African Unit. An Instructional Unit for Sixth Grade.

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)