Trace medieval West African empires — Ghana c. 300-1200 CE, Mali c. 1235-1670 CE (Sundiata + Mansa Musa 1324 hajj + Timbuktu Sankore complex), Songhai c. 1464-1591 CE (Sunni Ali + Askia Muhammad I) — refusing the 'tribal/primitive' Orientalist framing absolutely
Exercise Difficulty 3 ~10 min hist.g7.f.ex_19

Source Card Analysis

MG-7 Diagram
MG-7 SEVEN-QUESTION SOURCE CARD — primary instructional scaffold for ALL source analysis in the unit. 8.5x11 inch double

MG-7 SEVEN-QUESTION SOURCE CARD — primary instructional scaffold for ALL source analysis in the unit. 8.5x11 inch double-sided laminated card. Front: Seven questions with sentence-frame scaffolds. (1) WHO created this source? (Wineburg sourcing) (2) WHEN was it created and where? (Wineburg contextualization) (3) WHY was it created and for whom? (Wineburg sourcing — purpose + audience) (4) WHAT does it say + show + leave out? (Wineburg close reading) (5) WHAT do OTHER sources say? (Wineburg corroboration) (6) WHOSE living descendants connect to this source today? (NMAI 5th — present-tense protocol) (7) WHOSE GOLDEN AGE does this source name — and whose golden age does it occlude? (NEW G7-Fall 7th — Banks Level-3 transformative move; refuses single-narrative golden-age framing). Back: scaffolded sentence frames for each question.

Prompt

Apply MG-7 Q1-3 (sourcing + contextualization) to al-Bakri's 'Kitab al-Masalik' 1068 CE excerpt on Ghana. Note Q1 — al-Bakri never traveled to Ghana; he compiled merchants' accounts in Cordoba.

How it's presented
mode text
Answer criteria
type structured response rubric
rubric
Q1 (al-Bakri identified as Cordoban geographer + never traveled to Ghana) (4 pts); Q2 (1068 CE, in Cordoba) (4 pts); Q3 (Andalusi scholarly audience + systematic geography) (4 pts); limitation noted (secondhand source) (3 pts). Total 15 pts. 12+ = mastery.
Hints
  1. Q1 emphasis: WHO created this source matters — al-Bakri's secondhand-source position is important.
  2. Q5 corroboration: al-Bakri's details match later ibn Battuta (1352-3) + al-'Umari (1342) sources — confirming reliability.
Misconceptions to watch
  • Treating al-Bakri as eyewitness (he wasn't)
  • Missing the corroboration with later sources
Used in lessons