West and Central Africa: Society and Culture


World Cultures Sub-Saharan Africa West and Central Africa: Society and Culture
Students explore the range of people and cultural traditions in West and Central Africa, including festivals, religious celebrations, treatment of death, and tourism. Students select a location and describe why they would want to visit it.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

1:1 Devices
Teacher Pack

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Here are the teacher pack items for West and Central Africa: Society and Culture:

Preview - Scene 1
Exploros Learnign Experience Scene Navigation


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Overview

In this experience, students explore the range of people and cultural traditions in West and Central Africa, including festivals, religious celebrations, treatment of death, and tourism. Students select a location and describe why they would want to visit it.

In Scene 2, students will work together in small groups, each group assigned one of eight different countries.

Objective:

  • Describe the varied cultures of West and Central Africa.


West and Central Africa includes more than twenty nations in a vast region. If you assume that the cultures and societies within that region are quite varied, you are correct! You will explore some of this variety in this experience.

Objective:

  • Describe the varied cultures of West and Central Africa.


photograph of women dancing in traditional clothing and face paint

Wodaabe Dance in Niger


To begin your exploration of the wide range of people and cultures of West and Central Africa, learn about one group of nomads, the Wodaabe. They have a weeklong ceremony called Gerewol. Read about it in the pictorial: The men competing for love in the deserts of Chad.


What were the most interesting things you saw in the photographs? What surprised you?

Post your answer

Discuss students’ responses. Lead a discussion on how the Wodaabes’ gender roles are reversed from what we generally expect, with the females choosing their mates from among the beautified males. Every culture has a standard of beauty that imposes itself on the life of the people. Discuss the positives and negatives of this.


Divide students into their small groups for the next scene. Assign each group one of the following countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, or Senegal.

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.


End of Preview
The Complete List of Learning Experiences in Sub-Saharan Africa Unit.
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