Middle+East

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 * Middle East**

=The Middle East (500-1500 CE)= [Contributed by Emily Block]

Background
//Course//: World History I //Essential Questions//: Describe the worldviews of early Jews, Christians, and Moslems. How are they similar and different? Why does understanding different people’s world view matter? ; Why and how did Islam spread? ; How does studying the geography, religions, and history of the Middle East better enable us to understand and analyze current events? ; What is the impact of large-scale stereotypes? //Topics Covered//: geography of the Middle East; the history and major beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; the spread of Islam; cultural and scientific advancements in the Islamic Empire; current events in the Middle East //Duration//: 22 day unit with 80 minute class periods //Grade//: 9

Resources
S = student resource T = teacher resource _

Background Sources
The following sources provide an overview of the topics covered in this course _

1) Downey, Matthew T. //Contemporary’s World History: Annotated Teacher’s Edition.// Chicago: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2006

__•__ Textbook, roughly 470 pages long – easy to read – S & T • Takes readers on a very comprehensive walk through world history, from prehistoric times to our current decade. • Very clearly written and provides brief descriptions and major takeaways for each topic. Chapters emphasize political history, however there is an ample amount of social history and geography as well. • Because it is a teacher’s edition, there are text boxes in the margins that offer suggestions for teaching the material and additional information about the content. • Chapter 9 (“The Beginnings of Islam”) provides an excellent, comprehensive narration of Muhammad’s life, the basic beliefs of Islam, and the early spread of the Islamic Empire (11 pages of text that includes useful pictures, maps, and charts). • Good for all students, but particularly those with lower reading levels

Recommendations for Use: I highly recommend giving students a copy of Chapter 9 of this textbook. Not only is it well organized and very comprehensive, but the author uses simple vocabulary which makes it easy to read (unlike the overly compact writing style of most textbooks). The readable nature of this text lends itself well to teaching reading and note-taking skills. I plan on having students read sections from this chapter and take Cornell notes.



2) Beck, Roger B. et al. //World History: Patterns of Interaction//. USA: McDougal Littell, 2007.

• World history textbook, roughly 1200 pages (heavy) – S & T • Provides a more detailed overview of historical events than Matthew Downey’s book. Relevant chapters include: Chapter 3 section 4, “The Origins of Judaism”; Chapter 6, “Ancient Rome and Early Christianity”; and Chapter 10 “The Muslim World.” • Organized both chronologically and by region. • In addition to including both political and social history, this textbook offers many good maps and illustrations.

Recommendations for Use: I recommend that teachers use this source to gain background knowledge about course content, but use it sparingly with students. It is a large textbook (1200 pages) and very heavy; it would be difficult for students to carry it back and forth between school and home. It would be beneficial, however, to point students’ attention to the colorful maps and charts, along with some of the special “social history” pages.



3) “World Civilizations: An Internet Classroom and Anthology” from Washington State University, www.wsu.edu/~dee/WORLD.HTM

• Website – T • This website is an excellent resource for teachers to gain background knowledge on the Middle East (and world history in general). • The three sections I used for this unit are: “The Hebrews,” “A New Atlas of the Universe: Early Christianity,” and “Islam as Belief: The Qu’ran” • For each chapter there is online text covering a range of topics, in addition to links for further resources and primary documents

Recommendations for Use: This website is incredibly useful for teachers who want to gain more background knowledge on a certain subject. Although I alluded to the chapters on the Middle East, I use this site for all of the units in my world history I class. I listed this site as a teacher resource and not for students only because the language is a little dense and the website is not as easy to navigate as the other websites I list. Nevertheless, there is a lot of detailed information on this site, as well as links for primary documents and other resources. I recommend teachers take a look at this website and skim through the sections they feel weak in to fill in the holes in terms of background knowledge.



4) The Encyclopedia of World History. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.

• CD-ROM – for PCs – T • This CD-ROM provides useful background information on the Middle East and North Africa from 500-1500 CE. It includes two main chapters: o “The Rise and Expansion of Islam, 610-945” which includes: • Overview • Muhammad and the rise of Islam • The Umayyad Caliphate • The Abbasid Caliphate and its breakup o “The Muslim Middle East and North Africa 945 – 1500 CE” • Overview • Iran, Iraq, and Anatolia • The Mongol Empire and its successors • The Ottoman Empire • Egypt ad Syria • North Africa • Other features include a compilation of useful maps (specifically one of the Muslim Empire from 632 – 750) and a detailed search engine that allows you to search any date or person

Recommendations for Use: This is another great resource for teachers to gain background information on a subject before planning a lesson. Key words and phrases are bolded in the text, which makes it easy to skim and locate information you need. Also, the search engine is incredibly useful and contains a very complete list of people from that time period. All in all, this is a very useful resource for teachers to have on hand, and you can download it onto your computer which makes it extremely accessible.

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Visual Resources
The following sources are wonderful for all students, but especially accommodate the needs of visual learners _

5) “The Rise of Islam: World History from 500-1700 from World History Program.” Palo Alto: Teachers’ Curriculum Institute, 1997.

• This resource is available in the Teacher Resource Center of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. It consists of: S • Middle Eastern images (roughly 60 transparencies): The images include maps, pictures of landscape, pictures of art and architecture, important buildings, and people (photographs of modern Middle Easterners and drawings of people from Muhammad’s time period). • Middle Eastern music (a CD with 13 minutes worth of music): The music is primarily instrumental with some vocals (in Arabic). • The transparences are beneficial to visual learners especially, but help all learners visualize a part of the world that most have never been to.

Recommendations for Use: I think showing the class the transparencies would be useful at the beginning of a unit to introduce students to the climate/geography of the Middle East, as well as some aspects of culture (dress, art, architecture, etc.). A teacher could also pull out one or two slides that are specific to a certain topic emphasized later in the unit. The CD is interesting to listen to, however I would probably not focus part of a lesson around it. I think it would provide good background music if students are doing independent work to create a more “cultural atmosphere.”



6) Global Connections: The Middle East. WGBH Educational Foundation, 2002: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/index.html

• Website – provides detailed background information on a range of topics related to the Middle East – S & T • The major topics covered include: religion, culture, geography, gender roles, science and technology, and economics. • In addition to organized, easy to read text, this website also has images of the region, interactive maps, and timelines. This resource is incredibly useful for both teachers and students. • See accompanying “Map Exploration Activity”

Recommendations for Use: For teachers, this website is a good way to further their background content knowledge on the Middle East. I recommend this site because it is organized thematically and discusses modern Middle East in addition to the past. Furthermore, this website talks about gender roles more in depth than the textbooks I have listed. This resource can be useful for students in several ways. First, it offers different types of maps (socio-political, topographical, historical political borders, and Muslim population) that are quite useful during a geography lesson (see my attached “map exploration activity”). Second, students could go to a computer lab and complete a scavenger hunt worksheet based on the information on the website; the website is very well organized and thus conducive to this type of activity. Third, if teachers are assigning a research paper/project on the Middle East this website would be an excellent resource for students to begin their research. Because the website contains many images, visual learners would benefit from its use. Also, kinesthetic learners would perhaps be more engaged by a website because they are responsible for clicking on different links and finding information themselves.



7) Video: “Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet.” Kikim Media and Unity Productions Foundation, 2002.

• Video – roughly two hours long – available in CRLS Teacher Resource Center - S • Provides a detailed account of the life of Mohammad, the beliefs of Islam, and the profound presence Islam has in today’s world. • I recommend beginning with chapter two of the DVD (although the first chapter is interesting, because it discusses how Islam is a large presence among Americans). There are several reasons I believe the second chapter of this movie is effective: o It is narrated by historians/professors in a very clear, organized, and engaging manner o The video shows many beautiful images of Saudi Arabian landscapes as well as artwork from the time period o The narration provides a context for the birth of Islam (it describes the lack of religion in the region before Muhammad and the tribal nature of its people) o The video’s depiction of Mohammad’s life humanizes him by describing his doubts and fears about his revelations. • This video is beneficial to both auditory and visual learners; there are many good images to accompany the narration, and there are several different narrators so a single voice does not dominate the whole movie.

Recommendations for Use: This video is both rich in content material and is very engaging; I highly recommend it. In my unit I use it as my primary way of teaching students about the life of Muhammad – I will show about an hour of it and have students answer questions as they watch. You could also show smaller clips, however I think the movie is directed in a way that shorter segments might be less effective than a longer viewing.



8) PBS Frontline “From Jesus to Christ.” WGBH educational foundation, 1995-2008 WGBH http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/

• Website – includes written information (accessible to most 7-12th graders), maps, timelines, photos, and videos – website is well organized and easy to navigate – S & T • Offers detailed information about the life of Jesus and early Christianity. The website is divided into 5 main categories: o Jesus’ many faces o A portrait of Jesus’ world o The story of the storytellers o The first Christians o Why did Christianity succeed? • One thing I like about this website is that it is always being updated and talks about how historians have changed their minds about much of what was originally thought about the early Christian church. I think this is valuable to students of history to see because it shows them that new evidence is always surfacing and historians constantly reevaluate what they know. It shows that what we know about the past is not set in stone. • The website also includes a 4 hour documentary entitled “From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians.” o Hour 1: Looks at how Jesus’ life was shaped by Judaism and the Roman Empire o Hour 2: Examines the years directly following Jesus’ crucifixion and traces Jesus’ early followers o Hour 3: Explores the writing of the Gospels and the early Christian groups o Hour 4: Examines how the Christian movement branched off from Judaism and became its own religion • This website is excellent for visual and kinesthetic learners

Recommendations for Use: This website could be used for a variety of purposes. Teachers could show students select segments of the video, which include interesting images from the time period and narration by a range of historians and professors. Because the website is so easy to navigate, teachers could also create a web-quest and let students explore the website themselves. I recommend teachers spend time on this website before teaching Christianity – there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from a variety of sources and experts.

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Additional Content Resources
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9) Hammoudi, Abdellah. A Season in Mecca: Narrative of a Pilgrimage. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, LLC, 2006.

• Non-fiction novel – small book, 287 pages – some difficult vocabulary and sophisticated level of thinking make it geared towards high level readers, although you can find sections within it that use more basic language (especially passages with dialogue). - S • This book is a personal account of a Moslem’s experience on the hajj. It is fascinating to read because the author – a Moroccan anthropology professor at Princeton – wanted to experience the hajj as a devout Muslim, but also to observe it as an anthropologist. • I like this book for several reasons: o The author recounts the entire process of the hajj – including all of the preparation and politics that is involved before the actual pilgrimage itself o The author makes a lot of observations about the interactions between pilgrims on the hajj and highlights a core tension between people coming together as Muslims, and people bringing with them the conflicts that exist between ethnic groups, Sunni/Shia, etc. o The author uses a lot of detail in his writing and shares his spiritual thoughts throughout the pilgrimage; the reader feels as though (s)he is on the hajj with him • Good resource for teaching about Islam, the Hajj, rituals/rites of passage, and understanding perspective

Recommendations for Use: Although this book is incredibly rich and offers countless insights on the hajj, I recommend only using select passages to complement a larger lesson on the pilgrimage. In my unit on the Middle East I assign students excerpts from this book as homework and ask them to answer questions as they read. (I recommend teachers read this book for a greater understanding of the political complexities of the hajj).



10) Foster, Leila Merrell. Iraq. New York: Children’s Press, 2006

• Book – 128 pages –basic reading level - S • This book provides a brief but comprehensive history of Iraq up through Saddam Hussein • Also includes many pictures of present-day Iraq and its people • See accompanying reading questions

Recommendations for Use: I plan on assigning a section of this book to my students (pp. 61-76) and providing questions for them to answer. I am using this source to give my students a basic history of Iraq before discussing contemporary issues. The passage I selected describes Baghdad in the 8th century when it was a vibrant, intellectual city. The chapter goes on to describe the waves of invasion that swept through Iraq until it gained its independence in 1932. I hope that reading about this history will give students some perspective on the reign of Saddam Hussein – it is not an accident that the Iraqi people were drawn to a strong, militant-like leader.



11) Northam, Jackie. “Reaching Across the Divide: Attacks Prompt Muslim Woman to Teach Others About Her Faith. NPR podcast: March 12, 2002 http://www.npr.org/news/specials/sixmonths/muslim.html

• Podcast – 7 minutes 26 seconds • This podcast shares the story of a young Moslem woman (Islmail) who experienced persecution after the attacks on 9/11. Offended by the incorrect assumptions many Americans made about Moslems, she decided to inform others about Islam. In her story she talks about how it felt to be judged according to a stereotype, and the difference educating others about her religion has made for her. • Good for auditory learners and short enough that those who are not auditory learners won’t completely zone out (ideally) • I like this story because it highlights the individual agency of a high school aged woman taking an active stand countering Muslim stereotypes

Recommendations for Use: This short clip would be a good way to kick off a discussion about stereotypes. I recommend playing the podcast to the class and having students do a think, pair, share afterwards about people’s actions towards Moslems post- 9/11, how it made Ismail feel, and specific ways she dealt with being judged. A teacher might also want students to write a reflecting in their journals after listening to this podcast.

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Primary Documents
The following resources provide primary documents that correspond to this unit _

12) Witt, et al. The Humanities Vol. 1 Fourth Edition. D.C. Heath and Co., 1993

• Book – roughly 300 pages – paperback – S • The majority of the book focuses on the western hemisphere, however Chapter 8 is entitled “Judaism and Early Christianity” and provides an organized synopsis of key figures in Judaism and aspects of the early church. • The book is especially useful for primary documents. Chapter 8 includes: o Readings from the Old Testament (creation, the sacrifice of Isaac, the Ten Commandments, a psalm, etc.) o Readings from the New Testament (Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Paul’s letter to the Ephesians).

Recommendations for Use: Although this book does provide some content information, it is mostly useful for the primary documents. There are a number of ways teachers could design a lesson around the documents from Chapter 8. First, they could teach students the skills involved in analyzing a primary document. Second, they could assess students’ ability to read for understanding (there are comprehensions questions at the end of each passage). Third, students could use the texts to chart similarities and differences between Judaic and Christian beliefs.



13) “Electronic Library of Primary Sources.” World History Patterns of Interaction. CD-ROM. McDougal Littell, 2007.

• CD-ROM – for PCs and Macs – T & S • This CD is useful for primary documents - they are good for readers of all levels because they are not too long and use fairly basic language • Documents include: o Ibn Battuta “Pilgrimage to Mecca” – 1350s o Al-Jahiz “Men and Women” – 800s o Excerpt from the Qur’an – 650 o Bertrandon de La Brocquiere and Sultan Bayezid II “Descriptions of the Turks and the Christians” 1453 and 1500 o Critobulos of Imbros from “The Fall of Constantinople” – 1453 o Father Simon from “Report on Persia, Persians, and ‘Abbas I’” – 1604 • Each document is prefaced by a short introduction that offers background information on the author and the text

Recommendation for Use: The primary documents in this CD-ROM could be used as a tool for teachers to teach students the skill of interpreting and analyzing primary resources. They also could be used to offer different perspectives on content material (specifically Ibn Battuta’s pilgrimage). Because the documents are usually no more than 2-3 pages, they are a good length for homework assignments and can be supplemented by reading comprehension questions.

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Teacher Tools / Skills Resources
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14) “Power Presentations.” World History Patterns of Interactions. CD-ROM. McDougal Littell, 2007

• CD-ROM – for PCs and Macs – T & S • This CD accompanies the World History Patterns textbook and offers several useful resources for students and teachers • On this CD there are ready-made PowerPoint presentations (with graphics) that take you through Chapter 10: “The Muslim World, 600-1250” and Chapter 18 “The Muslim World Expands,1300-1700 .” What is especially useful about this feature is that it allows teachers to edit the slide shows how they see fit; you can use their slides as a foundation and delete/add information to tailor the presentation to your classroom needs. • The CD also provides many good graphics: pictures, maps, charts, and timelines. These are great for visual learners and can be accessed separately from the slideshow portion of the disc. Some of these graphics are interactive as well. • Finally, the CD has a “review quiz” and “practice test” for each chapter. Because the information is based off the textbook, these resources may or may not fit your lesson.

Recommendations for Use: This CD-ROM is probably most useful as a lecture aid. Whether you want to use their slideshows as a starting point and tailor them to your lesson, or use the graphics as an accessory to your lecture, this resource is handy for days where you have a lot of content material to get through. In addition, if your classroom has a student computer, the review quiz and practice test could be something students who finish work early could do to occupy their time.



15) Christensen, Linda. //Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching About Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word//. Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools, Ltd., 2000.

• Book – paperback – roughly 200 pages - T • Emphasis on teaching students the power of writing. o Christensen writes in the introduction, “I discovered that my students were more engaged in learning when we stopped reading novels as ends in themselves and started reading and examining society” (vii). • The book offers many strategies for teachers who want students to examine text on a deeper level and use their own writing as a tool for expression and liberation

Recommended Use: I plan on using an activity in chapter one of the book, entitled “The Read-Around: Raising Writers” on pages 14-17. Read-arounds are a way for students to learn about writing techniques from each other. Students sit in a circle and take turns reading aloud a sample of their writing. Classmates listen and take notes on elements that worked well in the writing. This activity allows students to hear a wide range of writing styles and encourages them to implement new techniques into their own writing. This activity benefits both weak writers and strong writers: struggling writers are able to listen and gain new ideas about writing techniques and strong writers are able to get feedback for their work. Ideally the activity will foster a safe community where students feel comfortable about writing and sharing their work. In my world history class, I plan on using this activity after students each write a perspective paragraph about what life was like as an early Jew.

=Geography of the Middle East= **
 * [Contributed by Alyssa McClorey]

**Background**
__Essential Questions:__ · How is land geography and human geography of the Middle East similar or different than what we imagine? · How does the geography of the land affect the where and how people live? · How does geography affect the types of buildings in a certain place? __Length:__ 4 weeks __Grade/Class:__ 7/8th Humanities __Student Population:__ Inclusion class of 20-25 students. 1/5 with IEPs __Major Topics:__ Land and human geographical diversity, Formation of states

Resources
1) Simon, R., Goldstein, P. & Wasserstein, S. (1993). //The Middle East and North Africa: Regional studies series.// New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. § High school/college reading level, 276 pages § Sections on land, people, history from c 10,000 B.C. through present, development of Islam; includes case studies in each section. § Uses: teacher can use this resource for background context/information, good for case studies with a class, questions at the end of each chapter use varying levels of thinking skills (multiple choice, vocab, “thinking it through”, critical thinking, analyzing a map, enrichment/exploration), offers research suggestions, good for extracting smaller sections for close-reading with middle school students. § Unit: will use maps in chapter, selected reading from “The Land’ will reinforce map-work done in class on land geography and agriculture, § This resource is best for most sophisticated student readers with stamina, as it is a bit dry, with limited visual aids/breaks. Good for extracting small, select sections for reading, or for a teacher who needs extra background information before developing lesson plans, better for a historical perspective, rather then current events.

2) The Knowers Arc Educational Foundation/The Global Education Project (2003). //The Middle East.// Retrieved November 28, 2008 from http://www.theglobaleducationproject.org/mideast/index.html § Comprehensive website with content and additional links to more resources. Easy to navigate, and appropriate for student research. § Provides maps, text, and quotes on geography, United Nations, oil, water, military, religion, economics, as well as country profiles on the Middle East. § Uses: good for visual aids in the classroom, honing students’ map, chart and graph skills, background information for teachers, student research (country specific), scripture from Judaism, Christianity and Islam, summaries on all of the major topics mentioned about that can provide an introduction for students on all the topics mentioned above; teacher can purchase larger poster-sized maps from the site, and students can use the website to find additional websites fro research. § Unit: we will use a variety of maps and charts from this website to introduce topics; they will be projected on a screen using an LCD projector, and include maps and charts about Bagdad, maps and chart about Middle East petroleum, Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, Map before WWI, chart and quotes about water availability in the Middle East. Students will use section of country profiles for their group research. § While this site may be intended for older students, with assistance, middle schoolers will find it possible to navigate and understand. Give the big picture of many different issues, using many forms of information that has been collected from various Middle Easter and non-Middle Eastern sources. Highly recommended. (Also contains sections on Ancient Egypt and Earth)

3) National Geographic Society (1998-2008). //Xpeditions.// Retrieved on November 28, 2008 from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/ § Section of National Geographic site meant for teachers, complete with lesson plans, activities, an atlas and other maps (including blank maps), as well as connections to geography standards. Website is complex, but comprehensive § Teacher can search for lesson plans by standard, grade, topic, region etc. There are links to National Geographic photographs and articles, as well as links to other websites. Lesson plans are detailed and are all grade-specific. § Use: good for lesson plan ideas complete with materials or links to materials. Lessons are very specific and could be related to land geography, culture, and the uses of geography. Can find lessons on current events, high interest topics that may add depth to an existing unit. Many include activities in map-making. § Unit: Use blank atlas maps for students to create their geographic and political maps, Lesson “Oil and Water in the Middle East Region”: Middle East natural resources map for lesson on oil and water, link to article “Water and Peace in the Middle East” from //Geographic News// used in the lesson on water and oil ( http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2000/07/0714_water.html), Lesson “What does a Picture Tell you about Culture?”: link to National Geography Photography Guide for images of land/people from the Middle East for introduction day and later in unit (http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography ). § This site is a better resource for teachers trying to get some good ideas for lessons, activities, or materials/additional resources. Younger students would be better off use National Geographic Kids. 4) Global Teaching and Learning Project/United Nations (2002). //UN Cyberschoolbus.// Retrieved December 7, 2008 from http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/index.shtml. § Student and teacher-friendly website introducing the UN, and many current international issues (especially related to children and Millennium Development Goals). § This website give options for students to looks into one particular issue, the UN’s response to this issues, or more general information about specific countries, regions, or international networks. There is also information/materials that allow students to take action on a specific issue. § Use: good for student exploration/research about a topic/issue/country, includes quizzes and games for students that could reinforce lessons or unit goals, links to student-level texts about current international issues, entire “curriculum” section on issues like peace education, poverty, hunger, ethnic and racial discrimination, information about all UN member countries. Can be used to start a service-learning project, internationally or in the community. § Unit: Students will use “country profile” section to research their specific countries; profiles include information on environment, health, economy, geography, and links to current events/news sources. § Good site for students to explore, but it is a bit overwhelming with lots going on, so students should be direct towards information important to the lesson or project.

5) UCLA International Resource Center. //Outreach World: A resource for teaching kids about the world.// Retrieved on December 7, 2008 from http://www.outreachworld.org/index.asp. § Collaboration of many college resource centers and individual teachers throughout the United States, meant to aid teaching of international/area studies, as well as foreign languages. § Suggestions from university professors on how to teach the material that they are experts on; some of the information is more content-based than pedagogically based. § Use: Teachers can find curriculum and text ideas (fiction and nonfiction) by searching country, region, subject, type of resource, etc. Many searches will connect to a university outreach website that contains the lesson plan. § Unit: I will use information from various “lessons” for this unit. o “Who are the Arabs?” by Steve Tamari http://ccas.georgetown.edu/files/who_are_arabs.pdf o “Understanding the Middle East through Geography and Demography” http://www.outreachworld.org/resource.asp?curriculumid=285 contains many maps of the Middle East, including blank maps, for geography and demography. § Some of the “lessons” in the database are no longer available, or actually just short, informational pieces of text (that can still be useful). Many of the links are to university outreach websites. A lot of the material is from the 90s.

6) WGBH Educational Foundation (2002). //Global Connections: The Middle East.// Retrieved November 2, 2008 from PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/index.html. § Extremely comprehensive website dealing with background information, major issues in the Middle East and dispelling stereotypes. Students could use with significant scaffolding. § Website is organized by: timelines, themes, connecting questions. Themes include geography, culture, politics, economics, religion, and politics, and correspond to maps, timelines, photos, and primary sources. Includes complex lessons more appropriate for high school level, including standards. § Use: provides multiple ways to access similar content, good summaries of important information, organized by subheading, that can be modified as needed; teacher can extract useful information to present and engage students. § Unit: Geography selection on agriculture, human geography, natural resources, historic political maps for lesson on creating Middle Eastern states, “Got Water?” lesson with readings on water shortage in the Middle East, background reading on water and oil, background reading on culture for lesson on human geography. § Website can be a bit hard to navigate; if students are using website, they will need assistance. Better for a teacher to select content/curriculum and pedagogical tools that seem useful.

7) Sheppard Software. //Geography Games.// Retrieved on December 7, 2008 from http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Geography.htm. § Student-friendly website include games/quizzes on many educational topics in nearly every subject. § Lots of colorful, attention-grabbing pictures and icons (a very busyt website). Students can explore many different subjects, including geography, and work on games or quizzes related to each.  § Uses: Geography section asks students to place country names, capitals, bodies of water, geographic features, on regional maps. Also gives students information about specific countries. Great game for a review.  § Unit: Students will use this website to study for their Middle East map quiz, also for researching specific countries.  § Website is a bit complex, and distracting, but the text and concepts are good for students at lower reading levels. Teacher should make sure students stay focused on important sections.

8) Wilcox, J.D. (2004) //A Middle East Primer for Students.// in partnership with American Forum for Global Education (Lanham, MD: ScarecrowEducation). Retrieved from Harvard’s Outreach Center for Middle Eastern Studies. § 70 pages w/ glossary – Middle or High School level w/ sections: Middle East today, Geography, History, Economics, Issues of Identity. Contains references and glossary. § This small primer is from 2004, so it is rather up-to-date in contrast with many of the other textbooks out there. It is fairly straightforward, but sophisticated, so many students should be able to access it with or without teacher assistance. § Uses: Good as a text for students’ reference, or teacher assignments – very up-to-date, and many students should be able to reading for understanding without too much assistance from teacher. (reading is still very sophisticated), teacher can also use study questions at the end of the of each chapter. § Unit: Photocopied readings on diversity in the Middle East (introduction) and Geography as homework to reinforce lessons from class. § The book is great. Deals with important details and concepts, but written clearly and concisely with a clear focus on dispelling myths or stereotypes of the Middle East. Again, can be scaffolded to students at a lower reading level, without feeling too “modified”.

9) Coletti, S. and Ross, S. (2000) //Everything you Need to Teach the Middle East.// Curriculum Guide. (Atlanta, GA: InspirEd Educators, Inc.) Retrieved from Harvard’s Outreach Center for Middle Eastern Studies. § 359 page curriculum guide at middle school level. Includes sections/materials/readings on geography, culture, government, economics, connections, tests, and resources. § This curriculum guide provides many ideas about how to integrate reading material with maps and § Uses: Great materials/maps/ideas for organizing worksheets and even objectives/procedures. § Unit: Ideas from worksheets for my own unit development. Possible use of maps. Use narrated story about a young Beduoin to introduce lthe chance of life/urbanization in the Middle East, and how geography contexts to . § Good sections on Middle East as being hard to define (contains several maps of the Middle East containing different countries.

10) Newman, C., ed. (1990). //A Curriculum Resource Guide on the Middle East.// (Fordham University: Middle Eastern Studies Program). Retrieved from Harvard’s Outreach Center for Middle Eastern Studies. § 162 page curriculum guide for teaching the Middle East – appropriate for teachers of high school, middle school. § Contains a diversity of lessons developed for a comprehensive unit on the Middle East. Units are organized by themes and topics, not chronologically, adding depth to the curriculum. § Uses: Lesson/Unit ideas, ways to organize the unit and what topics/themes to focus on § Unit: Used as reference. § Older text, may not be useful for some current events, but uniquely selected units such as “the bazaar” or “using the neighborhood as a teaching resource”

11) Oddens, R. (2004). Odden’s Bookmarks: The Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping. (Universiteit Utrecht) Retrieved on December 7, 2008 from http://oddens.geog.uu.nl/about.php. § Cartographic/Maps site with search engine based in region or category, and MANY links. More likely a teacher’s resource but could be used by students if teacher has previewed and gives explicit instructions. § Map links take the searcher to websites from all of the world, allowing use to see different perspectives in the maps. § Uses: Student research or teachers can use find specific maps for use in the classroom. The website is run by a professor and contains links to departments in the university. § Unit: use of certain maps in during class sessions § Website is fairly easy to navigate, but not too kid-friendly. Links are international, so websites may be in different languages. Also, some of the more interesting searches (Middle East + Online Map Creating) have misleading or dead links. Good for a searcher with patience.

12) Held, C (2006) //Middle East patterns: Places, peoples and politics, 4th ed.// (Colorado: Westview Press). Retrieved from Harvard’s Outreach Center for Middle Eastern Studies. § 646 pg reference book, adult reading level § I found this book to be very clear, current, comprehensive. Maybe a bit too overwhelming for a teacher preparing to teach at the middle school level. However, it is important to have this background information, or reference for questions in class. § Uses: Sections can be selected to read with students, comprehensive, current resource/content book for teachers. Index could be used be students to access specific information, or answer questions. § Unit: Will be used for reference by teacher, informational and definition of “Arab” to be used as part of introduction lesson on Middle East § Very thorough, with large bibliography and index; good for teachers who would like background information on the Middle East

13) University of Texas at Austin (2008) //Perry Castaneda Library Map Collection.// Retrieved on November 29, 2008 from http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/. § Large database of maps, including maps of current interest, topical maps. Could be used by teacher and students with scaffolding. § Site design is not very attractive, and list of maps can be overwhelming, but there are some very useful maps in here. Best for teacher to give student suggestions before the research on their own. § Uses: Maps on nearly any class topics, including current events. Links to other map sites. Could be used for student research § Unit: Maps of oil reserves for lesson on natural resources, maps of ethnic distribution in the Middle East for use during lesson on human geography. § Many of the maps are actually from other websites…this sites has collected great maps from other trustworthy sites, so that the teacher can find them in one place.

14) Thirteen/WNET/Educational Broadcasting Corporation. //Access Islam: Resources for the global classroom.// Retrieved 1December 13, 2008 from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/accessislam/index.html § Website geared toward teachers who want to teach Islam with a more “global” focus. Pedagogical site, but students could also use the site to look at the videos and timelines. § This website includes short videos from PBS’s series “Religion and Ethics Weekly”. Also includes lesson plans, detailed timelines, and additional resources. Nice design and layout. § Uses: Teacher can use this website for lesson plan ideas, or to show short videos on many different topics connected to Islam, such as Islamic Art, or women in Islam. Also includes links to other related websites. § Unit: Web-video on Timbuktu to connect geography, buildings, and society. § This website will be even more useful for subsequent unit on belief systems in the Middle East.

15) Dr.Donn.org. //Free Lesson Plans and Activities for K-12 Teachers.// Retrieved on November 30th from http://www.mrdonn.org/index.html. § Large websites with TONS of complete lessons and learning modules for teachers, including power point presentations. Lessons are meant for teachers, but there are links for kids as well. § Teachers can search for lessons by subject, or special topic. The geography section offers lessons on skill-oriented materials, such as map skills and geography themes, as well as content in geography. There are also lessons on regions of the world. Student-friendly information (text, links, games) is also organized under the same headings (teacher and student material appear together under one topic). § Use: Lesson planning and ideas, materials (worksheet etc.) Students can find information on a topic. Teacher can even download a powerpoint presentation a certain topic. § Unit: Have used links to find other useful websites. Ideas from lessons on website. § Take time using this website, there is a LOT of material, as well as links. Teachers need to do a lot of searching, weeding out the mediocre lessons from the really good ones. Links may give a lead to other good student sites (as it did for me). Sometime the leveling of lessons/materials is not clear.

16) Oracle Education Foundation. //ThinkQuest.// Retrieved on December 13, 2008 from http://www.thinkquest.org/en/. § Website allows classrooms to create webpage on a specific topic; aimed toward promoting 21st century skills and collaboration.  § Teacher must register for this site! Teacher and students can set up project sites (webpages), class can enter their projects into a Thinkquest competition, and use the Thinkquest library of information created by other teachers and students.  § Uses: Choose a topic to research in depth anc student can practice researching and adding information to a webpage monitored by the teacher.  § Unit: Not registered, so won’t be using this website/activity in my unit.  § It's a bit hard to get information about the Thinkquest without registering. This is the kind of activity that would require ample scaffolding, and time.

17) Central Intelligence Agency. //The World Factbook.// Retrieved on December 7, 2008 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/. § Maps, flags, information from countries around the world. Could be used by middle or high school students. § Straightforward website with more text than pictures; students can search a country name and find a lot of information on that country; students may need help sifting through all of the information, as well as the meaning of some of the statistics, etc. § Uses: Student research, teacher reference. § Unit: Will be available for student research. § Make sure students are not overwhelmed by the information for each country, by having them locate certain key words. Class should also discuss what numbers/units mean in different circumstances.

18) New York Times. Retrieved on December 7, 2008 from http://www.nytimes.com/. § Website of one of the largest, most respected newspapers in the United States, Good for high school students with moderate scaffolding, middle school students with more scaffolding.  § Large website that includes daily and archived news stories, nationally and internationally, Op-Eds, videos, regional and country information, photographs. The website is a bit busy with a lot of text, so it would be good to scaffold for younger students, or supply them with possible key words to articles.  § Uses: Current event articles, supplementary material to a lesson, photographs, video, student research, learning how to read a newspaper.  § Unit: this will be a primary website where students can go to find new articles on the countries that they are researching; possible place to find model article on the Middle East that we will work in together as a class, the following interactive page may be used in lesson looking at the geography of Baghdad: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/09/06/world/. Student can explore the different neighborhoods of Baghdad. § Must be a member to retrieve some of the article, but is it free to register; language in the articles is very sophisticated; some students may need assistance accessing the text.

19) An Open Door to the Arab World. Retrieved on December 9, 2008 from http://www.al-bab.com/. § HUGE search search engine and informational site. Lots of information, but can be used by high school or middle schoolers § Website geared toward teaching non-Arabs about the Arab world. Few pictures on site, but tons of information and links. Would take days to go through it all. Good fro students to practice navigating a website or search engine. § Uses: Research! Students can find more information on topics of interest. § Unit: Research project, and lesson on how to do research/search on the internet § Good source for finding Arab news, primary document, media, art etc. Links to basically anything; they are grouped very effectively by topic in the website.

20) Harvard Center for Middle Eastern Studies. //The Outreach Center.// Retrieved October 2008 from http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/outreach. § Site and program with resources and information for teachers. § Site offer resources developed by the program for teachers, information on workshops, non-fiction and fiction book suggestions, curriculum ideas, and connection to state frameworks. § Use: Curriculum and lesson kits on specific topics of interest, library to borrow fiction or non-fiction books for class, audio lecture for class or own information, links with detailed information § Unit: used as a resource through with to find additional materials, borrowed books from the library § Website is well organized, but still developing its repertoire of teacher resources.

21) Shed, C.J. and The Outreach Center/Center for Middle Eastern Studies. (1998). //Are you Listening? Voices from the Middle East.// Retrieved October 2008 from http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/outreach/curriculumplans/lessons.  § Collection of short stories and memoirs from Middle Eastern authors. High school level, middle school, advanced readers or through shared reading/scaffolding. 195 pages with glossary.  § Stories are selected from a variety of countries in the Middle East, meant to appeal to young adults, and organized by theme including family, women, outsiders, growing pains, varieties of love.  § Uses: Students could read and student one short story in class, compare selection from short stories or complete short stories. Student could write a thesis paper from several of the stories from the same theme of different them, make connections to history, geography, politics, religion in the Middle East. § Unit: Noted for topic of diversity. May be considered in a later unit. § Strong readers may also want to read these stories outside of class.