TEACHING ABOUT THE GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURES OF AFRICA IN THE MIDDLE GRADES

This workshop will help students understand that Africa is a continent made up of diverse languages and traditions.  Each nation in Africa has its own unique landscapes, wildlife, and history.  This multi-disciplinary and interactive workshop will provide an overview of Africa's geography regions, as well as the development, agriculture, and urbanization in selected African countries.  Using case studies of particular countries, participants will explore literature, picture books, maps, reading strategies, resources, and classroom ideas specifically for teaching about Africa. 

 

GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
This program will provide an overview of Africa’s geography regions, as well as the development, agriculture, and urbanization in selected African countries.

Objectives:

• Participants will explore multiple resources (maps, books) for use in their classrooms.
• Participants will explain how urbanization has affected different African countries.
• Participants will learn about the geography and regions in Africa and how to convey this information to students.

 

Michelle Leba is a geography teacher in Saint Paul at Washington Technology Magnet School. In November of 2009, she received the National Council for the Social Studies award for Outstanding Middle Level Social Studies Teacher of the Year. Read more about that award here. 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Cecil Keen is a Professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he directs the Weather Analysis Laboratory. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, known during that time as Rhodesia, he went to junior and high school in Zimbabwe and continued his education at universities in South Africa where he obtained his degrees in chemistry and physical geography and specializing in meteorology and climatology. He then attended the University of Wisconsin in the USA where his PhD research focused on air pollution and numerical modeling. After a brief stint as a TV weatherman, he returned to South Africa where he spent 10 years teaching at the University of Cape Town. He and his family returned to the USA in 1987.  Visit his web page here.

 

 

 

Helen Hazen is an environmental and medical geographer and a visiting Professor at Macalester College. Her courses at Macalester include Introductory Human Geography, Medical Geography, Regional Geography of Latin America, Regional Geography of Oceania, and Geography of Environmental Hazards. Visit her web page here. 

 

 

 

Dr. Bill Moseley is an environmental and development geographer with a particular interest in Third World environmental and agricultural issues. He teaches courses on environment and development, introductory human geography and the geography of Africa. Bill joined the Macalester faculty in the fall of 2002. Before arriving at Macalester, he taught courses at Northern Illinois University and the University of Georgia. He also was employed for ten years in the field of international development and environment as a project manager and policy analyst for organizations such as the Save the Children Fund (UK), the World Bank Environment Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Peace Corps. His research has focused on the political-economy of human-environment interactions in Africa, as well as conceptual and applied studies related to rural livelihood security. He has worked and conducted fieldwork in Mali, Niger, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Lesotho.   Visit his web page here.

Dr. David A. Lanegran received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and is currently the John S. Holl Professor of Geography and Department Chair of the Department of Geography at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Lanegran has served on the National Council for Geographic Education, and as the chair of the Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education since 1987. He was instrumental in writing the geography portions of the Minnesota Academic Standards. Dr. Lanegran has led more than ten professional development workshops with the Humanities Center and is one of the lead faculty for the Building America: Minnesota's Iron Range, U.S. Industrialization, and the Creation of a World Power week long workshop this summer. Visit his web page here.