Africa

The African kingdoms provide a fruitful unit of world study. The Oba’s of Benin and Eweka’s story are a popular choice. The kingdom of Benin began in the 900s when the Edo people settled in the rainforests of West Africa. By the 1400s they had created a wealthy kingdom. In this section you will find podcasts, articles and resources to help develop your knowledge to teach this world topic.

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  • A creative Egyptian project

    Article

    Ideally when teaching history, teachers will look to deliver projects that will engage and motivate, hopefully making the hard work of being creative stimulating and rewarding, based upon questioning, enquiry, investigation of sources and reaching conclusions grounded in the evidence.Ancient Egypt is one of those history topics which, because it...

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  • An Outline History of Benin for KS2

    Article

    This outline history of Benin gives a chronological picture of the history and society of Benin.  The period covered commences in the first millennium AD, or possibly earlier, and ends in the 1990s.  However, this document was written in response to the inclusion of Benin within the National Curriculum for...

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  • Ankhu and Nebu of Deir el Medina

    Article

    Perhaps the hardest skill to develop in history is a sense of period. What was it really like to live in Ancient Egypt? Who should we study? Or, in this case, which workers were typical? Were these craftsmen in Deir el Medina typical of all the workers in Egypt? Or...

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  • Benin: exploring an African empire at Key Stage 2

    Article

    Karin Doull reminds us of the value in studying Benin as a non-European study area and suggests how it might be approached, stressing the importance of placing it in context through comparison. The article addresses worthwhile aspects, key concepts and questions as well as furnishing some key information including extracts...

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  • Curriculum Planning: World Study

    Article

    ‘A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.' That's quite clear then - there's a choice between early Islam, Central America or...

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  • Curriculum Planning: which non-European society might we offer at school?

    Article

    A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - one study. chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300. That's quite clear then - there's a choice between early Islam, Central America or...

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  • Eweka's story: Benin and Big Picture History

    Article

    The prospect of teaching Benin as a non-European Study within the time frame 900-1300 AD is challenging! Traditional oral evidence  suggests that the critical event during this period in Benin's past was a transition from the Ogiso to the Eweka Dynasty, named after its first Oba, which resulted in it...

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  • Long ago or far away: the Global perspective

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Even an inclusive national history curriculum can make Britain (and Europe) appear as the lynchpin of world history. Without a coherent structure for global history, young people remain unaware that continents beyond Europe have histories of...

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  • Pull-out posters: Primary History 94

    Article

    Posters 1 and 2: The incredible Benin bronzes

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  • Representations of Empire: Learning through Objects

    Article

    Produced by the Northamptonshire Black History Association and originally published in 2008, this is one of a set of resources for schools offering a more inclusive map of the past that includes an appreciation of Black History within the local, national and global context. The resources provide a range of opportunities to promote diversity within the curriculum. Contents of...

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  • Scheme of Work: Exploring Benin’s Big Picture of the Past

    Article

    This unit provides children the opportunity to look at Benin, a non-European society which is very different from their own. Children should make links between Benin and a bigger picture of Africa's past as well as its changing relationship with Britain in order to consider the significance of the arrival...

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  • The Kingdom of Benin 1500-1750

    Podcast

    In this podcast Dr Toby Green of King's College London examines the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Benin.

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  • Trade and pilgrimage in the Abbasid Caliphate

    Article

    The Abbasid Caliphate stretched from North Africa across to Afghanistan and the North West Frontier. Within the caliphate there were movements of people, goods and ideas. The golden period of this early Islamic caliphate was around 900 AD. As the caliphs were building a major trading empire across the Middle...

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  • Why stop at the Tudors?

    Article

    When deciding to teach the topic of Benin to my Year 5 pupils I was somewhat daunted by the fact that I had never taught it before, and I was determined that it be a meaningful experience which benefited their narrative, chronological and historical skills-based understanding of the subject. I was...

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