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This three to four-week high school anthropology unit examines the African heritage of black Americans. The unit was written for students in an inner city all black public high school. Objectives are to foster a sense of pride in black Americans' heritage, learn how black Americans can discover their roots, examine causes and consequences of the African slave trade, and learn about the Mandingo population in Guinea. Five topics comprise the unit. The first is an introduction in which students discuss African and American stereotypes and the book "Roots" by Alex Haley. The second topic focuses on the slave trade. Students read a handout from "Roots" and analyze statistics on the African slave trade to the Americas. The third topic examines Mandingo culture and history. Students read from "Roots" and from "The Dark Child" by Camara Laye, and view slides of art, crafts, music, and dance. The fourth topic concludes the unit by correcting and discussing the African myths presented in the introduction and helping interested students work on their genealogy. Reading handouts for students and student and teacher bibliographies are included. (KC)

This teaching guide presents objectives, activities, resources, and evaluative criteria for use by tenth grade world history classroom teachers as they develop and implement a unit on the African family. Objectives are to help students understand the nature and function of African families, recognize the similarities between African and American families, and understand changes in African family life over time. Basic social studies skills to be developed during the unit include formulating and asking analytical questions, interpreting data, and developing and using evaluation criteria. The materials are intended as the basis of a minicourse of approximately 20 hours duration. The unit was developed at an interdisciplinary summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. Nine lessons are presented. Various lessons focus on basic family characteristics, African childhood, kinship and marriage, socialization in traditional African families, economic aspects of African family life, and daily routines of families in various regions of Africa. For each lesson, information is presented on materials and equipment required, objectives, procedures, activities, homework, teacher background, and evaluation. Students are involved in a variety of activities, including dramatizations, reading assignments, analyzing literary selections, discussing films and reading assignments in class and in small groups, and comparing African and American family values. A bibliography concludes the document. (DB)

The document presents a seventh grade social studies unit on Africa. The unit is one of a number of products developed by a summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. The objective is to help students understand the concept of culture, how cultures develop, and how and why cultures change. The document is divided into two parts. Part One focuses on students' knowledge and misinformation about Africa, as well as the environment of the continent, a prediction of problems caused by the environment, and an attempt to formulate hypotheses for student inquiry into African culture. Sixteen learning activities include two pretests, class discussion, and mapwork, as well as exercises in knowledge identification, classification, data gathering, speculation, and generalization. All activities emphasize problem prediction and hypotheses formulation about the development of African cultures. Concluding sections list student and teacher resources and offer student handouts. Part II offers activities focusing on African art, music, and oral literature as integrated expressions of the culture. These are intended to supplement the activities of Part I and should be coordinated with them. Stories and proverbs from several tribes are told and discussed, including dilemma tales, singing tales, and tales of gods and heroes. Activities include identifying values, playing games, creative writing, problem solving, reading novels, film viewing, having a story telling contest, and dramatizing. They all emphasize African cultural aspects and values. Teaching strategies and student and teacher resources are suggested throughout. A bibliography concludes the document. (CK)

A semester-long unit on African art and culture for high school art students is presented. The unit is comprised of 12 lessons. Lessons one, two, and three examine the concept of the artist as a close observer. Students examine their attitudes about Africa, view filmstrips which depict early African art and sculpture, recreate an African sculpture with pen and ink, and create a collage of a map of Africa. Lessons four through six examine the artist as communicator. Students investigate the role of African artists in their society, describe in writing an African sculpture, "The Primordial Couple," and analyze symbols in African masks. Lessons seven through twelve analyze the artist as creator. Students create an art object that can be used culturally and aesthetically, compare slides of African crafts with those of modern crafts, plan a program on African music and dance, and visit an art museum. Lesson twelve, an art practicum in which the students spend the remainder of the semester (10 weeks) crafting their art projects, culminates in an art show which includes music and dance. A selected bibliography of books, periodicals, films, filmstrips, slides, and photographs is included. (KC)

A guide for a five-week unit on African history and culture for secondary school students is presented. Objectives are to develop an awareness of life in a multi-cultural world, specifically sub-Sahara Africa; to develop an appreciation for the richness of African history; to dispel stereotypic notions about Africa; to develop a clearer understanding of our own society; and to provide an understanding of why people respond to their environment. Topics include African cities; geography; history to 1500; building African nations after 1500; literature, art, and music of Africa; and politics, economy, change, and apartheid in modern Africa. Daily lesson plans are briefly outlined and a list of textual materials is provided. (KC)

A two week unit on the cycle of life in the African family for secondary school students is presented. General objectives are to help students value and respect marriage and the family as basic constituents of all human cultures; to create cultural awareness; to identify aspects of traditional family life which may serve as models for social change; and to eliminate stereotypic notions of African peoples. Five lessons examine initiation into adulthood, marriage in African societies, family structures, kinship systems, and the birth role of children. Each lesson provides learning objectives, lists resource materials, and suggests activities, procedures, and evaluation methods. Activities include discussion sessions, essay writing, and filmstrip viewing. All activities invite comparison with American customs, traditions, and social problems involving the family. (KC)

This guide presents a three-week unit on the literature of Ghana. It is designed as part of an eleventh grade world literature course. General objectives include having students identify the literature of Africa with the outstanding literature of the world, change negative attitudes about Africa, and provide a broad view of the lifestyles of Africa. The unit is composed of 15 lessons. Students are introduced to an overview of Africa after which they examine the life of the Ashanti of Ghana, the oral tradition in African literature, and Ghanian oral narratives, short stories, poetry, and drama. Activities include notetaking, discussion, research, oral play reading, map work, written reports, and filmstrip viewing. Each lesson outlines objectives, procedures, materials needed, activities, and suggestions for evaluation. A bibliography of required readings is also included. (KC)

The document presents a unit on Africa and Ghana for seventh grade language arts and eighth grade remedial English classes. It is one of a number of interdisciplinary products developed by a summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. The objectives are to help rid students of stereotypes and to make them aware of the diversity of culture on the continent of Africa. An introduction states five educational objectives and six skills relating to African history and geography, literature, music, art, and food. The document presents seven lessons on topics relating to Africa and Ghana such as student perceptions, Akan names, religion, folktales, poetry, music and dance, tie dying, Ashanti gold work, games, and food crops. Each lesson states concept and skills objectives, suggests teacher implementation strategies and student activities, and notes time allotment and needed materials. Learning activities include reading, discussing, story telling, dramatizing, film and slide viewing, playing instruments, researching, playing games, and preparing food. Bibliographies list references for the teacher and for the student and audiovisual materials used in the unit (films, filmstrips, videotapes, cassette tapes, slide sets, and handouts). (CK)

The document presents a 4-week seventh grade world cultures unit on Africa which is one of a number of products developed by a summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. The objective is to help students become aware of the diversity of African cultures and geographic regions. Another objective is to help students understand how culture develops in response to the environment. Additional objectives are to compare African and American social and value systems, to understand changes taking place in Africa, and to suggest hypotheses about the future. The document presents 16 lessons on topics relating to Africa, such as ecology, environment, clothing, markets, society, the impact of change on the family and education, music, and religion. Each lesson states the purpose, time allotment, objectives, materials needed, teaching procedure, optional activities, and sources needed. Activities include discussing, tape playing, filmstrip viewing, hypothesizing, generalizing, classifying, mapwork, comparing, and reading. Appendices list audiovisual materials, optional projects, proverbs from different African countries, student texts, and briefly annotated student and teacher resources. (CK)

This teaching guide is intended to aid tenth grade English classroom teachers as they develop and implement educational programs on the Igbo-speaking people of Nigeria. The source material for this unit is "Things Fall Apart," by Chinua Achebe. The guide is a product of an interdisciplinary summer workshop for teachers on development of Africa-related curriculum. It is intended as the basis of a minicourse to be taught within 15 class periods of 55 minutes each. Students learn specific facts about the Igbo people, read critically and develop interpretative skills, and compare and contrast the values of American and African cultures. Activities involve students in answering (orally and in writing) discussion and study questions which are presented for each of the 25 chapters of"Things Fall Apart." To answer the questions, students use various basic reading skills, including quick recall, interpretation, and analysis. Also, students compare African and American values and behaviors. Also included in the guide are background and resource bibliographies for teachers and students, objectives, and tips to teachers on how to introduce questions to the class more effectively. (DB)

The document presents a 3-week seventh grade English unit on the African folktale. The guide is one of a number of products developed by a summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. The objectives are to help students develop respect for African cultures and lifestyles, compare values of African and American ethnic populations, understand social change and its consequences, and develop continuing interest in African cultures. An overview of the unit lists seven important concept areas and five skills to be taught in the unit. Ten lessons focus on topics such as the African environment, clothing, shelter, family life, religious beliefs, values, music, and other diverse cultural characteristics. All are taught through listening to and discussing various types of African folktales. Each lesson states objectives, teaching procedures, important discussion points for the teacher, needed materials, and reading resources. Lectures are included when relevant. Activities include reading, comparing, writing folktales, classifying, and dramatizing. Appendices offer some folktales, an annotated bibliography of sources for the tales used in the unit, a bibliography of children's literature, and a list of 21 optional projects. (CK)

This teaching guide provides information to help junior high school art teachers develop and implement programs based on African art. Objectives are to help students appreciate various types of African art, understand the relationship of African art to European art, and produce Adinkra cloth (a colorful cloth printed with personal symbols and geometric shapes). The guide was developed at an interdisciplinary summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. It is intended as the basis of a two-week minicourse. Activities are presented in a daily outline format. Students are involved in a variety of activities including pre- and posttests, viewing and analyzing slides and films, listening to and discussing lectures on the history of African art, building and enhancing their vocabulary, learning about the traditions involved in making Adinkra cloth, designing Adinkra symbols, and developing printing skills. For each day's activities, information is presented on concepts, basic skills, implementation, materials, and evaluation. A bibliography is included to direct the teachers' attention to recent works on African art, culture, printmaking, and decorative arts. (DB)

This teaching guide presents objectives, activities, pre and posttests, and handouts to help sixth grade classroom teachers as they develop and implement educational programs about Africa. The major purpose is to help students develop positive attitudes toward other cultures, particularly African cultures. Specific objectives are to help students understand, appreciate, and respect African lifestyles and various African art forms and learn basic facts about the African continent. Developed at an interdisciplinary summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development, the instructional guide is intended as the basis of a six-week minicourse. The guide is presented in four major sections. Section I offers test questions and outlines student assignments involving task cards and scrapbooks. Section II explains how students can analyze cultural material, with particular regard to bias and cultural context. Sections III and IV focus on the Mandingo people of Ghana and the Igbo people of Nigeria. Topics discussed include housing, family and kinship, plants and animals, clothing, markets, masks, music and dance, naming ceremonies, folktales, and systems of government. For each topic, information is presented on materials, activities, and procedures. Students are involved in a variety of activities including map and globe work, listening to music, viewing films and slide shows, discussing issues in class, and playing African games. The final section examines geography of the African continent. Students are directed to work with maps and globes, read and discuss textbook assignments, and make travel posters. (DB)

The document presents the sixth grade teaching unit of an interdisciplinary work project on Africa, one of a number of products developed by a summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. The overall objective is to clarify some similarities and differences between Western and African cultures, as well as to illustrate diversity within the African continent. This unit is centered around the traditional African story-telling techniques, particularly those incorporating music, of the Igbo people of Nigeria and the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Introductory material states instructional objectives, including the central idea, seven concepts, and 19 skills pertaining to music, visual arts, language arts, and social studies. It also discusses teaching strategies and learning activities. The following section of the document presents six daily lesson plans. Each plan includes objectives, instructions for teacher preparation and implementation, a list of needed materials, activity suggestions, and reproducible handouts. Activities include listening to stories, discussing, learning chants, matching African and American proverbs, drawing inferences and conclusions, comparing cultures, and dramatizing. Concluding sections offer lists of audiovisual materials and books; suggested art, language arts, and social studies activities with bibliographies and handouts; and an appendix comparing African oral narratives of various areas. (CK)

This teaching guide provides objectives, activities, resources, and evaluation criteria for a four-week minicourse on the Akan and Manding tribes of Africa. It is intended for use by third grade classroom teachers as they develop and implement African area studies programs. The objective is to help students overcome negative attitudes toward Africa and African heritage by exposing them to positive aspects of African culture in a classroom setting. The instructional guide is the product of a summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. Ten lesson plans are presented. Topics include African geography, stereotypes, distribution of Akan and Manding ethnic groups throughout Africa, and cultural and social organization of Akan and Manding people. Students are involved in a variety of activities including working with maps and globes, playing word association games, role playing, discussing issues in class, preparing Akan and Manding food, analyzing folk tales, and listening and dancing to African music. For each lesson, information is presented on objectives, basic skills, materials, time required, activities, resources, and evaluation. (DB)

This teaching guide presents objectives, resources, and evaluation criteria for teaching pupils in fourth grade social studies and fine arts classes about Africa, and particularly the Akan ethnic group in Africa. This unit was developed at an interdisciplinary summer workshop for teachers on African culture. The major objective is to help students accept the reality of cultures other than their own. Specific objectives include that students will be able to identify stereotypes, learn geographic facts about Africa, recognize similarities and differences between African and American families, and learn to appreciate the culture of the Akan people. The guide describes the Akan nation, which consists of approximately five million people and accounts for approximately one-half of the population of Ghana. The Akan people speak nearly 20 distinct languages, live in rural communities, and are noted for their intricate and exquisite art forms, particularly sculpture, architecture, textiles, music, and dance. Lesson plans are presented for nine topics including debunking myths about Africa and Africans, the geography of Ghana, family and community life among the Akans, farming, and African culture. Students are involved in a variety of activities including simulating African ceremonies, playing African music, and working in various Akan art media including tie dye and Akinkra cloth. For each topic, information is presented on objectives, materials and time required, activities, and bibliography. (DB)

A six-week unit on the Kikuyu people of Kenya for grades 4, 5, and 6 is presented. An overview of the unit lists major concepts and skills to be developed, behavioral objectives, and materials needed for each unit. Following the overview, seven lessons are outlined. In lesson one, students analyze their attitudes toward African culture. Lesson two focuses on Kikuyu housing. Students construct diaramas displaying traditional and modern homes. Lesson three considers the importance of the extended family in African culture. Lesson four investigates the naming of children and the role of Kikuyu family members. Students write a short play depicting the role of a Kikuyu family member. Lesson five, focusing on food production, includes recipes for traditional African foods. In lesson six, students study African clothing. Activities include tie-dyeing and making dashikis. Lesson seven examines traditional educational processes which involve parents teaching children folk tales, crafts, and family tradition. The length of time necessary for presentation, general objectives, reading resources, and teaching methods are provided for each lesson. (KC)

Based on the premise that familiarity with art forms of other cultures can broaden students' cultural understandings, the teaching guide presents instructions for creating two West African art forms--batik and tie-dye. The unit is intended as the basis of a three and one-half week minicourse for students in art courses in grades eight and nine. The guide was developed at an interdisciplinary summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. Six lessons focus on African stereotypes, African culture, African textile dyeing processes, traditional West African art forms, tie-dye and batik, and relationships among shape, space, pattern, and color. Students are involved in a variety of activities, including viewing and discussing films and slide shows, designing fabric, working with maps and globes, comparing African and American art forms, and experimenting with tie-dye and batik. Also included in the guide are evaluation criteria, vocabulary worksheets, background information on tie-dye and batik, reading assignments, and supplementary activities based on the reading assignments. (DB)

This teaching guide (entitled "Kusema,""to speak") presents a multi-sensory approach to teaching language-oriented activities on Africa to students in kindergarten through grade seven. This approach encourages students to verbalize and interpret verbalizations about Africa by employing multiple senses including auditory (records, tapes, verbal questions); visual (pictures and maps); tactile (art objects and cloth); and olfactory and taste (natural and cooked foods). The unit is a product of an interdisciplinary summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. Objectives are to have students improve their general knowledge and attitudes about Africa, investigate customs in various African nations, and interpret literal and figurative language. Twelve lessons focus on a variety of topics including eliciting verbal responses to pictures and maps of Africa, dispelling verbal inaccuracies about Africa, pronouncing African names, listening to and telling African folktales, comparing sounds from English and various African languages, and reading and analyzing African poems. For each topic, information is presented on grade level, time allotment, materials required, activities, teaching methods, and resources. Students are involved in a variety of activities including creating bulletin boards, acting in plays based on African themes, tasting African food, interviewing local resource people, participating in story telling contests, learning common phrases in various African languages, and interpreting poetry and folk tales. (DB)

Focusing on traditional African families, villages, and cultures, this teaching guide presents objectives, activities, resources, and evaluation suggestions for use in grade one social studies African area programs. The instructional guide is a product of a summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. It is intended as the basis of a six-week minicourse. Objectives are to help pupils better understand Africa, Africans, and the impact of culture change over time. Thirteen units of study focus on a variety of topics including education in Sierra Leone, game reserves in East Africa, story telling in West Africa, folktales, urban and rural life styles, food preparation, and tie dyeing. Students are involved in many activities, including answering questions, drawing and analyzing pictures, making bulletin boards, dramatizing folk stories, preparing food for an African meal, modeling clay figures, and writing letters to African children. For each lesson, information is presented on objectives, basic skills, materials, time required, activities, and evaluation. Additional background resources (books, films, audiovisual aids, maps, and charts) are suggested for teachers and pupils. (DB)

Appreciation of African games has increased in this country; especially board games which have been popularized through commercial versions. African games are invaluable resources for studying subjects requiring mathematical concepts, as well as social studies, history, geography, and languages. This manual presents some of the better known African games. It is arranged in four parts. Part 1, "Background to African Games," describes the three different categories of strategy games: games of alignment like Tic-Tac-Toe; struggle for territory games, covering African versions of checkers; and mankala, one of the oldest types of board game. Part 2, "Some African Games and How to Play Them," provides samples of African games. Brief comments about the games, the players, illustrations of playing equipment and detailed instructions, along with diagrams demonstrating moves and strategies are provided for each game. Part 3, "Supplementary Materials," provides ideas for making different types of board games. Also included are brief notes on the people and customs associated with the games, as well as a map of African countries. Part 4, "Bibliography," contains a partially annotated bibliography which includes references used and resource material. (APG)

The wide variety of religious practices in Africa can be bewildering to outsiders. Although most of the world's religions have been introduced to Africa, this handbook focuses upon three categories of religious belief: traditional African religions, Christianity, and Islam. The book is arranged in three parts. Part 1, "Background Information," provides an overview of the major religious systems in Africa and how they have functioned and changed. The Africanization of Christianity and Islam is discussed and examples of African conflicts where religion has been a factor are provided. Part 2, "Activities," gives examples of activities which draw upon the information presented. Included are activities involving religious ceremonies, festivals, African calendars, art, religious architecture, and ideas for discussions and research projects. Part 3, "Supplemental Materials," exemplifies and expands upon the points made in Part 1 and provides resources for activities. African calendars, drawings of religious symbols and architecture, biographical sketches of major African religious leaders, a glossary, maps of Africa, and a resource bibliography are provided. (APG)

This study relates especially to African names, but can apply to all names. It aims to help students develop a more perceptive way of looking at other people and to encourage students to learn from and about them. Part 1, "Background Information," introduces people and place names in Africa and discusses their interrelationships. Part 2, "Activities," is grouped around themes, and gives examples of classroom applications of the information in the preceding section. Included are games, puzzles, songs, role playing, research projects, and maps studies. Part 3, "Supplementary Materials," supplements the information given in Part 1 and provides resources that might be used in conjunction with the activities suggested in Part 2. The first part of the section relates to personal names, and the rest to place names. A pronunciation guide is provided. Several maps are included of contemporary Africa, which may not otherwise be available to students and teachers. Part 4, "Bibliography," provides additional resource materials for teachers interested in further reading on the topic. (APG)