1. Desert Odyssey, Love on the Sahel, Zanzibar & Voices
Africa Unit Vocabulary

2. Desert Odyssey
Sahara- The Arabic word for desert, the name of the largest desert in the world, located in Africa
Sahel- The Arabic word for shore, where the desert meets the grassland
Dehydration- to lose water from the body
Caravan- A group of people who travel together for safety and companionship through difficult territory.

3. Desert Odyssey Henna- A plant dye used to create tattoos
Oasis- A place with water and green vegetation surrounded by desert
Dune- A hill of wind blown sand
Rite of Passage- A ritual used to indicate change in a person’s status
Petroglyphs- Drawings on rocks

4. Desert Odyssey
Celestial Navigation- Using the night sky to set a course for direction
Traditional living- Living in a way which follows the lifestyle of one’s ancestors
Aquifer- Underground rock layers which store large amounts of water
Nomad- Groups of people who move from one place to another in order to make a living

5. Desert Odyssey Mosque- A religious building for the Islamic faith
Arid- Very dry, without moisture

6. Love on the Sahel
Desertification- The process of the desert expanding into grasslands due to a lack of rain
Animism- A religious belief that there are spirits throughout nature
Shaman- A priest or priestess who uses magic to cure illness and predict the future
Totem- An animal or plant that serves as an emblem of a family or a clan

7. Love on the Sahel
Millet- A grass cultivated for its grain which is used for food
Drought- A lack of rain over a long period of time
Delta- A river’s mouth formed from mud and salt deposited by the river’s water
Irrigate- Artificially watering farm land

8. Zanzibar
Algae- Simple organisms that live in oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds and moist soil
Coral- A limestone formation created in the sea by millions of tiny animals. When these die, they leave “Skeletons” that create coral reefs
Dhow- A ship with moveable sails used along the coasts of Arabia, India and eastern Africa

9. Zanzibar
Lagoon- A shallow body of water, separated from the sea by a coral reef or a sandy ridge
Monsoon- A seasonal wind that blows over the northern part of the Indian Ocean and East Asia
Swahili- The language that evolved to allow trade between different cultures in East Africa

10. Voices
Equator- The imaginary circle around the Earth that is the same distance from the North and South Poles
Ecosystem- An interdependent system of plants and animals that need each other to survive
Tropical Rainforest- A humid, wet, forest that is always green and has periods of heavy rainfall with broad leaves that form a canopy

11. Voices
Per Capita Income- The amount of money an average person make per year in a certain country
Culture- The beliefs, customs, practices, values and social behavior of a particular country or people
Environment- The natural world, within which people animals and plants live