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Action-packed lessons – students perform in front of the class!
The life and teachings of Muhammad.
“The Great Race”: Follow the Star, the Cross, or the Crescent!
Student speeches: “I am Muhammad.“
Game for the Great outdoors: “A walk with Ibn Battuta.”
Medieval Bazaar: Merchants and products on the Silk Road.
Game: “Name that Scholar!” highlights the achievements of the Golden Age of Islam.
In “Can you speak Arabic?” students learn terms.
Lectures with graphic organizers.
Lotsa mapping. Interpret photos. Games galore.
Group analysis and debates.
Events: “Screaming Headlines.”
Historical figures: Rank the famous people from best to worst.
If you lived on the Arabian Peninsula, what would change in your daily life?
Using the five senses, what do you remember about the nomadic way of life?
Projects: Students teach the class.
Homework on the internet.
Heavy on terms: “The ABCs of Muslim culture” (recall terms).
“Let your classroom BLOOM!” (Using Bloom’s taxonomy, explore terms in depth.)
Assessment: Learn the logic of a multiple-choice test by playing “Honk if you hate history!”
Test: 348 questions.
Overview of topics covered:
- Life of the Bedouin
- Muhammad
- The Five Pillars of Islam
- Expansion – the Islamic empire
- Muslim Merchants
- The Golden Age of Islam
The Test
348 questions
Simple to use
One book for the whole class.
No learning curve: Lessons are ready to reproduce.
Saves time
All the facts are included:
There is no need to use a textbook or reference books.
Your students will zip through the worksheets.
Each lesson is 20 minutes in and out. Perfect for block scheduling.
(Detailed information below}
1. The Topics
The Islamic Empire in the Middle Ages: The geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures.
1. The Arabian Peninsula: How geography shaped Arab culture. Bedouin, herder, pastoralist, livestock, clan, nomadic life, hospitality. Oasis, sedentary life. Eurasia. Arid, oasis, isolated communities, camel caravans. The Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, dhow.
2. The life and teachings of Muhammad. Allah, monotheism, prophet, submission, recitation, the crescent, Mecca, Dome of the Rock. The Koran: Beliefs, practices, and law.
What beliefs do Muslims share with Jews and Christians? Abraham and “The People of the Book.”
3. Islam is not simply a religion. It is a way of life.
The Koran and the Sunnah: How they shape Muslim daily life.
The Five Pillars. Pilgrimage, the hajj, Mecca, Great Mosque, Ka’bah, minaret, mosaic (not idolatry).
Ramadan. Diet, fasting, clothing, alms, prayer rug, idolatry, polygamy, dowry.
4. The Spread of Islam: Military conquests, merchants travel, spreading Islam and Arabic. The Moors. The Moguls. Religious tolerance, cultural blending, a multicultural society.
5. The Islamic Empire: Caliph, sheikh. Growth of cities. Camel caravan trade routes through Asia, Africa, and Europe. The Silk Road: Spices, textiles, paper, steel, new crops. Merchants were the middlemen.
6. The Golden Age of Islam: The magnificent contributions of Muslim scholars in science, math, geography, philosophy, medicine, art, and literature. Intellectual exchanges among Muslim scholars of Eurasia and Africa.
Ibn Battuta, Maimonides, Omar Khayyam
Arabian Nights, The Rubaiyat
Astrolabe.
2. The Lessons
Designed to involve students at the moment and on the day of the state test.
Chock full of facts: Using reasoning, students manipulate the facts.
Action-packed: Students perform what they know in front of the class!
Homework on the Internet: We provide the websites, questions, and all the answers.
| Life of the Bedouin | Lecture: Scattered inthe desert; united by Mecca. |
| The Arabian Peninsula | Mapping |
| Arabian Facts | Game: Categorize 27 facts about the Arabian Peninsula. |
| The Forehead Game | Game: Learn the location of Mecca and Saudi Arabia. |
| The Chalkboard Game | Game: Familiarize yourself with place names. |
| Homework on the Internet | Geography of the Arabian Peninsula |
| This is Your Life | If you lived in Mecca, how would the climate change your life? |
| If you were a Bedouin nomad . . . | how would your life change? |
| The life of Muhammad | Mapping |
| Muhammad: 36 questions | Homework on the Internet. |
| Muhammad on Christians and Jews Lecture: | “People of the Book.”The Koran: 25 Questions |
| “I am Muhammad” | Student speeches: Expressive, narrative, informative, persuasive. |
| Compare & Contrast | Three Religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam |
| The Great Race! | Game: 65 questions. Distinguish between Judaism, Christianity, Islam |
| The Five Pillars of Islam | Homework on the Internet. |
| A Muslim never eats pork! | Islam forbids what food and drink? Compare your diet. |
| The Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca | Homework on the Internet. |
| The Great Mosque | Graphic organizer: It is the symbol of the Muslim World. How so? |
| The Islamic Empire | Mapping |
| How Islam was spread | Military Conquest, Trade, Cultural Blending, Religious tolerance |
| The Caliph of Baghdad | Lecture: The Golden Age of Islam, 800-1200 |
| The Travels of Ibn Battuta | Homework on the Internet: 36 questions |
| A Walk with Ibn Battuta | Game for the Great Outdoors: Students re-create his travels. |
| The Muslim merchant | Lecture: Middleman on the Silk Road. |
| The Silk Road | Mapping: Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, China. |
| The Silk Road | Homework on the Internet. |
| The Medieval Bazaar | Students trade goods on a map of the world. |
| The Golden Age of Islam | Lecture: Cities were centers of Islamic learning: Multicultural society c |
| Achievements: Muslim Scholars | Homework on the Internet. |
| Name that Scholar! | Game: Ibn Battuta, Omar Khayyam, Avicenna, Averroes, Maimonides. |
| Name that Invention! | Game: 32 questions about the achievements of Muslim scholars. |
| The ABCs of the Islamic Empire Recall terms |
| Can you speak Arabic? | Define terms |
| Screaming Headlines | Write one paragraph on the major events. |
| The Five Senses | When you think of the Byzantine Empire: What do you see, hear, etc. |
| Honk if you hate history! | Students hear the test before they take it. |
| Stump the Teacher | Whenever you miss a question, blame it on having no breakfast. |
| The Last Man Standing | Game: Based on the movie starring Bruce Willis |
3. The Test
Students HEAR the test - long before they take it!
Our test is tough: If your students can do well on our test, the state test should be a breeze.
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