Introduction: Artifacts of Africa can provide an avenue for gaining insight on African culture. We live in a society that gathers artifacts from all over the world. We use many of these artifacts in our daily lives. This lesson makes a connection between geography and artifacts from several countries of Africa. It provides an opportunity for students to read maps and make inferences about a place based on maps and artifacts.

Grade Level: Adaptable 1-12

Connection to National Geography Standards: The geographically informed person knows and understands:

#1 How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective

#2 How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context

#4 The physical and human characteristics of places

#6 How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions

#10 The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics

Objectives: Students will be able to:

• map African artifacts
• describe what an artifact shows about a place
• recognize different artifacts that come from Africa
• explain the relationship between artifacts and the five themes of geography

Materials:

Maps of Africa A variety of artifacts from Africa Coffee beans Beads Baskets Masks Statues African Dolls Musical Instruments Gold Salt Fabric

Introducing the Lesson:

• Ask students where in Africa they might find these artifacts.
• What are they made from?
• What kind of environment would they come from?
• Who would use them?
• What would they be used for?

• Form cooperative learning teams for students to work in. (4 students per group).
• Students should develop questions making hypotheses on each artifact regarding location, place, human and environment interaction, movement, and region.
• Ask students to record their findings.
• Students should debrief as a whole class sharing their findings with each other.
• Discuss the accuracy of the hypotheses.
• Students can map the artifacts by drawing a map of Africa and illustrating it placing the artifacts in their proper location.

Assessment: It is important that students make realistic hypotheses. The inquiry process is an important aspect of the exercise and students should have a variety of geographic questions formed after examining the artifacts. The maps should accurately portray Africa with the artifacts placed in their correct location.

*Extension*
Slideshow of Zimbabwe