Reaching Across Borders in Southern Africa
Theme: Human/environmental interaction
Grade
Level: 7th or 8th grade
proficient readers; easily adaptable to high school level
Title: “Reaching Across Borders in
Southern Africa”
Overview: This lesson uses the National
Geographic magazine article, “Without Borders: Uniting Africa’s
Wildlife Reserves,” to explore some of the difficulties presented by the
borders established by European colonizers, as well as some current efforts by
people in southern Africa to bridge those difficulties.
Time: Three to five 45-minute class periods
Subjects:
Social Studies
(Geography, History, Political Science, etc.); Science (wildlife and
environmental issues)
Prerequisite
Knowledge: To get the most of this lesson,
students should have some prior knowledge in these areas:
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Familiarity
with political map of southern Africa
n
Familiarity
with African landscape and animals
n
Basic
understanding of European colonialism in Africa
n
Basic
understanding of the history of southern Africa and the nature of apartheid
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Basic
understanding of Nelson Mandela’s story and its importance
Required
Materials:
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Classroom
set of September 2001 National Geographic magazine containing the
article “Without Borders: Uniting Africa’s Wildlife Reserves”
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Political
and physical maps depicting the southern Africa region (e.g. in an atlas, or a
National Geographic map) for reference purposes.
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Study
guide packet with vocabulary and questions based on the article “Without
Borders: Uniting Africa’s Wildlife Reserves”
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Web
Activity packet “African Communities Helping Themselves”
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World
Wide Web access
Objectives:
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Students
will gain a greater understanding of how political borders impact human and
environmental development.
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Students
will gain a greater understanding of the human need to balance economic
necessity with conservation of the environment on which the economic system
depends.
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Students
will gain a greater understanding of the needs of African communities and how
many African communities are working to help themselves.
Suggested
Procedure (Pedagogy):
Activity
1: Pre-reading (approximately one 45-minute class period)
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Opening
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1.
Tell students they are going to be reading an article about humans and wildlife
in southern Africa. Ask students
to brainstorm for a minute about what they might expect to see in the
article. You might choose to write
responses on an overhead transparency or blackboard. You might wish to have students take some time to write down
their responses before they share them.
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2.
Hand out Sept. 2001 National Geographic magazine (ideally, one per
student). In order to help students focus on this article only, you might give
them paper clips and have them mark the beginning and end of the article (be
sure to have them include the Mandela interview).
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3.
Without telling them the title or page number, tell students they need to
locate a full-length article in the magazine which is about southern
Africa. Give them a minute or two
to locate the article, “Without Borders.”
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Development
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4. Hand out the “Without Borders”
study guide packet.
Have students look at the title and write definitions for the following
terms in the title, using prior knowledge or dictionary: borders; uniting; wildlife reserves.
After most students have responded on paper, ask them to share answers
and write their responses on overhead or chalkboard.
-
5. Have students look at the photographs
in the article. Have them each
choose 3 pictures to respond to on their study guide packets. For each picture they choose, have them
generate at least one question about the picture and write it down. Also have them draw the picture or a
detail from the picture the best they can in a short time.
-
6. After several minutes, solicit
responses from the students as to which photos they had questions about. Begin with the first photo and move on
from there. For each photo you
discuss, after students have asked questions, ask a student to read the
caption, then ask the class, “Does this answer the question?” If not, tell students that it’s
okay and that maybe the question will be answered as they read the article. For
the purposes of time limits or of sustaining interest in the lesson, you might
not get to every picture. (The purpose of the pre-reading activity is primarily
to generate interest and stimulate any prior knowledge students might have).
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Closing
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7. Tell students, “For our next
activity we’re going to read parts of this article and see what
it’s about in more detail.”
Activity 2: Reading the
article (approximately 45 – 90 minutes, depending on needs of students)
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Opening
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1. If
beginning the activity on a different day than the first activity, take some
time to review what students did yesterday.
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2. Pass out Sept. 2001 National
Geographic magazine to the class and have them open to the “Without
Borders” article. Tell students they are going to read parts
of the article and answer questions in their study
guide packets.
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Development
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3. Have students read the sections of the
article noted on the study guide packet, and have them answer the questions,
followed by discussion of the questions.
This could be handled in a number of ways, depending on the abilities
and the maturity of students.
Students could take parts reading each section aloud to the class. Mature students might be able to read
the article in small groups. With
struggling readers, the teacher can alternate with students in reading
paragraphs aloud, in order to maintain the momentum of the article. It is probably best to read one section
at a time, then answer and discuss the questions before moving on. (For more advanced or more motivated
learners, have them read the entire article and do an additional activity, for
example listing unfamiliar vocabulary, taking notes, making an outline, etc.)
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Closing
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4. Tell students, “Now that we have
taken an in-depth look at how some African communities are dealing with some
problems relating to political borders, you are going to look at some examples
of how Africans are finding solutions to challenges within their communities.
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Activity
3: Web Activity (approximately 45 – 90 minutes depending on skill of
students)
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Opening
1. Review the previous activity with
students, having them summarize the main points.
2. Tell students, “Today you are
going to visit some internet sites where you will explore some examples of
people in African communities helping themselves.
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Development
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3. Have students situated at computers
with internet access. (If
computers are not available, print paper copies of needed web pages and have
them available for students to use).
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4. Hand out the packet
entitled “Web Activity: Helping African Communities Help Themselves.”
Have students follow the directions on the sheet and guide them as
necessary.
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Closing
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5. Have students discuss the different
projects they read about, and what they thought about the problems and
solutions. Are the problems
similar to or different from the types of challenges Americans face? Are the solutions similar to or
different from the types of solutions Americans might use? Why do you think this is? etc.
Student
Activity—Online:
See
activity 3 above. URLs:
Suggested
Assessment:
Various
types of assessments are possible, depending on the needs of the students,
teacher, and school. Options
include writing a response paper, answering test questions, creating a response
project, discussing larger questions, etc.
RESOURCE
BAR
Definitions
Environment:
natural surroundings
Conservation:
the act of preserving natural resources such as plants, animals, land and
water.
Wildlife
reserves/sanctuaries: land set
aside by a national government or other authority in order to protect wildlife
Poaching:
the illegal hunting of animals
Borders: a
dividing line between two countries
Frontier: same
as a border
Transfrontier
conservation area: a wildlife reserve which crosses a border between two or
more countries
Development:
making things better for people
Sustainable
development: making things better in a way that people can keep doing over a
period of time without destroying the environment
Colonialism:
the systematic establishment of colonies; in this case, the establishment of
European colonies in Africa beginning in the late 1800s
Geography
Standards
This lesson
fits with the following national geography standards:
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Human Systems 13. How cooperation and
conflict influence the division and control of Earth’s surface. Environment and Society 14. How human actions
modify the physical environment.
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Web
Links for Teachers and Students
The
Internet resources that you have written into your lesson should all be listed
here with the appropriate URL and a short description of what it provides.
www.peaceparks.org Site of the Peace Parks
Foundation described in the “Without Borders” article
www.campfire-zimbabwe.com Site of the
CAMPFIRE community developoment agency of Zimbabwe, featured in the the “Without
Borders” article
www.africafoundation.org A South Africa-based organization which
helps African communities with small-scale development projects
www.nationalgeographic.com Good site for printable maps which
could be used in this lesson
www.awf.org
Site of African Wildlife Foundation, with information on conservation
issues as well as detailed information on many African animals
www.allafrica.com Up-to-date news stories from all
African countries
Discussion
Questions
Is the
conservation of wildlife important?
Why or why not?
How do you
balance the need to make a living the need to protect the environment?
What local
issues are similar to the issues faced by the people and countries in the
article and on the web sites we looked at?
What local
solutions are people finding to these problems?
Extension
Activities
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Do
additional research on the web regarding transfrontier conservation areas
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Do
additional research on the web regarding how African communities are helping
themselves
Credits
Dave
Hedenstrom, Social Studies teacher, Franklin Middle School, Minneapolis, Minnesota