Unit Rationale

Our project, Discovering Africa, is an exploration of the continent of Africa and its nations which will engage students in critical analysis of a variety of resources over several weeks. Their goal is not to problem solve or sensationalize their topics but to gain a better understanding of the research process, their topic, and in addition, to discover why the continent so often falls victim to such sensationalization. Students’ research will culminate in a presentation to the class which will inform their classmates about their topic as well as demonstrate an understanding of their resources.

The understanding of resources is, in fact, the main focus of this unit. Week by week, students will be led through various activities and lessons that will teach them how to use different resources (primary, secondary, literature, poetry, film, etc.) in their research. This understanding of how to use resources will be essential to this project and to any future research students may be involved with. Fortunately, since students will be using a variety of sources, we will be able to compare those sources and discover each one’s strengths and weakness. We will ask, for example, what information does a primary source provide that a fictional account does not and vice versa? What can we gain from a poem that we may not see in a historical text book? These questions will force students to take a second look at their sources and gain a clearer understanding of what those sources provide to them.

To make the project less overwhelming, we will divide students into groups and have them focus on one of three topics. After an initial exploration of different types of sources (including a writing activity which accesses students’ prior knowledge of the differences between sources), instructors will give students several resources pertaining to their particular topic. Resources are picked by instructors in an attempt to avoid sources which sensationalize the students’ topics. However, in order to give students some practice finding their own resources, they will be required to provide at least three additional resources.

Since we realize that Africa falls victim to sensationalization, it lends itself well as the focus of this project. Our unit will deal with this problem head on, discussing why the sensationalization happens and where it comes from. Through the exploration of different sources, students will begin to see that one topic can be presented in multiple ways and from multiple perspectives. With our guidance, students will choose which of these perspectives will be most effective in creating an unbiased account of their topic. As much as this project is a cultural exploration, it is also an exercise in resource analysis and students’ presentations will discuss the various differences they discovered while working with their sources.

At first glance, our project may seem rather daunting. We realize this and will provide students with resources, time to work in class, guided activities that relate directly to what they will be putting in their presentation, and help with any problems that may arise. At the end of the five weeks, students will have a better understanding of the research process and of Africa.

Week 1

Our unit will begin by activating students prior knowledge of both how they understand Africa and how they see the difference between English and Social Studies. Beginning a humanities unit of this nature requires to students to integrate two traditionally separated modes for understanding information into one integrated process. For this reason, the first day will be spent on a creative writing activity where students will reflect on how they understand the difference between literary writing and historical or "Social Studies" writing. How are these two written differently? How do those differences affect the types of information that they contain? What is the emotional and intellectual effect of these differences? This activity will help students to begin to understand how their final project will need to utilize both types of writings in order to provide a nuanced perspective on Africa.

Day two will involve a Webquest activity in which students will start to do internet searches to glean basic information about Africa. A worksheet will be provided to guides students in their search, helping them to identify and challenge Western bias as well as find resources that actually come out of Africa so that they do not see the continent from a simple “top-down” perspective.

CHU - Planning Matrix - Week 1

Week 2

Week two will begin with a day dedicated to gathering background information on the students' topics. They will use a BBC website and a power-point we made to gather general information on the countries and regions included in their topic. This will also allow them to compare between western and native perspectives. The second day of that week will focus on the use of primary & secondary sources. We will explore these through an activity which will teach students how to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources and how to use and analyze the content of each. A worksheet will be distributed that will guide students as they read the primary and secondary sources from their portfolio. They will then reconvene so that we can tell them how to apply what they did to their further research. The last day of the week will be similarly spent doing a poetry activity which will teach how to use external resources to understand the content of poetry. Students will engage in a guided activity that will model how to read a poem for content and explicate that content with external information about the author, the region in which it was written, and the time period.

CHU - Planning Matrix - Week 2

Week 3

Week three will began on Monday with an introduction to documentary style resources. The class will view two documentaries, one created bv a native African, displaying features of Africa, and another made from a Western perspective. After viewing both films, the we will open the classroom to discussion about what they saw in both sources. They will be asked to discuss similarities and differences in both approaches and examine bias associated with the different perspectives. After the viewing on Monday, we will let the student students begin their research for their projects. The students will work within the classroom in their groups and begin to discuss ideas on how they want their presentation to materialize. Our job during the next two weeks is to continuously assist with student questions and to sit with groups throughout period in an attempt to facilitate the beginning phases of their projects. In order to address any problems that may begin to arise during the rest of this week, the teacher will make sure that students fill out a paper with any questions or concerns they have regarding their projects. We can thus read over these issues and address them in class the next day.

CHU - Planning Matrix - Week 3

Week 4

The goal for week four is to prepare the students for their final presentation and evaluation the following week. On Monday, we will familiarize the students with public speaking within the classroom environment through a short 5 to 7 minute presentation on what they have learned so far. This will also help us gauge each groups’ progress and determine what additional guidance each group will need to complete their projects on time. The students will have twenty minutes at the beginning of class to prepare. The students will receive written feedback after their presentations from us, so they will know what they did well and what needs work. This will teach the students some presentation skills, as well as giving the brief understanding of the other topics by listening to their peers’ presentations. The rest of the week will be devoted to students researching their topic and designing their presentation. During the remaining periods, we will walk around to the groups individually to see their progress as well as to answer any questions that may have sprung up during their projects.

CHU - Planning Matrix - Week 4

Week 5

Week five sees the unit coming to a close. Monday will be used for a final wrap up of presentations along with finalized preparations for group speeches. We will continue to assist students in whatever way possible. On Wednesday, each group will perform a 12 to 15 minute presentation on their topic in which every student in the group will speak for a minimum of 3 minutes. While students are presenting, their classmates will be filling in a guided outline for each presentation. This outline will allow for peer review of each presentation, and it will keep the students focused on the material each student is presenting. We will also be assessing each group based on a rubric provided here (LINK). During these presentations should should show understanding of research processes, synthesizing information, working productively in a group setting, and a knowledge of African from a non-western perspective. On the final day of the week, we will begin to discuss some of the topics, and how individual groups addressed these topics. We will facilitate a discussion and perhaps debate in which the students discuss the different African materials, the research process, and the different perspectives of Africa. The hope in this discussion is that the teacher has to do very little talking. the students should begin to discuss the topics among themselves, with the teacher merely acting as a moderator.

CHU - Planning Matrix - Week 5

Materials

EXISTING ORGANIZATIONS PowerPoint PRESENTATION:

While the intention of this unit is to explore a Non-Western perspective of Africa, we believe students should have an understanding of how Western-based organization influence the region. The idea to merely inform that this is the common perspective of many Americans, and to truly explore Africa, resources from the African perspective are necessary.






UNIT GRADING RUBRIC:

CHU - Grading Rubric

STUDENT SELF EVALUATION:

This document can be used at almost any portion of the unit to determine a student's understanding of the material. We recommend using this during the short presentation in Week 3 so that the students can evaluate their own progress.

CI 401 - CHU - Student Self Check