Lesson 1: Africa in Context

Assignment: Crossing the Sahara

This assignment is designed to get you to think about the Sahara Desert and the countries that the Sahara crosses. You will learn about the countries, environments, and resources for this northern Africa region. You may be surprised to learn that it is not just sand!

Complete the activity and submit it by completing the online submission form included in the Lesson 1 folder of ANGEL.

Suggestions for tackling this assignment:

  1. Copy the questions below to a Microsoft Word file and work there on developing your responses. This is a safeguard against any Internet and/or ANGEL glitches that might occur while you are drafting your work.
  2. When finished, submit your paper to the Turnitin.com Inbox for "Crossing the Sahara" to confirm you have no accidental occurrences of plagiarism.
  3. After you have your report back from Turnitin.com, copy the sections from your MS Word document and paste under the appropriate questions in the online submission form for this assignment. The online submission form is titled "Crossing the Sahara" Submission Form; it is included in the Lesson 01 folder in ANGEL. You must submit this form by the due date mentioned on the Course Calendar in ANGEL.

 

Keep in mind... I am going to assume that everyone knows nothing about Africa! So your job in this course is to prove to me that you are learning something! I will look for details and evidence that you have thought about the material. And trust me, I can see through "fluff" that is copied directly from the Internet!

Deadline

All responses must be uploaded in to ANGEL no later than 11:00 PM on the due date (see the Calendar in ANGEL). Note that is 11:00 PM by ANGEL's clock, not by the clock on your computer! The submission form will disappear at 11:00 PM, and this assignment will not be accepted late under any circumstances. I have no problems giving students a zero for an assignment if they do not take the responsibility to submit by the deadline, so don't even think about trying to submit this late!

Assignment Questions:

  1. Which countries does the Sahara Desert cross? (List the countries in alphabetical order.)
  2. Summarize the climate, terrain, natural resources, and land uses for each country listed for Question 1.
  3. What are the similarities for the characteristics you described above across these Saharan countries?
  4. What are the differences for the characteristics you described above across these Saharan countries?
  5. Which references did you use to complete this assignment? (List your references in APA format).

Resources to help get you started

A couple of places to get started:

  1. Use the map provided on PBS' "Sahara" site, along with your Collins-Africa map, to locate the Sahara Desert! There is a pattern on your Collins-Africa map for "desert" - be sure to check the map legend for see how desert is marked on the map.
  2. Use the CIA's The World Factbook for additional information for Question #2.

Grading criteria

Here is how the assignment will be graded. Questions #2-4 will be graded on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. Everyone will start out with a score of 3 in each category, which means you gave me an average response that isn't all that inspirational and doesn't show alot of effort. A score of 1 is given for someone that hardly tried to address what is asked, and a score of 5 is saved for "wow, you really knocked my socks off" with the detail/thought/synthesis/original interpretation of information.

  • Question #1 will be worth 1 point - you need to name all of the Saharan Desert countries to get full credit.
  • Question #2 is out of 5 points. I will be looking to see how much research you did for each country.
  • Question #3 is out of 5 points
  • Question #4 is out of 5 points.

    For Questions #3 and #4, I am looking to see how much thought you put into examining the similarities and differences - have you caught the obvious trends? Did you find any unique correlations across countries? Have you examined this environmental and resource data in the context of location across the continent (using the map)?
  • Question #5 - As for your references, I am looking for correct format in APA style. If you do not have the correct style, then I reserve the right to deduct 15 points off of your final assignment grade (once it is scaled to 100%) for inaccurate documentation. If there is an academic integrity violation, I will puruse the procedures outlined in Lesson 0.

The entire assignment is worth 16 points and will be scaled to a percentage out of 100%.

How do you find out your assignment grade?

One week after the assignment is due, the submission form will become "active" again. You need to go back into the form and click on your responses to see your score and my comments. Again, I will be recording in my gradebook your score based out of 100%.

Need help? Watch this short movie that explains how to find out your grade!

If you have any questions...

...on this assignment, on Africa, on anything! Don't hesitate to get in touch with me via phone or email ASAP. I would not recommend waiting until Friday evening to contact me, as I cannot guarantee a response before the assignment deadline.