1. GEOGRAPHIC UNDERSTANDINGS Factory Shoals Middle School Mr. L. Smith
AFRICA
GEOGRAPHIC UNDERSTANDINGS
Factory Shoals Middle School
Mr. L. Smith

2. Africa Geographic Understandings
Standard SS7G1: The student will locate selected features of Africa.
a. Locate on a world and regional political- physical map: the Sahara, Sahel, savanna, tropical rainforest, Congo River, Niger River, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Atlas Mountains, and Kalahari Desert.

3. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: We are starting our unit on Africa today. Africa Regional Maps distributed today. CDA-IV results have been posted into Grade Book.
Standard: Locate on a map: the Sahara, Sahel, savanna, tropical rainforest, Congo River, Niger River, Nile River, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Atlas mountains, & Kalahari Desert.
Essential Question for Monday, May 14, 2018: Why is Africa considered to be the birthplace of human life on earth?
Warm-up:
What percent of the world’s population lives in Southern & Eastern Asia?
Today We Will:
Complete S&EA Crossword Puzzle and Word Search
Start geographic features of the African continent

4. ANSWERS
E.Q. Answer for Monday May 14, 2018:
The oldest human fossils are all from Africa. It is generally considered where human life on earth began.
Warm-Up
53% of the world’s population (over 4 billion people) call Southern & Eastern Asia home billion live in India and another 1.4 billion live in China.

5. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: Social Studies Progress Reports go home tomorrow. Deadline for late/missing assignments is Wednesday May, 23rd.
Standard: Locate on a map: the Sahara, Sahel, savanna, tropical rainforest, Congo River, Niger River, Nile River, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Atlas mountains, & Kalahari Desert.
Essential Question for Tuesday May 15, 2018: What is the longest river in the world and describe where it can be found using relative location?
Warm-up: What is the largest desert in the world?
Today We Will:
Complete Geographic Features of the African Continent
Start political map of Africa

6. ANSWERS
E.Q. Answer for Tuesday May 15, 2018: The longest river in the world is the Nile River. It starts in the mountains of Ethiopia and Uganda travels north through Sudan and Egypt before it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. It starts at Lake Victoria. Warm-Up Answer: The Sahara Desert extends from the Atlantic Ocean on the west to the Red Sea in the east some 3,000 miles. Southward from the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea the Sahara extends for more than 1,000 miles to the Sahel region. In total it covers an area of over 3.6 million square miles.

7. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: Social Studies Progress Reports go home TODAY! Return tomorrow, signed by parents, for a Homework grade of “100”.
Standard: Locate on a map: the Sahara, Sahel, savanna, tropical rainforest, Congo River, Niger River, Nile River, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Atlas mountains, & Kalahari Desert.
Essential Question for Wednesday May 16, 2018: What is the biggest threat to the Tropical Rain Forest’s ecosystem?
Warm-up: Where does the Nile River start?
Today We Will:
Complete Geographic Features of the African Continent

8. ANSWERS
E.Q. Answer for Wednesday May 16, 2018: The biggest threat to the African Tropical Rainforest ecosystem is the rapid population growth in most African nations located in the area. The need for fuel is driving people to cut down the trees faster than they can be replaced. Warm-Up Answer: The longest river in the world is the Nile River. It starts in the mountains of Ethiopia and Uganda travels north through Sudan and Egypt before it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. It starts at Lake Victoria.

9. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: Parent signed Social Studies Progress Reports are due TODAY for a Homework grade of “100”. Africa regional geography and political map quiz is Tuesday May 22nd.
Standard: Locate on a world and regional political map the countries of Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, & South Africa.
Essential Question for Thursday May 17, 2018: Name the seven countries in Africa that will be our focus in Unit 7.
Warm-up: What are the three major rivers located on the African continent?
Today We Will:
Complete introduction of seven countries of Africa
Africa Map Skill Builder (2)

10. ANSWERS
E.Q. Answer for Thursday May 17, 2018: Egypt Sudan Nigeria Kenya South Africa South Sudan Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) Warm-Up Answer: Nile River Congo River, and the Niger River

11. FIRST FIVE
Agenda Message: Today is Honors Day! Congratulations to all students receiving recognitions.
Standard: Locate on a world and regional political map the countries of Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, & South Africa.
Essential Question for Friday May 18, 2018: Which African country was recently created by a vote of independence from it’s northern neighbor?
Warm-up: Describe how humans are causing negative environmental impacts in the Sahel.
Today We Will:
Complete our review of seven countries of Africa .A

12. ANSWERS
E.Q. Answer for Friday May 18, 2018: South Sudan Warm-Up Answer: Generations of people have cut down trees and allowed farm animals to overgraze causing the land in the Sahel to lose it’s ability to hold moisture in the soil. The resulting dryness allows the Sahara Desert to expand.

13. Africa Geographic Understandings
Africa is an enormous continent. It has almost every type of climate and geography.
The northern coast of Africa runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the west, all the way to the Red Sea on the east.
Atlas Mountains
Several hundred miles inland (in the NW corner of Africa) is the Atlas Mountain Range, a group of mountains that separate the Mediterranean coastal regions from the great Sahara Desert.

14. Africa Geographic Understandings
The Sahara Desert runs across the entire width of northern Africa. This is the largest desert in the world.
It is covered with sand dunes, rolling rocky hills, and wide stretches of gravel that go on for miles and miles.
Few people live in the Sahara; however traders who travel by everything from camel caravan to jeeps and trucks cross its barren miles regularly.

15. Africa Geographic Understandings
South of the Sahara is a region called the Sahel, a dry and semi-arid region slowly turning into desert. There is little rain in this region.
Generations of people have tried to live there, cutting down trees and allowing animals to overgraze. As the plants have disappeared, the soil has become drier and has begun to blow away.

16. Africa Geographic Understandings
Savannas
In the middle of the African continent, close to the equator, is the savanna region of Africa. It is a vast area of grassland and more tropical habitats.
In this part of the continent, one finds many of the animals associated with Africa. The grasslands support lions, elephants, and many other species of animals.

17. Africa Geographic Understandings
Farming is also good here when the rains come. However, lack of rainfall can also cause difficulties for farmers. African Tropical Rainforests The African tropical rainforests are located along the central coast. These are areas with hot and humid climates and dense forests with trees hundreds of feet tall. Many exotic animals and birds live in the African rainforests.

18. Africa Geographic Understandings
The biggest threat to this ecosystem is the rapid population growth in most African nations located in the area. The need for fuel is driving people to cut down the trees faster than they can be replaced.
Kalahari Desert
Africa’s other great desert, the Kalahari Desert, is located in the southern part of Africa. Like the Sahara in the north, the Kalahari Desert is surrounded by a semi-arid area (or Sahel) that is also becoming drier.

19. Africa Geographic Understandings
Africa’s Rivers Africa also has three spectacular rivers. The Longest river in the world, the Nile River begins in the central mountains of Africa. The longest tributary of the Nile, begins at Lake Victoria. The river flows northward over 4,000 miles until it flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

20. Africa Geographic Understandings
The Congo River flows through central and west Africa, through the largest rainforest in Africa.
The Congo River begins in central Africa near Lake Tanganyika and flows almost 3,000 miles before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean.

21. Africa Geographic Understandings
The Niger River is the third largest river in Africa, flowing from Guinea over 2,600 miles and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The mouth of the Niger is a vast delta, sometimes called the “Oil Delta,” because of the petroleum industry centered there.

22. Africa Geographic Understandings
Africa’s Lakes
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is also the start of the Nile River.
Lake Tanganyika is one of the largest freshwater lakes and one of the deepest lakes in the world .

23. POP-QUIZ Pop-Quiz Word Bank Nile River Savannah Lake Victoria
Kalahari Desert Congo River Sahel
Tropical Rainforest Atlas Mountains Lake Tanganyika
Sahara Desert Niger River
Where does the Nile River start?
Where can you find the Congo River
Where can one find the “Oil Delta” in Africa?