New civilisations in the Sahel
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain why new civilisations, such as the Mali Empire, emerged across the Sahel.
Key learning points
- New civilisations grew up in the Sahel as the Ghana Empire declined and trade increased.
- Trade from new gold fields bypassed the Ghana Empire, which made other kingdoms in the region wealthy and powerful.
- The Mali Empire was one new civilisation which expanded.
- The rulers of Mali and the people who lived in cities were generally followers of Islam.
- The people who lived in the countryside generally retained their traditional religious practices.
Keywords
Empire - a group of territories ruled over by one person or group of people
Trade - exchange of goods
Mansa - the word used in the Mali Empire to refer to the king or emperor
Islam - the religion of Muslim people
Common misconception
All followers of the same religion practise their religion in the same way.
There are often large differences between followers of the same religion: people include elements of their own culture in their worship.
Teacher tip
Introduce the idea of interpretations by asking students what their opinions about different sports teams or music genres are. Students will undoubtedly have different opinions which they can argue over. Explain that this can be done with past events, too.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the Sahel?
Q2.How did the Carthaginian explorer Hanno first make contact with West Africa?
Q3.Which religion spread into Africa in the 7th century?
Q4.Which two of the following tribes acted as guides for travellers and traders journeying across the Sahara Desert?
Q5.Complete the sentence: the Ghana Empire was nicknamed 'the land of '.
Q6.Place these empires in chronological order.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is 'desertification'?
Q2.Match the group to their description.
a strict Islamic group
first great empire of West Africa
ruled by a sorcerer king
led by Sundiata Keita
Q3.What is the name given to the traditional belief system of people from West Africa?
Q4.Complete the sentence: Sundiata Keita was nicknamed the ' Prince'.
Q5.Match the keywords to the correct definition.
a group of territories ruled over by one person or group of people
exchange of goods
the word used in the Mali Empire to refer to the king or emperor
the religion of Muslim people
Q6.Which word best describes Ibn Battuta's reaction to seeing the Mansa taking part in non-Muslim rituals?
To help you plan your 7 history lesson on: New civilisations in the Sahel, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 history lesson on: New civilisations in the Sahel, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the Medieval West Africa: why was medieval Mali so successful? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.