Strategic Lesson Plan

OC / Objective: To compare the African civilizations of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai to include geography, religions, slave trade, economic systems, empires, and cultures.
Standard(s): 8th World History, Standard 13; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4
BEFORE / Strategy: Vocabulary Acquisition
Description: The students will be engaged in creating a definition map during the warm up period. By creating a definition map, the students will be able to analyze words and their definitions more closely by creating a paraphrased definition, listing things that are similar to this word, and then by listing three examples/characteristics of the word.
Purpose: To help students analyze vocabulary more closely and to help students acquire information associated with the vocabulary.
4C: Critical Thinking, Communication
DURING / Strategy: To allow students to gain an understanding of the Songhai, Mali, and Ghana Empires through a differentiated, research based assignment.
Description:
Stage 1: The students will complete a map exercise that analyzes the Bantu Migrations from 3000 B.C. – A.D. 1100. The students will use a series of maps from the teacher and the textbook to answer questions that deal with the geography and time frame of Bantu Migrations. The student will also use multiple maps to compare the Bantu Migrations to modern day Africa.
Stage 2: The students will complete a booklet that analyzes the empires of ancient Africa. The empires that the booklet will focus on is the Songhai, Mali, and Ghana Empires. To complete this booklet the students will first pick one empire to focus on. The first part of the booklet will be visual, the students will have a map and pictures of objects that were used in daily life by the people in the empire they chose. The students will then create a written component in which they discuss the following topics: religion, society, government, art, and trade (2 sentences apiece). The third part of the lesson will revolve around students teaching lessons. Since the students only picked one empire to focus on, students will volunteers to teach their classmates about the remaining two empires. The students will be given a graphic organizer to take notes on the topics that were listed above for the remaining two empires. The students will then use their information and the information the gained by taking notes during the student lectures to create a paragraph or graphic organizer in which their compare/contrast the three ancient African empires. The students will also have short visual lessons to help support them in gathering information for their empire.
The assignment will also be supported by short videos that address the Songhai, Mali, and Ghana Empires. The videos provide students that are visual learners the opportunity to acquire information visually.
Stage 3: The students will take their standard 13 test. The test will cover information that was presented during the three stages of the standard. This test will allow me to see what the students excelled in understanding and what their struggled to understand. This information will help me make decisions about what information needs to be retaught before the benchmark exam at the end of the 9 weeks.
Purpose: To allow the students to achieve mastery of the standard by showing their knowledge through a differentiated, research based assignment on the Songhai, Mali, and Ghana Empires.
4C: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, Collaboration
AFTER / Strategy: Verbal Review
Description: The students will engage in a verbal review of each day’s topics. (TOTD – Ticket Out the Door)
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to assess the information that was presented during the day and allow the verbal learners another chance to pick up information from that day’s lesson.
4C: Communication
ASSESSMENT(s)
used / Completion of Vocabulary Maps
Completion of the Map Analysis Assignment
Completion of Ancient Empires Booklet
Ticket Out the Door

Label each activity with one of the 4 Cs that apply.

1.  Critical Thinking

2.  Creativity

3.  Communication

4.  Collaboration