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SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA BUNDLE
Give your students a solid background in the Geography of Southern Africa with the Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa Bundle.
- 4 Google Slides lessons with note-taking guides: East Africa, Southern Africa, Central Africa and West Africa
- 20 Daily Openers with student worksheets
- Activity Packet (print, digital, editable, and answers)
- Intro Diagnostic Activity
- 5 Map Quizzes: East Africa, Southern Africa, Central Africa and West Africa and all of Sub-Saharan Africa
- Unit Test: regular multiple choice, modified version with fewer choices, answer key and study guide
- Africa Poster Project
PLANNING this MINI-UNIT
Southern Africa is the second mini-unit or topic taught in the “Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa” unit. This topic covers: climographs, the Okavango Delta, Kruger National Park, Cape of Good Hope, ecotourism, land use, mining in South Africa, acid rain, HIV/AIDS, standard of living comparison, Apartheid, the Himba Tribe.
This mini-unit covers the following ten countries:
- Angola
- Zambia
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Botswana
- Zimbabwe
- South Africa
- Lesotho
- Eswatini
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 Sub-Saharan Africa” unit has 20 openers that review the following topics: Relative Location, Per Capita Income Analysis, Tourism, Wildlife, Population Pyramids, Climate, Flags, Travel Advisories and more, CLICK HERE for more information on openers for the “Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa” unit.
OPENER TOPICS
East Africa
- Relative Location
- Per Capita Income Analysis
- East Africa Tourism
- East Africa’s Wildlife
- The Locust Crisis in East Africa
Central Africa
- Nigeria’s Population Pyramid
- Average Temperature in the Congo Republic
- Movement in Central African Republic
- The Okapi
- Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Southern Africa
- Traveling in Southern Africa
- Apartheid in South Africa, 1978
- Swaziland to Eswatini
- Average Rainfall in Angola
- Literacy Rates in Southern Africa
West Africa
- West Africa Relative Location
- Cape Verde Flag
- Agricultural Land Use in West Africa
- Transportation in Benin
- Sierra Leone Travel Advisory
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).
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.
Activities
Note-Taking Guides
This East Africa 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
Student Worksheets & Activities
There are ten pages of activities to choose from to enhance any of the Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa mini-units.
- Political Map
- Latitude and Longitude Practice
- Physical Geography Questions
- Physical Geography Labeling and Elevation Coloring
- Health and Society Data Analysis
- Health and Society Special Purpose Maps
- Climate and Precipitation Data, Analysis, Summaries and Questions
- African Union Reading and Questions
- African Wildlife Poster
- 5 Themes of Geography Paragraph: Africa
- Current Event: Africa
UNIT: Map Quizzes
“Sub-Saharan Map Quizzes” is a quiz bundle that offers quizzes on each of the four regions of Sub-Sharan Africa, plus a quiz on all of the regions combined:
1. West Africa
Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Togo
2. East Africa
Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda
3. Central Africa
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe
4. Southern Africa
Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini
Each quiz includes the following:
1. Quiz without countries listed
2. Quiz with countries listed
3. Answer Key
UNIT: Introduction Diagnostic Activity
Prior to teaching your geography unit in Sub-Saharan Africa, discover what your students already know about the geography of the region.
This activity asks students to name countries, place physical features on a map and answer critical thinking questions.
What Comes with the FREE Download:
1. Teaching tips and lesson plans for the activity.
2. Student Worksheet
3. Answer Key
Helpful Videos
Break up direct instruction by showing a video that reviews concepts they just learned.
Key Terms & Vocabulary
COUNTRIES of SOUTHERN AFRICA
- Angola
- Zambia
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Botswana
- Zimbabwe
- South Africa
- Lesotho
- Eswatini
PLACES of NOTE
- Okavango Delta
- Kruger National Park
- Cape of Good Hope
- Fish River Canyon
- Liwonde National Park
- Skeleton Coast
CLIMATE and the LAND
- Lake Malawi
- Namibia Desert
- Mozambique Channel
- Kalahari Desert
- Orange River
- Zambezi River
OTHER
key terms
- Safari
- Headland
- Ecotourism
- Acid Rain
- Apartheid
- Himba Tribe
LEARNING TARGETS
- Students can identify the ten countries of Southern Africa.
- Students can argue about the factors that distinguish Southern Africa as a region.
- Students can compare and contrast the two regions of Southern Africa: The Savanah region and the Desert Region in terms of location and climate.
- Students will be able to describe the following places in Southern Africa: the Okavango Delta, Drakensberg Mountains, Kruger National Park, the Cape of Good Hope, the Namib Desert, and the Kalahari Desert.
- Students will be able to define safari and describe what an individual would experience on safari in Southern Africa.
- Students can define ecotourism and explain the benefits of ecotourism on the tourist, and physical environment.
- Students can explain the economic and ecological significance of mining in Southern Africa.
- Students can compare and contrast land use in various Southern African countries.
- Students can explain the differences between AIDS and HIV, and analyze who the diseases affect standard of living in Southern Africa.
- Students will be able to outline events of historic significance in Southern Africa, particularly: Bantu migration, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, European colonization and Apartheid.
- Students will be able to define and describe the system of Apartheid in South Africa.
- Students will be able to describe the culture of the Himba Tribe and outline the ways in which they interact with their desert environment.
- Students will be able to argue how natural hazards and human activity affect ecosystems in Southern Africa.
- Students can evaluate the countries of Southern Africa’s level of economic stability using key economic indicators to justify their response.
- Students can identify and locate major land and water features in Southern Africa.
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