Teaching Resources
We've created a central repository of some of our most popular teaching resources from the various African studies centers across the country. Check back frequently for new resources.
Howard University
Voices From Africa: Colonized Women Talk Back
This 3-part lesson introduces students to African women who challenged colonial rule. It debunks the myth of the submissive African woman.
UC Berkely
The Travels of Ibn Battuta | A Virtual Tour
This virtual tour follows the footsteps of Ibn Battuta, a 14th century Muslim traveler, exploring the places he visited and the people he encountered. Learn about his adventures through images of the people and places he saw, information on the food he might have tasted, and "side trips" into the past and future.
University of Florida
Teach Africa: Irohin
The creative lesson plans and articles from each issue of Irohin were written by participants of UF's K-12 Summer Teachers Institute.
University of Wisconsin Madison
Africa-related TED-Talks
Explore videos of inspiring, informative, thought-provoking lectures from TEDGlobal 2007, “Africa: The Next Chapter,” held in Arusha, Tanzania in July of 2007. These talks are more appropriate for secondary and post-secondary students.
Indiana University
Global Literacy Invitation Project
Global Literacy Invitation Project introduces in-service teacher participants to quality children’s literature that supports global learning and connections. Teacher participants are introduced to the Global Literacy Invitation teaching strategy and examine ways in which their students can participate in an open-ended investigation that extends the theme of the book into other areas and subjects, including technology, science, math, music, and art.
Boston University
Teaching Ebola Responses: Ethics and the Future
Created by Melissa Graboyes, a University of Oregon professor, this curriculum guide focuses on the 2014 ebola virus outbreak in West Africa.
Boston University
"How Big is Africa" Curriculum Guide
This popular poster & curriculum guide provide an excellent entry-point to teaching about Africa. The poster enables students to conceptualize the sheer magnitude of the African continent.
Indiana University
Global Snapshots: Africa
Did you know that the first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize was an African woman? That Africans have been trading with people from distant continents for many centuries? Africa is a diverse and dynamic continent and below is a compilation of things anybody should know about Africa.
Africa Access
Expanding Perspectives on Africa Book by Book
Africa Access, a 501 c (3) organization was founded in 1989 to help schools, public libraries, and parents improve the quality of their K-12 collections on Africa. Africa Access Review, Read Africa and Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA) have been effective initiatives in our efforts to inform the public about quality K-12 books on Africa.
Howard University
Discover Africa in the World
Evidence of Africa in the world is often hidden in plain sight, available but undiscovered.
The Discover Africa in the World Project reveals Africa-related sites in regions beyond the continent of Africa.
Michigan State University
Exploring Africa!
The Exploring Africa! curriculum is divided into units, modules, and learning activities. Each unit covers a major topic or theme in the study of Africa, which is then divided into thematic, disciplinary, regional, or country modules.
Boston University
"What Teachers Need to Know - Africa Edition" Podcast
The podcast offers vital insight for understanding the continent so that teachers can facilitate deeper learning about the world with their students.
Michigan State University
Overcoming Apartheid
South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid, Building Democracy presents first-hand accounts of this important political movement. Interviews with South African activists, raw video footage documenting mass resistance and police repression, historical documents, rare photographs, and original narratives tell this remarkable story.
Brown and Metzler
The Phenomenon of Kony 2012
Kony 2012 is a documentary filmed by the Invisible Children, a charity organization, that inspired millions of Americans to donate towards stopping Kony and the LRA in 2012, but who is Kony and why did the invisible children want to stop him?
Howard University
The Gold Road
The Gold Road Interactive Map highlights the people, places, and items related to the medieval Sudanic empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai. Gold, the region’s most valuable resource, moved along regional and trans-Saharan routes reaching as far north as France. The Gold Road invites users to explore hundreds of topics related to the empires and their role in global history.