Trade routes throughout West Africa
I can describe the geography of West Africa and the Ghana Empire.
Trade routes throughout West Africa
I can describe the geography of West Africa and the Ghana Empire.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- West Africa is rich in gold deposits.
- The Sahel is an area between the Sahara Desert and the savannah.
- Important trade routes existed from North Africa through to the Far East.
- These trade routes also stretched across the Sahel.
- Powers like the Ghana Empire profited from these trade routes.
Keywords
Trade - trade means the exchange of goods
Empire - an empire is a group of territories ruled over by one person or group of people
Sahel - the Sahel is a dry region bordering the southern Sahara Desert
Common misconception
The Ghana Empire was located in the modern-day country of Ghana.
The Ghana Empire was located in the Sahel, north of the Niger River, which is nowhere near the modern-day country of Ghana.
To help you plan your year 7 history lesson on: Trade routes throughout West Africa, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 7 history lesson on: Trade routes throughout West Africa, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the Medieval West Africa: why was medieval Mali so successful? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
the exchange of goods
a group of territories ruled over by one person or group of people
a dry region bordering the southern Sahara Desert