Instructional Resources

Lesson Plans

• Elementary (PDF)
• Middle and High (PDF)

Links

• The Story of Africa from the BBC World Service
• The Achievements and Challenges of Mali
• Timbuktu
• Official Embassy of the Republic of Mali
• Photographs by Huib Blom depicting art, architecture, people, and everyday life of Mali.
• The National Museum of Mali, an archaeological and anthropological museum located in Bamako, the capital of Mali and presents permanent and temporary exhibits on the history of Mali, as well as the musical instruments, dress, and ritual objects associated with Mali's various ethnic groups.
• The Road to Timbuktu, the PBS Web site, has information and photographs about Mali.
• The Eliot Elisofon Archives, National Museum of African Art, contains 12,000 photographic images of Africa.
• To Timbuktu – A Journey with Ibn Battuta
• Mali history
• River of Sand documentary film

Kingdoms

Mali:  historical empire, Africa, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art

Sites in Mali

• Old Towns of Djenné – UNESCO's report on historic Djenne.
• Places of Peace and Power: Djenne, Mali – Nice photos, and summary of Djenne when it was known as a center of Islamic learning and pilgramage.
• Timbuktu – UNESCO's report on Timbuktu.
• Dogon peoples – Good photos and summary of Dogon people and their religious beliefs.

Museums

• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
  2800 Grove Avenue
  Richmond, VA 23221-2466
  Phone: 804-340-1400
  Fax: 804-340-1548
• Smithsonian Institution
  National Museum of African Art
  950 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, D.C. 20560-0708
• National Museum of African Art (weekdays)
  Phone: 202-357-4600
  Fax: 202-357-4879 
  Department of Education (weekdays)
  Phone: 202-357-4600 ext. 221 
  General information for deaf and hearing-impaired persons (weekdays)
  TTY: 202-357-4814

Books & Articles

Teacher Resources

• Adler, Philip. World Civilizations. Minneapolis: West Publishing Company, 1996. 
• Anderson, Martha G. & Christine Mullen Kreamer. Wild Spirits Strong Medicine: African Art and the Wilderness. ed. Enid Schildkrout. New York: The Center for African Art, 1989. 
• The Art of West African Kingdoms. Washington, D.C.: Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1987.
• Bourgeois, Jean-Louis. "The History of the Great Mosque of Djenne," African Arts 20, no.3 (May 1987): 54-62, 90.
• Carter, Sully. Ancient Mali: The Rise and Fall of a West African Empire. Montpelier Station, Virginia: Think Again Publishing, 2002. (E-mail address thinkagainpub@nexet.net)
• Chu, E. and E. Skinner. Glorious Age in Africa: The Story of Three Great African Empires. Africa World Press, 1965.
• Davidson, Basil. African Civilization Revisited. Trenton: African World Press, 1991. 
• Ellis, William S. Africa’s Sahel: The Stricken Land. National Geographic Society, 1997. 
• Goss, Linda C. Exploring Mali: A Young Person's Guide to Ancient Civilization. Maya Publications. 2006. 
• Hamdun, Said & Noel King. Ibn Battuta in Black Africa. Foreward Ross E. Dunn. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1994. 
• Imperato, Pascal James. Dogon Cliff Dwellers: The Art of Mali’s Mountain People. New
  York: L. Kahan Gallery/African Arts, 1978. 
• Jackson, John. Introduction to African Civilizations. New Jersey: The Citadel Press, 1970.
• Koslow, Philip. Centuries of Greatness. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1995. 
• Lawson, Barbara Spilman. The West African Empire of Mali: A Virginia SOL Activity Book. Fun Stuff Publications, 2001.
• "Mali," Faces. Volume 13, no. 6 (February 1997).
• Mann, Kenny. Ghana, Mali, Songhay: The Western Sudan. Silver Burdett Press, 1995.
• "Mansa Musa: King of Mali," Footsteps. Volume 1, no. 4 (September/October 1999): entire issue.
• Martin, Phyllis, and Patrick O'Meara. Africa. 3rd ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995. 
• McEvedy, Colin. The Penguin Atlas of African History: New Edition. Hong Kong: Penguin Books, 1995. 
• McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1994. 
• McNaughton, Patrick. The Mande Blacksmiths: Knowledge, Power, and Art in West Africa. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1988. 
• O’Halloran, Kate. Hands-on Culture of West Africa. Portland, Maine: J. Weston Walch, 1997. 
• Quigley, Mary. Ancient West Africa States: Ghana, Mali, Songhay (Understanding People of the Past). Heinnemann Publishers, 2002.
• Roberts, Allen F. Animals in African Art: From the Familiar to the Marvelous. New York, Prestel, Munich: The Museum for African Art, 1995. 
• Robinson, Dindy. World Cultures Through Art Activities. Englewood, Colorado: Teacher Ideas Press, 1996. 
• Shillington, Kevin. History of Africa. New York: St. Martins Press, 1995. 
• Visona, Monica Blackmun. Robin Poyner, Herbert M. Cole, Michael D. Harris. A History of Art in Africa. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001. 
• Willett, Frank. African Art: An Introduction. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1995. 
• Woodward, Richard B. African Art: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1994.

Student Resources

• Burns, Khephra. Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali. Harcourt Brace, 2001.
• Koslow, Philip. Mali: Crossroads of Africa. Chelsea House, 1994.
• Thompson, Carol. The Empire of Mali. Watts Franklin, 1998.
• Wisniewski, David. Sundiata: Lion King of Mali. Clarion, 1992.