West African Civilizations Golden Age

The lesson begins with an introduction of the Trans-Sahara Trade and the Golden Ages of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

Next, students complete a DBQ to gather specific evidence about those golden ages. The documents include one primary and three secondary sources that describe the civilization. There are also two extension documents (one primary and one secondary) for students that finish the documents early.

Finally, students gather three pieces of evidence from the documents to prove that the civilizations experienced a golden age. Students use that evidence to complete a creative free response from the perspective of a citizen from the time period.