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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Women in Africa: Tradition and change

http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=307

A lesson plan for grades 6–12 Second Languages and Social Studies

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While a single lesson plan cannot fully explore the variety and complexity of African life, in this lesson students can gain insight into the lives of some black women in Sub-Saharan Africa by adopting a perspective that is in part traditional, based on the arts of African village life, and in part postcolonial, based on the work of African women writing in English and French today.

Students first examine a selection of traditional African artworks that portray women within precolonial family and community life. Then students explore the literature that women have created in postcolonial Africa and present a report on one writer, profiling her career and writing and commenting on the part that traditional values play in her work. (This second part of the lesson can be presented in English or French.)

The goals of this lesson plan are to:

  • learn about the role of women in traditional African village life
  • understand the contextual nature of artwork within traditional African village life
  • become familiar with women writers of postcolonial Africa
  • examine how the traditions of village life influence postcolonial literature

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Second Languages (2005)

Grade 6–8 — Continuing Sequence

  • Goal 4: CULTURES - The learner will gain knowledge and demonstrate understanding of the relationship among practices, products, and perspectives of cultures other than his/her own.
    • Objective 4.06: Identify important individuals from the past and present and their contributions to the target cultures.
    • Objective 4.07: Explore aspects of contemporary life in the target cultures through print, non-print, electronic materials, cultural artifacts, and/or interaction with people from those cultures.

Grade 9–12 — High School Level I

  • Goal 4: CULTURES - The learner will gain knowledge and demonstrate understanding of the relationship among practices, products, and perspectives of cultures other than his/her own.
    • Objective 4.05: Identify important individuals from the past and present and their contributions to the target cultures.
    • Objective 4.06: Explore practices and perspectives of contemporary life in the target cultures through print, non-print, electronic materials, and cultural artifacts.

Grade 9–12 — High School Level II

  • Goal 4: CULTURES - The learner will gain knowledge and demonstrate understanding of the relationship among practices, products, and perspectives of cultures other than his/her own.
    • Objective 4.05: Identify important people, events, and achievements of the target countries and show their contribution to their own and other cultures.
    • Objective 4.06: Investigate perspectives and practices of contemporary life in the target cultures through print, non-print, electronic materials, and cultural artifacts.

Grade 9–12 — High School Level III

  • Goal 4: CULTURES - The learner will gain knowledge and demonstrate understanding of the relationship among practices, products, and perspectives of cultures other than his/her own.
    • Objective 4.04: Examine historical and contemporary literature and the arts in order to understand the cultural practices and perspectives of the target cultures.
    • Objective 4.06: Discuss the influence of important people, events, and achievements of the target countries on their own and other cultures.

Grade 9–12 — High School Level IV

  • Goal 4: CULTURES - The learner will gain knowledge and demonstrate understanding of the relationship among practices, products, and perspectives of cultures other than his/her own.
    • Objective 4.04: Analyze and discuss historical and contemporary literature and the arts in order to understand the cultural practices and perspectives of the people of the target cultures.
    • Objective 4.06: Evaluate the impact of influential people and events, and their contributions to the global community.

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 7

  • Goal 11: The learner will recognize the common characteristics of different cultures in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 11.04: Identify examples of economic, political, and social changes, such as agrarian to industrial economies, monarchical to democratic governments, and the roles of women and minorities, and analyze their impact on culture.