Dec. 14

Students continued to work on their mock film posters about the legend of Sundiata and the creation of Mali. There will be no packets due this week, and no homework over the holiday vacation.

Dec. 8, 9 and 12, 13

Dec. 8 and 9: Students finished their Niger river narratives in class and had time to complete a timeline of events from Ghana, Mali and Songhai.

Dec. 12 and 13: We've begun a study of the Empire of Mali. We read the legend of one of Mali's founding kings, Sundiata. Students are using photoshop to create a mock feature film poster based on the legend.

Dec. 6 and Dec. 7

Tuesday 12.6: Students finished their animated maps of West African Empires. Students were also given a homework assignment - The Empire of Ghana map.

Wednesday 12.7: The theme of the day was "Rivers." We watched about 10 minutes of the Wonders of Africa dvd about the Niger River. Students were given an assignment pertaining to the Niger River. It will be due on Friday with their packets, but today we only labeled the countries on the map and drew in the Niger River. Packets are due on Friday, here is the list so far:

1. Physical features of Africa Map
2. Reading Guide Chapter 5 Lesson 1 pp. 151 -154
3. African Savannah Descriptive Paragraph
4. Steps for animated map: Day 1
5. Growth of Ghana's Empire/Salt Notes
6. Wonders of African World I
7. Empire of Ghana Map
8. Wonders of African World II
9. Niger River Narrative

Friday 12.2 and Monday 12.5

Friday: I was absent and had a substitute teacher. Students answered questions about the "growth of Ghana's Empire" and watched a short film segment about the Niger River.

Monday: Students worked on finishing their animated maps of Africa. Packets will be due on Friday - here is a list so far:

1. Physical features of Africa Map
2. Reading Guide Chapter 5 Lesson 1 pp. 151 -154
3. African Savannah Descriptive Paragraph
4. Steps for animated map: Day 1
5. Growth of Ghana's Empire/Salt Notes
6. Wonders of African World I

Tuesday Nov. 29, Wednesday Nov. 30 and Thursday Dec. 1

Tuesday: We watched about 10 minutes of the Discovery Channel's Planet Earth series about the African savannah. Students then wrote a descriptive paragraph about the savannah. Students were given a reading guide as homework. For periods 1,2 and 4 the entire sheet was due Wednesday. For periods 5 and 6 only #s 1-8 were due.

Wednesday and Thursday: Students worked on creating an animated map of the vegetation zones and empires of Africa.

No packet due this week, but here is a list of the packet so far:

1. Physical Features of Africa Map
2. Reading Guide, Chapter 5, lesson 1, pp. 151-154
3. African Savannah Descriptive Paragraph
4. Steps for Animated Map: Day 1