Before
You Watch
Before viewing
the video programs for Workshop 5: Sub-Saharan Africa, please read
the National Geography Standards featured
in this workshop. You may read the standards here on the Web,
in your print guide, or in Geography
for Life. We encourage you to read Geography for Life
in its entirety as you move through the workshops. It contains
further background on the National Standards, numerous examples
and rich illustrations aiding interpretation, valuable tools for
strengthening and developing lessons, and additional insight on
geography's significance to our daily lives.
The National
Geography Standards highlighted in this workshop include Standards
9, 13, 15, and 16. As you read the standards, be thinking about
how they might apply in lessons you have taught.
Also, prior
to attending the workshop, you should explore the associated Key
Maps and Interactive Activities and read the Video Program Overviews
below, paying close attention to the Questions To Consider.
Video Program
Overviews: Sub-Saharan Africa
Part 1.
South Africa: This Land Is My Land
In 1994, after
the first democratic elections in South Africa, the government
began to redress issues of land ownership under apartheid. Previously,
South Africa's 90% black population was relegated to what were
known as "the homelands," a mere 15% of the available
land, often located in marginal, undesirable areas. Consequently,
black farmers struggled to survive on their meager harvests while
white farmers prospered. Today, black South Africans are very
excited about the prospect of land reform, but ultimately, they
will receive much less than what was lost at the time of their
removal to the homelands.
Geographer
Brent McCusker investigates the disparity in productivity between
the land operated by black and white farmers. We follow him as
he uses GIS-based field study and personal interviews to uncover
the comparative lack of resources and government support for black
farmers in South Africa. His research raises questions concerning
the relationship between geography and politics.
Following
commentary on regional and human geography, our classroom segment
features teacher Maureen Spaight using a role-playing activity
to help her students understand land allocation decisions.
Objectives
Participants
will be able to:
Featured
Educator
Ms. Maureen
Spaight, ninth-grade civics teacher, East Providence High School,
East Providence, Rhode Island.
Maureen Spaight has taught a variety of social studies subjects
but believes that geography is the integrating force behind all
of them. In 1998, she was named Rhode Island Teacher of the Year.
She traveled to Africa for research as a Fulbright scholar in
2001. For Teaching Geography, Maureen leads a role-playing
lesson on South Africa.
Part 2. Kenya: Understanding Sickness
This program
examines disease in Sub-Saharan Africa and how geography can play
a role in developing strategies to reduce loss of life. Our case
study takes us to Kenya, where malaria and river blindness have
always been a threat. But today, the HIV-AIDS pandemic is taking
a terrible toll on the Kenyan population with dire implications
for the future of that country's development.
We see how
geographer Veronica Ouma maps the patterns of disease diffusion
in order to understand the spread of HIV-AIDS infection. What
effect do access to resources, migration and settlement patterns,
and cultural practices have on the rate of infection? And how
do these factors affect attempts to reduce disease transmission?
Armed with
geographic data, geographer Ouma can begin to assess the impact
of location and other factors on the success or failure of strategies
aimed at disease control. The case study also investigates how
other countries in the region, such as Uganda, have responded
to the HIV-AIDS crisis, as well as the emerging role of the international
community.
Following
commentary by Gil Latz and Susan Hardwick, Jim Binko introduces
a teaching segment featuring Shirley Hutchins and her eighth-grade
class. Using a case study approach, Shirley's students demonstrate
their understanding of HIV-AIDS in Kenya through multiple methods
of analysis.
Objectives
Participants
will be able to:
Featured
Educator
Ms. Shirley
Hutchins, eighth-grade geography teacher, West Point Junior High
School, West Point, Mississippi
Shirley Hutchins has 13 years of teaching experience and a BS
in social science education from Jackson State University. She
is a member of the Mississippi Geography Alliance, the Mississippi
Association of Educators, and the Mississippi Social Studies Council
and a teacher consultant for the National Geographic Society.
In our program, she leads a lesson on HIV-AIDS diffusion in sub-Saharan
Africa.
