Lesson Plans

[Map of the World from 1154 by al-Idrisi; South is at the top;

taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Al-Idrisi%27s_world_map.JPG]

Below are three different lesson plan ideas: two from PBS based on their video "Islam: Empire of Faith," and one from Stanford's History Education Group. 

Lesson Plan #1: Expansion of the Islamic Empire

[http://sheg.stanford.edu/expansion-islamic-empire]

This lesson asks students to listen to a short PowerPoint presentation (included), and then reading three separate descriptions of how the Islamic Empire expanded. After the PowerPoint and before reading the documents, students must write a hypothesis that answers the essential question: How did the Islamic Empire Expand? After reading each document, they amend their hypothesis to integrate the new information. This lesson helps students practice writing their own arguments as well as amending their previous argument as they come across new information. Also included in the lesson are worksheets that guide students through the readings with close reading questions and definitions for vocabulary.

Lesson Plan #2: An Introduction to Islam and Muhammad

[http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/lesson1.html]

This lesson plan involves students watching the first section of the "Islam - Empire of Faith" video in order to teach the beginnings of Islam and how it compares with Judaism and Christianity. The main goal of this lesson is to have students create a Parallel Time Line, which organizes European events on the same timeline as those in the Muslim world. This activity helps students to view history as global, where events occur concurrently, which helps blur the line between Western and Eastern world. Again, this activity calls for the video, though the lesson plan provides adaptations if the class does not have the video. However, the video is available via YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s59LfXGMyjY. An additional caveat: the site does provide worksheets and other materials, however, they are not available as a PDF or for download.

Lesson Plan #3: Creating a Textile Museum Piece from the Islamic Empire

[http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/lesson3.html]

This lesson plan involves students watching a selection from PBS's documentary, doing additional research about the textile trade, and designing their own textile. The textile trade was invaluable to the Islamic Empire, who was able to create and distribute this very desirable product, and the site provides five website resources that students can use to conduct their research. This lesson would most likely be effective with students that are interested in art, who would benefit from creating a product that does not involve writing, or those that need more encouragement to be engaged. While PBS is hoping teachers and schools would buy their video, they also provide information for those schools who do not have access to it. However, if you do not have the video and cannot buy it, then the video is available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s59LfXGMyjY. An additional caveat: the site does provide worksheets and other materials, however they are not available as a PDF or for download.