Lesson Plan: Learning About Islam

Overview
People today are bombarded with news about Islam, but most Americans do not understand the religion. This activity will help students learn about Islam. As they learn about the Crusades, this knowledge will help them understand who was fighting and the reason for the conflict. Also, for a democracy to function, we all need to be educated to make informed decisions. The intent of this lesson is to increase awareness. Sudents will accomplish the following:

• Use print or online information to answer questions about Islam

• For enrichment, write a paper comparing and contrasting Islam with Christianity or with another major religion

Standards Addressed
Grade 7
Social Studies — History, Benchmark B

02. Describe the enduring impact of early civilizations in India, China, Egypt, Greece and Rome after 1000 B.C., including the spread of religions.

Materials
Text, library books, Internet for research, Learning About Islam — Search Assignment Sheet

Procedure

1. Have the students create a KWL chart with headings as shown below, and fill out the first two sections. They should try to put at least three entries in each column.
   
   KWL Chart

   What I Know	What I Want to Know	What I Learned

    

2. Lead a class discussion about what the students wrote on the KWL paper. Their entries can be written on chart paper, the board, etc., or can simply be discussed.

3. The students can use what they wrote on their chart to complete one of the following assignments:

Pass out the worksheet titled Learning About Islam — Search Assignment and direct students to do this activity as a scavenger hunt. Students may use their textbooks, library materials or the Internet. The Web site for this project, www.WesternReservePublicMedia.org/middleages/resources.htm, also offers a list of resources. Students can work with a partner to get the information. As a class, discuss what was found.

The second option is to give the students the reference page Islam and review it as a class. Students may complete the worksheet during the review, or complete it independently.

4. Enrichment: Students can work as a group to write three paragraphs that compare Islam and Christianity, or Islam and another of the major religions. The Internet site “Information on Muslims,” www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/religion/Islam.htm, has information on all of the major religions. Student research findings could be presented to the class. You could help them by suggesting the categories for comparison. The categories might include the following:

   History of the religion

   Major beliefs

   Who is considered their god

   The part of the world where this religion is prevalent

   Holy books (if any)

   Other interesting topics

Evaluation
For the Student Handout
There are 16 answers on the handout. (Learning About Islam — Search Assignment Answer Key) A percentage could be given for the number of correct responses, or this could just be used as an information assignment.

For the Enrichment Activity:
Compare and Contrast Essay Rubric

Rubric adapted from www.oneontacsd.org/rs/CompareandContrastRubric.html.