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          The Great R______ Valley is E______ Africa is a huge c________ in the earth's surface where you can find valley w________ more than a m______ high. This is one of the many breathtaking features of A____________, the world's s__________ largest continent after *A______. Africa is also home to tropical r____________________, grassy s______________, three d____________, and the *N______, the world's longest r________.

          If you travel *u__r__v__r on the *N______, you might eventually reach one of the mighty river's s____________, Lake V______________, the world's s__________ largest f__________________ lake. The Arabs knew L______ V______________, as Ukerewe, but when British explorer John Hanning Speke sighted it in 1858, he named it for Queen Victoria of *E____________. The lake, which is exceeded in size only by Lake Superior on the border of *C__________ and the United States, borders U__________, Tanzania and K________.

          The Nile River begins in the tall m________________ of East Africa, the highest of which, Mount K__________________, is a dormant v____________. Kilmanjaro is c________________ with s________ throughout the year due to its high *a_______________, despite being close to the e____________.

          Deserts comprise more than ____% of Africa. The S__________ is the world's l____________ desert, reaching eleven African nations including A____________, C______, T____________, L_________, N________, E________ and S________. Sahara is the A__________ word for d__________. Even d________ than the Sahara is the N________ Desert of southwest A__________. The Namib includes the arid nation of N____________., whose capital city is **W_____________. The K______________ is a c______, rocky d__________ centered in ***B______________.

          More than s____________ inches of rain falls in the l______, tropical r__________________ of Africa near the e____________. The rainforest is home to some of the world's most c_____________ and important v___________________. The r__________________ also provides o__________, which keeps the earth's t______________________ from rising.

          The rainforests are *s__________________ by the s______________, areas with tall g____________ with s________________ trees and b__________. The savanna is home large g____________ animals including e________________, tigers, l________, zebras, and g______________. Savanna land is excellent for g____________, but is not suited for f____________ because the t____________ is too t______.

          Between the desert and the savanna is a fragile strip of land known as the S_______. Sahel is and A_________ word for b_________, because it is the border to the d_________. The S________ and the K____________ Deserts creep one hundred m_________ closer to one another every year as the Sahel turns into d_________.

          There are many causes for the s________________ of the S________. Grazing a____________ have d________________ the v__________________. Additionally, the t________ and b__________ that have held the thin t____________ of the S________ in place have been cut for f______. The t____________ is blown away without the roots of the trees and buses to *h______ it in place. Africans have recently worked to *r____________ the desertification of the Sahal by restricting grazing and *p______________ vegetation.

*A higher order learning question. I will accept any reasonable answer.

**I DARE you no, I QUINTRIPLE DARE you to get this. Prove your brilliance to me and you will amaze me with your profundity.

***Okay, this is pretty easy if you completed the previous problem.

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*1. Africa land area is 11,608,156. The land area of the United States is 3,536,341. Compute the number of times America would fit into Africa.

2. Why is Mount Tanzania always covered with snow?

*3. What do you think caused the Great Rift Valley to form? (Work with me, I'd like to hear a colorful answer)

*4. Why are there many lakes along the Great Rift Valley? (Think for a minute and don't be afraid to ask the class to consider an unusual answer)

5. What is unique about each of the three African deserts. Your answer will include four sentences: a topic sentence followed by three sentences describing something unique about each desert.

*6. What might Palm Beach County, Florida be forced to do if global warming continued?

*7. Sahara and Sahel are Arabic words. Why is Arabic used to describe landforms far from the Arabian Peninsula?

*A higher order learning question. I will accept any reasonable answer.

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Fill in the Blanks
Use your study sheet to find the correct answers.

          The African people are a heterogeneous group of 3,000 e__________ groups speaking more than 800 l_____________________. The western concept of a *c____________ is alien to many Africans. Some i______________ better with members of their e__________ group than with the *c______________ of their nations. The borders of modern A____________ countries are often arbitrary lines drawn by E______________ colonists who had little understanding of tribalism in Africa. Africa's many ethnic c________________ can be attributed to the struggle of *t________________ versus *n____________________.

          Sudan has been fighting a *c________ war for many years. The A________ in n______________ Sudan control the g__________________. Amnesty International has charged the Muslim Arab S_____________ with "ethnic c________________" of the b_________ Christians and A______________ in s______________ Sudan. More than one m____________ Sudanese have lost their lives either in b__________ or from h__________ and d____________. Ethnic rivalries between the ethnic H________ and T________ in mountainous E______ Africa have claimed m______________ of lives and forced many people to leave their homes to become **r______________.

          Africa has no unifying language, r________________ faith, or culture, so the conflicts are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

          The M_________ are *s________ nomadic people who live in the f____________ of northeastern C________/Zaire. Their *tr____________nal way of life is t__________________ as r____+____ are built through the f__________. The g__________________ has tried to teach the M________ a more settled lifestyle, but most Mbuti have no interest in l____________ the f__________.

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*1. Why do you think many Africans identify more with their ethnic groups than their country? (Your answer should reflect what you know about African people, not how Europeans drew national boundaries.)

*2. Why does Africa have many ethnic rivalries? (I won't mind if you answer is wrong, but I want you to think. Don't be afraid to take a chance. I will mark your answer wrong if you have copied any of your response from the study sheet.)

*3. Amnesty International has charged Arabs in Sudan with "ethnic cleansing." Where else in current events or in history might this term be appropriate?

*4. What is the dictionary definition of animist?

*5. How would you solve the crisis in Sudan?

*6. Most people know little or nothing about the conflicts in Rwanda. Why do you think this is so?

*7. Why do you think it is necessary for many Africans to be multilingual?

*8. How might technology have a unifying effect on Africa? Is it possible for technology to end some of Africa's ethnic conflicts?

THE FOREST DWELLERS

*9. What do you think will happen to the Mbuti?

* A higher order learning question. I will accept any reasonable answer.

**The section "A Continent in Crisis" will help you answer this question.

 

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          Africa is facing many challenges. The c__n__in__n__'s many problems can be traced in part to e__________ conflicts, the subservient role of women in many African cultures, a devastating v________ and extreme proverty.

          E__________ rivalries and c________ wars have forced m______________ of Africans to f_______ their h________. Africa has more r______________ than any other continent. A lack of *f______ and *w________ have also plagued many African nations. World o__________________________ have attempted to help, but w____ and ethnic r________________ have often kept f______ from reaching *h__________ people. One of most noted African relief efforts occurred in 1985, when musical artists like Quincy Jones, Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson combines with many celebrities to produce a popular record called "We Are The World." The proceeds from that song were used to help *f______ people suffering from a drought in the East African nation of *E______________.

           The subservient role of women has also played a part in Africa's troubles. The literacy rate of w_________ is generally twenty or thirty percent lower than that of m____. Women in Africa's p____________ nations are also having more children than they can afford to f______. There are twelve African nations where an average women gives b________ to more than six children, but where the typical income is less than $1,000 per year. Those nations are N______r, M____I, Et____________, B____________ F______, C______o (Zaire), Bu________i, Z____b____, Er____________, Si________ L________, Ang______, L__b________ and M__z________________.

           The AIDS v_________ has become a p______________ in W______ and C____________ Africa. More than ____% of the world's A______ cases are s________ of the S__________ Desert. An estimated ________% of the *a________ population of Z______________ is said to have the v________.

           Many African nations are very poor and little *h______ is in sight. Several nations borrowed money from other nations and cannot a___________ to pay back their *l________. There is hope for Africa. Japan developed from a nation *d________________ to an economic giant. The United States also grew rapidly after the *C________ War in the middle of the nineteenth century. The future of A__________ seems bleak, but there is some hope from a promising *f__________.

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*1. Write a paragraph that offers your advice in solving some or all of Africa's problems. Your paragraph must have a topic sentence, two supporting sentences and a conclusion. Your conclusion must be different than your topic sentence.

THE BIG MAN

*2. Have Africa's "Big Men" generally been good leaders? Defend your answer.

*3. What traits do the "Big Men" of Africa have in common?

*4. What is the dictionary definitionary of buffoon?

*5. Why is it highly unlikely that a person like Jean-Bedel Bokass would never lead the United States?

*6. Why do you think Idi Amin forced Asians to leave Uganda in 1972?

*7. What is Idi Amin's religious faith? How did you form this conclusion? (Amin is either a Christian, a Muslim or an African tribalist. There are clues in the article to lead you to your conclusion.)

*8. Why did Mobutu quietly leave his nation instead of mounting a vigorous attack on rebel forces?

*A higher order learning question. Try your best, I will accept any reasonable answer.

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NIGERIA

          You can learn a lot about Africa by studying N____________, the continent's most p________________ nation. Nigeria's varied c____________ includes coastal s__________, tropical r______ forests, grassy s______________ and d__________ scrub. Nigeria's n____________ resources include o____ and n____________ gas, rich s______ and thick f____________.

          Nigeria's e__________ groups have been *f______________ one another for many y________. The I____ people of s________________ attempted to form the *i______p__________t nation of B__________ in 19____. Nigeria's H________ controlled g_________________ sent troops to quell the *r________________. More than one m____________ people died from f______________, starvation and d____________ during Nigeria's *c________ war.

     Nigeria tried to use its o____ wealth to develop the e____________. They b______________ from other nations in order to d____________ modern c__________ and attract b__________________ from around the w________. Unfortunately, oil p__________ dropped in the 19______ and N____________'s economy c____________. They were unable to pay back their l________, so other n____________ refused to do business in Nigeria. The many new r________ and b________________ went u__________ and quickly fell into d________________.

     The population of Nigeria's cities *sw__________ as young f____________ left their homes to find the f____________. When the e_____________ crashed, the erstwhile f____________ were left without j______ or h________. Nigeria's largest city, L________ include many h______________ people living in desperate p____________. Nigeria is putting its *h______ into a former m______________ leader who once v______________________ handed over power to c________________. Olusegun Obsanjo is a Y________ from s________________ Nigeria, but he is seen as a *u________________ force because he has support among northern Nigeria's H_________ people. Time will tell if O____________ is able to lead a nation with great **p____________ to **p__________________.

*A higher order learning question. I will accept any reasonable answer.

**I know what I was thinking of when I wrote this, but I like it when students come up with better answers.

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Answer in complete sentences
Use your study sheet to find the correct answers. 

NIGERIA

*1. What is a microcosm of your school? (Your answer must include a dictionary definition of definition of microcosm)

*2. Describe how Nigeria's varied environment would cause the Hausa to be different from the Yorba or the Ibo. (You may have to assume some information to answer this question).

*3. Detroit, Michigan's economy is similar to Nigeria's economy in the 1980s. What industry does Detroit depend on? (You can skip this question for homework and complete it in class, or you can look at clues that help to describe Detroit's economy. The clues are written backward.) egdod caitnop htuomylp yrucrem callidac elibomsdlo kciub relsyrhc drof telorvehc

*4. Nigeria might have survived the oil crisis by developing a diversified economy. Define a diversified economy and suggest other industries that Nigeria could have invested in. (You might need to find the dictionary definition of diverse or diversity to answer this question)

*5. The economy of Orlando, Florida is based on what industry?

*6. Why do many people believe Olusegun Obasanjo will be a good leader in Nigeria? (Your answer can reflect on Nigeria current political situation the past.)

*A higher order learning question. I will accept any reasonable answer.

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Name:	Date:
Africa Today Homework 5	Mr. Dowling's Electronic Passport

1. List Africa's ten largest nations in descending order.

2. List Africa's ten most populated nations in descending order.

*3. List Africa's ten most crowded nations in descending order.

*4. List Africa's nations where less than ten people per square mile live.

*5. What do the least crowded nations of Africa have in common?

*6. In descending order, list Africa's three richest and three poorest nations. Write a complete sentence that describes what factors you included when defining wealth and poverty.

*7. List eight African nations where the typical person is not expected to live to their forty-fifth birthday. What factors do you think lead to such a short lifespan?

8. List six African nations where Islam is most prevalent.

* 9. List seven African nations where Christianity is prevalent.

*10. Write a complete sentence that compares male and female literacy in Africa.

*11. Explain why the fertility of a nation effects the Annual Growth Rate.

*12. Why is Rwanda's growth rate so high?

*13. Based on what you've learned from the study guide, what nation would you most want to live in? Support your reasoning with at least two facts from the study sheet.

*14. Based on what you've learned from the study guide, what nation would you least want to live in? Support your reasoning with at least two facts from the study sheet.

*A higher order learning question. I will accept any reasonable answer.

**This may be difficult to do. Try your best. You don't have to agree with the position I've asked you to take.

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