They will fill out a peer review sheet in order to measure group participation. The students will be summatively assessed by their Power Point presentation and their graphing worksheet which will be filled out during the research process.
Curricular Knowledge or Skills: This is the introduction to their unit on Africa.
Technology Knowledge: They have prior knowledge of researching the internet and creating Power Point presentations.

Internet Resources: (please list URLs) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/index_flash.html
Hardware: Projector, DVD player
Software: Power Point

Opening Hook: National Geographic video clip on Africa. (10 minutes)
Procedures: Go to computer lab. (5 minutes)
Instruct students to divide in groups and explain procedures (15 minutes)
Student research, graph worksheet, begin compiling Power Point (55 minutes)
Explain homework: Power Point will be presented the next class (5 minutes).

Differentiated Instruction
Direct ESL students to google translator so they can translate the PBS website into their native language. They can use this as support, but must complete their worksheet in English, as well as their Power Point.

Encourage students to research different websites in order to delve deeper into the aspects of their specific region. These can include the government and economic system.

Allow special needs students to explore different options for presentation if they wish. Give them longer time to work on the website. For people who have a lower literacy level, there is an option to have web pages read out loud.