Topic: Africa – forms of agriculture in the Sahel region

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XV Selected problems and geographical regions of Africa: the location of Africa and its impact on air circulation and distribution of atmospheric precipitation; climatic - vegetation and soil zone;

3) explains the relationship between natural conditions and the management options in the Sahel zone and the reasons for the desertification process.

General aim of education

The student will discuss the forms of management in the Sahel zone.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• you will determine the geographical location of the Sahel zone in Africa;

• read from the thematic maps the features of the natural environment in the Sahel zone;

• you explain the importance of water for farming in semi‑arid zones;

• provide examples of unfavorable agricultural impact on the natural environment in the Sahel zone.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Students get acquainted with the content of the abstract. They prepare to work on the lesson in such a way to be able to summarize the material read in their own words and solve the tasks themselves.

Introduction

• The teacher gives the topic of the lesson and informs about the goals of the lesson.

• The teacher asks the students the question: What do you think is the name Sahel? What do you associate with? It assigns 5 students to search the source for an explanation of the Sahel term. The rest of the class asks her to write her answers on the board in the form of a mental map. After completing the task, student‑students verify the mind map and explain their colleagues' doubts as much as possible. The teacher watches over the correctness of the information provided.

Realization

• The teacher launches a map of a manual from the Africa Sahel zone on a multimedia board.

• Students define the characteristics of the geographical location of this zone. The information is saved on the interactive board.

• Work in pairs. Students use climate maps and a diagram in the manual. Their task is to prepare for a joint analysis on the forum of data class on the climate zone, type of climate and its characteristic features. During the work of the whole class team are given, among others average annual air temperature and interpretation of the climatogram results in relation to rainfall during the year.

• Using brainstorming, students determine the impact of the climate on the natural environment, including on the river network and the plant and animal world. Record on an interactive mental map.

• Students, using geographical atlases, search for rivers in the Sahel zone. The person indicated by the teacher indicates the river on the map of Africa.

• Work in pairs. Using the political map of Africa, students search for countries within the Sahel.

• Work in groups. Using the source materials, including the textbook, the students develop the following issues:
  Group I - traditional forms of use of semi‑arid areas;
  Group II - desertification processes in the Sahel zone;
  Group III - features of countries in the Sahel zone
  Group IV - causes that affect the deterioration of the wild pasture area, and methods of prevention.

• Each group discusses their material in the class forum, uses the Africa map and online resources to visualize the content in question.

Summary

• Students exercise on an interactive whiteboard to summarize the lesson. Exercise No. 6 is for willing students because it goes beyond the base.

• The teacher evaluates students within one selected group. It takes into account the contribution and their possibilities. It also evaluates the work of other students.

Homework

• Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

• Make at home a note from the lesson using the sketchnoting method.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Africa – forms of agriculture in the Sahel region

South of the Sahara, there is a latitudinal belt of land, neither a desert, nor a typical savannah. Total annual precipitation in this area is between 200 and 500 mm, which, combined with very high air temperatures all year round, makes it possible only for various species of grasses, bushy shrubs and occasional trees to grow here. This temperate narrow strip of land stretching across Africa from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Ethiopian Highlands in the east is known as the Sahel. The term Sahel is derived from the Arabic language, in which it means 'shore, edge, borderland'. This name was first used to describe the semi‑arid region lying to the south of the Sahara in 1900. The Sahel is demarcated according to two annual isohyets (lines connecting points of equal total rainfall): 200 mm in the north and 500 mm in the south.

Below you can find a map showing the location of the Sahel region.

We will use the climate diagram for the Abéché station to describe the climate of the Sahel region.

The climate of the Sahel region is characterised by very high average yearly air temperature of 25°C to 30°C. Seasons in the Sahel are marked by rainfall. The rainy season is short, lasting only 2 or 3 months. The remaining part of the year is the hot dry season. The irregularity of rainfall is a characteristic feature of the Sahel’s climate. The amount of precipitation varies from year to year as well as across months within one year. Sometimes, there several years of relatively heavier rainfall are followed by a period of no rain at all. Another important characteristic of the local climate is the fact that in the dry season temperatures can drop by about 10°C at night. These aspects of the Sahel’s climate have impact on other elements of its natural environment, as they:

• shape the river network, affecting the discharge volume of rivers;

• hinder plant growth;

• affect the soils and fauna of the region.

Most rivers in the Sahel are ephemeral watercourses. This means that they fill with water when the rain comes, but disappear in the dry season, leaving only a dry valley behind. The only perennial rivers in the region are those that have their sources in areas characterised by a more humid climate. These are the Senegal River and the Niger River in the west and the middle section of the largest river of Africa – the Nile – in the east. Another important body of water in the Sahel is the ephemeral Lake Chad, located in the central part of the region. Its size varies from 26 thousand km² in the rainy season to just 7 thousand km² in the dry season. Large evaporation causes the surface area of Lake Chad to shrink and salt to precipitate from the water. These salt deposits are often extracted. All over the Sahel, there are many salty lakes and marshes that become alive with the coming of the rainy season.

The growth of vegetation in the Sahel is completely dependent on the distribution of rainfall across the year. Even though the Sahel is a very narrow strip of land, it has different vegetation in the north and in the south. In the north there are no trees at all, only patches of perennial grasses. In the south, however, vegetation forms a thick cover, with some acacia trees and gallery forests in dry beds of ephemeral rivers. The fauna of the region has adapted to the long dry season in various ways. Typical ungulates found in the Sahel, such as addax and oryx antelopes, are perfectly adapted to long periods of water scarcity. For example, as long as the grass is green, oryxes can survive up to a month without drinking. Other major groups of animals of the Sahel are rodents, such as gerbils or jerboas, as well as snakes, lizards and birds. Some rodent species store food in their burrows to get through a drought, or even hibernate through the dry season.

The Sahel is a dry region with low annual precipitation and high direct evaporation and plant transpiration. Lands in the Sahel are used for agriculture, but its ecosystem is extremely fragile and vulnerable to changes. Traditional animal herding according to the rhythm of rainfall and vegetation cycles are not what they used to be anymore. The population of the Sahel is constantly growing. Some social changes have come about as well.

The most primary factor that leads to the deterioration of wild pastures is irresponsible livestock herding, or overgrazing.

One of the key ways to improve the quality of life in the Sahel is to realise the full potential of the experiences, habits, traditions and customs of the local population. For many years now, attempts have been made to increase the reserves of water in semi‑arid areas. These efforts included digging high‑capacity deep wells. One of the primary objectives was to convince the nomads to take up a more sedentary lifestyle. However, during a dry spell too many animals would gather around such a well and feed on the surrounding vegetation until there was none left. In some cases they would even die of starvation despite water being readily available.