Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Shahsevan

For Students 9th - 10th
In various parts of Iran live the remnants of several tribal groups called "Shahsevan," numbering perhaps 300,000 people. Most are now settled villagers or town dwellers who preserve little of their former tribal organization or pastoral...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Palestinians

For Students 9th - 10th
Palestinians inhabit an area east of the Mediterranean Sea and south of Lebanon. The Jordan River, Lakes Huleh and Tiberias, and the Dead Sea separate Palestine from Jordan. Christians refer to Palestine as "the Holy Land." Today...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Jews of Israel

For Students 9th - 10th
The state of Israel came into formal existence on 14 May 1948. The United States recognized the new state on the same day, and the Soviet Union followed on 18 May. On 15 May 1948 the new state was invaded by the armies of Egypt, Iraq,...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Gusii

For Students 9th - 10th
The Gusii are divided into seven clan clusters: Kitutu (Getutu), North Mugirango, South Mugirango, Majoge, Wanjare (Nchari), Bassi, and Nyaribari. Gusiiland is located in western Kenya, 50 kilometers east of Lake Victoria. Since...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Jews of Kurdistan

For Students 9th - 10th
Kurdish Jews, a largely rural people, have lived in the mountains and plains of Kurdistan since time immemorial. They have been geographically isolated throughout much of their history and are thought to have retained some old Jewish...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Mandaeans

For Students 9th - 10th
The Mandaeans are a group of people defined primarily by their religious affiliation, which differs from that of their mainly Muslim neighbors in Iran and Iraq. Today they live along the rivers and waterways of southern Iraq and...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Nyakyusa and Ngonde

For Students 9th - 10th
The Nyakyusa of southwestern Tanzania are known from missionary and traveler's records since the beginning of European contact with the East African interior in the 1870s. The Nyakyusa are especially noted for their system of "age...
Website
PBS

Pbs: The Churches of Lalibela

For Students 9th - 10th
In Lalibela, Ethiopia, you can see 11 churches excavated from solid rock, considered by some as one of the wonders of the world. Ethiopian legend connects these churches with King Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty and angelic intervention.
Lesson Plan
Peace Corps

Peace Corps: Day to Day Life in a Small African Village

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Give learners an opportunity to discover several aspects of day-to-day life in Tanzania through this lesson plan.
Website
PBS

Pbs: Ambush in Mogadishu

For Students 9th - 10th
Tells the story of the attack on US Rangers in 1993 in Mogadishu and traces our foreign policy in Somalia.
Handout
Travel Document Systems

Tds: Tanzania: Government

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about the government of Tanzania which has a National Assembly for the entire country and a House of Representatives for Zanzibar. You can also see a list of current government officials. Information is from the U.S. State Dept....
Website
Nations Online Project

Nations Online: Uganda

For Students 9th - 10th
Excellent online resource that provides a country profile of the Eastern African nation of Uganda, background overview, and numerous links to extensive information on the nation's culture, history, geography, economy, environment,...
Handout
Michigan State University

Michigan State University: Global Edge: South Sudan: Introduction

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover statistics, history, economy, culture, politics, and demographics for the country of South Sudan in Southeastern Asia.
Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Pre Colonial Africa, 1872

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of Africa showing the continent prior to the Berlin Conference of 1885, when the most powerful countries in Europe at the time convened to make their territorial claims on Africa and establish their colonial borders at the start of...
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: Maps Etc: Africa Before the Berlin Conference, 1882

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of Africa as it was known in 1882 before the Berlin Conference of 1885, when the most powerful countries in Europe at the time convened to make their territorial claims on Africa and establish their colonial borders at the start of...
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: Maps Etc: Africa Before the Berlin Conference, 1884

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an interesting map of Africa showing the continent before the Berlin Conference of 1885, when the most powerful countries in Europe at the time convened to make their territorial claims on Africa and establish their colonial...
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: Maps Etc: Sketch Map of Mid Century Africa, Circa 1850

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of Africa around the middle of the nineteenth century showing European interests on the continent prior to the Berlin Conference of 1885, which established their territorial claims. The majority of the continent was unexplored at...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Tropical Forest Foragers

For Students 9th - 10th
The term "tropical-forest foragers," or "pygmies," refers to ethno-linguistically diverse peoples distributed across the forested regions of Central Africa who are particularly short in stature and who traditionally have lived by...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Shilluk

For Students 9th - 10th
The Shilluk are the most northern Nilotic-speaking people in modern Africa. Shilluk country covers approximately 320 kilometers on the west bank of the White Nile. Most of Shilluk country is open savanna and free from the annual floods...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Pedi

For Students 9th - 10th
"Pedi," in its broadest sense, has been a cultural/linguistic term. It was previously used to describe the entire set of people speaking various dialects of the Sotho language who live in the northern Transvaal of South Africa. More...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Ndebele

For Students 9th - 10th
The people refer to themselves as "Amandebele," or "Ndzundza" or "Manala," denoting the two main tribal groupings. Early writers used the term "Transvaal Ndebele" to distinguish them from the Zimbabwean Ndebele. The majority of Ndebele...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Zulu

For Students 9th - 10th
This site focuses on the country of Zulu in South Africa. It includes location, population, history and cultural relations, Kinship and Sociopolitical Organization, and religion.
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Xhosa

For Students 9th - 10th
"Xhosa" is the generic name used for a number of related cultural groups in South Africa. Xhosa groups include the Mpondo, Bomvana, Bhaca, Thembu, Mpondomise, Xesibe, Mfengu, Hlubi, and the Xhosa proper. These Southern Nguni peoples, as...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Somalis

For Students 9th - 10th
The Muslim Somalis of the Horn of Africa speak the Somali language and live in the Somali Democratic Republic (Somalia). There are also substantial numbers of Somalis in neighboring countries: the southern half of Djibouti, the eastern...