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Trekking to Timbuktu—student version

http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=508

A lesson plan for grade 7 English Language Arts and Social Studies

Provider: National Endowment for the Humanities


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In the eight lessons of this EDSITEment curriculum unit, students will learn about the geography of Mali and the cultures and economies along the Niger River, find out about the three kingdoms that evolved in ancient and medieval West Africa, discover how Timbuktu rose to become the most important city in Islamic West Africa, and find out what is being done today to protect the city’s antiquities.

This is a student’s version of the lesson plan overview, in which students take the role of the makers of a TV travel adventure show and research Timbuktu as a potential location for an episode of the series. This lesson incorporates primary source material from EDSITEment-reviewed websites.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 7

  • Goal 2: The learner will synthesize and use information from a variety of sources.
    • Objective 2.01: Respond to informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
      • monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed.
      • analyzing the characteristics of informational works.
      • summarizing information.
      • determining the importance of information.
      • making connections to related topics/information.
      • drawing inferences and/or conclusions.
      • generating questions.

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 7

  • Goal 1: The learner will use the five themes of geography and geographic tools to answer geographic questions and analyze geographic concepts.
    • Objective 1.02: Generate, interpret, and manipulate information from tools such as maps, globes, charts, graphs, databases, and models to pose and answer questions about space and place, environment and society, and spatial dynamics and connections.
  • Goal 2: The learner will assess the relationship between physical environment and cultural characteristics of selected societies and regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 2.01: Identify key physical characteristics such as landforms, water forms, and climate and evaluate their influence on the development of cultures in selected African, Asian and Australian regions.
  • Goal 3: The learner will analyze the impact of interactions between humans and their physical environments in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 3.01: Identify ways in which people of selected areas in Africa, Asia, and Australia have used, altered, and adapted to their environments in order to meet their needs and evaluate the impact of their actions on the development of cultures and regions.
    • Objective 3.03: Examine the development and use of tools and technologies and assess their influence on the human ability to use, modify, or adapt to their environment.
  • Goal 7: The learner will assess the connections between historical events and contemporary issues in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 7.02: Examine the causes of key historical events in selected areas of Africa, Asia, and Australia and analyze the short- and long-range effects on political, economic, and social institutions.
  • Goal 8: The learner will assess the influence and contributions of individuals and cultural groups in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 8.03: Identify major discoveries, innovations, and inventions and assess their influence on societies past and present.