Traveling Through Africa
Students will plan a one-week, three country trip through Africa and create a travelogue of places they will visit. The students will create an electronic scrapbook of highlights of the trip (including cultural highlights, historical points of interest, geographic features, etc.)
A lesson plan for grade 7 Social Studies
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Related topics
- Learn more about Africa and social studies.
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Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this activity, students will be familiar with the geography of the continent of Africa. They will explore the cultural, political, and historic features of a variety of countries. A secondary goal of this activity is to compile the information in an electronic format, using ClarisWorks or PowerPoint.
Teacher planning
Time required for lesson
10 hours
Materials/resources
- Instructions
- Map of Africa
- Examples of travel brochures or travel posters
Technology resources
- Computer
- Internet access
- CD-ROM resources
- Scanner
- Wild Africa CD-ROM Sumeria
- Nile Passage to Egypt CD-ROM
Pre-activities
The activity is the conclusion to a study of the geography, history, and culture of the continent of Africa. Students will have collected a variety of information in the study of Africa to use in the selection of three countries to visit. In addition to the curriculum basis, students will need to have prior instruction in PowerPoint or Claris SlideShow (or additional time needs to be built into the lesson for instruction).
Activities
- Students will select three different nations in Africa to visit within a week.
- Students will research major points of interest in their selected nations (geographic, historical, or cultural) using online resources, CD-ROM encyclopedias, or print resources.
- Students will compile an electronic scrapbook in which they will include pictures, maps, and text to describe the sites that they will visit.
- Students will present their scrapbook to the class in the form of a PowerPoint presentation or a ClarisWorks slide show.
Assessment
A rubric will be used to evaluate the electronic scrapbook of each student, using the following criteria:
- content
- variety of sites
- creativity of presentation
Supplemental information
Primary information about the continent of Africa will be gathered using the student’s textbook (a variety are available throughout the state), as well as individual teacher-developed activities.
Attachments:
Related websites
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
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 1.01: Create maps, charts, graphs, databases, and models as tools to illustrate information about different people, places and regions in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
- Objective 1.03: Use tools such as maps, globes, graphs, charts, databases, models, and artifacts to compare data on different countries of Africa, Asia, and Australia and to identify patterns as well as similarities and differences.
- 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 2.02: Describe factors that influence changes in distribution patterns of population, resources, and climate in selected regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia and evaluate their impact on the environment.
- 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.
Computer Technology Skills (2005)
Grade 7
- Goal 1: The learner will understand important issues of a technology-based society and will exhibit ethical behavior in the use of computer and other technologies.
- Objective 1.13: Demonstrate knowledge and use of WP/DTP terms/concepts (e.g., columns, tables, using multiple files and/or applications) to create and publish assignments/projects. Strand - Keyboard Utilization/Word Processing/Desk Top Publishing
- Objective 1.14: Demonstrate appropriate use of copyrighted materials in word processing documents used for content projects/assignments. Strand - Keyboard Utilization/Word Processing/Desk Top Publishing
- Objective 1.15: Demonstrate knowledge of multimedia tools/concepts used by media (e.g., games, video, radio/TV broadcasts, websites) to entertain, sell, and influence ideas and opinions. Strand - Multimedia/Presentation
- Objective 1.16: Demonstrate knowledge of multimedia by using terms/concepts to describe and explain content projects/products. Strand - Multimedia/Presentation
- Goal 2: The learner will demonstrate knowledge and skills in the use of computer and other technologies.
- Objective 2.05: Use a variety of collaborative tools to survey, collect, communicate information for content area assignments. Strand - Telecommunications/Internet
