Africa Webquest 2
Africa Webquest 2
Africa Webquest 2
Introduction
You and a team of explorers have the opportunity to explore one of the following
African kingdoms - Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, Benin, and Great Zimbabwe. Your
group will investigate the kingdom using the Internet. In this WebQuest, you will
use the power of teamwork and the resources of the Internet to learn all about one
of these African kingdoms. Each explorer on your team will be responsible for
examining one aspect of the kingdom. Then you will come together to present your
findings.
The Quest
How have the (1) geographic, (2) historic, (3) economic, and (4) cultural
characteristics of your African kingdom influenced Africa and the world?
The Process and Resources
In this WebQuest, you will be working together with a group of students in class.
Each group will represent a group of explorers sent to Africa to study the kingdom.
Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone
Use the Internet information linked below to find information on the geography,
history, economy, and religion, art and architecture of your kingdom.
African Empires - This site contains time lines of the African
kingdoms. 1
Early African Kingdoms - This link provides other links to many
sources on African kingdoms. 2
Ghana, Mali, Songhai--Kingdoms Built on Trade - This link describes
the economy based on trade.3
The Collapse of Mali and Songhai - This link tells why these two
kingdoms ended. 4
Great Zimbabwe two sites! this site
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/timelines/htimeline2.htm
http://www-learning.berkeley.edu/wciv/ugis55a/readings/earlyafrica.html
http://www.killeenroos.com/6/goldtrad.htm
http://www.learner.org/interactives/collapse/mali.html
African Art and Architecture - This link is from Encarta Online and
gives information on African art for all groups. 5
BBC Story of Africa: use the links to West African Kingdoms and
Central African Kingdoms
1. Individuals or pairs from your WebQuest team will explore one of the roles below.
2. Start by reading through the web sites linked to your group. If you still need
information, you can do your own internet search. If you print out the files,
underline the passages that you feel are the most important. If you look at the files
on the computer, copy sections you feel are important by dragging the mouse across
the passage and copying / pasting it into a word processor or other writing software.
3. Note: Remember to write down or copy/paste the URL of the file you take the
passage from so you can quickly go back to it if you need to to prove your point.
4. Be prepared to focus what you've learned into one main opinion that answers the
Big Quest(ion) or Task based on what you have learned from the links for your role.
Geographer--You will study the surroundings of your kingdom.
Use the Internet information linked above to answer these questions specifically
related to geography:
http://encarta.msn.com/
1. What were the roles/jobs of women and how were they treated?
2. What were the roles/jobs of men?
3. How important was farming to the economy?
4. How important was trade, what items were traded, and with whom did they
trade?
Anthropologist--You will examine religion and art.
Use the Internet information linked above to answer these questions specifically
related to religion, and art:
Proficient (8)
Unacceptable (6-0)
Presentati
on
Taken seriously.
Relevant info.
Addressed audience.
Interesting. Many
images. Answered big
question well. Neat.
Somewhat serious.
Mostly relevant
and interesting.
Some images
used. Mostly
answered big
quest. Neat.
Handout
A little sloppy.
Similar to what
you receive in
class.
Typewritten. 1
page.
Sloppy or contains
little important info.
Not typewritten. Less
than 1 page.
Proficient (12)
Unacceptable
(9-0)
Research
Adequate info.
Could be slightly
more in depth.