African Trade Empires Travel Brochure Activity

In this lesson, students will read about the 3 great trade empires of West Africa - the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai Empires.

They then create a travel brochure about each Empire. Students first read a 1 and 3/4 page article about these empires. As they read, they answer questions about the article.

The article covers these topics: 1. How the camel allowed trade to flourish in North-West Africa. 2. Why the Gold-salt trade developed. 3. How the Trade Empires became so wealthy. 4. Why the Mali adopted Islam 5. Mansa Musa's Importance and the significance of Timbuctu 6. How the Songhai spread Islam

After they are done with the questions, students partner up to create a "Travel Brochure" for each empire. Directions: Make a Travel Brochure for West Africa. a. Fold 1 paper in Half b. Front Page – Write a Title and your names. c. c. Next 3 pages- 1 page for each empire. Name of Empire at top. Write 1 sentence advertising that empire’s most significant accomplishment and then draw a visual to illustrate what they did.

Alternatively, if the teacher wishes to assign the article as Homework, I have included a 5 question quiz that can be used to check if they did their reading.

For Texas teachers, this lesson addresses the following TEKs:

WH4 History. The student understands how, after the collapse of classical empires, new political, economic, and social systems evolved and expanded from 600 to 1450. The student is expected to: (D) explain the political, economic, and social impact of Islam on Europe, Asia, and Africa.

WH4 History. The student understands how, after the collapse of classical empires, new political, economic, and social systems evolved and expanded from 600 to 1450. The student is expected to: (D) explain the political, economic, and social impact of Islam on Europe, Asia, and Africa READINESS

WH4 History. The student understands how, after the collapse of classical empires, new political, economic, and social systems evolved and expanded from 600 to 1450. The student is expected to: (J) analyze how the Silk Road and the African gold-salt trade facilitated the spread of ideas and trade READINESS

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