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Lesson Plans for the Geography of North Africa

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Pacing

Openers

Slides & Notes

Activities

Key Terms

Learning Targets

SOUTHWEST ASIA and NORTH AFRICA BUNDLE

Give your students a solid background in Geography of the Middle East with the Geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa Bundle.

  • 3 Google Slides lessons with note-taking guides: Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa
  • 15 Daily Openers with student worksheets
  • Activity Packet (print, digital, editable, and answers)
  • Intro Diagnostic Activity
  • 4 Map Quizzes: Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, and a 4th quiz with all three regions combined
  • Unit Test: regular multiple choice, modified version with fewer choices, answer key and study guide
SEE BUNDLE

PLANNING this MINI-UNIT

North Africa is the third mini-unit or topic taught in the “Geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa” unit.  This topic covers the Sahara Desert, the Sahel, major land and water features, Cairo, wadis, aquifers, oases, Arab, climograph comparison, the standard of living comparison, Morocco and Western Sahara, nomads in the Sahara, Sudan and South Sudan, souks, historical events and the Great Man-Made River. 

 

This mini-unit covers the following twleve countries:

Political Map of North Africa
  1. Western Sahara
  2. Morocco
  3. Mauritania
  4. Alergia
  5. Mali
  6. Tunisia
  7. Libya
  8. Niger
  9. Chad
  10. Egypt
  11. Sudan
  12. South Sudan

Pacing

Teachers should plan three to five days to teach this unit on a traditional schedule with one-hour class periods. However, for those on a block schedule with 1 1/2 hour classes, teachers should plan for 2-3 days. An effective way to structure this unit includes:

Openers

The “Geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa” unit has 15 openers that review the following topics: Travel Advisory, Climate, Tourism, Per Capita Income, Flags, Physical Geography, Political Backgrounds and more.  CLICK HERE for more information on openers for the “Geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa” unit.

Openers for Southwest Asia and North Africa World Geography
Openers for Southwest Asia and North Africa World Geography
Openers for Southwest Asia and North Africa World Geography
Printable Opener Worksheet for Southwest Asia and North Africa World Geography

OPENER TOPICS

Middle East

  1. Iran’s Travel Advisory
  2. Turkey and Iraq Monthly Precipitation Comparison
  3. Bodies of Water around the Middle East
  4. Visiting Cyprus
  5. Afghanistan: Political Background

Arabian Peninsula

  1. Per Capita Income: The Arabian Peninsula
  2. Strait of Hormuz
  3. Saudi Arabia’s Economy
  4. Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates
  5. The Red Sea

North Africa

  1. North Africa’s Physical Geography
  2. Mauritania’s Flag
  3. Landlocked Countries in North Africa
  4. Sudan and South Sudan Comparison
  5. Lake Chad
Get the OPENERS HERE

Google Slides

GOOGLE SLIDES:  After the opener, begin the 🔗 Google Slides lesson. Students can take notes on paper using the note-taking guide provided with the Google Slides lesson, or they may take notes digitally with the electronic version (also included with the Google Slides). 

view lesson on TPT
Click Here
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TEACHING TIPS

⭐️ TEACHER TIP: I post a PDF version of the Google Slides to Google Classroom so that students can review their notes if they are absent. Click “File, Download, PDF” on the Google Slide to do this.   

⭐️ TEACHER TIP: Some teachers post Google Slides in their Google Classroom and digital note-taking guides for students to complete as homework.

⭐️TEACHER TIP: When pressed for time, I will edit the note-taking guides to include answers for some boxes or delete boxes and slides entirely. Teachers should feel free to modify the lesson to meet their student’s needs and individual learning targets.

Get the Google Slides HERE

Activities

Note-Taking Guides

This Arabian Peninsula Geography Note-Taking Guide should be paired with Google Slides (see above).  Teachers can walk students through these notes or post lecture notes on their chosen platform and have students record the information.  Here is a preview of the print and digital versions of the note-taking guides

Get Google Slides and Note Taking Guides HERE

Student Worksheets & Activities

There are ten pages of activities to choose from to enhance any of the Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa mini-units.

  1. Political Map
  2. Latitude and Longitude Practice
  3. Physical Geography Questions
  4. Physical Geography Labeling and Elevation Coloring
  5. Population Pyramid Analysis
  6. Economic Analysis
  7. Economy and Oil Reading and Questions
  8. Temperature and Precipitation Charting
  9. Literacy Rates Data, Map and Analysis Worksheets
  10. Country in the Spotlight Poster
  11. 5 Themes of Geography Paragraph: Southwest Asia and North Africa
  12. Current Event Research
Get the Activities HERE

UNIT: Map Quizzes

"Southwest Asia and North Africa Map Quizzes" is a quiz bundle that offers quizzes on each of the three regions of Southwest Asia and North Africa, plus a quiz on all of the regions combined:

1. Middle East:
Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan

2. The Arabian Peninsula
Israel, Palestine (West Bank), Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen

3. North Africa
Western Sahara, Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Mali, Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Chad, Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan

Each quiz includes the following:
1. Quiz without countries listed
2. Quiz with countries listed
3. Answer Key

Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa Map Quizzes 1
Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa Map Quizzes 2
Get Map Quizzes

UNIT: Introduction Diagnostic Activity

Prior to teaching your geography unit on the Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, discover what your students already know about the geographic region.

This activity asks students to name countries, place physical features on a map and answer critical thinking questions.

WHAT COMES WITH THE DOWNLOAD:
1. Teacher tips and lesson plans for the activity
2. Student Worksheet
3. Answer Key

Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa Diagnostic Activity 1
Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa Diagnostic Activity 2

Helpful Videos

Break up direct instruction by showing a video that reviews concepts they just learned.

Key Terms & Vocabulary

COUNTRIES of the MIDDLE EAST

  1. Western Sahara
  2. Morocco
  3. Mauritania
  4. Algeria
  5. Mali
  6. Tunisia
  7. Libya
  8. Niger
  9. Chad
  10. Egypt
  11. Sudan
  12. South Sudan

PLACES of NOTE

  1. Cairo, Egypt
  2. Dogon Village, Mali
  3.  Marrakesh, Morocco
  4. Casablanca, Morocco

CLIMATE and the LAND

  1. The Sahara
  2. The Sahel
  3. The Nile River
  4. The Mediterranean Sea
  5. The Red Sea
  6. Wadis
  7. Aquifers
  8. Oases
  9.  Sinai Peninsula
  10. Lake Chad
  11. Aswan Dam
  12. Desertification
  13. Great Man-Made River
  14. Alluvial Soil

OTHER
key terms

  1. Kasbah
  2. Citadel
  3. Arab
  4. Sharia Law
  5. Annex
  6. Medina
  7. Souk
  8. Arab Spring
  9.  Berber
  10. Bedouin
Learning Target

LEARNING TARGETS

  1. Students can identify the twelve countries in North Africa. 
  2. Students can argue about the factors that distinguish North Africa as a region.
  3. Students can compare and contrast the three regions in North Africa: The Mountain Region, The Sahel, The Sahara. 
  4. Students can outline territorial disputes between Morocco and Western Sahara
  5. Students can argue how lack of fresh water affects North Africans and outline the ways in which North Africans interact with the environment as a result of the lack of fresh water.  
  6. Students can define Arab.
  7. Students can define Sharia Law and argue how religion impacts North African society and culture as well as government. 
  8. Students can outline the historical tensions between Sudan and Sudan. 
  9. Students can define nomads, and outline the similarities and differences between Berbers and Bedouins. 
  10. Students can identify various push and pull factors leading to migration patterns in North Africa.
  11. Students will be able to describe the following places in North Africa and argue their significance for the region: The Suez Canal, the Aswan Dam, Lake Chad, the Nile River, the Great Made-Made River, the Sahara, the Sahel, the Mediterranean Sea.
  12. Students will be able to outline events of historic significance in North Africa, particularly: Ancient Egypt (3100 B.C.E. – 332 C.E.), Colonizations (c. 18th century), Arab Spring (2010), South Sudan (2011)
  13. Students can evaluate the level of economic stability of North African countries using key economic indicators to justify their response.
  14. Students can identify and locate major land and water features in North Africa
  15. Students can argue how natural hazards and human activity affect the environment in North Africa, paying particular attention to desertification.

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Thank you for stopping by Teacher Bistro.  I created this place as a resource for educators who wanted an easy way to find resources.  In my first ten years of teaching, I can’t tell you how many hours I spent gathering lesson plans, video guides, and lectures.  Hopefully, you have added this site to your bookmarks, and this place can make teaching a little bit easier.