Browse the links to explore materials that can support your teaching of African-related content. The links we have gathered can help you find African news sites, lesson plans, topic-specific resources, and more.

Getting Started

Teaching tips (for all grade levels)
Access multiple resources organized by grade level to help you get started teaching about Africa or to give you tips in how to do so thoughtfully.

Stereotypes and Myths

Africa: Entry Points for Teaching
Teaching about Africa in elementary schools

Publications for the classroom

Africa Access a website featuring teaching resources and Africa-related book titles for K-12 classrooms.

General Resources for Educators

H-Afrteach is a list-serve for educators and students to discuss teaching about Africa for all education levels.
Africa south of the Sahara is Stanford University’s internet directory for Africa-related links; search by country or topic.
Teaching About Human Rights in Africa is a presentation created for the 2013 African Studies Association Outreach Council’s teachers’ workshop.
Internationalizing Social Studies links to all African and Area Studies National Resource Centers in the U.S.
Teaching Tolerance a blog curated by the Southern Poverty Law Center “where educators who care about diversity, equity and justice can find news, suggestions, conversation and support.”

Lesson Plans

Exploring Africa! Michigan State University has created 20 modules in four units: -Why Study Africa? -Studying Africa through the Social Studies –Studying Africa through the Humanities –Regional Perspectives. The modules and learning activities are designed to align with Common Core Standards.
Oxfam Lesson plans and downloadable resources for teachers; particularly useful for educators seeking to explore issues of social justice around the world. Search by age group, topic, country, curriculum area, resource type.
Boston University Teaching Resources (Grades Pre-K to 12)
The New York Times has created lesson plans for teachers that are synchronized with articles, lesson materials, and vidoes. Use the search box to look for Africa-related lessons.
ERIC Virtual Library (Education Resources Information Center) Search this database for lesson plans and resource guides on topics of interest to you.
Africa: It’s Not a Country (early elementary grades)
PBS Africa : Teacher Tools K-12
National Geographic Society has a number of lesson plans about the various regions of the world separated by the 18 national social studies standards
React and Respond: The Phenomenon of Kony 2012 Includes teaching guide to Kony 2012 video
South Africa: Freedom in Our Lifetime: South Africa’s Struggle
Teach Africa: Lesson plans developed by teachers through a workshop at the University of Florida.

Links by Subject Area

Languages

African Languages, K-12 Resource Guide (University of Pennsylvania)
National African Language Resource Center
Ethnologue.com, Languages of Africa

Music

Afropop Worldwide

Social Studies

African History Sourcebook
Wonders of the African World (PBS)
Nubia Salvage Project
Meet the People of Kenya: From the cradle of mankind to the superheroes of today
Introduction to the Geography of Africa: A Lesson for Upper Elementary & Middle School Students
The Gold Road
Understanding the Horn of Africa

Literature

Teaching Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin

Science

Sounds of a Tropical Forest – Bioacoustics in Gabon

Africa-related TED Talks

Explore videos of inspiring, informative, thought-provoking lectures from TEDGlobal 2007, “Africa: The Next Chapter,” held in Arusha, Tanzania in July of 2007. These talks are more appropriate for secondary and post-secondary students.

Andrew Mwenda Takes a New Look at Africa
Journalist Andrew Mwenda argues that we need to look at Africa from a new lens, one that focuses on opportunities, rather than despair.

Chris Abani on the Stories of Africa (explicit language)
Nigerian author Chris Abani talks about the significance of stories for identity and for knowing who we are.

Emily Oster flips our thinking on AIDS in Africa
Find out how economist Emily Oster used statistics to discover that our beliefs about the spread of AIDS in Africa are completely wrong.

Zeresenay Alemseged looks for humanity’s roots
Paleoanthropologist discusses his search for humanity’s roots in the oldest humanoid skeleton, found in Ethiopia.

Joseph Lekuton tells a parable for Kenya
Kenyan Parliamentarian Joseph Lekuton shares a parable to communicate a hopeful message about Africa’s growth.

Franco Sacchi on Nollywood
Zambia-born filmmaker Franco Sacchi takes you on a tour of Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming film industry. The ingenuity required to film under certain conditions will impress you.

Erik Hersman on reporting crisis via texting
Learn about Ushahidi, the remarkable and innovative Kenyan technology that has enabled citizens from various parts of the world to report violence or crises using their cell phones.

Marisa Fick Jordan shares the wonder of Zulu wire art
Learn how one village of Zulu wire weavers created a worldwide market for their art

Chris Abani muses on humanity
Nigerian author Chris Abani shares stories to deliver his message about humanity and human dignity.

William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind
Hear from William Kamkwamba who, at age 14, living in extreme poverty, built a windmill in his Malawian village to power his family home.

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story
Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie warns against using a single story to understand a people or a place.

Magnus Larsson: Turning dunes into architecture
Architecture student Magnus Larsson shares his ideas about transforming the Sahara desert using bacteria and the sand.

Vusi Mahlasela’s Encore at TEDGlobal 2007

 

African News Sources

All Africa Global Media
Africa Focus Bulletin (combines allafrica, IRIN, human rights watch reports)
BBC News Africa
Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
Newspaper Index
Sunday Times (South Africa)
Mail & Guardian Online (South Africa)
Daily Monitor (Uganda)
ZWNews (Zimbabwe)
Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
The North Africa Journal
Joy Online (Ghana)

Film/Video Resources

Follow these links to explore and find Africa-related films that might be perfect for your classroom. Africa in the Rockies also maintains a library of films available free of charge to K-12 educators.
African Media Program Database (Michigan State University)
California Newsreel
Icarus Films
ArtMattan Productions

 

Print Resources

Africa Access Review Read reviews of Africa-related books to be sure you are bringing high quality publications into your classroom
Sankofa (Journal of African Children’s Lit)
AfricaBib Access 3 bibliographical databases to find periodical literature
Library of Congress Link to the LoC’s Africana Collection

Cool African Web sites

AfriGadget.com
Ushahidi.com
AfriGator.co