Sadat+-+Activity+1

Obj. 7.01- “Was this yours? Not anymore?- The Great Race for Africa In this lesson, students will learn about the Berlin Conference and the effects it had on the colonization of Africa. I would first have the students write a free write with the following topic: Life as you know it is over. You have to change your whole way of life. You have to change your religion, your culture, your identity. You have to do all of this because outsiders want you and your valuable resources. Explain how you would feel if this situation happened to you. Would you easily give up on yourself? Or would you stand up and fight? I would then split the class up into 7 groups. The 7 groups would be as followed: the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, France, and Belgium. Each group should appoint a representative that would speak on behalf of the group. I would have the class set up in a circle- conference style. We would recreate the Berlin Conference in our classroom. Each group would have time to research about their country’s role in the Conference and ultimately in the imperialism in Africa. For instance, the groups should try to figure out their specific country’s motives behind imperialism, i.e. economic, political, and religious motives. The groups would be able to use their textbooks and internet in order to find out the answers. I will also have resources available to them such as library books and a list of websites that can help them find the answers. Once the Conference has started, the representatives will report their findings to the class. In their findings, they should include the countries that will be occupied by the European power and how they enacted the Principle of Effectivity. This principle stated that the European countries could hold colonies only if they actually possessed them. This could be through making treaties with the local leaders, setting up a government administration with a police force, etc. By the end of this activity, the students will have learned about the Berlin Conference and the effects it had on the race for Africa. The students will learn the European powers that were involved, the territories in Africa that were colonized, and the countries that were not colonized in Africa. They will learn about the European countries’ motives behind imperialism and how they actually got possession of the countries in Africa.