Trekking to Timbuktu: The Geography of Mali —Teacher Version

Lesson One of Curriculum Unit:
Trekking to Timbuktu

Introduction:

In this lesson, students will learn about the geography of Mali.

Guiding Questions:

What are the major geographical features of Mali?

In what part of Mali is Timbuktu?

What's the local weather?

What critical roles has the Niger River played in the lives of the people of Mali?

How much have conditions changed?

Learning Objectives:

• Locate Mali on a world map
• Describe the landscape and climate of Mali
• Locate the city of Timbuktu and describe the local weather
• Indicate the route of the Niger River and discuss the river's economic significance
• Compare life along the Niger in ancient times to that of today

Preparing to Teach This Lesson:

Become familiar with the lesson plan and bookmark important websites. You might wish to download and duplicate the map of North Africa available at Outline maps: available through EDSITEment-reviewed resource Internet Public Library.

Suggested Activities:

1. Finding Mali on the Map

2. Mali's Landscape and Climate

3. The Niger River

1. Finding Mali on the Map

• Access Map of Africa: This is a satellite map. Notice how the Sahara Desert (the tan area) covers the entire northern part of Africa, with the exception of a few coastal areas. Look at the western bulge of the continent. The parts of this bulge that lie along the edge of the desert and south of it make up a region known as West Africa.
• Now go to the Africa Map. (The city's name is often spelled in the French manner - Tombouktou. This is because Mali was once a part of French West Africa.)
• Go to Map of Africa: This is a political map. Have the students point out Mali. Then have them locate each of the other modern countries of West Africa: Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin.
• Go to Map of Africa available through EDSITEment-reviewed resource Labyrinth. Have the students find Mali and Timbuktu. What is the capital of modern Mali? (Bamako)

2. Mali's Landscape and Climate

• Go to Mali: Geography and History: Have the students read the first paragraph and then find Timbuktu (Tombouktou) on the map. How wide is the sahel? What are the three distinct geographical regions of Mali? (The desert, a semi-arid strip of land, and a more moderate region receiving plentiful rainfall)
• Now go to the Clickable Map of Africa: available through EDSITEment-reviewed resource African Studies WWW . Click on the section containing Mali and Niger. What is the difference between the sahel and the savanna?
• Return to Map of Africa:. Find the equator. Now find the lines of latitude known as the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Which is closest to Mali? The area lying between these lines is known as the tropics.
  
  
• Access Temperature in Timbuktu: What is the average daytime temperature in Timbuktu at this time of year? Would the temperature vary very much from month to month? (Rather than the four seasons enjoyed at other latitudes, equatorial locations generally remain at the same temperature year round.)

3. The Niger River

• Access the Niger River Basin Map. Follow the river from its source in Guinea to where it loops southeastward (just beyond Timbuktu), then on to its mouth in Nigeria. What countries does it flow through?
• Go to the map of Mali available through EDSITEment-reviewed resource African Studies WWW . Locate Timbuktu. Do you see the lakes? (Lac is the French word for "lake.") How can there be lakes in such an arid land? (They could be filled by underground springs. But in this case, they simply fill up once a year from the overflow when the Niger floods its banks.)
• Return to Mali: Geography and History. Have the students read paragraphs 3 and 4. In what three ways has the Niger River been the source of subsistence for local inhabitants? How often does the river flood? In earlier times, what major products were transported along the river? View the fishermen on the river: photographed by Lucy Johnson. Piroques like these have been used for fishing and transportation along the Niger since ancient times.

• Access Landscapes. Have the students read the first paragraph. During what time of year is the annual flooding? About how much land is covered? You can view a photo of the floodplain at Inland Niger Delta Landscape: available through African Studies WWW . View the close-up map of the delta and floodplain at Inland Niger Delta. Notice that Timbuktu lies in the Sahara Desert, a few miles inland from the river.
• Go to Wonders: Niger River. Have the students read the second paragraph. What four food economies thrive in the region of the inland delta?
• Read some first-hand accounts of life along the river by accessing The Niger River available through EDSITEment-reviewed resource African Studies WWW. What uses of the Niger did you find that hasn't been mentioned before? (Washing and doing laundry.) After reading the text, click on "the cattle crossing festival" and a fisherman's tale". In what ways does life along the river continue much as it did centuries ago?

Assessment:

• Hand out copies of the map of North Africa found at Outline maps: Have the students indicate with colored markers the Sahara Desert, the sahel, and the savanna. Then have them label the following: Niger River, inland delta of the Niger, modern-day Mali, Guinea, Niger, Benin, Nigeria, and the city of Timbuktu.
• As a follow-up activity, instruct the students to write a short essay about the Niger River. Preliminary to this activity, explain that a Greek historian (Herodotus) once described ancient Egypt as "the gift of the Nile" After discussing the meaning of this quotation, have the students think about ways in which Mali might be considered "the gift of the Niger."

Next lesson

Return to Curriculum Unit: Trekking to Timbuktu

Selected EDSITEment Websites

• Inland Niger Delta Landscape:
  [http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~anth/arch/mali-interactive/pictures/plains.jpg]
• Mali
  [http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/CIA_Maps/Mali_19856.gif]
• The Niger River:
  [http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/explore/journey/mali/niger.htm]

• Outline maps:
  [http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.southernct.edu%2F%7Elukinbea%2Foutline.html]

• enluminures
  [http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/images/jpeg/i8_0000m.jpg]

• Map of Africa:
  [http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/index.html?id=362&size=medium&left=-39&bottom=-34.6&right=72.8&top=38.2&point=x16.9,x1.8&text=Africa]
• Map of Africa:
  [http://www.library.northwestern.edu/africana/map/]