The Silent Gold and Salt Trade

Miss Erin Tansey

Thursday April 3, 2014
6
th
Grade Social Studies
Lesson Duration: 45 minutes

Enduring Understandings
- A need exists for trade among nations for the goods and services as well as the resources
needed to survive and grow.
- The development of trade routes in Western Africa contributed to the rise of powerful city-
states and kingdoms.

Essential Questions
- Why would the Wangarans and people of Northern Africa go through so much trouble to
acquire gold and salt?
- What impact did the silent salt and gold trade have on the development of the kingdom of
Ghana?

Standards
NJ
- 6.2.8.B.4.b: Assess how maritime and overland trade routes (i.e., the African caravan and
Silk Road) impacted urbanization, transportation, communication, and the development of
international trade centers.
- 6.2.8.C.4.d: Analyze the relationship between trade routes and the development of powerful
city-states and kingdoms in Africa.
Common Core
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs,
photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.


Objective Assessment
SWBAT reflect on the role that silent trading
(dumb bartering) played in the development of
Western African kingdoms.
- Informal critical thinking questions at
end of activity
- Reflective writing piece on Friday
addressing the roles and responsibilities
of each player, including how they
worked together to develop the
kingdom of Ghana.

Materials
- TCi Empires and Kingdoms of Sub-Saharan Africa for summary of activity and steps
- Role sheets: Wangarans, North Africans, Soninke; Wangaran and North Africans role
sheets have gold/salt tokens attached
- Projector and PowerPoint recapping yesterdays discussion on gold/salt trade
- Card labeling physical features of Africa for areas of the classroom
- Tape to mark the Niger River outline on the ground

Pre-lesson assignments and prior knowledge
- The previous class was devoted to synthesizing information from various maps and sources.
Students were read aloud passages describing where many people estimated the secret gold
mines of Wangara were located. They had to use the context clues of the passage to locate
the general area of the mines using the locations of Bam Buk and Bure on their own map, in
addition to the various rivers in the area, to pinpoint the location. In addition, they used a
trade routes map to transfer the location of the salt mines onto their own map. The passage
briefly touched upon the concept of dumb bartering, describing how groups of traders
would not speak. Drums would announce their trade, and they would go back and forth until
an agreement was reached. Therefore, they were recently exposed to the various resources
involved in the trade and their location, just not the actual detailed process of silent trading
itself and how it lead to the wealth in the kingdom of Ghana.
- Students also recently finished a two-day mini unit on African geography. They had to
locate and label certain landforms on their maps, and therefore, they should recognize
several of the physical features in todays lesson (Atlas Mountains, Niger River, Sahara
Desert). The spatial rearrangement of the room will help to emphasize the locations of these
features.

Lesson beginning
- As students enter the room, they will be randomly handed a role card: Wangaran, North
African, Soninke Warrior, Soninke Monarch. The monarch has been pre-picked. Each role
card has descriptions of their role as well as directions for the activity. The room will be set
up to reflect the geography of Africa. North Africans will sit behind a row of desks labeled
Atlas Mountains. The Sahara Desert will divide the Atlas Mountains from the Soninke
Monarch and Warriors in Ghana. Then, the Niger River (tape on the floor) will divide the
Soninke warriors from a forest protecting the Wangarans. The Wangarans and North
Africans will be in opposite corners of the room.
- Once students have settled in their assigned area, the teacher will recap what they briefly
discussed yesterday about the silent gold and salt trade by reading the historical background
found in TCi: Empires and Kingdoms of Sub-Saharan Africa pg. 34.

Instructional Plan
- In this experiential exercise, students recreate 10
th
century silent trading of fold for salt to
understand how powerful trading empires emerged in West Africa. Students will be assigned
the roles of North Africans, the Soninke of Ghana, and Wangarans from the western Sudan.
The North Africans and Wangarans conduct silent trade, with the Soninke acting as brokers.
As the activity unfolds, the power of the Soninke becomes apparent as they control trade and
acquire a tax on gold and salt for each transaction.
- Explain to students that 1/3 of the class is North Africans, each with 4 tokens of salt on their
role card. 1/3 of the class is Wangarans, each with 4 tokens of salt on their role card. 1/3 of
the class are Soninke, each with 0 tokens. They will use their geographic location and
military power to obtain gold and salt.
- Explain to students that the goal of each of the groups is to obtain the most pairs of gold and
salt tokens through silent trade. Therefore, North Africans must be willing to trade some of
their salt for gold; Wangarans must be prepared to trade some of their gold for salt; and the
Soninke must be ready to tax both groups to profit themselves (For example: a group that
obtains 15 salt tokens and 2 gold tokens would loose to a group that has 3 salt tokens and 3
gold tokens)
- When ready, the teacher will project the steps step-by-step on the board for the activity (start
with just step 1 and reveal the rest one at a time):
o Step 1: North Africans send a salt caravan to Ghana
o Step 2: North Africans place trade tokens on the banks of the Niger River
o Step 3: North Africans retreat three steps into the Sahara Desert
o Step 4: Wangarans sail down the Niger River to Ghana
o Step 5: Wangarans examine the North African salt trade proposal
o Step 6: Wangarans place the gold tokens they want to trade alongside North African
salt.
o Step 7: North Africans react to the trade proposal of the Wangarans
- Students have specific directions for their group during each of these steps. The teacher will
act as facilitator, indicating when students may begin their movement, how many group
members are needed for each step, and what might be happening around them (ex: weather,
misfortune, acceptance of trade, etc.) See the attached role sheets for the specific steps for
each group.
- Differentiation: Because the activity is a hands-on simulation, it is appropriate for all styles
and types of learning. Because students were assigned randomly, the teacher will group
them in smaller groups within their category to complete the trade to try and mix the levels
of students so that fast learners can assist peers who might need more clarification in the
directions. The monarch has been pre-picked ahead of time and was picked based on a
student who might present behavioral problems, but who does very well dealing with
responsibilities and who possesses many leadership qualities.
- Questions during and after the simulation:
o Analyze the impact the monarch had on the actual trading process.
o How did it feel to be a monarch, warrior, Wangaran or North African? How would
you feel if roles were switched?
o Make a prediction before the activity: Why would the traders put their lives in
danger to acquire these goods? After the activity: pose the question again and
compare answers
o Explain the steps in the trade. What seems unusual to you? How would you have
done it differently?
o Seeing how wealthy the monarch became, what can we infer about the image he
portrayed to the people of his kingdom?
- Classroom management: although the activity is mainly student-led, the teacher will act as
the overarching facilitator guiding the progression of the steps. He/she will announce when
students are lingering too long on a step and what should be done to move along
accordingly. The announcing of steps will also ease transitions and allow for adequate time
at each step to foster comprehension.
Closure
- After everyone has had an opportunity to trade, students will engage in a group discussion
about how at the end of trading, the Soninke had more pairs of gold and salt than the other
two groups. They will discuss their hypothesis as to why this happened and the factors that
helped make the kingdom of Ghana- and later Mali and Songhai- a powerful trading empire.
Students will identify the taxes collected as the main influence in the Soninke monarchs
wealth at the end of the activity. The teacher will prompt further analysis by asking what
implications this had for the kingdom of Ghana and the Soninke. Students should indicate
that it would make the city-state very wealthy and powerful, that trading could not continue
to go on without them, and that they basically had a monopoly as the mediators of trade.
Based on their location and power, the empire benefitted greatly from the silent gold and salt
trade even though they were not the ones with the resources in their own land. Further
reflection will occur on Friday with a written assignment addressing the roles of each player.

Instructional adaptations for learners with special needs
The reflection assessment will be scaffolded rather than an open-ended for the ELL students.
Providing structured questions that pinpoint the main ideas and connections intended in the activity
will allow the students to express their ideas in a less intimidating manner. Several of the students
struggle with writing more than one or two sentences when answering questions. At the end of the
year, their goal is to construct a paragraph for an open-ended response. Until that time, this
scaffolded sheet will illustrate their comprehension to the teacher. Because the activity in class is a
simulation, all students will be participating. When the teacher is randomly handing out the role
cards, he or she will make sure to put the ELL students in larger groups with people they feel
comfortable with to ask questions.


































Rationale
Why is the topic important to students?
Although the silent gold and salt trade might be a foreign thing for the students, the
underlying principles in the process are of critical importance. In a world where they can get
anything at the touch of a button, students need to develop an appreciation for times where this was
not the case. Understanding the necessity for trading, in addition to the use of the resources, will
give students a new appreciation for todays quick and advanced trading systems.

Why now?
At this point in the curriculum, students should understand the basics of trading. Because
theyve been pre-exposed to these concepts, students now should develop their idea of trading and
think about the kind of impact it can have on a society. It does not only involve the exchange of
goods; trading leads to economic advancement, stability, and power within certain areas. The
students have been building up their knowledge on the subject to approach this real-world
application of the impact of trading.

What purpose will this knowledge serve beyond the classroom?
Exploring the impact of trading and the use of gold and salt in West Africa touches upon
some of the most basic, yet important, foundation of economics. With a solid understanding of the
resources use and location, students will develop a basic idea of supply and demand that can be
used in many real-world situations in their future studies. In addition, seeing how two different
societies interact in this particular situation shows students the importance of communication and
the various forms it can take. The idea of the Soninke monarch and warriors as the middle men
draws striking similarities to many professions today. Specifically in situations of management or
situations where we might not have the most knowledge, students will see that it often works to our
benefit if we have someone assisting us. Exploring the process of the trade and examining the roles
each player had will introduce students to basic principles of management and working together to
achieve a common goal. Finally, the fact that the monarch collected taxes introduces students to
basic concepts of taxation that we have in our government today. While todays taxes are monetary
based, students will see that the people of Ghana taxed resources. Developing the general idea of
taxes and what they mean for a society will allow students to better understand taxation when they
are exposed to it in their studies and in the real world.

What is the principle reason for the study of this topic?
A large part of social studies is examining the factors that led to certain events or situations.
The kingdom of Ghana, and later Mali and Songhai, developed into flourishing societies mainly
because of their location in the middle of the gold/salt trade route. Rather than list the reason that
allowed for their development, students explore the implications that the silent gold and salt trade
had on the kingdom. The emphasis on trade through this activity will show students that trading not
only gets societies the resources that they need, but that other societies can benefit as well from the
process.







Prerequisite Skills
What skills must the learner bring to the new topic?
Students must utilize their geography skills in order to fully understand the implications
of the silent gold and salt trade. They should be able to conceptualize the layout of the
geophysical features of Africa that we will be discussing in class. In addition, they need to recall
their map skills from a previous lesson that revealed the resources being traded and the locations
of interest.

How will you determine whether the student has these skills?
In order to assist students with conceptualizing the geography features that will be of
importance during the lesson, the room will be rearranged and labeled to indicate certain
features to help visual learners. Speaking abstractly about the impact certain features had on
people is difficult for some students to comprehend. However, providing a visual layout of the
geography will help them to better see how geography impacted the trade. In addition, in order
to see if they have the proper map skills to provide for further comprehension about the trade,
students will have previously completed a map analysis activity the day before where they were
asked to use information from a narrative and other maps to label the locations of the mines on
their map.

How will you collect information for making diagnosis?
The map from the day before was collected and reviewed to see how well students
understood the locations of the resources and which resources we were discussing. If several
students completed their map incorrectly, their misconceptions will be corrected when the teacher
recaps what was discussed yesterday. It is critical to emphasis that Wangara was kept secret, gold
and salt were traded, and the gold mines were in the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa. In order to
trade with each other, the Wangarans had to sail down the Niger River and the North Africans had
to trek through the Sahara Desert in their salt caravan. The journey took many days and was a
difficult one.

I dentify and describe how the lesson plan addresses Curricular Standards for your content area
The lesson plan addresses two NJ CCCS standards. First, standard 6.2.8.B.4.b calls for
students to assess how maritime and overland trade routes impacted urbanization, transportation,
communication and the development of international trade centers. During the lesson, students will
see how the Soninke monarch and the kingdom of Ghana gain their wealth through taxation.
However, they are able to tax because they lie directly in the trade route. Their position led to their
development as a trading center. Students will hone in on this point afterwards when we reflect and
discuss the reasons why the kingdom became so wealthy. Secondly, standard 6.2.8.C.4.d calls for
students to analyze the relationship between trade routes and the development of powerful city-
states and kingdoms in Africa. By doing this hands-on simulation, students will piece together the
cause and effect relationship between the trading and the wealth. Afterwards during the reflection
period, when the students explain how Ghana became so powerful they will be indicating the
existence of a dependent relationship between trading and the wealth, thus analyzing the
relationship in detail.
The lesson addresses the Common Core standard of CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7,
where students are called upon to integrate visual information (e.g. in charts, graphs, photographs,
videos or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. The lesson before the gold/salt
simulation required students to synthesize information from various sources (both maps and print)
to create their own map of the resources and their locations. In addition, earlier in the unit, students
completed a physiographic map of Africa where they engaged in a picture walk showing them
photographs of the features in question. Using this information, they are then to read the text in
front of them today that has their role description, as well as the steps for the activity. The
geographic features in the classroom today should be familiar in their minds visually, as well as the
moving and communicating that will occur based on what they saw on their map. Therefore, the
lesson calls upon prior knowledge of the visual nature (photographs and maps) and integrates it with
the text explaining the trading process today. All types of information will work together to help
students understand the particular impacts trading had on a society.

Critical Thinking Skills
During their written reflection assessment, students will be first need to use their knowledge
from the experience to formulate an opinion on which factor led to the rise of the kingdom of
Ghana. In their explanation, they will need to evaluate the relationship between trading and the
development of a city-state in order to justify their opinion and answer the prompt accordingly.
Mainly, they will need to utilize the skill of role-playing during the activity because they must
remain in character and act as their role would. Finally, they will be asked to utilize the critical
thinking skill of reflection when they construct their responses to the shorter questions the following
day, asking them how it felt to be their role, etc.

Integration of interdisciplinary connections and technology
Students will use many skills learned in Language Arts during their role-play in the
simulation. If students have participated in skits, plays or drama club, they will thrive in this unique
experience that is so different from what they normally do in social studies. In addition, the basic
underlying principles of trading and development touch upon several foundations in economics,
such as supply and demand and economies. Students will witness a barter economy, rather than the
monetary economy they are so used to today. Concerning the inclusion of technology, the Power
Point on the smart board presents the information recap from yesterdays lesson to students visually
with large pictures of key players in the trade.