Introduce to students that the focus of the activity will be for them to learn about and make connections to the land features and resources of the three kingdoms of Africa: Ghana, Mali and Songhai, which share the same geographies. 

Depending on access to classroom technology, divide students up in order to ensure that each student or group has access to a tablet or computer for this online activity. 

If you have not already done so, introduce your students to the Gold Road Map using the detailed instructions and student handouts on How to use The Gold Road available through the Digital Toolkit. Once online, ask your students to set up their display to show the West African land features that they will be exploring. You can do this by sharing this link or by modeling for students how to visit http://thegoldroad.org/map.aspx# and select the appropriate links.

• Select Landscapes under Categories 
• If done correctly eight markers should be displayed on the left hand side as in the picture above (Niger River, Niger River Headwaters, Niger River Inland, Oasis of Erfoud, Sahara, Sahel, Savanna, Senegal River).

Explain to students that there are eight key landscape features of West Africa that are particularly important for them to understand. Ask students to explore all aspects of the landscapes, either individually or in small groups, using this Why There? Research Organizer.

• Note that depending on the size of display students may have to navigate or toggle to see the eight markers on the left 
• It is also not recommended for you to divide the landscape features across student groups because the interaction across features matters to developing a complete understanding of the story of these geographies.

Distribute the Student Context as an additional resource for students to read and then as a whole group, come back together to share responses to the final prompt, Why did the kingdoms thrive there?

• As students share highlight key understandings and correct any discrepancies