Scheme of Work: Medieval Mali

Subject: History | Year: 7

Class/Set: ____________ Date/Term: ____________

Intent: Students will evaluate the political, economic, and cultural significance of the Mali Empire, challenging Eurocentric narratives of the medieval world through an investigation of trade, the hajj of Mansa Musa, and the intellectual legacy of Timbuktu.

Timeframe / Lesson	Lesson Title	Learning Objective (LO)	Key Activities / Assessment
1	Empire in the Sahel	To investigate how geography influenced the development of the Mali Empire.	Analyse: Map the Sahel region, the Niger River, and Trans-Saharan trade routes. Explain: How climate and location provided a foundation for imperial growth.
2	Sundiata: The Lion King	To evaluate the role of oral tradition (Griots) in preserving the history of Mali’s origins.	Interpret: Read extracts from the Epic of Sundiata. Discuss: The reliability of oral histories versus written records in a medieval context.
3	Gold and Salt	To explain how the Trans-Saharan trade created immense wealth.	Simulate: A silent trade scenario to understand salt-for-gold exchanges. Categorise: The goods, taxes, and secondary benefits of the trade system.
4	Mid-Unit Assessment	To demonstrate understanding of Mali’s economic power.	Assessment: A source-based enquiry task. Students must use PEEL paragraphs to explain how trade routes enriched the Mansa (Emperor).
5	The Richest Man in History	To assess the impact of Mansa Musa’s hajj on the global medieval economy.	Trace: Map the 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca. Evaluate: Primary sources describing the inflation caused by Musa’s gold distribution in Cairo.
6	Timbuktu: City of Knowledge	To investigate the significance of Timbuktu as a global centre of Islamic scholarship.	Analyse: Examine images of the Djinguereber Mosque and Sankore University. Summarise: The importance of the Timbuktu manuscripts.
7	The Fall of Mali	To identify the internal and external causes of the empire’s decline.	Compare: Successive leadership struggles versus the rising power of the Songhai Empire. Diagram: Create a 'Causes of Decline' flow chart.
8	Final Summative Review	To synthesise knowledge of Mali’s legacy in the medieval world.	Debate: "Was Medieval Mali more advanced than contemporary European kingdoms?" Produce: A formal PEEL essay response to the enquiry question.

Resources Needed:

• Physical and political maps of West Africa and the Sahara.
• Extracts from the 'Epic of Sundiata'.
• Primary source accounts from Ibn Battuta and Al-Umari.
• High-quality images of Timbuktu manuscripts and architecture.
• Scaffolding sheets for PEEL (Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link) paragraph construction.

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⚠ TEACHER’S GUIDANCE

🌍 Overcoming Eurocentrism:

• Context: Many Year 7 students enter secondary school with a 'Knights and Castles' view of the medieval period.
• Model: Explicitly compare the wealth of Mansa Musa (estimated at $400 billion in modern terms) with European monarchs of the 14th century to shift student perspectives on global hierarchy.

🗣 Oracy and the Griot Tradition:

• Strategy: Use Lesson 2 to focus on the importance of oral history.
• Activity: Invite students to 'perform' a short history of their school or community to understand how Griots preserved collective memory without written text.

🖋 Literacy Support (PEEL):

• Scaffold: For the Mid-Unit Assessment, provide 'Point' sentences for lower-attaining students.
• Challenge: Encourage 'Greater Depth' students to use 'Tier 3' vocabulary such as hegemony, inflation, and sovereignty in their explanations.

🛡 Safeguarding and Neutrality:

• Note: When discussing Islamic scholarship in Timbuktu, ensure the content reflects the historical diversity and intellectual rigour of the period, adhering to the 'Mutual Respect' element of British Values.