SOCIAL SCIENCES – INTERMEDIATE PHASE LESSON PLAN : History TOPIC: The first farmers in southern Africa 15 hours DATE of the term: FROM _________ TO _________ NR. OF periods: ___ Background information: The first farmers in southern Africa were Bantu-speakers and archaeology shows that they entered southern Africa between 2 000 and 1 700 years ago. The study of Iron Age archaeology provides a history for the majority of present-day southern African and South African citizens. The term ‘Iron Age’ is a convenient label for this period, as people made tools from iron, but all the other facets of these societies should not be ignored. Archaeologists therefore use terms such as ‘agriculturists’ or ‘farmers’. The entry of farmers did not end the occupation of hunter-gatherers. They in fact shared the landscape – in some instances in intermarriage and in cultural interaction (all the clicks in the Nguni languages, for example, are derived from Khoisan languages). Iron Age societies were highly fluid, flexible and had a great capacity for change. People could move, shift and change their affiliation if they were not happy. The popular idea that Bantu-speaking people lived in ‘tribes’ is incorrect and the term must be avoided, as it assumes societies were static and unchanging. Instead, ‘chiefdom’ is a better term, but it must be remembered that chiefdoms were fluid and flexible – they came and went, and political power and citizenship changed constantly. Indigenous societies were political and strategically, economically and technologically innovative before the colonial period. The myth that so frequently surfaces is the contrast between societies with writing (‘civilised, progressive, innovative’), with indigenous societies (“tribal, mired in a static traditionalism”). All people all over the world are equally politically, economically, strategically and technologically innovative, irrespective of when they live and where they live. Focus: The way of life of the first farmers of southern Africa and how we find out about them. GRADE 5 TERM 2 CONTENT / CONCEPTS: When, why and where the first African farmers settled in Southern Africa - 2 hours
5. Tools and weapons from iron and copper : Division of labour : (men) Metal working : Debating about what happened in the past on the basis of the available evidence. Writing history in an organised way, with a logical line of argument. Understanding the importance of heritage and conservation 6. Pottery: Division of labour : (women) Day-to-day use : Use in ceremonies : Trade: WHO ASSESSES? Homestead Village Agriculture Structures 7. Medicine and healing: Teacher Self 8. Hunting: Group Peer Tools & Weapons Pottery Medicine & Healing Hunting Teacher activities: 1.Homesteads: TG p. Teacher Self 2.Villages: TG p. Group Peer
3.Agriculture: crops and livestock : TG p. RESOURCES: Homestead Village Agriculture Structures Textbook Maps/Atlas/Globe 4.Social , political and economic structures: TG p. Roles of men: Roles of women: Roles of boys and girls : A culture of co-operation : The role of the chief : The role of cattle : Activity sheet Newspapers& magazines Other Tools & Weapons Pottery Medicine & Healing Hunting 5. Tools and weapons from iron and copper : TG p. Division of labour : (men) Metal working : Textbook Maps/Atlas/Globe Activity sheet 6. Pottery: TG p. Division of labour : (women) Day-to-day use : Use in ceremonies : Trade: Newspapers& magazines Other