University of Pittsburgh

Middle and Secondary Levels

Most students are acquainted with the importance of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in world history, but know little of the world’s third largest ocean, the Indian Ocean, which for centuries provided a medium of exchange among the world’s great civilizations. In this lesson students focus on famous travelers in the Indian Ocean during the Medieval Era (300-1450 CE).

Performance Objectives, Handouts, Question guides provided

Secondary Level:

Secondary Curriculum created by Pulitzer Center Education, around research conducted by Katherine Zoepf is a fellow at the New America Foundation. Her first book, “Excellent Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young Women Who Are Transforming the Arab World,” comes out this month. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, New York Observer, International Herald Tribune, Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times Magazine and elsewhere.

Author and Scholar Lil Abu-Lughod presents her findings... Frequent reports of honor killings, disfigurement, and sensational abuse have given rise to a consensus in the West, a message propagated by human rights groups and the media: Muslim women need to be rescued. Lila Abu-Lughod, who has been writing about Arab women for thirty years, challenges this conclusion in DO MUSLIM WOMEN NEED SAVING? The book is an indictment of a mindset that has justified all manner of foreign interference, including military invasion, in the name of rescuing women from Islam.

“Vogue Shares Young Muslim Women’s Voices”: Fashion-forward Teen Vogue, in collaboration with MuslimGirl.com (a website whose tagline is "Muslim women talk back"), has a refreshing array of content focusing on young Muslim women's perspectives and experiences in the United States. The#AskaMuslimGirl video series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T473sn0hcg) is candid and accessible while articles address numerous issues such as the hijab, dating, female Muslim identity, empowerment, and more.

This lesson introduces students to the Pulitzer Center e-book "Flight From Syria: Refugee Stories," featuring the work of nine journalists whose travels took them from Syria to Sweden, and from crowded camps to cramped apartments in city suburbs. Students examine and discuss the Syrian refugee crisis and its effect on children.

Important Questions and Answers about the Syrian Refugee Crisis for Educators along with an in-depth list of complimentary content resources to support student inquiry. A website created by the Middle East Policy Council

The Founding Fathers and Islam: An Essay and Discussion Prompts for the Classroom

With more than 55 million items, the Library of Congress Manuscript Division contains the papers of 23 presidents, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge. In this article, Manuscript Division Chief James Hutson draws upon the papers of Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other primary documents to discuss the relationship of Islam to the new nation.

Consider also reading: Thomas Jefferson's Quran: Islam and the Founders

Primary and Secondary Levels

University Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona has resources for K-12 teachers: Their lesson plan page has a SEARCH ENGINE, so that you can search by grade, subject, and content area - simultaneously. Go to: http://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/lessons There is everything from an awesome 3rd-5th grade lesson on "Water in the Desert" to middle and high school lessons in English, History, Geography, Current Events, etc....

Islamophobia Studies Center, University of California Berkley, Director Bazian's Recorded Livestream (7.26.17) on Al-Aqsa Occupation
Link to Video
Al-Aqsa & Jerusalem Under Occupation
"International Law, Religious Freedom & Israeli Attacks