Global Studies Packet
Ch. 11: West Africa
Name: _______________________________________
Due Date:_____________________________________
Vocabulary
Define the vocabulary words from page 147. For each term, draw a picture that represents it.
Term
CLASS WORK
Definition
Picture
PAGE 1
Vocabulary Review
Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.
sub-Saharan
Sahel
savanna
animism
rituals
invader
mosque
proverb
1. If you were visiting an Islamic country, you might visit a _________________________.
2. Traveling south across the Sahara, you would enter the _________________________.
3. Africa is divided into two major regions: North Africa and _________________________
Africa.
4. Nature is an important part of a set of religious beliefs called ____________________.
5. Practices in all religions include some types of ______________________________.
6. The most common environment or biome in Africa is _________________________ or
tropical grassland.
7. “A penny saved is a penny earned” is an example of a _________________________.
8. An _________________________ brings death and destruction to an ares.
CLASS WORK
PAGE 2
Countries of West Africa
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Cote d’Ivoire
CLASS WORK
Liberia
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Mali
Mauritania
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Togo
PAGE 3
Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa
Use the map on page 149 to match each of the statements with the correct kingdom. Refer to
your map on page 3 of the packet for help with the last two items.
G = Ghana
M = Mali
S = Songhai
A = All 3 Kingdoms
_______1. This was the earliest kingdom.
_______2. This was the most recent kingdom.
_______3. This kingdom stretched furthest east.
_______4. This kingdom stretched furthest west.
_______5. This kingdom stretched furthest north.
_______6. This kingdom stretched furthest south.
_______7. This kingdom was located along the Niger River.
_______8. This kingdom had access to the coast.
_______9. This kingdom included parts of what is today the country of Mali.
_______10. This kingdom included parts of what today is Niger.
The Kingdom of Ghana
Use page 150 to fill in the blanks.
Around __________________, a kingdom of Ghana was formed in West Africa between the
Niger River and the _____________________. Later, the _______________________ people
took power around A.D 700. These people had two important metals. One was ____________,
which helped them make weapons that abled them to conquer other groups. The other was
____________, which helped them grow wealthy. Traders came from the north on camels.
They brought _____________ to exchange for gold. They also brought a new religion,
________________. Many of the people of Ghana became ___________________, believers of
this faith.
CLASS WORK
PAGE 4
The Kingdoms of Mali and Songhai
Use page 151 to answer these questions.
1. When did Ghana fall to invaders?
2. What was the name of the new kingdom that took Ghana’s place?
3. What was the capital of this kingdom?
4. What did the capital become famous as?
5. What rival nation toppled the Malinke of Mali?
6. How long did this new kingdom last?
7. Which religion became common in West Africa?
8. Which place of worship is common in West Africa?
9. Which language do many people in West African speak?
10. What type of clothing is worn in West Africa?
CLASS WORK
PAGE 5
Mansa Musa
Use this reading to answer the questions on the following page.
Mansa Musa captured the attention of the Arab world when he left his home in the West African
kingdom of Mali to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. Unlike his grandfather Sundiata,
Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim. Islamic law requires that all faithful Muslims make a hajj, or
holy visit, to the city on the Arabian Peninsula where the faith was started.
Mansa Musa was a very rich king. He was said to have taken more than 500 people with him on
the hajj, each carrying a staff of solid gold. When Mansa Musa passed through Cairo, legends
say he gave away so much gold that the price of it fell and the economy was affected for more
than twenty years. The appearance of a wealthy king from a faraway land made a deep
impression on the people he encountered, causing Mali to appear on maps throughout the
Middle East and Europe. Sub-Saharan Africa became well known north of the Sahara Desert for
the first time.
The kingdom of Mali eventually weakened and the neighboring kingdom of Songhai developed
into the last black empire of pre-colonial West Africa. Songhai was destroyed after a bloody war
with Morocco. Morocco’s sultan wanted West African gold, so in 1590, he sent an army of 3000
men south across the Sahara Desert. The spears and lances of the Songhai warriors were no
match for the cannons and muskets of the Moroccan army, but the fighting continued long after
the Songhai government had been destroyed. After ten years, the Sultan lost interest and
abandoned his army in Songhai. The Moroccan soldiers were either killed or absorbed into the
local population. The Moroccan invasion destroyed Songhai, and with it the trade routes that had
brought prosperity to the region for hundreds of years.
Mansa Musa
CLASS WORK
PAGE 6
Mansa Musa
Use the reading to answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. Describe Mansa Musa. (Who was he? Where was he from? When did he live? What is he
most known for?)
2. Describe Mansa Musa’s trip. (Where did he go? Why did he go there? What did he bring with
him? What impression did he make on those he met?)
3. Describe how Songhai, the last blank empire of West Africa was destroyed. (Who invaded
them? Why were they invaded? What weapons did the invaders have? How did the invasion
end?)
CLASS WORK
PAGE 7
The Slave Trade
Use page 152 to answer these questions.
1. Why did Europeans bring enslaved people from Africa to the Americas?
2. How did white slave traders get the Africans who were enslaved?
3. How many Africans were sold into slavery in America?
4. How many Africans died on the way over?
5. In what ways did the slave trade damage Africa?




6. Which nations did former enslaved people who returned to Africa found?


CLASS WORK
PAGE 8
Chapter 11 Review
Complete the chapter review activities on pages 158 to 159. Write out all answers fully!
Vocabulary Review (Include the term and the definition!)
1. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Quiz (Answer in complete sentences. Include the question in your answer.)
1. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
HOMEWORK
PAGE 9
2. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Timbuktu
HOMEWORK
PAGE 10
Textbook Questions
A Look at Sub-Saharan Africa (p 148)
Match each item with the correct description.
______1. Sahara
A. tall grasslands dotted with trees
______2. sub-Saharan Africa
B. large, southern part of Africa
______3. Sahel
C. to create farmland or grazing land
______4. savanna
D. world’s largest desert
______5. West, Central, East & Southern
E. hot, moist areas covered in rain forest
______6. climate & environment near coast
F. regions of sub-Saharan Africa
______7. why rain forest burned
G. area along the southern edge of the
Sahara
Modern Nigeria (pp 153-154)
Fill in the blanks using information from the text.
1. There are more than
ethnic groups in Nigeria, but the main ones are the
and
who live in the north and practice
and the
and
who
live in the south.
2. Nigeria was colonized by the
speak
and over time, many Nigerians began to
and practice
3. A few years after Nigeria became independent, the
.
who
controlled most of the business, tried to break away from Nigeria and formed a country
called
. After three years of fighting, about ____________________
Ibo died and they were forced to rejoin Nigeria.
4. Today, Nigeria makes a lot of money from the sale of
mixed blessing. In the 1980s, oil prices
HOMEWORK
, but this is a
, which hurt all of Nigeria.
PAGE 11
Traditions of West Africa (p 155)
1. How do people in West Africa feel about their own ethnic group?
2. Describe clans in West Africa.
3. What are the two uses for the “talking drums” of the Ewe of Ghana?
West African Folk Tales (p 156)
1. What are proverbs?
2. Describe the “praise songs” of the Yoruba.
3. Why does African storytelling go back to the days of the ancient kingdoms?
An African griot, or storyteller.
HOMEWORK
PAGE 12
HOMEWORK
PAGE 13
Ch. 11 Study Guide
Each Friday, we will have a quiz on the week’s packet. The most important things to
know are on this study guide.
1. Vocabulary
a. define the terms
b. use them in sentences
c. give examples
2. Countries of West Africa
a. match countries with their locations (a practice powerpoint is on Mr.
Nolen’s website)
3. Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa
a. identify names of the kingdoms, famous trade items, commonly practiced
religion, and the name of the famous city (and what it was known for)
4. Mansa Musa
a. describe Mansa Musa and his famous journey
5. The Slave Trade
a. identify why Europeans wanted African slaves
b. describe how Europeans got African slaves
c. identify which West African countries were founded by former slaves
STUDY GUIDE
PAGE 14