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.
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.
Week three will begin 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.
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.
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 (Alternatively, Monday could be used for presentations if students are ready to present). 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.
