NY Social Studies 9.8a
The Standard
Complex societies and civilizations continued to develop in Africa and the Americas. The environment, the availability of resources, and the use of trade networks shaped the growth of the Aztec, Inca, and Songhai empires and East African city-states. This growth also influenced their economies and relationships with others.
New York State K–12 Social Studies Framework
Key Idea 9.8
AFRICA AND THE AMERICAS PRE-1600: The environment, trade networks, and belief systems influenced the development of complex societies and civilizations in Africa and the Americas ca. 1325–1600.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students locate the Aztec, Inca, and Songhai empires and East African city-states on an Atlantic-centered map. They explain how chinampas, terraces, roads, resources, and trade helped societies grow. They compare warfare, tribute, and trade, including Islam's role in African trade and power.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student accurately locates each society and connects geography or resources with farming, transportation, and trade. The student distinguishes warfare, tribute, and exchange in relationships with neighbors. They explain how Islam supported trade and political ties in Songhai and East African cities.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often place Songhai in eastern Africa or treat the Aztec and Inca empires as neighbors. They may confuse tribute with trade and assume conquest was the only relationship between societies. Some think Islam replaced local cultures everywhere, rather than connecting merchants and rulers while local practices continued.
How to Assess It
- On an Atlantic-centered outline map, have students label the four regions. Then ask them to explain one link between geography or trade and a society's growth.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs clay, string, and an Atlantic-centered map to model mountains, lakes, rivers, and trade routes around each society.
Ask students to write: Which mattered more for imperial growth, environmental adaptation or trade, and what evidence supports your claim?
Run a four-corner sorting game where students match evidence cards to Aztec, Inca, Songhai, or East African city-states.
Have students compare one historical trade hub with a modern port, noting how location and religious communities shape connections.
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Printable 9.8a Worksheet
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