Digital Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: Gold for Salt

Name: Chelsea Garcia

Content Area: World History

Grade Level: 7th

CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):

7.4.1 Study the Niger River and the relationship of vegetation zones of forest, savannah, and desert to trade in gold, salt, food, and slaves; and the growth of the
Ghana and Mali empires.
7.4.2 Analyze the importance of family, labor specialization, and regional commerce in the development of states and cities in West Africa.
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.
RH 7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies
WHST 7.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content
Big Ideas/Unit Goals:
How do civilizations gain power?
How can they maintain their success?
What is your definition of a successful or powerful civilization or government?
Is there a difference between power and success when describing civilizations?
Unit Summary:
African kingdoms thrived at a time when Europeans were thought to still be in the Dark Ages. These mighty empires grew rich through trade and tales of their
wealth spread throughout the Middle East and into southern Europe. In this unit, students will be asked to view Africa as an example of one area where peoples
gained power through a variety of geographic and economic means. With this focus, students will participate in numerous activities that help them to better
understand the history of medieval Africa. Students will first complete a webercise in order to learn about vegetation zones in Africa and their impact on the
commodities that were produced. They will then participate in a class lecture where they will learn more about the culture of Mali and Ghana. Next, they will
read articles about Mansa Musa, the sources of this power, and his historical impact. Having taken a close look into the ways in which the various African
kingdoms gained power, students will try to answer the question of What is your definition of a successful or powerful civilization/government? In their final
argumentative essay, students will be expected to use the information they have learned throughout this unit and in our unit on Ancient China and the Islamic
Empire in order to support their proposed answer to this Big Idea question.
Assessment Plan:
Entry-Level:
Quickwrite How much would you give me for this
gold ring? What if I told you Id give it to you for one
container of salt? Would you take that trade? Why
or why not?
Brainstorm What is power? If a person is
powerful, what does that mean? If a country is
powerful, what does that mean?

Formative:
Color Map Worksheet of Africa Students must
complete the map, showing locations of different
resources (Salt, Ivory, Iron, Gold) and the TransSaharan Trade Route
Flashcards Cultural Features of Mali and Ghana
KWL Worksheet with Think-Pair-Share for the K
and W portions What they know and want to
know about Mali, Medieval West Africa, Islam, and
African rulers. Understanding is checked via Think-

Summative:
Test Medieval African Civilizations
Short Argumentative Essay answering the question,
What makes a civilization powerful or successful?

Pair-Share
Digital Poster on Mansa Musa
Timeline Place Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Mansa
Musas rule, Sonni Alis rule, and Sundiata Keitas
rule on timeline
Economic Role Simulation Activity to prepare
students for fishbowl discussion answering the
question, What impact does trade have on a
civilizations success and specifically on the success
of empires in Africa?
Ranking Tool Rank what you think are the most
important factors that influence a civilizations
success
Lesson 1
Student Learning Objective:
Students will analyze how
the African Empires of Mali
and Ghana gained prestige
and be able to identify
three key cultural features
of these West African
Empires

Acceptable Evidence:
Students will complete a
flashcard activity where
they answer questions
about key cultural features
of Ghana and Mali.
Students will fill out a KWL
worksheet where they list
what they know about Mali
and Ghana. Students will
also be tested on these
cultural features in the
summative unit test.

Lesson Activities:
The teacher will present a lecture on the empires of Mali and Ghana where students will follow
along in their guided notes.
As part of the lecture, students will interact with the material by multiple means (Participating in a
Think-Pair-Share, drawing an interpretive picture, and completing a Quickwrite).

Acceptable Evidence:
At the end of the lesson,
students will create a
graphic organizer/map that
shows locations of different
resources, color-coded
vegetation zones, and the
Trans-Saharan trade route.
Students will also be tested
on the vegetation zones and
commodities in the
summative unit test.

Lesson Activities:
Students will complete a webercise that requires them to visit three different websites to find
information about different vegetation zones and what defines them. Students will complete a
graphic organizer listing all the types of vegetation zones. Finally, students will take a closer look at
vegetation zones in Africa by visiting yet another website. Then, students will play an online quiz
game to practice their knowledge of African geography.

Lesson 2
Student Learning Objective:
Students will be able to
describe the geography of
Ancient Western Africa by
listing three different
vegetation zones and three
commodities that medieval
Africans traded

Lesson 3

Student Learning Objective:

Students will be able to
describe who Mansa Musa
was and list a minimum of
two impacts he had on
West African society

Acceptable Evidence:
Students will complete a
Digital Poster project on
Mansa Musa where they are
required to identify who,
what, when, and where for
the famous king. In this
activity, students will also
indicate two impacts of
Mansa Musas rule on the
Mali Empire. Additionally,
students will be tested on
Mansa Musa in the
summative unit test.

Lesson Activities:
Students will review information about the Trans-Saharan trade route by watching 5 minutes of a
video. Students will then complete the first two sections of a KWL worksheet. Afterwards, they will
read three online articles and watch a short video in order to complete the KWL worksheet for
what they learned. Students are encouraged to work with their partner in order to complete the
worksheet.

Unit Resources:
All websites and videos housed on Live Binders at http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=2088795
Intel Digital Ranking Tool at https://educate.intel.com/workspace/student/loginpage.aspx?LID=en

Useful Websites:
All websites and videos housed on Live Binders at http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=2088795