Horn+of+Africa

//This lesson will span over two days, due to the time restrictions.//

__**Lesson Grabber**__ So...Where's this "'horn' of Africa"?, Teach me about the Horn of Africa

__**Lesson Title**__ The Horn of Africa - Discovering its true essence, Our discoveries in the Horn of Africa

__**Instructor**__ Ms. Lee


 * __Subject__**
 * 7**th Grade Social Studies

2 Days of 45 minute sessions
 * __Class Period__**

__**Location:**__ Horn of Africa, Africa

__**Objectives**__
 * **1.01:** Create maps, charts, graphs, databases and models as tool to illustrate information about different people, places, and regions in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
 * **2.01:** Identify key physical characteristics such as landforms, water forms, and climate and evaluate their influence on the development of cultures in selected African, Asian, and Australian regions.
 * **13.03:** Examine the role and importance of foreign-owned businesses and trade between North Carolina and the nations of Africa, Asia, and Australia, and assess the effects ofn local, state, regional, and national economies and cultures.

__**Goals**__ Following this lesson, students will be able to:
 * Locate the Horn of Africa, as well as the countries within, including Ethiopia, Somalia
 * Identify the geographical elements of the Horn of Africa, as well as understand the advantages and disadvantages of these geographical features
 * Understand the diverse populations that inhabit the area
 * Identify the key exports from the land, in addition to understanding the necessity of these exports for the livelihoods of its inhabitants
 * Begin to survey the current events that link the Horn of Africa to the lives of Americans

__**Materials Needed**__
 * Day One
 * Print-offs of the various maps, articles, and entries listed below:
 * Heterogeneously grouped students with no more than 5-6 students per group
 * There should be the following roles already assigned to 1-2 students, as well as instructions for each role. Roles may include:
 * Leader
 * Writer
 * Reader(s)
 * Illustrator(s)
 * Time Keeper
 * 1 Big Post-it per group for the brainstorming
 * Day Two
 * Previously used Post-its with brainstormed ideas
 * New Post-Its for their group projects for teaching

__**Procedures**__


 * 1) (__Day 1__) //Warm-up (5 minutes)//
 * __KWL Chart__: As a class, students will discover what they already know about the Horn of Africa. The teacher will help facilitate their brainstorming of what they already know by asking vital questions (What do you already know about the Horn of Africa?, Where did you find your information?, Why do you think we should know about the Horn of Africa?).
 * 1) __(Day 1)__ //Introduction of the lesson (10 minutes)//
 * The teacher will introduce the two-day lesson by explaining the process. Students will be working together with their assigned group to answer the assigned question with the assigned resources. Students will be reminded that they will be teaching the class on the following day the information they learned through their inquiry in whatever form out of the choices they desire. The choices will include:
 * Rap (no vulgar language, must pertain to the lesson content; also required to be turned into the teacher in written/typed format)
 * Visual presentation (using their Big Post-It for display, creating their own powerpoint on their own time, or creating a drawing for demonstration)
 * Illustration (painting a picture, drawing, creating a comic strip)
 * Writing a narrative (create fictional characters to tell a short story concerning the group's area of expertise)
 * Non-verbal performance (create a step routine while holding up keywords in their inquiry pertaining to their area of expertise)
 * Students will be reminded that they will be graded both individually and as a group. Students will also be encouraged to be proactive, but not to stress about their choice of project presentation being "perfect". Content will be far more important than the choice they choose to portray the information.
 * __(Day 1 & 2)__ //Group Work (30 minutes)//
 * Students will disperse into their specified groups for their investigation to begin, with the teacher walking around to each group to answer questions, help facilitate discussion, and provide scaffolding. The various groups will be using the resources provided by the teacher at the given group's location. The investigation will include:
 * **Geographers**: Where is it? What is the geography like? (landforms, water forms, geographical features, mountain ranges, deserts, etc.)
 * **Scientists:** Why is it called the "Horn of Africa"? What does it really contain? (What countries, people, cultures, animals are within the "Horn of Africa"?
 * **Cultural Anthropologists**: Who lives there? What are their cultures//beliefs/languages/religions?//
 * **Social Workers**: Does it impact the every day lives of Americas? If yes, how so? What does this "horn of Africa" contain that Americans take for granted?
 * **Historians**: What did it used to look like? How has it changed?
 * **Journalists:** Do we know anyone who originated in the "Horn of Africa"? If so, who and why are they famous?
 * **Researchers:** What are the current events arising from the "Horn of Africa"? Why and how does it effect the lives of Americans?
 * Although, as the teacher, I would greatly add to this list of resources, I have listed a few I have found online that would prove beneficial for this activity. Students will be using the resources given to them by the teacher, which will include some of the following, as well as additional resources:
 * Overview of the Horn of Africa via Wikipedia
 * InterAfrica Group paper for the World Summit
 * One Religion's Perspective on the Horn of Africa
 * New World Encyclopedia entry on the Horn of Africa
 * Operation Enduring Freedom in the Horn of Africa
 * Peace Corps Publishing on Somalia
 * Students will develop a plan for their presentation of their information in preparation for Day 2 of this lesson. Students will be given the choices as listed above and will have to come to a group agreement in order to proceed.


 * //__(__//__D____ay 2__//__)__ Reintroduction of the Goals of this Lesson and Commencement of Continued Work// (15 minutes)
 * The teacher will remind the students of the goal of this lesson: to understand and analyze the content, as well as be able to present/teach the content to the class. Students will be reminded of their responsibility to present vital content to their peers, as well as work as a team. Students will be encouraged to look at their previous work from yesterday, as well as the helpful hints the teacher posted on their work with yellow sticky notes the previous afternoon. Students will continue their work for the next ten minutes. For the last five minutes of group work, students will be reminder of finalizing their final presentation for the class, as well as reminded of their contribution with valid content, as opposed to perfection! This part of the assignment should be exciting and filled with anticipated from all participants.


 * //(//__Day 2__//) Let the Show Begin!// (25 minutes)
 * For the remainder of the class, students will take turns introducing their area of expertise to the rest of the class. They will be the teachers during this portion of the class and will be reminded to act accordingly. Students will be encouraged to speak in a loud, clear voice, as well as reminded to have some fun in their presenting!


 * (__Day 2__) //The Finale// (5 minutes)
 * The teacher will applaud all the students on their job well done, as well as point out their great contributions to content. The teacher will connect all the information together, bringing the students back to their main goal: discovering the true essence of the Horn of Africa. Group and Self-evaluation will be handed out at the end of class with instructions to return the documents by the following day.


 * Assessment:** I will be assessing the students' work after listening and observing their presentations, as well as through the group presentation documents they turn in and their use of the resources provided. I will also be able to take into consideration their group work I observed the previous day as I walked around helping to facilitate group work. Their group and self-evaluations will allow me to see how the students worked together, as well as how they gage their own learning.


 * Lesson Narrative**

When I first thought of this assignment, I began thinking of the countries studied in my Student Teaching 7th grade classroom. One country I knew we would be studying during the Spring would be Africa. Once I had decided I would focus on this specific continent, I began thinking of what I knew about Africa, possibly a more specific area. I had taken the history of South and East Africa, so I looked on the map at the countries located in the Southern and Eastern regions. The Horn of Africa grabbed my attention, because of its crisis in recent news, as well as from hearing facts about the area from my fiancé in the Navy Reserves. I began researching the main aspects of Social Studies’ lessons, including geography, culture, government, economies, and history. While all the above information would be too much for a 50 minute period, unless the lesson were primarily lecture, I began brainstorming questions I would like answered or could see being essential to this topic and its http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_of_Africa to the overall Social Studies’ curriculum. Once I had established these questions, I began thinking of how I wanted to present the material. Since I knew the material covered would be abundant, I thought the use of groups might allow students to learn specific knowledge and later present that knowledge to the class. I then thought to assign the specific questions/knowledge to the specific groups, creating unique group names. I also decided at that point I wanted to provide students with printed research, as opposed to assigning them to research on their own as a group – mainly thinking of the time restraints. I researched online through Google search and online library databases for the data that would enable them to come to the conclusions for the questions posed. I made sure all data was verifiable, valid, and up to date, ensuring my students would be enabled with the best tools for their inquiry.

Once I looked over my lesson, I decided on an effective assessment method for the assignment requirements and choose criteria to assess students’ knowledge. This criteria was defined by their participation in their groups, as well as group and peer evaluations.