Unit Topic or Theme: Africa
Grade: 5
Lesson Topic or Theme: Travel Through Africa. Introduction to Africa Activity.
Lesson Objectives: The student will be able to identity given African countries and describe a country of their choosing.
Instructional Technique: Website exploration and independent work. (This lesson can be adapted easily for group work).
Instructional Materials:

• Computers
• Blank white paper
• Pencils
• White board and markers

Theoretic Perspective: This information is important to learn because people need to have a basic geographic knowledge of the world as they will come into contact with people from other cultures. They may want to travel. Some students may even go on to work in a field that involves travelling to African countries for work or volunteer work.

Procedure:
A. Introductory Activity: As a class, make a web off all the countries in Africa that students can think of off the top of their heads. Tell students that we are beginning a unit on Africa and the first thing that we will do is pretend that we are going to travel throughout the continent.
B. Step-by-Step:

• Have each student grab a laptop or go to one of the computers.
• Hand out a blank sheet of white paper to each student. 
• Wait for each student to navigate to the first page of the website. 
• Explain that the students will make a chart of their travel through Africa using their blank piece of paper. Have the students write the words "first stop" at the top. Ask students to choose the country that they think fits the description. Whether they got it right or wrong, they will write the name of that country underneath "first stop" and draw a line to it. If it is wrong, they have to draw a line back up to "first stop," press the "go back" link, and try again. The next country they choose, they write in another spot under "first stop" and connect it with a line. They will connect all the countries they choose with lines that show their travel path. Explain that if the country is an African country, they circle it. If the country is not an African country, they must write down where the country is found. 
• Give the students time to go through the website. Encourage students to visit the links.
• Once students begin to finish, explain that they are to click through the website again, choosing one of the countries on the main travel route that they found interesting or want to learn more about. They will click on the external link on that page and write down three interesting facts they learned about that country on the back of their white paper.
• Then, once all students have completed this, they will find another student who chose a different country from them and will share what they found out with each other. Have pairs or trios as necessary.       
  

C. Closure: Bring students back together as a class and choose a few students to share what they learned about their countries. Explain that students will soon begin working on a project where they will be able to teach the class about a country in Africa of their choosing (whether it was the one they chose today or a different one) as we continue our journey through Africa.

D. Adaptations for Different Learners:
Some of the websites are very visual for students who process information better this way. Some are textual. A map of the world displayed in the class may also be referred to as the students work to give them a frame of reference. Prior knowledge is activated by the introductory activity. Missed information may be gained from discussion with other students. Students may work together if they choose, but separate papers must be turned in.

E. Homework:
The only homework required for this lesson is that students begin to think about which African country they would like to do their project on.

Evaluation:

A. How/when will you determine if you have met your objectives?
    - The student will be able to identify given African countries and describe a country of their choosing.
            - For this objective, students will have shown that they have identified a country as African or not on their chart. These will be collected. On this same paper, they would have described the country they choose. To recieve full credit, the student must have identified three facts about that country. The student will be further assessed as the unit goes on, culminating in the project.

B. Concerns or Questions: One concern is that some students will spend too much time exploring the external links. A way to combat this may be to set a timer of how much time they have to finish the website so they can keep track of their progress in regards to time.