History at key stage 3 (Year 7)
Unit 6: What were the achievements of the Islamic states 600-1600?
Section 5: What can we learn from the architecture of Islamic civilisations?
|
|
Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
- some of the characteristic features of early Islamic architecture
- to look in depth at two surviving buildings of this period as sources of information about Islamic civilisation
|
Activities |
|
Outcomes |
|
Children: |
- Look at pictures of surviving early mosques from different parts of the Islamic world. Identify common features and ask pupils to use correct technical terminology when describing the mosques.
- Discuss the Islamic tradition of not decorating religious buildings with representative art and the development of decorative calligraphy.
- Ask pupils what we can learn from these buildings about the people who built them.
- Tell the story of the rise and fall of Muslim Spain. Focus on two contrasting surviving buildings: the mosque at Cordoba and the Alhambra Palace. Look at pictures of these two buildings.
- Ask pupils to draw conclusions from the study of these buildings.
|
|
- use correct technical terms when describing characteristic features of Islamic architecture
- demonstrate inferential thinking and draw appropriate conclusions from the study of two surviving Islamic buildings
|
|
Points to note |
- When looking at the evidence from Islamic Spain, teachers may wish to get pupils to organise their thinking into 'what we know for certain' and 'educated guesses'. Encourage inferential thinking,
eg the buildings as evidence of wealth, the luxurious lifestyle of the ruling classes, the importance of religion, artistic excellence.
- Links could be made with unit 5 'Elizabeth I' - specifically with Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII and youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.
- Islamic architecture takes on a form that conforms to the Islamic faith: links could be made here to RE.
|
|
|
This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of
activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by
moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
|
|
|
