Lesson Plans & Guiding Questions
LESSON 1
Exercise in Conflict Resolution
This lesson is designed to tap into the conflict that arises from the expansion of new ideas and interactions between powerful systems of faith. As such students will examine the relationship between religious faith, state political power, and social control in order to better understand the complexity of national and international politics and conflict resolution. In teams of three, students will create one written position statement from an assigned perspective on several topics on the role of religion in the political sphere. In their statements, students should consider but are not required to cite Islamic Shira, Jewish Halakai, Christian doctrine and the concept of separation of church and state.
For Grade Level(s): Grades 11–12, or Honors AP Grades 9–10
Time Needed: 4–5 flexible days total = three class periods, plus homework
LESSON 2
Viewing Middle Eastern Religions
In this activity students will examine then identify how several images relate to the themes of this module. In particular, how the images relate to each other, the faith or category the image belongs to and finally the Middle Eastern religious paradigm. The procedure to create the final product (essay or a presentation) is highly formulaic and in part scripted; however, the student will be forced to develop higher order thinking skills and utilize critical visual literacy. By using images as a starting point to examine the concepts identified in the module students and teachers can more freely examine the complex relationships between these faiths within the paradigm.
For Grade Level(s): Grades 11–12 or Grades 9–10 (honors)
Time Needed: 1–2 weeks total. Presentations will vary with class size and student choice. Teacher may need to model activity more than once to ensure student success.
