West Africa: History, Geography and Culture

By learning about West Africa's history and culture, you can better understand and enjoy the stories of Anansi, as well as other folktales from the region. Are you unable to find the information you need after checking the resources included in this list? Please stop by the IMC, or send an email message (joanneokeefe@salem.k12.ma.us), to ask Mrs. O'Keefe for help.

CultureGrams
(Begin your research by using this terrific database!)
This comprehensive collection features information about the history, culture, and daily life of Ghana, as well as 186 other countries and territories, including detailed statistics, maps, and much more. (Stop by the IMC to obtain the Username and Password you'll need to use this collection.)

SIRS Discoverer and Web Find
This collection includes newspaper and magazine articles, reference books, pictures, and recommended web sites. Just click on the "Countries" button to find an A to Z list of the world's countries, and click on Ghana, or any country you'd like to learn about. (Stop by the IMC to obtain the Login ID and Password you'll need to use this collection.)

TradePort: Country Profiles from World Trade Press
Just click on a selected country for detailed statistical information.

The World Factbook
This helpful resource offers a detailed entry for each country. "Select a Country or Location" to learn about its background/history, economy, geography, government, people, find a map, and more. Other features include Rank/Order pages and Flags of the World.

Portals to the World: Links to Electronic Resources from Around the World
Visit this site for links to detailed information about nations and territories throughout the world, selected by Library of Congress Area Specialists and other staff members.

Infoplease.com
Enter your country into the search field, and search Infoplease's general almanac, encyclopedia and dictionary simultaneously. This resource includes a map of each country, and a wealth of useful information about its economy, government, history, land, people, and more. Or, go directly to Infoplease's list of "Countries of the World"

BBC News: Country Profiles
This site offers information about the history, politics, and economics of countries, territories and international organizations.

CountryReports.org: Cultural, Historical, & Statistical Country Information!
Visit this site to learn about the history, politics, customs and culture (including family life, socializing, sports & recreation, recipes and fashion) of Ghana, or another country you may have chosen as your research subject. This site also features a nice photo gallery.

National Geographic Xpeditions Atlas
Visit this site for maps that you can print and copy.

List of Countries: from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Find your country in this comprehensive list, for information about its history, geography, languages, culture, and religions, as well as maps, images of landforms, and much more, including links to other information sources. (You may prefer to go directly to Wikipedia's entry for Ghana.)

Student Resource Center
This outstanding collection of full-text encyclopedia articles provides a wealth of information about each country, including: climate, geography, a detailed history, government, judicial system, cultural resources, people, politics, social development, and much, much more. Enter your country into the search field, and view your search results. Select any of the encyclopedia entries described as a "country overview" to locate a detailed article about your selected country. (Stop by the IMC to obtain the ID you'll need to use this collection.)

WorldAtlas.com
Find detailed maps, including landforms and major rivers, and information about your selected country at this site.

Climate

WorldClimate.com
Visit this site to find average rainfall, average temperature, and other information, for cities around the world. (Also try Weather Underground, another terrific website about weather!)

Images

PicturesOfPlaces.com

Pics4Learning: Countries

Animals

Birds of Ghana, from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Birds in Ghana

Biomes - Habitats, from Enchanted Learning

Folktales

Folktales: What Are They?, from the Internet School Library Media Center

Folklore, from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Myths, from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

MotherlandNigeria.com: Stories and Books
Visit this site to find full-text stories that originated or are popular in Nigeria, including several Anansi stories.

Reverend Peter E. Adotey Addo, Ghanaian Poet and Storyteller

Anansi and other folk tales from the African experience

Educational CyberPlayground: Black History Month

Currencies From Around The World

Find images of banknotes from countries around the world, or convert various currencies to U.S. dollars and vice versa, by visiting the links below.

Banknotes.com: World Currency Gallery

Travel Channel Resources: Currency Converter

The Euro: Our Currency

World Paper Money: Image Gallery

Yahoo! Finance: Currency Converter