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African Kingdoms! A Printable African History Unit Study for Kids

January 25, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

As we started studying history in our homeschool, I was disheartened to see how little information was available about Africa for elementary-aged children.

One of the programs we tried did not mention African kingdoms at all until fourth grade. Which meant that the first mention my children would get of African people at all would be in relation to slavery.

That was unacceptable to me.

So we set out on a multi-day African history unit study to discover some of the royal empires of Africa that existed long before the United States and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade ever existed. And, along the way, we learned so much that I wanted to share it with others.

Which is how this African Kingdoms printable unit study was born!

This unit, which is geared toward elementary students, is a great way to get to know some of the kingdoms and legendary rulers that reigned in Africa!

Read on to see how to pick up a copy for your kids! And be sure to check out our list of must-read black history books too!

African Kingdoms! – Printable African History Unit Study

This printable African history unit study is packed with over 60 pages of learning activities about seven African empires, including:

Egypt
Nubia
Ghana & Mali
Great Zimbabwe
Songhay
Asante
And the Zulu Empire

Each section of the unit includes an easy-to-read history of each empire. Kids will learn about how each empire began and how it grew.

In addition, students will learn about some of the important figures of each empire and their accomplishments.

At the end of each section is a review activity that gives kids a chance to recall what they’ve learned. There’s also a hands-on activity for each empire to bring learning to life!

At the end, kids can practice locating each empire on a map of Africa to discover where each was located.

This is a great way to add context to the trade practices of each empire, as well as important battles. A full answer key is also included!

Scroll down to get your copy of African Kingdoms! Printable African History Unit Study!

Check out these other history learning ideas for kids!

See more ways to learn about history on my Living History for Kids Pinterest board!

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To get your copy of African Kingdoms! Printable African History Unit Study, click the image or the link below to visit our Store!

>>> African Kingdoms – Printable African History Unit Study <<<

Nubian History for Kids

August 11, 2015 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to share a guest post over at To the Moon and Back about how we teach Nubian history for kids in our homeschool. So if you’re a history buff, read on to get a look at how we cover this subject with our children!

Today is also another edition of the Laugh and Learn linky! Check out our picks from last week’s party and read this week’s new parenting and homeschooling posts below!

Nubian History for Kids

As part of our 10 Days of African History series, we did an in-depth study of the ancient kingdom of Nubia. It’s interesting to me that there are so few children’s resources about Nubian history, but since I found lots of adult-oriented material, I just tweaked it for the kids. 🙂

To see more about how we covered Nubian history with our children, check out the guest post I wrote for The ABCs of Ancient History series at To the Moon and Back: “N is for Nubia“!

N is for Nubia – To the Moon and Back

And now it’s time for the linky!

Welcome to our 45th week of Laugh and Learn – Homeschool and Parenting Linkup!

Last week was our best linkup ever! Thanks for sharing 79 links with us.

Laugh and Learn – Homeschool and Parenting Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning.

Each and every week all of the hosts pick one favorite post to be featured on the next week’s linkup. All of your links will be shared on five blogs.

We are also sharing the top posts on Pinterest: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Tina

Tina lives abroad in Latin America with her husband and four children. Currently in Mexico, Tina is active in homeschool, travel, and her Bible ministry. She blogs about all of their adventures and more at Los Gringos Locos.
Find Tina at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
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Tsu

Selena

Selena is a writer and a homeschooling mom to four kids, including three with ADHD/SPD. Selena and her husband, Jay, are committed to teaching their children at home and loving every minute of it! You can read about the family’s homeschooling experiences at Look! We’re Learning, written by Selena!
Find Selena at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
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Sarah

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.
Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
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Haley

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help moms learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids and funny things that happen. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.
Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
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Lindsey

Lindsey is a passionate writer eager to touch the hearts and minds of homeschoolers and parents abroad. As a devoted mother to two, happy homeschooler, and scatterbrained housewife, she’s on a mission to find love and joy in “the simple life” and invites you to join her! Visit Lindsey at Nitty Gritty Homeschooling. Find Lindsey at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
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The Winners for the Week of August 10th:

CARDBOARD ARC DE TRIOMPHE

DIY FARM ANIMAL GAME

MINECRAFT UNIT STUDY

DISPLAY KIDS ARTWORK

KID MADE BANANA BURRITOS

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the post above by clicking on the image.
[bctt tweet=”Come share your favorite #parenting or #homeschooling post with us. #ihsnet #ibabloggers”]

Now give us your best posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

Great Zimbabwe Unit Study

October 17, 2013 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

As we started researching the history of African kingdoms, we found out so much about empires that we didn’t even know existed! Africa was home to many advanced civilizations that existed long before the modern Western world. In fact, some of the architectural accomplishments of these empires were so advanced that people didn’t even believe they were real!

That’s what we discovered as we started learning about the Great Zimbabwe empire. Find out more about this kingdom in our Great Zimbabwe unit study!

Study even more African kingdoms with our Ancient Nubia Unit Study or our Zulu Empire Unit!

Great Zimbabwe Unit Study

Where Was Great Zimbabwe?

Great Zimbabwe was the capital of the Zimbabwe Kingdom in the southern part of Africa. In fact, the capital’s ruins are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country of Zimbabwe. Speaking of Zimbabwe, do you know what that name means?

We didn’t. But we learned that there are two possible meanings for the name: Dzimba-dza-mabwe, which is Karanga for “large houses of stone”, or dzimba-hwe, which is Zezuru for “venerated houses”. The city itself was in existence for about 400 years, from the years 1100 to about 1500 C.E.

How Big was Great Zimbabwe?

One of the most interesting things we learned about Great Zimbabwe is that it was an African metropolis. At its height, the city encompassed 100 to 200 miles and was home to 10,000 to 20,000 people. Since the city’s revenue was based on trading gold, ivory, and cattle, most inhabitants were fairly wealthy.

You can get an idea of its scope by looking at the size of the Great Enclosure, which was the wall that surrounded most of the city:

Image c/o: Jens Klinzing

To see just how large these buildings were, look at the scale of the man in the picture walking inside the city:

Image c/o: David Holt London

Great Zimbabwe Architecture

Since Great Zimbabwe was the capital, it had the most magnificent architecture. What was especially fascinating to us was that the builders created the city without using mortar or mud. Instead, they heated the stones to break them into bricks and then placed them atop each other in a way that ensured they would stay up.

The fact that some of these structures are still standing today when they are literally made of stacks of rocks is incredible. In fact, some early historians were so impressed with the design of these buildings that they claimed Africans could not have built the structures and attempted to manufacture a fake history to back up their story. Despicable.

Image c/o: rosshuggett

Image c/o: Kay Adams

Naturally, we had to try our hand at the architecture of Great Zimbabwe. We broke out our play beach sand and attempted to recreate the Great Enclosure.

It’s harder than it looks. But it helps when you have lots of willing hands.

Not even close. I can’t imagine trying this by stacking enormous stone blocks on top of each other.

Books and Resources about Great Zimbabwe

These affiliate books and resources provide even more information about this incredible empire!

Wikipedia: Great Zimbabwe – Wikipedia’s page about Great Zimbabwe is very extensive, covering the entire dominant period of the Zimbabwe kingdom.

The BBC: The Story of Africa – Nice summary of the Great Zimbabwe capital and the efforts of some historians to deny that the city was of African origin.

UNESCO: Great Zimbabwe National Monument – Beautiful slideshow of pictures of the stone city.

Michigan State University: Exploring Africa – A complete lesson plan about the history of Africa during the Zimbabwe Kingdom

South African History Online: Great Zimbabwe – Basic facts about the Zimbabwe kingdom: trade system, size, and the history of the name.

PBS Nova: Mysteries of Great Zimbabwe – In-depth look at the discoveries made at Great Zimbabwe and the lengths one historian went to in an attempt to give credit for its architecture to non-Africans.

Black African empires by Joan Joseph (A First book)

African Beginnings

Zimbabwe (Enchantment of the World, Second)

Learn even more about Great Zimbabwe and other African empires in our African Kingdoms Printable Unit Study! Click the image or the link below to grab it from our Store!

>>> African Kingdoms Printable Unit Study <<<

This post is part of the Autumn 2013 Hopscotch from iHomeschool Network! Click below to see all of the Hopscotch posts from our fellow bloggers:

Ancient Nubia Unit Study for Kids

October 16, 2013 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

In many places, children learn very little about ancient African civilizations in elementary school. But there’s so much to discover about African empires! One of the first (and wealthiest) was Ancient Nubia. Help children discover this civilization with this Ancient Nubia unit study for kids!

Ancient Nubia is just one of the African empires we’ve studied over the years. Be sure to see our Zulu Empire Unit and our Ancient Egypt Unit also!

Ancient Nubia Unit Study for Kids

Where was Ancient Nubia?

Like most early civilizations in Africa, the kingdoms of Nubia were situated around water. In fact, the kingdom of Kush was located just down the Nile River from Egypt. We marked the location of the empire on our Africa map.

According to historians, the names Kush and Nubia can be used interchangeably, but most people still refer to the area as Nubia. While the name “Nubia” has come to be associated with dark skin or dark color, it actually means “Land of Gold”.

True to this name, Nubia’s revenue was largely based on its large reserves of gold. Eventually, Kush became so wealthy that it conquered Egypt for a time. Some ancient art shows images of traders from Kush bringing gold to Egypt for sale:

Image c/o: HistoryFiles.co.uk

We also learned that the Bible speaks about the ancient kingdom of Kush. Psalm 68:31 associates Kush with Egypt when it says, “Bronzeware things will come out of Egypt, Cush (Kush) itself will quickly stretch out its hand with gifts to God.” Along with gold, Kush was also rich in precious stones, which were also used heavily in trade. The Bible also supports this at Job 28:19 speaking of “the topaz of Cush (Kush)”.

Nubian Architecture

Like Egypt, Nubia’s architecture consisted largely of religious buildings. The people of Kush viewed the ruler as divine and they constructed pyramids to honor them. Some of these pyramids and ruins are still standing today:

Pyramids at Meroe

Image c/o: Retlaw Snellac

Ruins of the Western Defuffa Religious Building at Kerma

Image c/o: Retlaw Snellac

The Kush Empire and The Nile River

Kush’s location on the Nile River allowed the people to flourish, thanks to plentiful irrigation for farming. Some of the typical crops included sweet potatoes, beans, and onions. The people in the area were also surrounded by several kinds of animals, which lived in the area around the Nile.

To look at animal life along the Nile, we made a paper craft about Nile animals from the book History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations, Grades 1-3.

Roo decided to color his entire Nile River map magenta, which made it look quite…interesting.

After we colored our Nile River maps, we added a crocodile attached with a string of yarn so it could “swim” up and down the river.

And, of course, we had to try out some African-inspired headwraps!

Books and Resources about Ancient Nubia

PBS: Wonders of the African World – Lots of facts and history about ancient Nubia with photographs of the region’s ruins.

Ancient Africa for Kids – A kid-friendly summary of how the kingdom of Kush was established and how it thrived.

HistoryFiles: Kingdoms of East Africa – Timeline of Nubia’s development and growth with photos

Black African Empires (A First book) – This is an excellent book by Joan Joseph about many of the early African kingdoms. It’s hard to find on Amazon, but there are several copies available from AbeBooks.

History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations, Grades 1-3

African Beginnings

YouTube: Wonders of the African World – Episodes 1 & 2 “Black Kingdoms of the Nile”

For more about Ancient Nubia and other African empires, pick up a copy of African Kingdoms! A Printable Elementary Unit Study about Ancient Africa! Click the image or the link below to grab it from our Store!

>>> African Kingdoms Printable Unit Study <<<

This post is part of the Autumn 2013 Hopscotch from iHomeschool Network! Click below to see all of the Hopscotch posts from our fellow bloggers:

Ancient Egypt History for Kids

October 15, 2013 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Studying African history has always been important in our family. Over the years, many schoolbooks have omitted or glossed over ancient African kingdoms and we wanted to make sure that our children learn the truth about these civilizations, no matter what.

To start, we focused on the Ancient Egyptian civilization, which is world-famous as a kingdom that prized mathematics, law, agriculture, and writing – among other things. But many school lessons have presented a view of Ancient Egypt that is at odds with what historians have discovered, including what the Egyptians looked like, what they accomplished, and who ruled the kingdom over the years.

So we put together our own lesson about Ancient Egypt history for kids! Read on to learn more about this fascinating and accomplished civilization that you can share with your children!

If you love this unit, be sure to check out our list of must-read black history books for kids!

Ancient Egyptian Architecture

Egypt is probably the best known ancient African kingdom. The main reason for this is that there are so many archaeological sites that testify to what life was like in Ancient Egypt.

We looked at some images of Egyptian ruins to get an idea of the extraordinary accomplishments made in architecture, design, and mathematics by Egyptians. We looked particularly at the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Abu Simbel temples.

The Great Pyramid, for example, took over 20 years to complete. Its design is so mathematically precise that historians still cannot understand how the Egyptians built it. They even doubt that the same structure could be reproduced today.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Sphinx

Image c/o: Fred Hsu

The Temples at Abu Simbel

Image c/o: Dennis Jarvis

The kids made some miniature models of the Great Pyramid of Khufu out of paper. We got this activity from the book History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations.

To make the pyramids, we simply cut out the paper shapes and then colored them.

Then we folded them on the lines and added glue to make them stand up.

All finished!

As you can tell, this craft was a pretty big hit.

Hatshepsut, the Female Pharaoh

We also learned about the first female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut. Tigger, in particular, was interested to find out about her. We picked up the book African Princess: The Amazing Lives of Africa’s Royal Women and read about her life and reign.

She was truly an incredible woman and ruler. In many art pieces and statues, she is portrayed as a man with a beard. At the time, a female Pharaoh was unheard of and scholars think that the succeeding Pharaohs decided to show her as a man to hide her existence. But a few statues of her exist that show her as a woman.

This one is on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston:

Image c/o: Keith Schengili-Roberts

Hatshepsut was so revered as a Pharaoh that she was buried at her own temple at Deir el-Bahari:

Image c/o: Olaf Tausch

What Did Ancient Egyptians Look Like?

One of the things that has long irritated me about the images of ancient Egyptians in popular culture is that they are often portrayed as being very fair-skinned. I’ve personally seen a lot of children’s history resources use cartoons that show Egyptians as Caucasian people dressed in Middle Eastern attire.

To counter this view, we looked at some examples of ancient Egyptian art that clearly shows ancient Egyptians as brown-skinned people:

Image c/o: Angelfire.com/ky/southernrock

Image c/o: StewartSynopsis.com

We also learned that Egyptians were very fond of jewelry and that both men and women wore it regularly. Women typically wore lots of eye makeup, as well as elaborate collars such as this:

Image c/o: woodsboy2011

In fact, here’s a relief at the Hathor Temple showing the same kind of collar:

Image c/o: isawnyu

Where Was Ancient Egypt?

To give the kids a better idea of how the ancient kingdoms of Africa were situated, we decided to make a simple map of them. We purchased the Discover Africa notebooking set from Balancing Everything and used the blank Africa maps as the basis for our template. (It is a truly wonderful geography unit for all 54 countries on the African continent.)

We began by marking the area covered by Ancient Egypt and we’ll be filling in the map with the other kingdoms we feature.

If you’d like to check out the Discover Africa notebooking set, you can see it for yourself by visiting Balancing Everything or by clicking below:

Books and Resources about Ancient Egypt

Here are the books and resources we used for this lesson.

PBS: Wonders of the African World – This website is based on a PBS series from the 1990s written and narrated by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Sections cover Egypt, Nubia, and Swahili.