Classroom Connections

For each learning module, high school educators have created two lesson plans with guiding questions for student research and classroom discussion.

Empires to Nation-States

Before Islam  »  Module Overview

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Lesson Plans & Guiding Questions

LESSON 1
Political and Geographic Dimensions of an Empire of the Ancient Middle East

Students will examine some of the maps and artifacts of the empires of the ancient Middle East in an effort to characterize them and compare and contrast them to modern states.

Subject Area(s):  World History, World Geography, maybe even Comparative Government.

For Grade Level(s):  9–10

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GUIDING QUESTIONS
1. Where were the ancient Middle Eastern empires located? What factors contributed to their development?

2. What distinctive characteristics did they possess?

LESSON 2
Art—as an Expression of Empire

As an extension of their study of the empires of the ancient Middle East, students will examine some images from the Module to determine what they convey about the nature of empire and the capacity to express important cultural values.

For Grade Level(s):  9–12

Time Needed:  Two class periods

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GUIDING QUESTIONS

1. What is the role of art in the ancient empires of the Middle East?

2. How do the ancient empires of the Middle East convey the themes of empire through art works and artifacts?

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