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7th grade Swahili trading cities and Great Zimbabwe worksheet

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Swahili trading cities and Great Zimbabwe

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet

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  1. Read this first

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    Two maps of the same area, "Kilwa and its trade, 1100s–1500s". Map 1 (Kilwa's reach): Kilwa, on an island off today's Tanzania. At its height in the 1400s, Kilwa ruled or claimed Malindi, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Pemba and Sofala. Map 2 (finds and goods): Kilwa's own coins, made for about 500 years (about 1100 to 1600), found across the region, including at Great Zimbabwe; gold reaching Kilwa through its control of Sofala's gold trade. Key: a star is Kilwa; a circle is a coin find; a yellow dot is gold. Note: the word Swahili comes from an Arabic word for coasts and means "people of the coasts". Ibn Battuta visited Kilwa in 1331. Summary in our words, not a quotation: he called Kilwa a very fine, well-built town, and a merchant told him that gold dust was brought to Sofala from far inland.

  2. Where is Kilwa, Luz asks?

    • In Arabia
    • On the Atlantic coast of Africa
    • On an island off Tanzania
    • Inland, beside the gold fields

  3. For about how long did Kilwa make its own coins, Noah asks?

    • About 1,100 years
    • About 2,700 years
    • About 50 years
    • About 500 years

  4. Pia reads both maps. Kilwa's coins were found at Great Zimbabwe. What does that suggest?

    • The two places were linked by trade
    • Kilwa ruled Great Zimbabwe and its people
    • The coins show no link
    • Great Zimbabwe made Kilwa's coins

  5. Ren reads both maps. Why did controlling Sofala matter to Kilwa?

    • Sofala made Kilwa's coins
    • Sofala's gold trade made Kilwa rich
    • Sofala had no trade
    • Sofala was in China

  6. Tala reads both maps and the note. Where did the gold dust come from, as the merchant told Ibn Battuta?

    • From ships sailing in from India
    • From mines on Kilwa's island
    • From Ibn Battuta's home in Morocco
    • From far inland, to Sofala

  7. What does the word Swahili mean, Zee asks?

    • People of the mountains
    • Gold traders
    • People of the desert
    • People of the coasts

  8. How can Ari tell that the line about Ibn Battuta is not a quotation?

    • It gives a date
    • It names a traveler
    • It is labeled a summary in our words
    • It has quotation marks around it in the text

  9. Why is a coin found far from Kilwa useful evidence, Bo asks?

    • It shows the coin was lost at sea
    • It shows that the gold came from Kilwa
    • It shows Kilwa's people moved there
    • It shows where Kilwa's trade reached

  10. Jun's note says, "Ibn Battuta visited Kilwa in 1913." Which fix is right?

    • Change "1913" to "1331"
    • Leave it: the date is right
    • Change "visited" to "built"
    • Change "Kilwa" to "Mali"

  11. Kira's note says, "Kilwa's coins stayed in Kilwa." Which fix is right?

    • Leave it: no coin left the island
    • Change "coins" to "ships"
    • Change "Kilwa" to "China"
    • Change it: they were found across the region
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7th grade Swahili trading cities and Great Zimbabwe worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Swahili trading cities and Great Zimbabwe. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can read the Swahili coast's cities and sea routes, use a key, and explain how seasonal winds and inland gold drove trade.
  • I can explain Kilwa's reach, its coins and its control of Sofala's gold trade, and tell a labeled summary from a quotation.
  • I can describe Great Zimbabwe's dry stone walls, read its trade finds, and make careful claims about its builders, name and population.

Standard: D2.Geo.7.6-8

Common mistakes

Your child chose a claim that says more than the evidence shows. Keep the claim as small as the evidence.

Your child treated a debated idea as settled. When scholars disagree, a careful answer says so.

Your child reversed cause and effect. The cause comes first and makes the effect happen.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with swahili trading cities and great zimbabwe?

Your child chose a claim that says more than the evidence shows. Keep the claim as small as the evidence.

Are these 7th grade social studies worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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