The following standards have been taken from the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McRel) standards.

Students will understand:

• Know the geographic characteristics of Western and Central Africa and understand the impact of geography on settlement patterns, cultural traits, and trade (e.g., in political kingdoms such as Mali, Songhai, and Benin; in urban centers such as Timbuktu and Jenne).


• Compare political, social, economic, and religious systems of Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans who converged in the western hemisphere after 1492 (e.g., concepts of political authority, civic values, and the organization and practice of government; population levels, urbanization, family structure, and modes of communication; systems of labor, trade, concepts of property, and exploitation of natural resources; dominant ideas and values including religious beliefs and practices, gender roles, and attitudes toward nature).


• Understand growth and change in the European colonies during the two centuries following their founding (e.g., the arrival of Africans in the European colonies in the 17^th century, rapid increase of slave importation in the 18^th century).


• Understand elements of African slavery during the colonial period in North America (e.g., relocation of enslaved Africans to the Caribbean and North America, the slave trade and "the middle passage").