Worth Your Salt

We finished up our gold/salt trade game today.  Most of the students were worth their salt, when it came to getting deals, but of course some were better than others.

We're studying Africa right now - specifically Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.  We'll continue to look at them after fall break.  The game featured the gold/salt trade that led to the rise of Ghana.  Some of the concepts of the game include the benefits of voluntary trade, natural barriers, traditional economies, and several others.

If you want to get extra credit for reading and discussing the blog today, tell the adult you're reading and discussing with how the game went.  Explain the different roles people played.  Tell what you were.  Tell how you did.

After that, write two sentences about the discussion.  Have the adult sign the paper, and turn it in tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of the simulation.  I hope you can find yourself.

Who Does the Gold Belong To? And What's a Matrilineal Line, Anyway?

We debriefed the gold/salt trade simulation today, and talked about some of the symbolism in it.  For bellwork, students had to explain what went on, then I asked some more pointed questions: what did the crawling represent?  Why was the trade silent?  Etc...

I didn't expect the students to know everything, but they could at least wager a guess.  Of course, if they didn't guess... no credit.  (And if they were here yesterday, and couldn't explain the activity - well... I don't know what to say about that.)  :)

We read a little bit.  The king of Ghana was really rich.  All the gold in Ghana belonged to him.  So, if you found gold on your property - it's not your gold.  It's the kings.  We talked about how crazy this is, but I didn't mention that it's pretty much the same today in much of the United States: check it out if you don't believe me.  I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not sure what happens if you find a gold mine under your house.

That led to a little discussion on tax evasion, and cheating... 

A lot of classes asked about the "matrilineal line."  In Ghana, the throne passed from the king to the king's sister's son...  Like this:

I didn't draw the diagram until students asked me about it, and we didn't discuss it in every class.  But in case you're wondering why your son or daughter is asking where babies come from... this might be the reason.  Some classes asked why the throne didn't just pass down to the king's son.

It has to do with proof of royal blood.  No one doubts the maternity of a child.  ...  ...  ...  I summed it up this way: if you have 20 women and one is 9 months pregnant - can we tell who is going to have the baby?  Yes.  And if, on the other side of the room we have 20 men, can we tell who the father is?  The answer is no.

There were some other questions, which I answered cautiously.  But if they got too detailed I told them to talk to a parent, or wait until February in Wellness...

Last thing:  BIG TEST COMING UP WHEN YOU RETURN!  It'll probably be Wed./Thur. or Thur./Fri.  If you forgot the study guide at school, you can download it HERE.  It doesn't give answers.  It only gives topics.  You should have the answers in your notes, or in your brain.

I hope you all have a great break.  If you want the extra credit, read and discuss the blog with an adult.  When you're done, write two sentences telling me how you're planning on spending your 4 day weekend.  Have the adult that you discussed the blog with sign the paper.

Ghana's Gold Salt Trade

Well, I have the second round of parent teacher conferences tonight.  I hope to see a lot of you there.

As such, I don't have a lot of time to post a lengthy blog today.  I'm just going to post some pictures from the simulation.  I'll tell you how to get the extra credit points at the bottom.

To get the extra credit today, students have to read and discuss the blog with an adult.  I'd also like the students to tell the adult what was going on in this simulation.  There was gold, there was salt, and there was the Sahara Desert.


I haven't explained all the symbolism yet, but maybe you could tell your parents how a trade was made.  You could also guess as to why it was silent.  What did that symbolize?  Why do you think I had you crawl across the Sahara?  Tell your parents who ended up with the most gold.  Hint: It wasn't one of the traders...  And, where is Ghana anyway?

If you've done all that, write a sentence telling me your favorite part of the simulation.  (I know, the whole thing was great, right?)  After you've finished the sentence, have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper.  Turn it in tomorrow in the extra credit tray.