Students are introduced to the scope of North African cultures. Then they read and discuss contemporary life in North Africa. Next, students learn about the issues of children’s education in North Africa, including gender discrimination. Finally, students research children’s rights in one of the North African countries and write a letter in response.
Students are introduced to the focus of the experience—society and cultures in North Africa and challenges facing young people. They watch Destination: North Africa to gain an overview of the region, then post to a collaborative wall explaining what they would be most interested in seeing in North Africa and why.
Teacher MovesPresent the lesson overview and objectives. Facilitate discussion about students’ interests, prompting them to reference key geographic and cultural features such as deserts, cities, markets, and cultural sites. Encourage students to consult a map of North Africa to ground their ideas in regional geography.
Students read Contemporary Life in North Africa to learn about urban life, rural life, and gender issues in the region. As they read, they complete a graphic organizer with notes on these three aspects of contemporary life. Then they respond on a collaborative wall, identifying which issue they think is most important in contemporary life in North Africa and explaining why.
Teacher MovesMonitor students’ note-taking and check that they capture key details for each category in the organizer. Review and discuss student wall posts, probing for clear explanations. Guide students to recognize that what they see as most important often reflects their own values and priorities, and use this to deepen discussion of contemporary issues in North Africa.
Students examine explanatory text and statistics about gender discrimination and school enrollment in North Africa, including differences between rural and urban areas and between boys and girls. They also study a graph showing global patterns of children who are not in school. Using evidence from the statistics and the chart, they post to a collaborative wall explaining how school enrollment in North Africa reflects gender discrimination.
Teacher MovesHighlight and clarify key statistics and concepts related to gender discrimination and access to education. Select and share strong student responses to prompt whole-class discussion. Help students infer how poverty, social norms, and safety concerns limit girls’ education and future opportunities. Ask students to predict other groups of children who may be denied education (such as children with disabilities, certain religious or ethnic groups, or those in conflict zones) and use their ideas to broaden discussion of barriers to schooling in the region.
Students choose or are assigned one North African country (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, or Morocco and Western Sahara) and read about it on Humaniam to learn about children’s rights and challenges there. Imagining themselves as teenagers living in that country, they write a 100-word (or longer) email to a group of friends describing a major problem facing young people, proposing a solution, and suggesting ways to build popular support for change, using a tone that can convey their emotions about the issue.
Teacher MovesEnsure students access the appropriate country information and understand the children’s rights issues described. Support students in identifying a significant problem, articulating a realistic solution, and suggesting strategies for building support. Share exemplary emails (with permission) to model strong use of evidence, clear explanation, and persuasive, empathetic communication, and use them to spark class discussion about youth advocacy in North Africa.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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