Namibia,+Africa

__Lesson Title__: **Discovering Namibia**: 1 Geographical Area at a Time! __Instructor:__ Ms. Merritt __Subject:__ 7th grade Social Studies __Class Period:__ 55 minutes __Location:__ Republic of Namibia, Africa; this location is in southern Africa and its western border is the Atlantic Ocean // __NC Standard Course of Study Objective__: // **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.

__// Goals //:__ As a result of today’s lesson, students will be able to: -locate and understand the geography of Namibia, Africa -understand basic knowledge and facts about the region -differentiate between Namibia’s characteristics versus others within Africa -explain the vegetation of the region -analyze the impact physical characteristics have on Namibia’s different cultures

__Lesson Sequence__: This lesson will be taught after days of introducing Africa. Students will already be familiar with the many countries within Africa and should easily be able to locate several on a map. Students will be familiar with vocabulary and the logistics of this continent. This specific lesson will be focused on the beautiful geography of Africa, specifically Namibia.

__ Material Used __ : -1:1 computer access in classroom -Smart Board -personal notebooks, pens, pencils to take notes

__ Procedures for Class Period __ : [Warm-Up, 5 minutes] When entering the room students will be told to grab their laptops and be seated. Each student will then access the link on the board and take part in an “African Countries” game on an educational website. Students will be able to test their knowledge on how well they know where countries are located, since they have been previously studying this area. Website: []

[Class Discussion, 5 minutes] There will be a brief class discussion where students will be able to share their experiences playing and how they are remembering the location of specific countries in Africa, giving pointers to fellow class mates. The focus of the class will then be shifted by asking students to explain where Namibia is located. Then, students will be told that they will be looking at one specific country today-Namibia.

[Mini-Lesson; 20 minutes] Students will be delivered interesting facts about the country of Namibia in order to grab the attention of the class. On the Smart Board I will display pictures of the country and its geographical features. A Prezi presentation will be shown to help students explore the region and to better understand the landscape. I will focus in on the Namibian landscape which consists generally of five geographical areas, each with some variation within and overlap between them: the Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, t he Great Escarpment, the Bushveld, and the Kalahari Desert. A brief description of each will be provided, along with a connection of why and how these are so significant to the people, environment, and location of Namibia, but more largely, Africa.

[Activity Organization and Description, 5 minutes] Students will randomly count off by 5’s and each be assigned a group and 1 of the 5 geographical areas. A descriptive assignment sheet will be provided. Using numerous websites and sources, teams will create a travel brochure with facts, pictures, and details for people who are unfamiliar with these areas. Students will also be asked to explore whether this area would be livable or not. The brochure will be created on either the Microsoft program or http://www.mybrochuremaker.com/

[Work Time & Dismissal, 20 minutes] Students will brainstorm, as a team, and start creating an attractive, appealing, and informative brochure to share. Each person will be responsible for playing a part in creating the brochure. At the end of the class, I will call upon 3 students to share what they have learned today in the class period; whether is is on Africa itself or their geographical area. Students will also be informed that this assignment will follow into the next class period as well. *Once completed brochures will be displayed on a bulletin board consisting of the information the class as acquired about Africa in this unit.

__ Assessment: __ Students will be graded on how well they present their information and whether or not an outsider would be well-informed. Accuracy, appealing information, and whether or not the group addresses important information (such as the geographical areas impact on all of Africa) will also be looked for. Group evaluations will be given in order for all group members to be accountable for their contribution to the brochure. Students will also be graded on being on task at all times as well.

__Next Class Period__: Students will again bring their thoughts together and finish their brochure. These will be printed and explained to the class with a brief 5-10 minutes presentation per group explaining their geographical area an why it is important to Namibia and African in its entirety.

__//**Lesson Narrative**//__
There are so many beautiful and awesome places in the world that this specific location was actually extremely difficult to chose. I quickly thought about what would be most applicable to me personally at this particular moment in my professional semester, so chose 7th grade Social Studies, since I am working with that grade level at Exploris. After looking through the NC Standard Course of Study for this grade level, I narrowed my places down to Africa. I feel as though students today do not have the basic knowledge of geography which they deserve to know, therefore I chose to look at competency goal 2: //The learner will assess the relationship between physical environment and cultural characteristics of selected societies and regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia//. I remember learning about the beauty of this area in History of Africa a few semesters ago and always wished to learn more about the area but there was never enough time in the semester. I also plan to take a trip to Africa with a group of my high school friends to carry out a lifelong dream of ours, therefore I feel like learning about all of the sites and geographical regions is the place to start. When I was in middle school, naive to everything African countries had to offer, I simply thought it was all safari with lots of wild animals like giraffes, lions, and gazelle. So often we find students sitting in a Social Studies class so clueless about what a major country has to offer simply because they were never given the opportunity to deeply explore it. Therefore, the Republic of Namibia is where I landed because of its unique, dry deserts and its relation with the Atlantic Ocean which most students are familiar with because North Carolina is so close to it as well.

I started the day off with a short game on the internet because understanding the big picture, and different countries of Africa is important and something that will be useful all throughout ones life. Then, I shifted my gears to focusing in on Namibia to show students the beauty and uniqueness of Africa. Since this is only one lesson within a 2 week unit, I felt as though I should choose a few countries (Namibia being one of them) to allow students to learn just a little bit more about so that all of their knowledge is not so broad, but rater more detailed in addition.

I feel as though students will learn interesting facts and information if they are provided the chance to complete a group activity where it is their responsibility to do the research and create a product. These facts interest some so much that they run and tell other friends and parents at home or in their neighborhoods. Therefore, I chose to have students hear basic facts about Namibia initially through a short Prezi presentation, but then rely on students to fill in the gaps. I believe reading a text and answering questions teaches students very little because they become bored. Therefore, if students are given the chance to work with their peers, they are more driven and likely to complete the task and take information and knowledge away from it. Each group will be given one of 5 geographical areas in Namibia: the Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, the Great Escarpment, the Bushveld, and the Kalahari Desert. In this assignment I want students to create a travel brochure with pictures, useful and interesting facts, and details regarding their assigned area. This will allow students to focus in on their area, but present after the brochure is created, to inform classmates on the 4 other areas they did not have the chance of looking deeper into. I believe students will work on teamwork skills, along with discovering reliable websites to acquire their information.

This brochure assignment exposes students the physical and cultural characterizes of Africa, but zooms in a specific republic. The class will be provided with a list of expectations of the project so that they understand what they will be graded for. At the conclusion of the assignment, the brochures will hang on a bulletin board for students to take a closer look, along with refresh their memory. These brochures will help display the classes work from the entire Africa geography unit and boost students self-esteem, making them proud of what they have produced in groups. I will have students stand in front of the class and give a brief presentation as well. This will build on student’s confidence with information in front of peers and groups of people. Presenting will also give students a chance to highlight their work and information researched.

At the end of this lesson students will know the 5 geographical areas of Namibia, where many people live under the international poverty line and suffer from the effects of HIV/AIDS. Students will understand that there is still beauty and hope in a land struggling to be prosperous and healthy. At the end of the day it is important for me to briefly ask the class what they have learned. Even though students may be occupied with their research and intrigued in their assigned Namibia area, I wish to hear from 3 students who have obtained new knowledge in the class period today. I chose to assess the students based on the group brochures, and how informative they actually are, along with whether or not they met the criteria listed on a detailed rubric.