Sylvia Little

7th Grade Social Studies

 

Lesson Plan: The Spread of Islam to Africa and Asia

 

Rationale: Students will understand how the movement of a religion, like Islam, affects the people of a region and the economics of a region.

 

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

1.      Use and understand maps.

2.      Explain where and when Islam spread

3.      Describe how Muslims interacted with native civilizations in Africa and Asia.

 

NCSS Themes: Culture; People, Places, and the Environment; Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

 

National Geography Standards:

1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information.

9. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on the Earth’s surfaces.

11. The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth’s surface.

13. How forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth’s surface.

 

GPS:

SS7H4c: Explain the origins and spread of Islam to 1258 CE; include the religious, cultural, and military factors.

 

Requirements and Resources:

 

Time: Two 90-minute class periods

 

Transparencies: Islam Spread Map, African Gold Trade Diagram, Indian Ocean monsoon map, Indian Ocean Trade Diagram

 

Text: People, Places, and Change

 

Handouts: Islam spread Map, Indian Ocean Monsoon Map, African Gold Trade Diagram, Indian Ocean Trade Diagram

 

Activities:

  1. Activate lesson with student guesses as to where Islam is today. Compare their guesses with a map of Islamic nations.
  2. Fill in African Gold Trade diagram with notes given by teacher.
  3. Show students the Indian Ocean monsoon map and generate discussion as to why these winds would affect trade in the Indian Ocean.  Fill in the Indian Ocean diagram with teacher-given notes.
  4. Have student fill in their own Islam spread map using information from their notes and maps in their book.

 

Concluding Activity:

Students will fill in a Venn diagram comparing Muslim trade with Indian Ocean civilizations and African civilizations.  They will then answer a short discussion question comparing the two trades.

 

Vocabulary:

Monsoon, gold and salt trade, bazaar

 

References:

Helgren, David M., Robert J. Sager, Alison S. Brooks.  People, Places, and

            Change. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2005.