Identify Africa on a world map or globe.
Describe facts about physical features and countries in Africa.

","materials","

For the whole group:

World map or globe

For each pair/triad:

A nonfiction book or atlas about Africa
Large sheet of paper (11 x 17 or 16 x 20)
Crayons, colored pencils, and/or markers

For each student:

Notebook/paper
Pen/pencil

","preparation","

Read through and familiarize yourself with the entire activity.

Select, obtain, and preview books about Africa from your school library or local resource center. Make sure you have at least one book for each pair/triad. (Try to select recent titles published within the past 10 years.) Suggested books:

Africa, Amazing Africa: Country by Country by Atinuke
Africa: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know (Not for Parents) by Clive Gifford
Africa (The Seven Continents) by Zukiswa Wanner
Learning about Africa (Searchlight Books?Do You Know the Continents?) by Robin Koontz
A Kid's Guide to South Africa by Jack L. Roberts and Michael Owens

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Launch the activity by displaying the world map or globe.
- Invite a volunteer to identify Africa.
- Tell students that Africa is the second largest continent, after Asia.
- Note that Africa is composed of 54 countries-more than any other continent in the world.
Activate prior knowledge about Africa.
- Ask: What else do you know about Africa?
- Instruct students to write 3 to 5 things they think they know about the continent.
- Allow 2-3 volunteers to share their notes if time permits.
Organize students into teams of pairs and triads.
- Give each team a book or atlas about Africa as well as the other materials.
- Instruct teams to draw an outline map of Africa.
- Then, direct them to use their books to draw/shade and label 10 to 12 physical features on the continent.
- Challenge students to write 1 fact about each physical feature they label on the back of their map.
Next, assign each team a range of letters, such as A to C, depending on the number of pairs and triads.
- On their maps, ask teams to locate, outline and label 3 countries whose names begin with that letter.
- Challenge students to write 1 or 2 facts about each country on the back of their maps.
Inform students it’s time to travel all around Africa!
- Begin by saying, “A is for—?”
- Choose a student to complete the statement and point to the country (e.g., Algeria) on their map.
- Instruct their teammate(s) to share a fact about the country.
- Continue through the alphabet. If time permits, do 2 or 3 rounds.
- If a student repeats a country that has already been said, ask them to name another or allow another student to share an answer.
- Mark off countries on your own map or on the wall map as you go.
Instruct students to review their original notes about Africa at the start of the activity.
- Ask: Were the ideas you wrote correct?
- Encourage students to make corrections to any misconceptions that they had.
Close the activity by facilitating a whole-group discussion using the following questions:
- What misconception did you have? How did you correct it?
- What is something else that you learned about Africa?
- How would you describe Africa to a friend or a family member, and why?
- What else would you like to learn about the continent?

","examples","versions","variations","

Variations:

As an introduction to Africa, have students watch the video “Geography of Africa,” “Africa | Destination World,” or “Africa's Physical Geography.” (See links below.)
Tell students to draw a K-W-L Chart. In the first column, list facts that they think they Know about Africa. In the second, list questions or details that they Want to answer or find out. Then, have students work in pairs or triads to review National Geographic’s “Africa: Physical Geography Encyclopedia” (see link below). Ask students to write details that they Learn in the third column of their charts.

Optional Extensions:

Give students a copy of a blank political map of Africa. Challenge them to identify each country, and then add labels and colors to the map.
Have students read, or watch the video read-aloud, Africa Is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight. Tell them to draw an outline map of Africa on a sheet of paper. Have them draw a symbol for each person in the book on the correct location. Tell them to make a map key for their symbols: e.g., Mapula in Botswana. Then, ask students to write a response to this question at the bottom or on the back of the map: Why do you think the author titled the book the way she did? Display students’ maps. Call on volunteers to share their responses.
Challenge students to plan an itinerary for an African adventure. Tell them to identify 7 places that they want to visit. Their itineraries should include the names and relative locations of each place (e.g., In what country? Near or in what other physical feature?). They should also outline a logical order in which students would visit locations. Places to visit can include cities, waterways and physical features, regions, and landmarks. Have students illustrate and display their itineraries.

Blank Political Map of Africa

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Students take a fun virtual tour around the world, learning about different cultures and communities.

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Africa from A to Z

Africa from A to Z

Africa from A to Z

Overview