Creating an African Travel Brochure

 

Anna Hoppe, Lindsay Gaida, Tamara Sather

Central Middle School in Eden Prairie, MN.

Geography 8.

 

Theme:  The students will be creating a travel brochure on an African country or region that incorporates all of the previously learned material on the Africa unit.The brochure will focus on both human and physical geography.

 

Grade level:  7-8

 

Title:  Creating an African Travel Brochure.

 

Overview:  The brochure will be the final assessment for the Africa unit.  By creating a brochure, the students will be researching a variety of details on a specific African country or region such as the country's history, cultural customs, climate, physical geography, location, and more.  The research will be done using provided internet sites, classroom copies of the eight African National Geographic articles, (see below) along with provided map resources.  Students can choose to work alone or with a partner.  The research can be done electronically, but brochures will be done by hand.

 

Time:  7-10 days

 

Subjects:  Geography/Social Studies

 

Required Materials:  Worksheet  "African Travel Brochure". Construction paper, scissors, glue, old magazines to cut apart, colored pencils, markers, link to research websites.  Eight National Geographic Articles: 

 

• Without Borders:  Uniting Africa's Wildlife Reserves.  September 2001.

 

• Swahili Coast:  East Africa's Ancient Crossroads.  October 2001.

 

• Zulu: People of Heaven, Heirs to Violence.  August 2000.

 

• Libya:  An End to Isolation? November 2000.

 

• Djénné:  West Africa's Eternal City. June 2001.

 

• The Blue Nile:  Ethiopia's Sacred Waters. December 2000.

 

• Keepers of the Faith:  The Living Legacy of Aksum.  July 2001.

 

 

 

Optional Technologies:  The students can use a variety of technologies to research including the Internet, any atlas or informational CD roms, or Microsoft Publisher to create the brochure.

 

 

Objectives:  The students will be able to:  Apply previously learned material from the Africa unit and research new material to create a brochure.  Teach others about a country/region.

 

Suggested Procedure:  Opening:  Provide samples of actual travel brochures and ask the students the following questions for discussion.  1)  What stands out in the brochure?  Focus on color, pictures, maps, etc.  2)  How is it organized?  3)  Does the publisher make this sound like a great place to visit?  How?  Why is that crucial?  4)  Look for adjectives.  What are some that you found?  (Perhaps words like breathtaking, beautiful, intriguing, etc.)  Word choice is important,  now go to it design your own!

 

 

Development: Pass out the expectation/instruction worksheet and tell the students they are going to create their own African brochure on a country/region alone or with a partner.  They are to use the provided internet sites and National Geographic Articles to research and classroom materials to construct their brochure. Pictures can be copied from the internet or cut out of old magazines and information can be word processed and glue onto their brochure. A few days will be used to present brochures to the class.

 

 

Closing: Students should be prepared to answer questions from the teacher and class immediately following their presentation.

 

 

Geography Standards:  1,4,5,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,15,17,18 - depends on specific country/region

 

 

Credits:  Anna Hoppe, Lindsay Gaida, Tamara Sather. Central Middle School in Eden Prairie, MN. Geography 8.