World Geography: Africa
updated March 23, 2022
Recorded here is my own personal collection of articles, resources, favorite links, teaching ideas, and lesson plans. It encompasses many years, from the very beginning of my experience studying and learning about Waldorf to the present time. People from all around the world visit my site and recommend it to others. Welcome!
This site records my journey. I hope my honesty is encouraging and helps break down some barriers that may prevent people from trying Waldorf methods. Because this is an ongoing site documenting my curriculum planning and ideas, some materials are more Waldorf-y than others. Please feel free to take what you like and leave the rest.
World Geography: Africa
for Class 7
Mission Statement - Consulting Services - Lending Library
I first taught this block in February 2018. I did not deliberately plan to do this in February because it was Black History Month.
I planned to do World Geography as our second Cultural block of the year -- the first was The Age
of Discovery and the third was The Renaissance & Reformation -- and then realized it was scheduled for Feb!
Pinterest - Renee Schwartz
My curated collection of visuals! Browse sample main lesson book pages, watercolor paintings, chalkboard drawings, etc. for
World Geography and Africa.
FREE eBooks at the Online Waldorf Library
Excellent resource! Published Waldorf curriculum books provided here in PDF format for you to download, keep, and read... for free!
Essential Book
 
In addition, I think that really good geography
materials are absolutely essential for this block! I use and recommend several Montessori geography materials, listed below:
Geography Materials by Waseca Biomes
I Already Owned:
I Purchased for this Block:
Out of all of those things, I would recommend to someone just starting out that they definitely get the paper biome maps of
every continent ($25) and the set of Africa biome animal and people cards ($40). If you want to go the extra
mile to display the cards in beautifully organized wooden boxes, get the biomes of the continent boxes ($105). If you want
your child to be making maps of Africa, I recommend also getting the Africa stencil ($55) and the map legend stamp ($30).
Geography Materials by Clocca Concepts
Clocca Concepts just came out with a new Montessori Africa Geography material as well. This is their Water Ways: Africa map
with hands-on latitude & longitude mapping activities.
- Water Ways: Africa map and "Who Am I?" card set
- Magnetic Board and Magnetic Map Markers are sold separately (choose this option in the drop down menu)
Additional Resources
Initial Planning
I am doing this in a mixed age homeschool co-op setting, with a cluster of children ages 6, 7, and 8 and
a cluster of children ages 13 and 14.
I am going to have each child put together an Africa binder instead of making the traditional MLBs.
Although this main lesson is targeted to my teenagers, I want
the younger students to play a part. Having the entire group be
involved is also the best way to look at as many facets of Africa as possible. We will be able to have
chapter book reports and country reports from the older children. We can
also have animal reports and indigenous people reports from the younger children (who can do simple research using
the Waseca Biomes three part cards... see links to these above). I can also use some of my notes from the Grade
3 Housebuilding block to help me choose resources for
the younger group:
Housebuilding notes - Africa:
Traditional Houses from Around the World
by A.G. Smith is good background information for the teacher. It is a Dover coloring book but you can use the illustrations and background information to help you plan. Somba clay houses in Benin, Masai houses in Kenya, Dogon cliff dwellings in Mali, Moroccan brick houses in North Africa, painted mud houses in Nigeria, and a Baobab tree house in Sudan are all included.
How Do People Live?
by Philip Steele (based on the Hungarian original by Lajos Boglar) is also a nice resource, which includes Tuareg animal skin tents, mud houses in Nigeria and Mali, wood and mud buildings around Lake Chad in West Africa, branch and cowhide huts on the Africans plains, mud brick houses in the Nubian desert, and the thatched huts of the Dogon people. The illustrations are really lovely. They would be great for a chalkboard.
Wonderful Houses Around the World
by Yoshio Komatsu includes Togo and Senegal. Photographs of the exterior and drawn diagrams of the interior are featured.
I also really love A Ride on Mother's Back: A Day of Baby Carrying Around the World
by Emery & Durga Bernhard. It includes the Mbuti, Tuareg, and Mandingo.
Brainstorming Book Lists: Younger
Brainstorming Book Lists: Older
Blog posts from when I was teaching this topic:
|
