World History - What is Africa? *Interactive* PowerPoint

This PowerPoint is one of the most memorable lessons you will ever conduct in class. It introduces African history to students in a way that will make them fascinated by the topic. I included a 30 minute instructional video in which I explain in-depth how to pull this off in the classroom.

- It starts off with a warm-up and a guessing game that tests how stereotypical the image of "Africa" is in your student's minds. This part is VERY fun and the kids are surprised by how much they get wrong.

- It then leads into a very in-depth discussion of where our stereotypes about Africa come from, using cartoon footage from the 1950s as an example.

- It then leads into a discussion of the various African civilizations of the Post-Classical Era, with the highlight being a GIANT TALKING MANSA MUSA who pops up in your PowerPoint and starts giving you serious attitude. This part of the PowerPoint, while incredibly cheesy, is also HILARIOUS and kids will remember it for years. It does require a bit of a performance on your part.

- The lesson wraps up with the kids analyzing the TED Talk given by Chimamanda Adichie over the "danger of a single story."

Overall, this is a fantastic lesson that will have the kids laughing, questioning their preconceived notions about Africa, and getting interested in the African civilizations they need to know for the AP test.