Day 70: Trade in Medieval West Africa

Standard 7.4.3: Describe the role of the trans-Saharan caravan trade in the changing religious and cultural characteristics of West Africa and the influence of Islamic beliefs, ethics, and law.

Objective: HHG Tributes of 2018 will be able to describe reasons why trade was crucial given the geography of West Africa.

A link to today's handout can be found here.

Step 1: Do now.  We will be reviewing some of the information you looked at yesterday and last night for homework.  Feel free to use your notes!

Step 2: Building Perspective and Making Connections. We have now studied three Districts:  Rome, Medieval Europe and Islamic Civilizations.  Yesterday we started looking at our fourth District, Western Africa.  In all of these societies, civilization progressed in relatively the same way. Put the following historical events in order to show the progression of society from small extended family communities to Kingdoms/Empires

• stable food supply/food storage
• rulers use armies to conquer neighboring trade centers and expand kingdom/empire
• specialized jobs
• trade surplus/specialized goods
• efficient farming practices
• settle by rivers
• extended family communities
• small villages
• towns
• food surplus
• cities develop on trade routes
• rulers use wealth from trade to raise armies
• invention of iron tools

Step 3: Early Societies in West Africa PPT


Step 4: So, why does geography matter?   Linking lifestyle - trade in particular - to the geography of the continent.

Use the map to label the Sahara Desert, the Sahel, the savanna, and the forest in your notes.  Then label the Niger River.  

Where is there salt? Gold?  Where can crops like grains and rice be grown?

Step 5: Use the organizer below to visualize how family units and extended-family units (villages) grew into cities and then kingdoms.  Label the blank diagrams on your notes.

How do you think the location along trade routes affected the development of cities?

Step 6: Exit Slip.  To be completed independently!

Homework.  D70 HW Reading | The Importance of Trade and the Rise of Ghana.  Make sure you have highlights and thinking tracks!  Then, use your paragraph summaries to write one cohesive and detailed summary in 7-10 sentences. Turn in your final summary and your reading using this form.

Spend a little time each night reviewing geography and vocabulary!  It will be hard to cram all at once as we keep adding more.  Remember: Common Assessment 2 is coming up soon, as are report cards. The next assessments will include Rome, Medieval Europe, Islamic Civilization, West African Kingdoms, countries of the Middle East and countries in Africa. If you have less than 80% on any quiz or test, study and retake it!

• Quizlet: Study Vocabulary for District 1-4, plus other important survival terms.
• Geography: Keep sharp on your geography of the Middle East and Africa

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