Lesson Plans and Arabic and Swahili Language Exposure Modules
The materials below are from a 2016 University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies Fulbright-Hays project with funding from the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center.
Content Area Lesson Plans (in reverse order by grade level)
Modern Oman
By, Kara McMillan
Lesson Grade: High School
Students will be able to identify a golden age by analyzing evidence from primary and secondary source, engaging in writing that provides evidence, and drawing from a variety of sources to support a claim.
Murder in Muscat
By: Lisa Adeli
By: Lisa Adeli
Lesson Grade: High School
This simulation is designed to engage high school students in active learning about the geography, culture, language, religion, history, and politics of Oman (Arabian peninsula) and its close ties to Zanzibar (East Africa). Students will get an in-depth look into life in a Muslim, Arab country while working together to use the information to solve a murder mystery.
Indian Ocean Trade
By: Nikole Brasch
Lesson Grade: 9-12 World History
Students will be able to analyze and examine the goods, documents, and importance of people, geography, objects, and technology in the Indian Ocean Basin. This webquest may be used to introduce the trade simulation.
An Indian Ocean Trade Simulation
By: Rob Hallock and Chris O'Brien
Lesson Grade: High School
The Indian Ocean trade network has been a conduit for goods and culture for thousands of years and is a critical part of any World History curriculum. This simulation will teach your students key concepts of cultural diffusion, and diasporic communities.
Oman: Case Study in Globalization
By: Nicole Means
Lesson Grade: 9, World Geography
Students will develop the skills needed to understand and interpret the significance of maps. Moreover, they will learn to comprehend the people and the interactions which have shaped the map.
Indigo in the Modern Arab World
By, Victoria Vicente
Lesson Grade: 7-10 World History, United States History.
This lesson is an overview of the geography of Oman and a way to find out more about the burqa in Oman. There are examples provided, artwork, a photo analysis, an indigo dyeing activity, and a reading from "Language of Dress in the Middle East."
The Kanga As Communication
By Katharine Mitchell
Lesson Grade: 7-9
Inspired by the proverbs central to the East African kanga, students will write a fable that illustrates a specific proverb.
Take a Virtual Field Trip to Oman!
By, Michelle O'Leary
Lesson Grade: 6-12, with adaptations
Students explore Oman through Virtual Field Trips, "traveling" to various sites of historical, cultural, religious, and geographic importance.
Dates: Delicatessen, Daily Foodstuff or Something More Essential?
By, David J. Cedor
Lesson Grade:4-6
Students will be exposed to how dates produced in the Persian/Arabian Gulf Region have played an essential role in regional and international production and consumption patterns. They will reflect on how Middle Eastern/Omani dates have nourished and sustained pious Muslims during the fasting period associated with the Holy Month of Ramadan. They will infer that trading dates - before, during, and after the European "Age of Discovery" - played a critical role in Indian Ocean and East African trade networks.
Cemetery Celebrations
By, Jennifer Metzler
Lesson Grade: 4
A comparison study of how the Southwest traditions around "Day of the Dead" and cemeteries compare and contrast to cemetery traditions in Oman. Students learn about practices another culture has in how it uses cemeteries and tombs, comparing and contrasting their own culture's traditions to another culture's traditions.
Arabic Language Modules - Fun Introductory Language Exposure for K-12 Students
Counting in Arabic
By, Katharine Mitchell
Lesson Grade: K-12
For students to recognize the Arabic language numbers 1-10
Four Corners - Yes, No , Maybe, and I Don't know
By, Pren Woods
Level Grade: K-12
Students will learn how to respond, in Arabic, in four different ways ("yes", "no" "maybe", or I don't know). Ultimately, students will use these responses throughout the year in different classroom contexts.
Introduction to the Arabic Alphabet: Pronouncing Arabic Consonants
By, Michelle Rich
Lesson Grade: K-12
Students will be able to pronounce each consonant of the Arabic alphabet.
Tour of Arabic Place Names in the United States
By, Victoria Vicente and Arlene Medina
Lesson Grade: 3-12
Students will integrate Arabic language by identifying places within the United States that have connections to the Middle East.
Write your name in Arabic, in 6 easy steps!
By, Michelle Oleary
Lesson Grade: 6-12 with adaptations
For all students to learn to translate and write their name in Arabic.
Have a Conversation, in Arabic!
By, Kara McMillan
Lesson Grade: 9-12 (adaptable for younger grades)
Students will learn some basic Arabic phrases that will allow them to have a conversation with an Arabic speaker.
Swahili Language Modules - Fun Introductory Language Exposure for K-12 Students
Handy Swahili Words and Phrases
By, Chris O'Brien
Lesson Grade: K-12
Students will be exposed to handy Swahili phrases.
Spices and More from the Swahili Coast
By, David J. Cedor
Lesson Grade: 1-6
Students will be exposed to the key food-related commodities produced on the Swahili Coast that have played an essential role in Indian Ocean and international trade networks and reflect on how these spices have "spiced up" the lives of everyone on earth, including North Americans.
Intro to Swahili
By, Jennifer Metzler
Lesson Grade: 3-8
Students will be exposed to how speakers of another language exchange common greetings. Students can infer how common greetings reflect values in a culture.
Swahili and Other Languages - Cultural Diffusion
By, Rob Hallock
Lesson Grade: High School (9-12)
Students will play the roles of Indian Ocean merchants from Aden, India, Hormuz and the Swahili Coast with the mission of learning the language of the Swahili to facilitate trade.
Linguistic and Cultural Interactions on the Swahili Coast
By, Nikole Brasch, Nicole Means
Lesson Grade: High School
The students will be able to trace linguistic and cultural interactions along the Swahili Coast.
