Muslim Contributions and the Golden Age

Social Studies Middle School Muslim Contributions and the Golden Age
Students learn about important contributions from the Islamic Golden Age, including the House of Wisdom. In small groups, they research and explain important contributions in art, architecture, literature, sciences, and medicine. Then they consider what might serve as a House of Wisdom in today’s society.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

1:1 Devices
Teacher Pack

The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.

Here are the teacher pack items for Muslim Contributions and the Golden Age:

Preview - Scene 1
Exploros Learnign Experience Scene Navigation


Engage


Overview

In this experience, students learn about important contributions from the Islamic Golden Age, including the House of Wisdom. In small groups, they research and explain important contributions in art, architecture, literature, sciences, and medicine. Then they consider what might serve as a House of Wisdom in today’s society.

Students will work in small groups in scene 3.

Objectives

  • Describe important Islamic contributions during the Islamic Golden Age.
  • Identify important contributions from ancient Islamic civilizations and explain their impact.


In addition to being a massive and influential religion and the basis for empires and governments, Islamic civilization has also contributed to culture—the arts, sciences, math, literature, and more. You will learn about some of these contributions in this experience.

Objectives

  • Describe important Islamic contributions during the Islamic Golden Age.
  • Identify important contributions from ancient Islamic civilizations and explain their impact.


photograph of a sundial

Islamic Sundial in Al-Jazzar Mosque, Acre, Israel


List the tools or methods you use for finding out what time it is. To list more than one, separate your ideas with a comma, like this: food, talking to someone.

Post your answer

Now imagine that you lived in ancient times and did not have most of those methods for telling time. What might you do?

To find out how and why Muslims needed to tell time, watch Islam: Sundials.


Answer the following question.


They pray five times a day at very specific times based on the position of the sun in the sky. They also need to know their global position so that they can pray towards Mecca.


What other contributions to culture, the arts, and the sciences did Islamic civilizations provide? List any you know.


Discuss student responses. Be prepared for students to have very few contributions to list because they do not know yet know of them. Explain that students will learn about the importance that Islamic civilizations played in developing the arts and the sciences.


When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.


End of Preview
The Complete List of Learning Experiences in Islamic and African Civilizations Unit.
Social Studies Middle School East and Southern African Kingdoms
East and Southern African Kingdoms
Social Studies Middle School West and Central African Kingdoms
West and Central African Kingdoms
Social Studies Middle School Religion and Its Influence: The Origins of Islam
Religion and Its Influence: The Origins of Islam
Social Studies Middle School History of Early Islam
History of Early Islam
Social Studies Middle School The Expansion of Muslim Rule and the Spread of Islam
The Expansion of Muslim Rule and the Spread of Islam
Social Studies Middle School Muslim Contributions and the Golden Age
Muslim Contributions and the Golden Age
Would you like to preview the rest of this learning experience, and get access to the entire functioning Ancient World History MS course for your classroom? Sign up using your school email address below.
Back to top