Indiana Social Studies 7.H.3

Social Studies7th GradeHistory

The Standard

Analyze how the control of trade routes and natural resources led to the rise of powerful empires in Sub-Saharan Africa.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students trace gold and salt from their sources through West African trade cities. They explain how rulers gained wealth by controlling trade and collecting taxes. They connect that wealth to larger armies and wider rule.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given a map, a student can explain why a trade city such as Timbuktu grew wealthy. They use the map to show how control of a route could bring in tax money and help a ruler expand an empire.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think rulers mined every resource they traded. They may also assume caravans passing nearby made an empire rich, even if its rulers did not control or tax the trade.
How to Assess It: Use this exit ticket: “Mali controlled gold-producing areas and taxed caravans traveling through Timbuktu. Explain how each helped its rulers build power.”

Lesson moves

On a blank West Africa map, mark the Taghaza salt mines, Bure goldfields, and Timbuktu, then draw a caravan route connecting them.
Ask pairs, “Why might a ruler guard a caravan route instead of mining gold?” Have them use one location on their maps.
Give pairs gold, salt, and tax tokens; caravans cross a marked border, and rulers collect tax tokens to hire guards.
Show a local toll road map and ask how toll payments compare with fees collected from caravans.

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