Download Teacher`s Name: Robert Giles Subject: Geography Grade: 9th Topic

Teacher’s Name: Robert Giles
Subject: Geography
Grade: 9th
Topic: Physical Geography of Africa
Essential Questions:
 How does Geography affect our daily lives?
 Would your life be different in a different climate?
 How much does Geography impact culture?
General Objectives:
NCSS
III-People, Places, and Environments
a.) elaborate mental maps of locales, regions, and the world that demonstrate
understanding of relative location, direction, size, and shape;
e.) locate and describe varying landforms and geographic features, such as mountains,
plateaus, islands, rain forests, deserts, and oceans, and explain their relationships
within the ecosystem
VA-SOL
WG.1
The student will use maps, globes, photographs, and pictures in order to
a) obtain geographical information and apply the concepts of location, scale,
and orientation;
b) develop and refine his or her mental maps of world regions;
c) create and compare political, physical, and thematic maps;
d) analyze and explain how different cultures develop different perspectives on
the world and its problems.
WG.3
The student will apply the concept of a region by
a) explaining how characteristics of regions have led to regional labels;
b) explaining how regional landscapes reflect cultural characteristics of their
inhabitants.
WG.4
The student will locate and analyze physical, economic, and cultural
characteristics of world regions: North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Learning Outcomes:
As a result of this lesson, students will:
UNDERSTAND…
 That geography varies throughout the world,
 That geography influences how people live.
KNOW…
 The physical geography of Africa is incredibly unique. (Comprehension)

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
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The differences between the climates throughout the continent of Africa.
(Comprehension)
The important geographical features of the continent of Africa. (Knowledge)
That Africa has the most diverse climate of any of continent in the world.
(Comprehension)
That the Nile River is not only arguably the biggest river in the world, but it is one
of the most economically important. (Comprehension)
How the bodies of water (inside and surrounding) Africa affect the development
of the continent. (Comprehension)
BE ABLE TO…
 Identify the Sahara Desert, Sahel, Grasslands, Rainforest, and mountains.
(Knowledge)
 Locate all of the major bodies of water inside Africa. (Knowledge)
 Analyze the different effects that the bodies of water have throughout the
continent of Africa. (Analyze)
 Create a physical Map of the entire continent of Africa. (Application)
Assessment:
To see what students know before the lesson begins I will ask them to simply write down
at least one thing they know about the continent of Africa. Next, I will ask them questions
regarding climate, to see if they are able to understand how climate affects people’s daily
lives. After some of the PowerPoint presentation I will ask the students to rank the bodies
of water in Africa by importance. This will get them to see all of the bodies of water are
important, but which affect the most people, and the largest regions. Then the students
will identify which region in Africa they would most like to live in and why. They will
understand the climate, and how it affects them, and what changes they would have to
make, and what sacrifices they would have to make. One of the most important activities
is the creation of the Map of Africa. The students will be given a blank map of Africa that
they will have to complete themselves by identifying the major regions and major bodies
of water in and around the continent. Then the entire class will engage in a competition
where the students are divided into groups and they will ask questions in a sort of
Jeopardy type game. Then they will complete and exit pass before they leave.
Content Outline:
Main Geographical Features
Northwest in Africa is the western depression, known as the Great Rift Valley and is
occupied for more than half its length by water, forming the Great Lakes of Tanganyika,
Kivu, Lake Edward and Lake Albert, the first-named over 400 miles (600 km) long and
the longest freshwater lake in the world. Associated with these great valleys are a number
of volcanic peaks, the greatest of which occur on a meridional line east of the eastern
trough. The eastern depression, known as the East African trough or rift-valley, contains
much smaller lakes, many of them brackish and without outlet, the only one comparable
to those of the western trough being Lake Turkana or Basso Norok.
The third division of the higher region of Africa is formed by the Ethiopian Highlands, a
rugged mass of mountains forming the largest continuous area of its altitude in the whole
continent, little of its surface falling below 1500 m (5000 ft), while the summits reach
heights of 4600 m to 4900 m (15,000 to 16,000 ft). This block of country lies just west of
the line of the great East African Trough, the northern continuation of which passes along
its eastern escarpment as it runs up to join the Red Sea. There is, however, in the centre a
circular basin occupied by Lake Tsana.
Plains
The area between the east and west coast highlands, which north of 17° N is mainly
desert, is divided into separate basins by other bands of high ground, one of which runs
nearly centrally through North Africa in a line corresponding roughly with the curved
axis of the continent as a whole. The best marked of the basins so formed (the Congo
basin) occupies a circular area bisected by the equator, once probably the site of an inland
sea.
Running along the south of desert is the plains region known as the Sahel.
The arid region, the Sahara — the largest desert in the world, covering 9,000,000 km²
(3,500,000 square miles) — extends from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Though generally
of slight elevation it contains mountain ranges with peaks rising to 2400 m (8000 ft)
Bordered N.W. by the Atlas range, to the northeast a rocky plateau separates it from the
Mediterranean; this plateau gives place at the extreme east to the delta of the Nile. That
river (see below) pierces the desert without modifying its character. The Atlas range, the
north-westerly part of the continent, between its seaward and landward heights encloses
elevated steppes in places 160 km (100 miles) broad. From the inner slopes of the plateau
numerous wadis take a direction towards the Sahara. The greater part of that now desert
region is, indeed, furrowed by old water-channels.
The following table gives the approximate altitudes of the chief mountains and lakes of
the continent:
Mountain
Mount Rungwe
ft
m
Lake
9,711 2960 Chad
ft
m
850 259
Drakensberg
11,422 3482 Mai-Ndombe 1100 335
Sattima (Aberdare Range)
13,120 4001 Rudolf
1250 381
Cameroon
13,435 4095 Nyasa
1645 501
Jbel Toubkal (Atlas)
13,671 4167 Albert
2028 618
Elgon
14,178 4321 Tanganyika
2624 800
Karisimbi (Virunga Mountains) 14,787 4507 Ngami
2950 899
Simens, Ethiopia
14,872 4533 Mweru
3000 914
Meru
14,980 4566 Edward
3004 916
Ruwenzori
16,763 5109 Bangweulu
3700 1128
Kenya
17,058 5199 Victoria
3720 1134
Kilimanjaro
19,340 5895 Abaya
4200 1280
Kivu
4829 1472
Tsana
5690 1734
Naivasha
6135 1870
The Water Systems
From the outer margin of the African plateaus, a large number of streams run to the sea
with comparatively short courses, while the larger rivers flow for long distances on the
interior highlands, before breaking through the outer ranges. The main drainage of the
continent is to the north and west, or towards the basin of the Atlantic Ocean.
The high lake plateau of East Africa contains the headwaters of both the Nile and the
Congo: the former the longest, and the latter the largest river of the continent.
The upper Nile receives its chief supplies from the mountainous region adjoining the
Central African trough in the neighbourhood of the equator. From there, streams pour
eastward into Lake Victoria, the largest African lake (covering over 26,000 square m.),
and to the west and north into Lake Edward and Lake Albert. To the latter of these, the
effluents of the other two lakes add their waters. Issuing from there, the Nile flows
northward, and between the latitudes of 7 and 10 degrees N. it traverses a vast marshy
level, where its course is liable to being blocked by floating vegetation. After receiving
the Bahr-el-Ghazal from the west and the Sobat, Blue Nile and Atbara from the Ethiopian
highlands (the chief gathering ground of the flood-water), it separates the great desert
with its fertile watershed, and enters the Mediterranean at a vast delta.
North of the Congo basin, and separated from it by a broad undulation of the surface, is
the basin of Lake Chad - a flat-shored, shallow lake filled principally by the Shad coming
from the southeast.
West of this is the basin of the Niger, the third major river of Africa. With its principal
source in the far west, it reverses the direction of flow exhibited by the Nile and Congo,
and ultimately flows into the Atlantic — a fact that eluded European geographers for
many centuries. An important branch, however - the Benue - flows from the southeast.
These four river-basins occupy the greater part of the lower plateaus of North and West
Africa — the remainder consisting of arid regions watered only by intermittent streams
that do not reach the sea..
Of the rivers flowing to the Indian Ocean, the only one draining any large part of the
interior plateaus is the Zambezi, whose western branches rise in the western coastal
highlands. The main stream has its rise in 11°21′3″ S 24°22′ E, at an elevation of 5000 ft.
It flows to the west and south for a considerable distance before turning eastward. All the
largest tributaries, including the Shire, the outflow of Lake Nyasa, flow down the
southern slopes of the band of high ground stretching across the continent from 10 deg. to
12 deg. S. In the southwest, the Zambezi system interlaces with that of the Taukhe (or
Tioghe), from which it at times receives surplus water. The rest of the water of the
Taukhe, known in its middle course as the Okavango, is lost in a system of swamps and
saltpans that was formerly centred in Lake Ngami, now dried up.
Farther south, the Limpopo drains a portion of the interior plateau, but breaks through the
bounding highlands on the side of the continent nearest its source. The Rovuma, Rufiji,
Tana, Jubba and Webi Shebeli principally drain the outer slopes of the East African
highlands, the last of these losing itself in the sands in proximity to the sea. Another large
stream, the Hawash, rising in the Ethiopian mountains, is lost in a saline depression near
the Gulf of Aden.
The calculation of the areas of African drainage systems, made by Dr A. Bludau
(Petermanns Mitteilungen, 43, 1897, pp. 184-186) yields the following general results:
mi²
Basin of the Atlantic
Mm²
4,070,000 10.541
Basin of the Mediterranean 1,680,000 4.351
Basin of the Indian Ocean 2,086,000 5.403
Inland drainage area
3,452,000 8.941
The areas of individual river basins are:
mi²
Mm²
Congo, length over 3000 mi (4800 km)
1,425,000 3.691
Nile, length fully 4000 mi (6500 km)
1,082,000 2.802
Niger, length about 2600 mi (4200 km)
808,000
2.093
Zambezi, length about 2000 mi (3200 km) 513,500
1.330
Lake Chad
1.020
394,000
Orange, length about 1300 mi (2100 km) 370,505
0.9596
Orange (actual drainage area)
0.447
172,500
The area of the Congo basin is greater than that of any other river except the Amazon,
while the African inland drainage area is greater than that of any continent but Asia,
where the corresponding area is 4,000,000 square miles (10 Mm²).
The principal African lakes have been mentioned in the description of the East African
plateau, but some of the phenomena connected with them may be spoken of more
particularly here. As a rule, the lakes found within the great rift-valleys have steep sides
and are very deep. This is the case with the two largest of the type, Tanganyika and
Nyasa, the latter with depths of 430 fathoms (790 m).
Student and Teacher Activities: 90 Minutes
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT #1: (Time: 5 minutes)
As students walk into the classroom, the teacher will hand them an index card. On the
board is the question: “Tell me at least one thing that you know about the country of
Africa?” Next to the question will be a map of Africa. (The map will serve as a “visual”
prompt to students, ensuring that every student will be able to come up with a response.
Teacher will remind students that the questions asks for “at least” one thing, encouraging
students to think deeply about the topic and identifying more than one idea. The teacher
will collect the index cards and just read them to himself, until he comes across one that
is very vital to the class and says yes, “The Nile River is in North Egypt”.
!HOOK! (Time: 5 minutes)
Teacher will ask the students the following questions/ prompts:
 Think about what you wore today… what would you have worn if it were 100
degrees outside?
 What if it was constantly raining AND 100 degrees outside?
 Would you still be best friends with you best friend if there was a mountain
between you?
LINE UP STRATEGY: Tell the kids that they are now going to answer a series of
questions by lining themselves up—The teacher will identify one side of the room as
“Very much like me.” and the other side of the room as “Not like me at all.” Teacher will
model how to respond using LINE UP by calling people up to the front of the room
wearing red or black (if this will equal to about 12 people)
 Would you like to live in the desert?
 Would they like to have a pet hippopotamus or tiger instead of a dog or a cat?
 Are you afraid of tigers?
 Would you like to live in the rainforest?
 Would you like to eat giraffe?
State the Objectives: (5 minutes)
The teacher will then explain how people’s lives are dependent on where they live.
Teacher will describe how the physical geography of an area dictates particular human
behaviors like what they wear, what they eat,…The teacher will then ask the students to
think about how their lives are affected by the geography of the area. Teacher will remind
students that the geography of an area is not just mountains, lakes, and streams but the
positioning on the globe- influencing weather patterns and climate.,
PowerPoint Presentation: Whole Class Instruction (10 Minutes)
The teacher will hand out PowerPoint slide sheets. These PowerPoint sheets will serve as
“Guided Notes” for the students. These guided notes will allow students to concentrate
on the content of the lecture rather than taking notes.
 Slides: Nile, Atlantic and Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea the
teacher will ask questions about each group.
o Guiding Questions:
1. What is the largest river in Africa?
2. What body of water helped trade throughout the entire Northern part
of the continent?
3. What is that largest body of water surrounding Africa?
Modified Think-Pair-Share Formative Assessment #2: (Time :15 Minutes)
The teacher will ask the students to identify the bodies of water most important to the
continent of Africa by listing them in their importance. Teacher will then have the
students justify their responses on paper. Students will then share their justification with
the person sitting next to them. After 2 minutes, the teacher will open the floor to a
discussion, making sure to use the map located in the front of the classroom to reinforce
the names of the bodies of water, their location, and potential impact on human behavior.
There is no set right/wrong answer to this question but it gets the students thinking about
how important bodies of water are. There will be no written down answers it will be more
of a discussion. The teacher will be sure to note who is chiming in the most and who
seems to grasp the material the best.
Continue with Guided Lecture (Whole Class) (Time 10 Minutes)
The teacher will then begin to discuss the Sahara Desert and explain its importance. The
teacher will make sure to explain that this geographic feature divides the country into
North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The teacher then will ask the students why they
think this feature divides the country into two regions, using Stop, Pause, and Reflect.
Stop: The Sahara Desert divides the African continent in two.
Pause: Think-Time for students
Reflect: Why is this the case? Can it ever be changed? If so, then how??
The teacher will then cover the other major regions of the continent such as; The Sahel,
The Grasslands/Savannas, Sub-Saharan Africa, The Ethiopian Highlands, and the African
Rainforest.
Independent Question/Response: Formative Assessment #3 The following questions
will be on the board: (Time 15 Minutes)
Which region they would like to live in and why? And what would you do if you lived in
that region? Also what would you wear, eat, and how would your transportation and
recreational lives be different? Students will be instructed to respond to these questions
on a piece of paper. The teacher will then ask the students to jot down on a piece of
paper, but before they start writing the teacher will allow them to brainstorm. The teacher
will collect this assignment. There is no time limit or paragraph limit; it is a free write
which allows the students to get creative. There will be no rubric needed it is just to see if
the students did the assignment you will read these just to see if the students understand
the climate in Africa.
The teacher will finish up the notes on the physical geography by covering the “other”
four rivers of Africa (Zambezi, Niger, Congo, Limpopo), and its two most important
lakes (Chad, Victoria).
Formative Assessment #4 (Time: 10 minutes)
The teacher will give the students a blank map of Africa, and they will shade the various
regions different colors, and label all the important bodies of water. They can use their
notes and text book for this. They can work by themselves or in groups. This can help the
students because they will easily be able to look at this map and know where things are,
how big the regions are, and what things they affect within the continent of Africa.
Review of Taught Material, Closing Activity:
Formative Assessment #5 (Time: 8 minutes)
The teacher will divide the class into 6 groups of 4, and ask them questions about the
physical geography of Africa. They can not use notes or their book. The team with all
four of their hands up first is the team that the teacher will call on first, and all four hands
will need to be up so she can pick any one of the students. This is extremely important
because it holds all of the students accountable. If the student that the teacher calls on
from the group gets it wrong then another group has an opportunity to answer the
question. A tally will be kept and a winning team will be selected and candy will be given
to the winning team.
Closing Activity: (Time: 7 minutes)
Students will complete an exit pass on an index card that says:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why is the Nile river so important to Egypt and the entire continent of Africa?
Two questions I still have about the continent?
The most interesting thing I learned?
Do you feel like you are an expert on the physical geography of Africa, and give
the level of expertise you think have on the geography of Africa?
Future Summative Assessment #1:
On a test, students will be given a map of Africa and be able to label the appropriate
regions and features of the continent.
Future Summative Assessment #2:
When students are looking at maps of other regions of the world they will be able to
identify their relationship with the continent of Africa, and know how Africa’s physical
geography played a major role in those relationships.
Materials:
1.) PowerPoint Projector
2.) Student Handout: Blank Map of Africa
Differentiation:
Lesson will honor the attention span of students- stopping at regular intervals and check
for understanding. Flexible groups based on three different criteria: ability, interest,
choice. Students can capably work in three groups because these are groupings used in
the past that have proffered positive academic and social results. Sit in a safe group. The
expectations are made clear, both verbal and written, and there are built in opportunities
to provide positive reinforcement. Students will be allowed to work in partners. Partners
will be chosen based on potential to add to student learning.
Subject Matter Integration:
This lesson serves as an introduction to the geography of Africa, but students already
possess some background knowledge about the Nile River, and Sahara Desert from
previously lessons dealing with the Ancient Egyptians and Romans. This lesson will go
much more in depth on these two parts of the continent of Africa. Students will explore
the geography of Africa because they have already mastered the ancient history of the
Romans, Egyptians, and the area of Mesopotamia. The next step for them is to tackle the
continent of Africa, so they can then learn about other kingdoms that affected the
continent. These opportunities will allow them to reach independent understandings of
how geography influences the history and livelihood of a people. This understanding is
grounded in the geography of Africa but is transferable to other areas. This lesson will be
the first of many lessons dealing with the Geography of Africa before moving onto the
continent of Asia.
Reflection:
I taught this lesson last year at my practicum at Waynesboro High School, and it went
very well. The students were very interested because I informed them we were going to
be having a contest at some point during this lesson. I was surprised by how much they
already knew about the Nile, but they did not know much about the rest of the continent.
They were very attentive with the PowerPoint presentation, and really liked the activities,
because they related more to the students than to a continent they had never been to. This
lesson works very well and is a great way to give them a good overview of the entire
continent.
Blank Map of Africa That the Students will fill out