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Properties
Title: Metaphorical Expression
Type: Lesson Plan
Subject: Social Studies
Grade Range: 7
Description: African Imperialism
Duration: 60-100 Minutes
Author(s): Nicole Westermann
Instructional Unit Content
Standard(s)/Element(s)
Content Area Standard
SS7H1 Students will analyze continuity and change in Africa leading to the 21
st
Century.
a. Explain how the European partitioning across Africa contributed to conflict, civil war, and
artificial political boundaries.

TAG Standard
Creative Thinking & Creative Problem Solving Skills
7. The student uses analogies, metaphors, and/or models to explain complex concepts.
Summary/Overview
The focus of this unit is on the issues faced by African countries in the second half of the
20
th
Century. More specifically students will look how European partitioning of Africa has
led to global conflicts.
Enduring Understanding(s)
At the end of this lesson the student will be able to:
a. the struggle for independence and freedom can lead to conflict and compromise.
b. Political decisions without cultural consideration for ethnic groups lead to conflict and political
instability.
c. Nationalism plays an important role in the development of nations
d. Europeans need for natural resources resulted in artificial boundaries based on the natural resources
not on religions and ethnic groups
e. Forcing different religions and ethnic groups to live together leads to conflict and civil wars
Essential Question(s)
How have the different sources of conflict affect Africa as a society and a population?
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Evidence of Learning
What students should know:
a. The effects of creating boundaries based on resources verse religion or ethnic group.
b. How the want for independence has led to violence.
c. The effect of the Europeans need for Africas limited natural resources
What Students should understand:
a. When there is conflict between or within societies, change is the result.
b. Decisions made by European colonial powers in Africa, during the 1800s and 1900s, have influenced
African countries of the 21st century.

What Students should do:
a. Explain how the European partitioning across Africa contributed to conflict, civil war, and artificial
political boundaries by using direct analogies, personal analogies, and compressed conflicts.
Suggested Vocabulary
independence
Natural Resources
Nationalism
Berlin Conference
Artificial Political Boundaries
Procedure(s)
Phase 1: Hook
Students will participate in a Carousel Brainstorming Activity. Students will inspect the
question posed at each station, develop/record all ideas, and rotate to expand ideas at another
station. Review the three types of metaphorical expressions experienced by the students: direct
analogies, personal analogies, and compressed conflicts. Explain to the students that today in
social studies we are going to learn a new concept using these three types of metaphors.
Phase 2: Examine the Content

Set the Scene: The instructor will ask students to think back to a time when they may have had
an argument with a friend or parent. Why were you arguing? Did one person start the argument?
Did the other person know that there was going to be an argument? How long did the argument
last? Why do you think most arguments start? What would life be like without arguments?
Pose the Essential Question: How have the different sources of conflict affect Africa as a
society and a population? How can you guys connect our essential question to our
previous discussion on arguments? Do you see any similarities/differences?
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Phase 3: Analogies
Direct Analogy: Students will identify the similarities and differences conflict and The Nile
River. In groups of 4 record how they are alike and different using the visual organizer.
Personal Analogy: Students will compare themselves to a highly sought after natural resource.
Individually record the answers to the following questions:
Where do you originate from?
Where can people find you now?
What is your impact on the area around you?
How do you feel when people use you?
Is everyone always nice to you?
Do you have any friends or allies?
Students will write a paragraph, poem, or song in the first person about their life as the Nile
River.

Compressed Conflict: Candidates will brainstorm antonyms of conflict in order to create
compressed conflict phrases.
Phase 4: Synthesis Activity
Candidates will generate another direct analogy by completing the following sentence: Conflict
is like ________. Give at least 5 reasons why Conflict is like the item in your sentence.
Summarizing Activity
Exit Ticket: What is the nature of conflict in Africa? How do you think that the rest
of the world can help the different African Nations?

Handouts:
Handout 1: Conflict Mental Stretchers
Handout 2: Conflict Content PowerPoint Slides
Handout 3: Conflict Content Organizer
Handout 4: Direct Analogy Organizer (Conflict vs. The Nile)
Handout 5: Personal Analogy Organizer
Handout 6: Compressed Conflict Organizer








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Handout 1

Conflict Mental Stretchers

If you were a
bird with no
wings, how
would you
feel?
5

How is
conflict like a
banana?

6

How is object
both the same
and different?

7

What country
are you most
alike?
Different?

8

How would
you feel if you
were a chair?
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Handout 3












































Content to be examined:


What does it look like? ( use pictures or words)
What are its parts?
What is its purpose?
How does it operate? ( use pictures or words)
What is its importance?
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Handout 4
Direct Analogy
How is Conflict like the
?



















How are they not alike?
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Handout 5
Personal Analogy
Conflict

Pretend that you are a newly discovered and highly sought out natural resource in
Africa and answer the following questions as if you were that resource.

Where do you originate from?






Where can people find you now?
What is your impact on the area around
you?






How do you feel when people use you?
Is everyone always nice to you?






Do you have any friends or allies?

Write a paragraph, poem, or song in first person about your life as a new natural
resource.













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Handout 6
Compressed Conflict Analogy

Conflict in Africa
List five important words to describe
Conflict in Africa.

1.



2.



3.



4.



5.




List antonyms for each word to the left.

Review your original list and its antonyms. Do any of the pairs of words seem to fight
each other but still describe conflict? Create three Compressed Conflicts