The African Family. An Instructional Unit for Tenth Grade World History.

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)