Unit Outline: Rise and Spread of Islam

Teacher: Annika Staal Subject/Topic: Islam’s Influence as a

Class: World History (9th) Religion and Political Empire, 7th – 16th c

Essential Question: How was Islam created, how did it spread, and what was its impact? What is the benefit of Islam to the world?

Textbook Used: Spielvogel, Jackson J. Glencoe World History. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 188-501.

Goal of Unit: Learn about Islam as a religion and as a governing body in the Middle East, North/West/East Africa, in South Asia,

and in conflict with Europe, as well as working to battle preconceptions about the religion, and have a greater sense of the appreciation

for Islam’s impact on billions of people throughout history.

Background Reading: Previous units in the aforementioned Glencoe World History.

Summary of the Unit: This unit teaches students about the creation, spread, and impact of Islam. They are exposed to the geography

of the Middle East, the foundations of Islam as a world religion, and the many political forms that Islam took. Students will also study

the last effects that Islam has had on science and art. Beyond the Middle East, the class will examine how Islam spread to East and

West Africa, and later to South Asia. Lastly, students will confront preconceptions they had about Islam, and specifically look at the

relationship between Islam and women and migration. Students will confront preconceptions they had about Islam, and specifically

look at the relationship between Islam and women and migration. This unit will be punctuated by a quiz in the second week, and an

overall final project in which they are asked to examine the impact of Islam as a whole through a particular lens (ex: a type of art, a

biography, an invention).
 Monday
55 Minutes
Objective:
Students will learn the backstory
of the Islamic empires and their
own preconceptions about Islam.
Essential Questions: What do
we mean when we say “the
Middle East”? Why are many of
our preconceived notions about
Islam/Middle East negative?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 Discussion about geography
Week 1
and what defines
borders/what was before
Islam
 Show them different maps
of what the Middle East is
defined as, after asking
them to draw it themselves
on a map
Closure: Write a postcard to the
teacher explaining your concepts
of Islam
Assign and explain unit project
Homework:
Read pgs 188-189 (before)
Read pgs 189-191
Tuesday
55 Minutes
Objective:
Students will study Muhammad the
Prophet and the basics of Islam as a
religion, analyze text, evaluate the
information they’re reading, and be
able to pair it correctly with their
source.
Essential Questions: What is
different about Islamic life than non-
Islamic? Why do you think Islam
grew so fast?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about the
day’s topic
Activity:
 Learning about who
Muhammad was and the actions
he took to begin this religion
through film “Islam: Empire of
Faith”, taking structured notes.
 I will present the 5 Pillars
myself, then have them read
excerpts from the Qu’ran to
determine what someone who
practices Islam needs to do.
Closure: Make a group list of what
our research shows how those who
practice need to live their lives
Homework:
Read pgs 192-193
Wednesday
55 Minutes
Objective:
This lesson explores the “Dar al-
Islam”. Students will have to
visualize the lives of others
through their own research of
different sources, assess what it is
important to look for, and analyze
the texts to find them.
Essential Questions: How do
you think Islam changed the lives
of those who lived in the
medieval Islamic world?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 Students will all get their
own maps of the Middle East
that will gradually show the
expansion of Islam as we add
to them every couple days
 Students to offer suggestions
about what are important
parts of daily life that they
should be looking for during
research.
 Will read excerpts about
what it was like to live under
Islamic rule
Closure: summarize their
findings in a journal entry.
Homework:
Read pgs 194
Thursday
55 Minutes
Objective:
This lesson will cover the end of
the Rightly-guided caliphs and
the religion’s split to Sunni,
Shi’a/Shi’ite, Sufi types of
Islam. Students will compare the
differences in the sects of Islam
and measure how they are
presented in modern articles.
Essential Question: What
determines legitimacy? About
religion?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 Students will have read
about this in their textbook,
and now will be reading
different modern day
articles about types of
Islamic faith.
 Each student will get a
number (1-3), and will read
one of the articles
corresponding to the type of
Islam.
Closure: They will then be
mixed up into groups of 3 and all
share their findings.
Homework:
Read pgs 196-197
Friday
55 Minutes
Objective: In this lesson students
will learn about how Islam spread
to North Africa & Mediterranean.
Students distinguish the transition
to empire from oligarchy,
determine what a “migration” is,
and discuss why people migrate,
connecting it to today, backing it
up with their evidence.
Essential Question: Is it ok for a
political leader to be the religious
leader/ vice versa?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 Adding to their maps
 Discussion about what is an
“empire” as a whole group.
 Readings about the hirajh
and different Islamic
migrations across the world
individually.
Closure: Come together Socratic-
seminar style and present findings
to the group about why people
might migrate (with evidence!)
Homework:
Read pgs 239, 242-245, 247-248
 Objective: Students will
creatively compose successive
journal entries following the
trade systems in West and East
Africa and measure the
importance of trade.
Essential Questions: Is trade
important? Why? How did Islam
blend in with pre-existing
traditions?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 
Week 2
I will project a list of terms
and vocab I want them to
incorporate, including
different African kingdoms,
goods being traded,
languages, and religious
terms.
 Students will work
individually but all have
access to books and the
internet.
 There will be expectations
for how many interactions
need to happen, how many
vocab words, how many
miles traveled.
Closure: Write down one new
thing that you learned in your
passport.
Homework:
Read pgs 206-207
Objective: This lesson begins a
two-day lesson on the Golden Age:
art, architecture, and literature.
Students will practice archaeology
skills of analyzing, surveying,
making inferences, and identifying
pieces of visual culture.
Essential Questions: What can
visuals tell you about history?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about the
day’s topic
Activity:
 Students will work in their
table groups to match different
types of art or literature to the
mixed up descriptions
provided. There will be
multiple sections
corresponding to the different
geographic regions that Islam
spread to.
Closure: At the end, teacher
moderates/class guesses different
pieces or art or architecture shown
in a PowerPoint based off of the
ideas they came up with during the
guessing game.
Homework:
Read pgs 200-205
Objective: Day two of looking at
the Golden Age. Students will be
exploring the world around them
and finding how it connects to the
past in terms of science and
technology innovation
Essential Questions: What parts
of your life do you owe to Islamic
empires? Why is innovation
important?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
Students will explore parts
of society today and find
the parts of their lives today
that are due to the Islamic
world.
 They will be split up into
groups of 3 or 4 and be
given a particular piece or
science or technology and
resources or the internet to
use to research.
Closure: After filling out their
scaffolded notes, they will have to
present their findings to the class,
combining with the visuals the
teacher already has.
Homework:
Read pg 198
Objective: In this lesson
students will learn about Islam’s
interaction with Catholic Europe
and tackle their preconceptions
about the Crusades. Students
will work to compare and
defend/debate the motivations
and impacts for both Muslims
and Christians.
Essential Question: Why do we
always hear only the European
perspective? Who was “right”?
Can anyone be right in a
religious war?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 Teacher will go over
different visuals and ask
students to volunteer
answers about whose side
they’re from.
 Students will be split up
into for/against and have
to debate whether the war
was just or not, with
everyone writing out their
opinions beforehand
Closure: They will then have to
defend their opinion to the other
side in groups of 2, 4, or 6
(depending on size of class).
Homework:
Study!
Objective: Quiz/Workday. The
purpose here is for the teacher to
see how much the students have
retained so far, if they can explain
their ideas, and also to give them
time in order to work on this
project.
Essential Questions: Do students
remember everything we’ve been
learning so far? Are students
prepared to defend their answers
to short essay questions?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 Quiz over what has been
learned so far, with a map
section, a matching
section, and a couple short
essay questions.
Closure: Rest of the day can be
used for students to read or
research or work on writing their
unit project papers.
Homework:
Read pgs 484-487, 492-495
 Objective: This is a two day
comparative lesson looking at
the different ways and places
that the Islamic world spread
after the Golden Age (11th-16th
century). Students will research
separate empires and teach the
class themselves about their
findings.
Essential Questions: How did
Islam get to be where it is today?
How is each empire unique even
with the same religion?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Week 3
Activity:
 As a class, we will go over
the different things that
make up a civilization and
therefore the different
things students will want to
be looking for.
 Students will be split up
into small groups and given
one of the three major
Islamic empires.
 They will spend the day
reading and taking notes
about their specific empire.
Closure: Write something new
you learned in your passport.
Homework:
 Read pgs 498-501
Objective: Part 2. The goal is to
help them practice researching and
actively sharing their knowledge.
Essential Questions: How did
Islam get to be where it is today?
How is each empire unique even
with the same religion?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about the
day’s topic
Activity:
 Students will be presenting
their group research from the
previous day about the
Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal
Empires to their classmates.
 Everyone will add to their
maps and will take notes on
the different empires on the
provided structured note
sheets.
Closure: Write down 2 different
things you can improve on when
giving a presentation.
Homework:
 No reading, work on your
project
Objective: Students need to learn
from people of the faith, not just
me. Students will design
questions to ask the guest speaker,
or about the TedTalk after we
watch it.
Essential Questions: What
prejudice is there against Islam
today? What can we do to lessen
prejudice?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 Students will take notes and
write down questions for
the guest/about the TedTalk
 Hopefully I can find
someone of the faith from
the area to come and speak
to the students about the
history of the religion
 Other option: lots of cool
TedTalks!
 https://www.ted.com/talks/
mustafa_akyol_faith_versus
_tradition_in_islam
 https://www.ted.com/talks/d
alia_mogahed_what_it_s_li
ke_to_be_muslim_in_ameri
ca
Closure: If we do end up
watching the video, students will
reflect with a Socratic seminar
discussion
Homework:
 No reading, work on
your project
Objective: This lesson will deal
with the volatile issue of Islam
and women. Students criticize
their own preconceived notions
about women in Islam and
discuss how they can do better in
the future.
Essential Questions: What
comes to mind when you think
about Muslim women? Why are
men and women treated
differently in society?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 Class watches a Ted Talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/
shirin_neshat_art_in_exile
 Read sources (Qur’an, web
comic, HONY,
autobiography excerpt)
Closure: write an individual
reflection about the differences
between men and women in
Islam
Homework:
 No reading, work on
your project
Objective: As the last day of the
unit, it will be all about
assessment. Most of the previous
assessments have been through
the discussions or reflections that
students have been
having/writing. Today students
will be presenting or turning in
the projects that were assigned on
day one of the unit. Students can
opt to either write a longer paper
or write and share a shorter paper.
Those who chose to share will be
presenting today.
Essential Questions: What have
you learned? What has been the
impact of Islam on the world?
Preview: Passport questions to
review and start thinking about
the day’s topic
Activity:
 Students turn in their papers
 Those who opted to do a
presentation will give their
presentation. The timing of
said presentation will
depend on the amount of
people who opted for this.
Closure: Turn in your unit
project
Homework:
 Next unit’s reading
Overarching Standards – Content:

 F3 Growth and Development of World Religions Explain the way that the world religions or belief systems of Hinduism,

Judaism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam grew, including • spatial representations of that growth •

interactions with culturally diverse peoples • responses to the challenges offered by contact with different faiths • ways they

influenced people’s perceptions of the world. (National Geography Standard 6, p. 195)

 4.1.2 World Religions – Using historical and modern maps and other documents, analyze the continuing spread of major world

religions during this era and describe encounters between religious groups including • Islam and Christianity (Roman Catholic

and Orthodox) – increased trade and the Crusades

 4.2.1 Growth of Islam and Dar al-Islam [A country, territory, land, or abode where Muslim sovereignty prevails] – Identify and

explain the origins and expansion of Islam and the creation of the Islamic Empire including • The founding geographic extent

of Muslim empires and the artistic, scientific, technological, and economic features of Muslim society • diverse religious

traditions of Islam — Sunni, Shi’a/Shi’ite, Sufi, comparing the role of Dar al-Islam as a cultural, political, and economic force

in Afro-Eurasia • the caliphate as both a religious and political institution, and the persistence of other traditions in the Arab

World including Christianity (National Geography Standard 10, p. 203)

 4.3.1 analyzing the influence of Islam and Christianity on African culture and the blending of traditional African beliefs with

new ideas from Islam and Christianity (National Geography Standard 10, p. 203), comparing and contrasting at least two of the
 major states/civilizations of East, South, and West Africa (Aksum, Swahili Coast, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Mali, Songhai) in terms

of environmental, economic, religious, political, and social structures (National Geography Standard 12, p. 208)

 5.3.3 South Asia/India through the 18th Century – Analyze the global economic significance of India and the role of foreign

influence in the political, religious, cultural, and economic transformations in India and South Asia including the Mughal

Empire and the beginnings of European contact.

Useful Websites:

TedTalks:

Akyol, Mustafa. “Faith versus Tradition in Islam”. TED. March, 2011. Video,
https://www.ted.com/talks/mustafa_akyol_faith_versus_tradition_in_islam.

Mogahed, Dalia. “What It’s Like to be Muslim in America”. TED. February, 2016. Video,
https://www.ted.com/talks/dalia_mogahed_what_it_s_like_to_be_muslim_in_america.

Neshat, Shirin. “Art in Exile”. TEDWomen. December, 2010. Video, https://www.ted.com/talks/shirin_neshat_art_in_exile.