BBC History Africa E10: Desert Empires. Video worksheets, differentiated

The outstanding BBC News History “Africa” series follows and draws on the UNESCO General History of Africa, with extensive interviews with African academics, witnesses, and stakeholders.

In this episode Zeinab Badawi visits rarely seen historic sites and magnificent ruins in Mali and Mauritania in west Africa. We hear from Africans about how trans-Saharan trade, mainly in gold, meant that by about the 7th century rich kingdoms became established in West Africa. These eventually gave rise to three of the greatest empires on the continent, including the Mali Empire which began in the 13th century. Under armed guard, Zeinab visits the fabled city of Timbuktu, which was overrun by extremists in 2012. Mali’s ruler Mansa Musa was reputedly the wealthiest individual to have ever lived. She brings a rich narrative of a period in Africa’s history when it was a significant player in the world economy, and influenced global thinking through great centres of learning.

20 questions for the** 45-minute** film. Differentiated! Both versions look very similar, but “B” version has subtle clues. Questions right up to the end, no slack time! Creates a great intro / revision / summary resource. Answer sheet. Very easy to mark. .doc & .pdf for all files.

Treat yourself to the bundle of episodes 16 – 20 here

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12615952

Please check that you can access the video before you download these sheets. All the links work when I upload. If my links no longer work, the videos may still be found elsewhere on YouTube, the BBC, etc.