Nigeria Lesson Plan

by Dr. Kay E. Weller - University of Northern Iowa

Contract Project for Grades 6-12

INQUIRY QUESTION:

Where is Nigeria and why does it matter?

OBJECTIVE:

The student will demonstrate knowledge about Nigeria by developing a contract project.

STANDARDS:

1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12,13, 14, 15, 16, 17

MATERIALS:

Achebe, Chinua,Things Fall Apart   (ISBN 0-385-47454-7) (should be available in most libraries). Others that you might find useful by the same author are: Anthills of the Savannah, Arrow of God, A Man of the People, No Longer at Ease

Computer mapping package

Atlases

Internet web sites

ACTIVITY:

Artists at Work: Students must choose at least one activity from this category.

• Draw a picture illustrating a typical market scene in Nigeria. 15 points possible
• Draw a picture illustrating a typical rural scene. 15 points possible.
• Make a model of a compound. 20 points possible
• Tie dye a garment or piece of cloth and explain the process to the class. 20 points possible
• Draw or paint a picture that illustrates wearing apparel in Nigeria. (You can tell a great deal about a person by their clothing in Nigeria.) 15 points possible
• Design a poster that tells about one of the following: food, landforms, clothing, natural resources, agricultural products, vegetation, shelter. 15 points possible
• Construct a poster of the Nigerian flag and in textual form explain what each color means. 10 points possible
• You are an illustrator of children’s books. Create an illustrated alphabet book about Nigeria for pre-K to kindergarten children. Use your imagination. You could use this as a gift for a younger brother or sister. 50 points possible
• Create a dot-to-dot map of Nigeria for a younger child. You must use 40-50 dots. Remember: Straight lines need fewer dots widely spaced and curved lines need more and closely spaced dots.

Creative Cartographers:

• Create a map, complete with legend and compass rose, of Nigeria showing the climates. 15 points possible.
• Create a map, complete with legend and compass rose, of Nigeria showing the major physical features/landforms. 15 points possible.
• Generate a map, complete with legend and compass rose, showing the location of current events in Nigeria (see Researchers at Work below) 15 points possible.
• Generate a map, complete with legend and compass rose, showing the size of Nigeria to the size of the US. (*remember they will have to be to the same scale) 30 points possible
• Generate a map, complete with legend and compass rose, showing the natural resources of Nigeria. 15 points possible.
• Generate a map, complete with legend and compass rose, of Africa. 20 points possible.
• Generate a map, complete with legend and compass rose, of major ethnic groups in Nigeria.
• Generate maps, of the same scale, of Nigeria, a regional map of Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska, and one of the United States. Write a paragraph explaining what you find in comparing the three maps. How does the size of Nigeria compare to that of the regional map? How does the size of Nigeria compare to the size of U.S.? 30 points possible.
• Draw a map of Nigeria (by hand) and create a word search/find puzzle based on words related to Nigeria. You must include a minimum of 12 words. Include the puzzle and puzzle key. 10 points possible.
• Research and generate, by computer or hand, a choropleth map of Africa showing the per capita GNP for each country. Explain the similarities and differences you find in relation to Nigeria in a 1 page paper.

Creative Minds:

• Read the book Things Fall Apart and make geography field notes. (If you choose this activity the instructor will provide the format for taking field notes.) 50 points possible. Generate a picture illustrating the book for an additional 10 points.
• Write a short skit (5-10 min.) about the life of a child in Nigeria who lives in a rural area. 20 points possible.
• Write a short skit about the life of a child in Nigeria who lives in an urban area. 20 points possible.
• Write and perform a poem or song about Nigeria. 20 points possible.
• Find a recipe for a typical Nigeria food and prepare some for your classmates to share in class. Hand in a copy of the recipe with final project. 15 points possible.
• Write a fictional story about a child/teen of one of the major ethnic groups. Illustrate with a map showing where this character lives. 25 points possible.
• Listen to music of Nigeria or West Africa and listen to American music. List the music listened to and list similarities and differences you hear in the music. Find pictures of Nigerian musical instruments and create a collage. (Copy pictures do NOT cut up valuable books and magazines because it could be expensive to pay for them.) 30 points possible.
• Find pictures of Nigerian art work and describe your impressions of it in a paragraph. In another paragraph discuss what the art work suggests about the culture of Nigeria. 15 points possible.

Researchers at Work:

• Research using the internet (instructor will select sites) and keep a journal of news about Nigeria for two weeks. Plot the location of current events (see Creative Cartographers above) on a map. 25 points possible, not including map.
• Research the status of religion in Nigeria and write an essay explaining what you learned about the topic. Explain how family values relate to religion in Nigeria. 25 points possible.
• Research what the natural rate of increase, the per capita GNP, infant mortality rate, literacy, is and compare these figures to Mexico, the US, Russia, and Greece. Write a 1-2 paper about what you learned. 20 points possible.
• Choose a topic from the following list and write a 3 to 5 page paper about it. The paper must have an thesis, evidence, and conclusion. 1) oil industry; 2) tin industry; 3) role of women; 4) health and disease in Nigeria; 5) education in Nigeria; 6) role of colonialism in Nigeria; 7) political issues in Nigeria; 8) government in Nigeria; 9) role of the family. 30 points possible. Map, complete with legend and compass rose, illustrating the paper add 15 points.
• Research the topic of the Biafran War and it’s effect on present day Nigeria. 30 points possible. Illustrate with a map, complete with compass rose and legend for an additional 10 points.
• Using aerial photography, satellite imagery, or other photos analyze and explain the landscape. 20 points possible.
• Explain how the physical environment affects the distribution of people in Nigeria. 20 points possible. Illustrate with a map, complete with compass rose and legend for an additional 15 points.
• Research and compare population trends in Nigeria with those of the U.S. and Mexico. Hypothesize why there are differences and support with evidence in a 3-5 page reaction paper. 30 points possible. Illustrate with a map, complete with legend and compass rose for an additional 15 points.
• Explain how the functions of cities in Nigeria differ from villages. 15 points possible.
• Research 3 of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria and compare and contrast them in a 3 page research paper. 15 points possible. Illustrate with a map for an additional 5 points possible.
• Research the population of Nigeria and the U. S. Generate a population pyramid showing the population of the two countries and write a paragraph explaining what you learned. 15 points possible.
• Generate a map showing the population density of Nigeria, and the population density of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Write a paragraph or more explaining what you learned from the maps. 20 points possible.
• Research disease in Nigeria. Generate a list of 5 diseases common to Nigeria and choose to write a 1-2 page essay about one of them. 15 points possible.
• Research and generate a list of products Nigeria exports to the US. 10 points possible. Generate a map, complete with compass rose and legend, showing where those products are found/produced in Nigeria for an additional 10 points possible.
• Research life in one of the following regions of Nigeria (desert region, rainforest region, plateau region) and write a paper explaining what you learned. 15 points possible. Generate a fiction story for a younger child, complete with illustrations, about someone living in the region you researched for an additional 25 points.

My Nigeria Contract

This unit centers on the study of Nigeria as representative of much of Africa. It is a country of many contrasts. Nigeria is important because by studying one county in depth you will learn much about all of Africa. You will find there many kinds of climates, vegetation, languages, religions, foods, clothing, dwellings, villages, and cities. Nigeria has important resources that are traded with the US. This contract is designed to help you discover some of the unique characteristics of Nigeria, some of its problems and generate solutions to them.

You will design/develop your own project with the consent of a parent or guardian and the instructor. It is your responsibility to choose activities that will give you the needed points to achieve the desired grade. You should note, however, that just because you do the work does not mean that you will receive full points. Quality of work is important in achieving the desired letter grade. You will list below the activities you have chosen and their possible points. You must select at least one activity from each of the four categories. After selecting the activities have your parent or guardian sign the contract and bring it to class on ________________. If your contract fulfills all requirements the instructor will sign it and return to you.

A=135-150

B=120-134

C=105-119

D or F not acceptable

I have chosen the following activities for my Nigeria project. It is my understanding that I may not receive all points possible for the work submitted.

Artists at Work:

Points possible Points received

1.

2.

3.

Creative Minds:

Points possible Points received

1.

2.

3.

Creative Cartographers:

Points possible Points received

1.

2.

3.

Researchers at Work:

Points possible Points received

1.

2.

3.

Total points possible ____________________.

Student signature ________________________

Parent or Guardian signature _____________________

Instructor signature ____________________________

Instructor comments:

Things Fall Apart   field notes

Pick out pithy passages from the book and make field notes. The field notes are to reflect higher order thinking and are NOT to be simply copied phrases. Instead look for passages that connect with the five themes of geography. Your field notes should reflect how geography affects the landscape, the characters, and develops the story line. The five themes of geography are location, place, human environmental interaction, movement, and region.

Use the following format:

Put your name at the top of each page and type notes or a special small notebook and hand write the notes.

09-23-99-01 (this is the first hypothetical entry). Give a short summary of what is happening and its relationship to geography.

09-23-99-02 (this is the second hypothetical entry). Give a short summary of what is happening and its relationship to geography.

09-23-99-03 (this is the third hypothetical entry). Give a short summary of sayings from the story and discuss within the context of the book/life what you learn about the life of people in Nigeria.

09-23-99-04 (this is the fourth hypothetical entry) Give a short summary of values in Nigeria and compare culture in the US (example the importance of fields and production).

Continue with these until the end of the book. You may have many one day and few another.