Lesson Planning

Remind each other of the Benin timeline, before looking deeper into the rise and establishment of the Benin Empire. Locate Benin on a world map and look at that area of Africa as it is today. Consider what brought the Edo peoples to the rainforests of Benin. Use freeze framing to imagine what it was like to first settle in Benin in the 900s in small villages.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To learn about the earliest history of Benin.
• To explore the West African rainforest and what settlement would have looked like in early Benin.
• To use drama to explore what life would have been like in these early settlements.

Children will:

• Identify the environment of the earliest Benin settlement as rainforest.
• Research the animals of the Benin rainforest.
• Role-play the arrival of the Edo people into the rainforest.