But Africa also has a long artistic tradition that stretches back thousands of years. From the murals and statuary of ancient Egypt to the bronze sculptures of the West African state of Benin, a journey through African art is a rich and visually enticing experience for students. In this lesson students use the Internet to research the art in different regions of Africa, then summarize the major characteristics of the art and art objects of a given region, the history of that region, and how history influenced the art.
Students also compare and contrast the art from all the different regions of Africa.
Learning Goals Choose a region of Africa to research and use the Internet to investigate the art and history of that region in order to prepare a presentation on the African art and art objects of that region. Compare and contrast the art from various regions of Africa after seeing examples from each region and hearing presentations about them. Bring some Halloween masks to class and show them to students. Discuss with students how the masks are used. Show students pictures or slides of carved African masks.