Africa
Introduction to the region
– additional information
Nigeria
• Nigeria is in West Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea.
• The landscape changes from the oil-rich Niger Delta
in the south to a belt of rainforest inland and high
savanna-covered plateaus in the north.
• Nigeria has the largest population of any African
country, estimated at nearly 140 million.
• Great Britain ruled Nigeria from 1900 until 1960.
• Today, Nigeria is a federation of 30 states, with Abuja
now the new federal capital city.
• English is the nation’s main language.
• In Nigeria, there are many different groups of people,
each with their own history, culture, language and
often their own religion.
• The largest groups are the Hausa people, who live in the
north, the Yoruba people, who live in the south-west and
the Ibo, who live in the south-east.
• About half of all Nigerians are Muslim, most of whom
are Fulani or Hausa people.
• Christianity is most popular in the south of the
country. Many followers of both Islam and Christianity
still follow aspects of their own African religions.
Sierra Leone
• Sierra Leone is in West Africa, bordering the
Atlantic Ocean.
• Most of Sierra Leone’s coastline consists of mangrove
swamps, with the exception of the peninsula on which
the capital, Freetown, is situated.
• The rest of the country is high above sea level and
covered by forests.
• The climate is tropical with a rainy season from May
to December.
• There are about 17 different ethnic groups living in
Sierra Leone. The biggest tribes are the Mendi and
the Temni.
• Although English is the official language, it is
understood by only a minority as most people speak
their tribe’s own language.
• Islam and Christianity are the main religions.
• The major source of national income is from
diamond mining.
Senegal
• Senegal is in West Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean.
• It has a tropical climate with two seasons.
4
• The official language is French.
• Senegal gained independence from the French
in 1960.
• 94% of the 11 million population are Muslim.
• There are two main tribes: the Wolof and the Pulaar.
Ghana
• Ghana is in West Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea.
• Ghana has a tropical climate: warm and dry along the
south-east coast; hot and humid in the south-west;
and hot and dry in the north.
• Accra is the capital city located on the south coast.
• The official language is English.
• The African languages of Akan, Dagnomba, Ewe and
Ga are all spoken.
• Gold, timber, industrial diamonds and cocoa are
major exports.
• The main religion practised by 63% of the population
is Christianity, with 16% Muslim and 21% following
indigenous beliefs.
• A former British colony, Ghana was the first subSaharan country in colonial Africa to become
independent in 1957.
Mozambique
• Mozambique stretches for 1 535 miles along Africa’s
south-east coast.
• The country has 25 rivers that flow into the
Indian Ocean. The largest is the Zambezi, which gives
access to central Africa.
• The capital city is Maputo.
• The indigenous tribal groups of Mozambique make
up about 99% of the population. Europeans, including
native Portuguese, and Asian residents make up less
than 1% of the population.
• There are 16 major ethnic groups, the largest of which
is the Makua in the north.
• The Makonde, another northern group, are famous for
traditional and contemporary carved figures.
• Portuguese is the official language, with English only
spoken in the southern tourist regions.
• The major ethnic groups each speak their
own language.
• Independence was gained from the Portuguese
in 1975.
• The traditions, stories and arts of Mozambique have
survived years of civil war.
• Since independence, the traditions, stories and arts
of Mozambique have increased in influence and
Mozambican sculptors, painters and writers are
becoming known worldwide.
Sudan
• Sudan is located in northern Africa, bordering the
Red Sea.
• It is the largest African country by area.
• Independence was gained from the British and the
Egyptians in 1956.
• Sudan’s official languages are Arabic and English.
• Approximately 75% of the population are Muslim.
Introduction to the region –
activities
• In groups, investigate the history, language and
culture of the Fulani, Hausa or Ibo people in Nigeria.
Compare with the stereotypes given to them by the
British under colonial rule.
• Compile a fact-file on the Senegal River, researching
the different countries it passes through and the
varying ways that it influences human activity.
• Investigate how deltas are formed. Find out about
river deltas in other parts of the world and compare
with Okavango in terms of development and
activities/uses made.
• Investigate the wide-ranging effects of environmental
change, by comparing its impact on the people of
the Okavango delta (wetlands) with that of the Sahel
region in Northern Kenya, under the headings of
Traditional Lifestyle, Traditional Activities and Impact
of Change. Use the information as a basis to discuss
the positive and negative aspects of developments
brought about by environmental change.
• Use a variety of world map types to find out more
about life in this region and to make comparisons
with another place. For example, you could use maps
to show:
- human population density
- land elevation
- July temperature
- January temperature
- vegetation types.
• Research the following areas and make a PowerPoint
presentation to show others your findings:
- climate and weather patterns
- landscapes and landforms
- plants and animals
- how people live.
Texts
This title contains three poems and three prose pieces
from Africa. It also offers contextualisation and a number
of additional activities. Use the activity sheets on pages
7–10 to support the notepad activities.
The assessment foci linked to each Writer’s room activity
will be useful when assessing a range of pupils’ work for
the purposes of APP.
Text
Notepad and Writer’s room
activities
Poem 1: My
House by Annette
Mbaye D’Erneville
(Senegal)
to identify how poets can
give something more than
one meaning
Assessment
focus
to understand how tense
and person affect the impact
of a poem
to write a poem based on
the theme of ‘home’
AF1, AF2,
AF7
Poem 2: The
Wheel Around the
World Traditional
(Mozambique)
to write persuasively about
an issue
AF3, AF5
independently write and
present a text with the
reader and purpose in mind
AF2, AF3,
AF7
Poem 3: Minstrel’s
Song The Mende
(Sierra Leone)
to identify how a theme is
presented in a poem
Prose 1: Achol and
Her Wild Mother A
traditional Dinka
tale (Sudan)
Prose 2: The Other
Side of Truth by
Beverley Naidoo
(Nigeria)
Prose 3:
Whose Footprints?
(Ghanan myth)
to identify how similes and
metaphors work in a poem
to write proverbs to match
a poem
AF1
to investigate the effect of
direct and reported speech
AF6
to make inferences about a
character’s personality
AF1
to make links between a
story you have read and
your own experiences
AF2
to explore how verb tenses
affect the reader’s response
to a text
to explore how authors use
repetition in their writing
to imitate the writing
techniques of an author
AF1, AF3
to find different ways to
write reporting clauses
AF5, AF7
to think about how and why
authors use both simple and
complex sentences
to change prose to a
playscript
AF2
5
Cross-curricular activities
My House by Annette Mbaye D’Erneville
(Senegal)
Design and technology
• Use the Internet to find out about traditional and
contemporary homes in Senegal. Make a model of
a Senegalese hut.
Geography
• Research the layout of a typical village in Senegal
and compare with the layout and features of a
British village.
The Wheel Around the World Traditional
(Mozambique)
Geography
• Find out about traditional African children’s games
and compare them with the games the class are
familiar with.
• Use the Internet to find out about organisations
that make connections between the lives of
children around the world, for example UNICEF
(www.unicef.org) and Save the Children (www.
savethechildren.org).
• Food, water, clothing and shelter are basic needs for
people around the world. Investigate the different
ways that these needs are met in Africa in comparison
with Britain.
Minstrel’s Song The Mende (Sierra Leone)
Geography
• Research the major natural resources found in Africa.
How are they mined/harvested? What are they used
for? Where are they processed? Discuss why Africans
are often not seen as ‘rich’ despite their valuable
natural resources.
Achol and Her Wild Mother A traditional Dinka
tale (Sudan)
PSHE
• Begin by discussing gender roles within the class – are
there any? If so, what form do they take? Move on to a
discussion about gender roles in the story. Reverse the
story so that the women leave the men at home.
What would happen? Do you think that the father
would need the lion’s help? How would the sons react
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to their father with no limbs? Would it be the same? Do
you think that the mother would have been frightened
of the father? Divide the class into small groups and
use role play to explore these changes.
Drama
• Sit the class in a circle. The idea is for each person to
show the gradual change from human to lion and
back again. The person at the beginning must use one
action to depict the lion, the next adds another action
to it, and so on. By half way round the circle you should
have a ferocious lion that then begins transforming
back into a human.
The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo
Pupils should be encouraged to read the whole story of
The Other Side of Truth before completing this section of
the unit.
Drama
• Act out the dramatic scene where Sade’s mother is
shot. Put Sade, Femi and Mama into a hot seat to find
out about their reactions after the event.
Art/Design and technology
• Design and make a Christmas card that Sade’s family
might have sent. Think about the images that would
best depict Sade’s African Christmas and try making
the card pop up.
Whose Footprints? (Ghanan myth)
Design and technology
• Make masks of the characters in the story to use while
acting it out. These could be as ambitious (papîer
maché) or simple (card, feathers) as you like.
Geography
• Find out more about the Fon people: where they
live, what their lifestyle is like, their background and
history. Research other Fon stories.
Art
• Paint some sequenced pictures to tell the Fon stories
you have researched.
• Design a garden that would ensure that the yams were
safe. You could include things like prickly bushes, a
moat, wild animals and even tripwires!
Africa: Activity sheet 1
Label the map of Africa with the places where the poems and stories
come from.
BBC Active World Writing
7
Africa: Activity sheet 2
The Wheel Around the World Traditional (Mozambique)
The Wheel Around the World teaches us that people around the world have
more in common with each other than we may think. There are many African
proverbs that teach us important points about life. Cut out the proverb
spinner and put a pencil in the middle to spin it.
How to play:
In groups of 4, spin the spinner and take turns to say what you think the
proverb means.
is b
ss
ine ed
pp ect
.
Ha perf ared
sh
ot
is n il it is
t
un
8
If you
can’t hold a
child in your arms,
hold them in your heart.
to The
efo mak time
e
re
yo frien
un
ee ds
dt
he
m
.
When
spider webs unite,
they can tie up a lion.
ri Cro
ins ver b ss th
e
ul
ef
t
t
he ore
c
roc you
o
d
ile
.
est en
t
r
o
sh etwe ile.
e
Th ce b a sm
an le is
t
s
di eop
op
w
t
Agree which you think is the best interpretation and make up a group story
to go with the proverb. Be prepared to tell the story to the rest of the class.
Think about what happens and how you can engage your audience through
expression, gesture and repetition.
BBC Active World Writing
Africa: Activity sheet 3
Minstrel’s Song The Mende
(Sierra Leone)
Use the Internet and topic books
to compile a mini fact-file for each
of the animals mentioned in the
poem. The first fact-file has been
done for you.
Kingfisher
Classification: Aves
Appearance: blue back, tail and head, orange underparts, white bib
Habitat: near to slow-moving water, ponds or lakes
Feeding habits: small fish
Young: 3-6 white eggs
Lifespan: 7 years on average
Baboon
Ant
Classification:
Classification:
Appearance:
Appearance:
Habitat:
Habitat:
Feeding habits:
Feeding habits:
Young:
Young:
Lifespan:
Lifespan:
Beetle
Bush cow
Classification:
Classification:
Appearance:
Appearance:
Habitat:
Habitat:
Feeding habits:
Feeding habits:
Young:
Young:
Lifespan:
Lifespan:
BBC Active World Writing
9
Africa: Activity sheet 4
Achol and Her Wild Mother A traditional Dinka tale (Sudan)
Does the help a person receives outweigh the price they pay for receiving
that help? This is a common theme in traditional stories from all around the
world. Think about this as you compare the following stories:
Help received
Price
Achol and Her
Wild Mother
Rapunzel
Rumplestiltskin
10
BBC Active World Writing
Curriculum grid
Page title
Learning
objective
National Curriculum objective
Nigeria
To find out about
Nigeria
Geography
3d: to explain why places are like they are
History
2c: to identify and describe reasons for, and
results of, historical events, situations, and
changes in the periods studied
4a: how to find out about the events, people
and changes studied from an appropriate
range of sources of information, including ICTbased sources
PSHE
4a: that their actions affect themselves and
others, to care about other people’s feelings
and to try to see things from their points of
view
4b: to think about the lives of people living
in other places and times, and people with
different values and customs
4d: to realise the nature and consequences
of racism, teasing, bullying and aggressive
behaviours, and how to respond to them and
ask for help
4e: to recognise and challenge stereotypes
4f: that differences and similarities between
people arise from a number of factors,
including cultural, ethnic, racial and religious
diversity, gender and disability
Senegal
To find out about
Senegal
Geography
3b: the location of places and environments
they study and other significant places and
environments
5a: recognise and explain patterns made by
individual physical and human features in the
environment
My House by
Annette Mbaye
D’Emeville
To identify how
poets can give
something more
than one meaning
En2 Reading
4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of
figurative language, vocabulary and patterns
of language
4f: consider poetic forms and their effects
4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud
Design and technology
2a: select appropriate tools and techniques for
making their product
Geography
3f: to describe and explain how and why
places are similar to and different from other
places in the same country and elsewhere in
the world
12
Primary National
Strategy objective
Y3, S9: Write non-narrative
texts using structures of
different text-types
Y6, S7: Explore how word
meanings change when
used in different contexts
Page title
Learning
objective
National Curriculum objective
Primary National
Strategy objective
The importance of
home in knowing
who you are
To find out about
the island of
Goree and use
information in their
own writing
En3 Writing
1a: choose form and content to suit a
particular purpose
1b: broaden their vocabulary and use it in
inventive ways
1c: use language and style that are appropriate
to the reader
History
2a: about characteristic features of the periods
and societies studied, including the ideas,
beliefs, attitudes and experiences of men,
women and children in the past
2c: to identify and describe reasons for, and
results of, historical events, situations and
changes in the periods studied
Physical education
6b: respond to a range of stimuli and
accompaniment
Y4, S9: Choose and
combine words, images
and other features for
particular effects
Person and tense
To understand how
person and tense
affect the impact of
a poem
En2 Reading
4b: identify different ways of constructing
sentences and their effects
Y5 and 6, S9
Wetlands
Using information
in children’s own
writing
En3 Writing
1a: choose form and content to suit a
particular purpose
1b: broaden their vocabulary and use it in
inventive ways
1c: use language and style that are appropriate
to the reader
Geography
2a: to use appropriate geographical
vocabulary
3a: to identify and describe what places are like
3d: to explain why places are like they are
Y5, S11: Adapt sentence
construction to different
text-types, purposes and
readers
The Wheel
Around the
World Traditional
(Mozambique)
To understand
poets’ choices of
language
En2 Reading
4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of
figurative language, vocabulary and patterns
of language
4f: consider poetic forms and their effects
4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud
Geography
2f: to use ICT to help in geographical
investigations
3b: the location of places and environments
they study and other significant places and
environments
3f: to describe and explain how and why
places are similar to and different from other
places in the same country and elsewhere in
the world
Y5 and 6, S7 and 8
13
Page title
Learning
objective
National Curriculum objective
Primary National
Strategy objective
Minstrel’s Song
The Mende (Sierra
Leone)
To identify how a
theme is presented
in a poem
En2 Reading
4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of
figurative language, vocabulary and patterns
of language
4f: consider poetic forms and their effects
4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud
Geography
2d: to use secondary sources of information,
including aerial photographs
3b: the location of places and environments
they study and other significant places and
environments
Y4, S7: Explain how
writers use figurative
and expressive language
to create images and
atmosphere
Y6, S7: Understand
underlying themes, causes
and points of view
Similes and
metaphors
To identify how
similes and
metaphors work in
a poem
En2 Reading
4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of
figurative language, vocabulary and patterns
of language
4f: consider poetic forms and their effects
4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud
Y6, S8: Compare how
writers from different
times and places present
experiences and use
languages.
Writer’s room
To write a poem
based on the
theme of ‘home’
To write proverbs
to match a poem
En3 Writing
1a: choose form and content to suit a
particular purpose
1b: broaden their vocabulary and use it in
inventive ways
1c: use language and style that are appropriate
to the reader
1e: use features of layout, presentation and
organisation effectively
Y6, S11: Express subtle
distinctions of meaning,
by constructing sentences
in varied ways
Use different narrative
techniques to engage and
entertain the reader
Drylands
To explore changes
in the Rendille way
of life
En3 Writing
1b: broaden their vocabulary and use it in
inventive ways
Geography
2g: decision-making skills
3a: to identify and describe what places are like
3b: the location of places and environments
they study and other significant places and
environments
3e: to identify how and why places change
4b: recognise some physical and human
processes
5a: recognise how people can improve the
environment or damage it, and how decisions
about places and environments affect the
future quality of people’s lives
PSHE
2a: to research, discuss and debate topical
issues, problems and events
14
Page title
Learning
objective
National Curriculum objectives
Primary National
Strategy objective
Achol and Her Wild
Mother Traditional
Dinka tale
To investigate the
effect of direct and
reported speech
En1 Speaking and listening
4a: create, adapt and sustain different roles,
individually and in groups
En2 Reading
4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of
figurative language, vocabulary and patterns
of language
4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud
PSHE
4c: to be aware of different types of
relationship, including marriage and those
between friends and families, and to develop
the skills to be effective in relationships
4d: to realise the nature and consequences
of racism, teasing, bullying and aggressive
behaviours, and how to respond to them and
ask for help
4e: to recognise and challenge stereotypes
4f: that differences and similarities between
people arise from a number of factors,
including cultural, ethnic, racial and religious
diversity, gender and disability
Y3, S3: Use the language
of possibility to
investigate and reflect
on feelings, behaviour or
relationships
Y5, S9: Vary the pace and
develop the viewpoint
through the use of direct
and reported speech,
portrayal of action and
selection of detail
Characters’
personalities
To make inferences
about a character’s
personality
En2 Reading
4g: express preferences and support their
views by reference to texts
Year 6 progression to Year
7: Read between the lines
and find evidence for their
interpretation
Rules for a fair
society
To develop own
rules for a fair
society
PSHE
1a: to talk and write about their opinions,
and explain their views, on issues that affect
themselves and society
2b: why and how rules and laws are made and
enforced, why different rules are needed in
different situations and how to take part in
making and changing rules
2d: that there are different kinds of
responsibilities, rights and duties at home, at
school and in the community, and that these
can sometimes conflict with each other
2g: what democracy is, and about the basic
institutions that support it locally and
nationally
The Other Side of
Truth by Beverley
Naidoo
To explore how
verb tenses affect
the reader’s
response to a text
En1 Speaking and listening
4c: use dramatic techniques to explore
characters and issues
En2 Reading
4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of
figurative language, vocabulary and patterns
of language
4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud
Y4, S9: Choose and
combine words, images
and other features for
particular effects
Y5, S7: Explore how
writers use language for
comic and dramatic effect
15
Page title
Learning
objective
National Curriculum objective
Primary National
Strategy objective
Repetition
To explore how
authors use
repetition in their
writing
Art and design
1b: question and make thoughtful
observations about starting points and select
ideas to use in their work
Design and technology
1d: communicate design ideas in different
ways as these develop, bearing in mind
aesthetic qualities, and the uses and purposes
for which the product is intended
Y5, S7: Explore how
writers use language for
comic and dramatic effect
Whose Footprints? A
myth from Ghana
To find different
ways to write
reporting classes
En2 Reading
6: to identify and comment on features of
English at word, sentence and text level, using
appropriate terminology
Art and design
1a: record from experience and imagination, to
select and record from first-hand observation
and to explore ideas for different purposes
1b: question and make thoughtful
observations about starting points and select
ideas to use in their work
2c: use a variety of methods and approaches to
communicate observations, ideas and feelings,
and to design and make images and artefacts
Design and technology
2a: select appropriate tools and techniques for
making their product
Geography
3d: to explain why places are like they are
Y3, S8: Empathise with
characters and debate
moral dilemmas portrayed
in texts
Y5, S6: Group and classify
words according to their
spelling patterns and their
meaning
Simple and
complex sentences
To think about
why authors use
both simple and
complex sentences
En2 Reading
6: to identify and comment on features of
English at word, sentence and text level, using
appropriate terminology
Y6, S7: Understand how
writers use different
structures to create
coherence and impact
Writer’s room
To make links
between a story
you have read
and your own
experiences
En3 Writing
1a: choose form and content to suit a
particular purpose
1b: broaden their vocabulary and use it in
inventive ways
1c: use language and style that are appropriate
to the reader
1e: use features of layout, presentation and
organisation effectively
Y3, S9: Use layout, format,
graphics and illustrations
for different purposes
Y4, S9: Choose and
combine words, images
and other features for
particular effects
Y5, S9: Experiment with
different narrative forms
and styles to write their
own stories
Y6, S7: Understand
underlying themes, causes
and points of view
Y6, S9: Use different
narrative techniques to
engage and entertain the
reader
16