A. Oral Presentation Rubric (attached)--Teacher and students will review the rubric so that students know on which elements they will be assessed. Each student will assess him/herself and then turn in the rubric for the teacher to do a final assessment.

B. Student-Generated Quiz--Each group will prepare a quiz to give to the class following the presentation. The quiz will consist of 10 short-answer questions. Each group will be assessed on the quality of its quiz, and the other students' quiz scores will be counted in their classroom average.

DAY 1

Remind students of their just-completed study of North American Native American cultures. Tell students that at about the same time in history, there were several powerful kingdoms in Africa. They have already studied Mali in second grade, so they have some background knowledge.

Pass out sticky notes and invite students to jot down facts that they know about ancient African kingdoms. While they are writing, post a large blank map of Africa in front of the room. Invite student to post their facts on the map. This will serve as a sort of "KWL" chart for the unit; students and teacher can refer to the chart throughout the unit, adding or correcting as needed. Each kingdom can also be drawn on the map as it is studied. Make sure students have made the connection that many of the people who became slaves in North America originally came from West Africa. Tell students that the people of West Africa were a diverse group with rich cultural traditions, and in this unit we will study three of the West African kingdoms.

Read an Anansi tale from the Ashanti people of Ghana--for example, Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott. Discuss the tale and explain that it is an example of the culture of the people of the ancient African kingdom of Ghana.

Have students read Why We Remember p.34-42. This reading will give them an overview of ancient Africa. Students can finish the reading for homework.

DAY 2

Review textbook reading. Refer to map of Africa and sticky note facts as appropriate.

Highlight the salt-gold trade, as this was the most important form of trade in ancient Africa. Refer to the map of Africa and point out that the people of western Africa needed salt and so traded gold to the people of northern Africa. Explain the method of silent barter. (The students should be familiar with these topics as they were covered in the homework assignment).

Explain that the following day the students will participate in a silent barter demonstration. For homework, each student should find and bring to school a small item to barter. Students should bring something small from home; they do not need to purchase anything. Examples of items students could bring include small toys (including fast food meal or cereal box prizes), pencils, erasers, or candy.

Now explain that for the next few days, the students will participate in a group project to prepare an oral presentation on one of the three ancient African kingdoms. The students will do research to find out the important details about each kingdom. Then each group will be responsible for teaching the rest of the class about the assigned kingdom. Following each group's presentation, the group will give the other students a quiz to assess what they learned. Pass out and go over the Oral Presentation Guidelines (attached). Then pass out and go over the Oral Presentation Rubric (attached), and discuss presentation requirements with students. Make sure to go over the essential information to be covered.

Students will have a choice of presentation format. They may do a lecture lesson, create a song, perform a skit, etc. They may also create a handout to accompany the presentation. No matter which format they choose, students must be sure to include the essential facts, and each student must participate orally. Also, each group must create a ten-question short-answer quiz to follow the presentation.

Review research skills with the class. Brainstorm possible resources, both online and print. If desired, you may provide the students with a list of websites (attached) and have books already checked out for students to use for research in the classroom. Remind students that they must compile a brief bibliography of sources used--name of website, or title and author of book. At least three sources must be used, including at least one print source.

Divide the class into six groups of 3-5 students each. Assign each group one kingdom (there will be two groups to cover each kingdom). The students can use the rest of the period to begin their research. Remind students of their homework assignment--bring in a small item for the silent barter demonstration.

DAY 3

Review the ancient African kingdoms that were discussed for the last few days. Discuss the importance of the salt-gold trade that was used to meet the wants and needs of the African people. Reread the Fairfax County POS Study guide about the silent barter trade that took place in Ghana.

Ask the students why they think this type of trade was important to the economy of the region and why it was important that the identity of the traders remained secret. Ask them to imagine that they lived in an area where a particular resource (like salt) was necessary to their survival. The only way to obtain this resource is to participate in a secret trade system. What kind of good would they trade? Why? How could they ensure that they make the most beneficial trade possible? How can they be sure that the good they wish to trade would be desirable to others? Discuss the laws of supply and demand and connect them to the barter system that was used in ancient Africa.

Divide the class into two groups. Ask one group to go into the hall and place the items they brought for barter against the wall. When the first group has returned to the room, allow the second group to go into the hall and examine the items available for trade. If there is an item for which they have a need and would like to trade, they should replace it with their own item before returning to the room. If there is no item for which they would like to trade, the students should return to the room with their own item.

When all the students have returned to the room, allow the groups to discuss the trades that did or did not take place. Examine the reasons that some items were more in demand that others. Discuss the ramifications for those traders whose items were not chosen for trade. Allow the students to discuss their own trading experience with one another and determine if they trades were successful in terms of meeting their individual needs. Record discussion notes on a chart in columns headed "Successful Trades," "Unsuccessful Trades," and "Other Observations." Keep this chart for reference as economic concepts are discussed throughout the year.

For the remainder of class, the students should work in the research groups assigned yesterday. Remind them that each group should have at least three resources for the project. Remind them of the website list provided yesterday and the available books in the classroom. All research and the bibliography must be completed before the groups begin to create the actual project (poster, play, skit, song etc.).

DAY 4

Depending on how much more time students need to work on their research and presentations, they may need to use this entire period for that. However, if time permits, set up centers for today’s activities. Students will spend time working with each of the following center activities. The art and literature connection activities can be started today and continued later during language arts or other periods.

Centers are:

1. Group work for project and presentation
2. Create an Adrinka cloth from Ghana. Using scissors, construction paper and glue, the students will have an opportunity to create a cloth similar to those made in ancient Ghana. The cloths communicate information about the owner, living or dead. Students will choose several symbols to represent themselves. They will trace the symbols on construction paper and cut them out to create a "cloth" that tells about their lives. Instructions can be found in several of the sources listed in the bibliography.
3. A collection of African tales will be available to the students. They will read a variety of the tales and complete a "Folk Tales" activity in which they examine the elements of several different folk tales from Africa. (See Independent Reading Activities by Susan Finney.)

DAY 5

During the first part of the class, students will complete the group projects and practice their presentations. If time permits, they may continue working with the center activities from yesterday. Before beginning the presentations, provide the groups with a copy of the rubric that will be used for the group assessment. Answer any questions that the students may have about the requirements for the project and presentation.

Allow each group 3-5 minutes for the presentations. Each group should give its quiz after the presentation. At the end of all the presentations, give the students a few minutes to complete their rubrics for self-evaluation.

Wrap up the unit by asking the students to complete a 3-2-1 activity: 3 things you learned, 2 "WOW!" facts, and 1 thing you would like to know more about. Share and discuss. Also return to the "KWL" map begun the first day--add any new information learned, and correct any misinformation.

Make connections to the unit coming up on explorers by reminding students of the conditions in Europe at the time. Europeans were experiencing plagues and poverty at the time and feelings of discontent were growing as a result of the class system of the monarchies that were in existence. Europeans were becoming more and more interested in what was going on in other parts of the world, particularly Asia and Africa. They were anxious for an opportunity to improve living conditions by coming to possess some of the riches available in other parts of the world.

Differentiation

Day 1--Students who have trouble writing can dictate their sticky note facts to a partner who can write for them. Students who have trouble reading can work on the classwork and homework assignments with a partner. Students who need an extra challenge can begin drafting an original Anansi tale, a creative writing project on which they can continue to work throughout the unit.

Day 2--Groups should be structured so that each includes a heterogeneous mix of students. That way, a student who needs an extra challenge can assist a student who has trouble reading, for example. Students can also divide research and presentation tasks so that each student can use his or her strengths; for example, a student with artistic talent might create a poster for the presentation.

Day 3--If needed, students can work as partners during the silent barter. Some students may feel more comfortable working with a partner who can help them understand and participate in the barter. Some trinkets will be available for those students who forget or are unable to bring in a barter item.

Day 4--Heterogeneous groups have already been carefully structured for project work. Help will be available, however, for any students who needs or requests it. The groups will move through the additional centers together, so that help will be available for students who need help with a reading or writing activity. The center projects are very fluid and flexible, so that students can draw on their own particular strengths to participate and will have support for tasks requiring skills in which they may be weak. For example, in the "Folk Tales" literature activity, students can choose from texts on a variety of reading levels.

Day 5--Presentations will be made by groups. Participation requirements will vary according to the skills of each student.

Day 1--sticky notes, large blank map of Africa, Anansi tale book (see bibliography), Why We Remember (see bibliography)

Day 2--copies of Oral Presentation Guidelines and Rubric (attached), website list and books for research (see bibliography)

Day 3--Fairfax County POS

Day 4--scissors, construction paper, poster board, collection of African tales, directions for center activities

Day 5--Oral Presentation Rubric (attached)

Books:

Angelou, Maya. Kofi and His Magic. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2003.
This book describes a present-day West African village as seen through the eyes of Kofi, an Ashanti boy.

Fairfax County Social Studies Program of Studies.
The POS includes helpful resource information about Mali, Ghana, and Songhai.

Finney, Susan. Independent Reading Activities. Scholastic, 2003.
This book contains a variety of reading center activities. We have adapted the "Folk Tales--Ten to Talk About" project to be used with African tales.

Herr, Myra, and Christopher Ronan. West Africa: Ghana (Ancient and Living Cultures). GoodYear Books, 1992.
In this book, students can explore the culture of Ghana, including myths and stories. The book also contains art projects based on traditional Ghanaian crafts.

Levtzion, Nehemia. Ancient Ghana and Mali. Holmes and Meier Publishers, 1980.
This is a good teacher resource book for extra background information.

McDermott, Gerald. Anansi the Spider.
This is one example of a story that could be used as a read-aloud on the first day of the unit.

Merrill, Yvonne. Hands-On Africa: Art Activities for All Ages Featuring Sub-Saharan Africa. Kits Publishing, 2000.
This book includes facts about and crafts from a variety of African cultures.

Viola, Herman. Why We Remember.
This is a student textbook.

Websites:

http://ctap295.ctaponline.org/~jboston/Student/materials.html
This site is a collection of other sites that teachers can use.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/africa/
Here you can find outline maps and research sources.

http://www.geographia.com/mali/
This site provides background and geographical information about Mali.

http://www.learner.org/exhibits/collapse/mali.html
This site contains interesting information about Mali for students as well as comparisons to other well-known kingdoms.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/rocco/index.html
Here students can view photographs from a recent tour of Mali.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/explore/journey/mali/malindex.htm
Students can take a virtual tour of present-day Mali and learn about sports, arts and crafts, and other topics.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/schools/magicmali/index.htm
Teachers can use this site to get background information and plan student activities.

http://www.pbs.org/wonders/Kids/kids.htm
At this site students can participate in a variety of activities including a tour of Africa with Anansi.

http://studentweb.fontbonne.edu/~sby565/webbit/
This webquest could be used by students for research or review.

Ancient Africa resource information from the Fairfax County POS

Oral Presentation Guidelines

Oral Presentation Rubric