Module: 10-Lesson 1-Geography and Early Africa

​Bell Ringer
5 minutes

​Directions: You will complete a quick read to imagine If YOU were There. and respond to the question that follows. You are required to write 2-3 sentences. Make sure that you are using correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Open Ended

If YOU were there...

You and your family are farmers in West Africa in about 400 BC. The Niger River is not too far away from where you live. The river is full of life, birds, fish and crocodiles. You use its water to grow crops and raise cattle. Farming is hard work, but you use a sharp wooden stick to dig the soil and put seeds in the ground. One day, you are given farm tools made of a dark metal you've never seen before. These fine tools are so strong you can't break them! They have clean, sharp edges.

Question: Why is this a good place to live? How will these new tools change your life?

​Module 14: Early African Civilization

Lesson 1: Geography and Early Africa

​Standard: 7.6-Explore and evaluate the development of sub-Saharan civilizations in East, South, and West Africa.

Objective:7.6.1-Explain how the geographical features of sub-Saharan Africa influenced the development of civilization.


I Can Statemen: "I can explain how the geographical features of sub-Saharan Africa influenced the development of civilizations."

Africa's Great River

​Africa is a big place. In fact, it is the second largest continent on earth. An immense desert the Sahara, stretches across North Africa. In eastern Africa, mountains extend along rifts, long deep valleys formed by the movement of Earth's crust. Large rivers cross the plains of sub-Saharan Africa, or Africa south of the Sahara are crossed by mighty rivers. Among the main rivers are the Congo, Zambezi, Niger Rivers. Along the Niger River in West Africa, it played a role in the development of civilizations. The Niger River was a source of water, food and transportation, which allowed many people to live in the area.

Multiple Choice

What is one fact about Africa?

• it is the most 2nd populated continent on earth.

• it is the size of the United States.

• it is the second largest continent on earth.

• it is the continent of a lot of animals.

Multiple Choice

What main rivers are south of sub-Sahara Africa?

• Niger, Ionian, Yellow

• Zambezi, Tigris, Ganges

• Niger, Nile, Zambezi

• Congo, Zambezi, Niger

Multiple Choice

the Niger river was a source of _______, _______, _______.

• soil, plants, and vegetables

• water, food, and transportation

• forest, tress, and plants

• transportation, and food, grassland

West Africa's Climate

• There are four different climate regions that runs across Africa from east to west like broad bands or stripes.

• The entire area is warm, rainfall varies, and the amount of rain in each region has an impact, the effect, or result on vegetation and plant life.
  
  

West Africa's Plants
(The Four Bands)

​1. The northern band across West Africa is the Sahara, the world's largest desert. Temperatures can climb above 120⁰F.
2. The next band is the Sahel (sah-HEL), a strip of land that divides the desert from wetter areas.
3. Father south is a band of savannah, or open grassland with scattered trees.
4. The fourth band gets heavy rain are rain forests, or moist, densely wooded areas near the equator.

Multiple Choice

How many different climate regions is in Africa?

• 2

• 5

• 4

• 3

Multiple Choice

the word impact means

• cause, or effect

• fact, or opinion

• effect, or result

• result, or solve

Match

Match the following

• the world's largest desert.

• strip of land that divides the desert from wetter areas.

• open grassland with scattered trees.

• moist, densely, wooded areas near the equator.

Sahara

Sahel

savannah

rain forests

• Sahara

• Sahel

• savannah

• rain forests

​ West Africa's Resources

• Land is one West Africa's region major resources. with it's many different climates, the land could produce many different crops.

• Minerals is the second major West Africa resource that added salt to the African diets.

• Gold was the third West Africa resource, which is soft that made beautiful jewelry and coins. Miners kept the gold mines a secret. To this day, no one knows exactly where the mines were located, but gold became a valuable trade good.

Multiple Choice

What major resource added salt to the Africans diet?

• water

• land

• gold

• minerals

Multiple Choice

What is West Africa's three main resources?

• land, crops, gold

• minerals, silt, water

• gold, salt, land

• land, minerals, gold

Open Ended

Exit Ticket: If you lived in West Africa, which one of the major resources would you choose to use? Why?