Download West African Kingdoms and Legacies

West African Kingdoms and
Legacies
7th grade
What do we do?
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In your assigned group..
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Create a visual representation of West African
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History
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Culture
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Scarcity and resource allocation and markets
Government
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Location, places and regions, human-environment interaction, and
movement
Economics
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Cultures and Diffusion
Geography
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The First Global Age
Systems of government
Skills and Methods
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Problem solving
Who do we study?
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You will be one of the following kindoms
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Ghana
Mali
Songhai
How do we organize ourselves?
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In your group assign people to…
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Be the “Big Woman” or “Big Man” (Leader)
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Other members of your group must be in assigned
roles will assigned responsibilities including the
leader.
History
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Describe the importance of the West
African empires of Ghana, Mali, and
Songhai including:
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Trade routes,
Products,
The spread of the Arabic language,
The spread of Islam.
Culture
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Give examples of changes in belief
systems, art, science, technology,
language, and systems of government.
Describe the cultural and scientific legacies
of African civilization.
Geography
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For the assigned Kingdom of Ghana, Mali, or Songhai
society studied, identify the location of significant
physical and human characteristics on a map of the
relevant region.
On a map, identify places related to the historical events
being studied and explain their significance.
Use physical and historical maps to analyze the reasons
that human features are located in particular places.
Describe the geographic factors and processes that
contribute to and impede the diffusion of people,
products, and ideas from place to place including:
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Physical features, culture, war, trade, technological innovations.
Economics
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Compare endowment of productive resources in
world regions and explain how this endowment
contributed to specialization, trade, and
interdependence in ancient times.
Describe the growth of cities and the
establishment of trade routes in Africa; the
products and inventions that traveled along
these routes (e.g., spices, textiles, paper,
precious metals, and new crops); and the role of
merchants.
Government
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Describe the essential characteristics of
the systems of government found in citystates, kingdoms, and empires of Africa.
Social Studies Skills and Methods
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Establish guidelines, rules, and time lines
for group work.
Reflect on the performance of a classroom
group in which one has participated
including the contributions of each
member in reaching group goals.