Resources for Teaching Africa

Global teachers see their students' eyes light up when they hear "Africa." Most teachers would love to include more about the cultures and history of the second-largest continent in their teaching. The challenge is, where can you find really worthwhile African resources for your classroom for free?

You'll find them at UNC-Chapel Hill's African Studies Center. The ASC offers teachers a wide range of free resources right on their website to enhance the teaching of Africa in K-12 classrooms.

Go to How Do We Represent Africa? to find photos to share and discuss in class. These images make clear the diversity of African life and are a great way to counter the simplistic views we get from TV and the movies. Then browse through teacher-created lesson plans, offering standards-based activities on Africa for many grade levels and subjects.

North Carolina teachers can borrow Africa-themed books for all levels through the lending library. The ASC even pays the postage both ways. The same arrangement works for borrowing films about Africa. Take a look at a Senegal culture kit and find out how you can request it free of charge as well. It's a great opportunity to bring items from daily life in West Africa into your classroom.

To stay updated about resources for teaching Africa, join the ASC Outreach listserv. And when you teach Africa with those great, free resources, let ASC know about it. They're always interested in hearing how they can support learning about Africa in the classroom.

And, as ever, let us know about it here, too!