Alabama Social Studies SS24.8.3

SS24.8.3 is a cluster heading. These are the individual standards under it.

• SS24.8.3a

  Outline the founding and development of Islam under Muhammad.

• SS24.8.3b

  Differentiate among the Islamic sects that developed after the death of Muhammad.

• SS24.8.3c

  Analyze the influence of Islamic cultural, economic, and political systems in Africa, Arabia, and Europe.

01

What Students Need to Do

Describe Muhammad’s preaching and the move to Medina, then put the early caliphs in order. Map how Islam spread through conquest and trade around the Mediterranean. Explain how the Qur’an was standardized, why Sunni and Shia traditions developed, and how Islamic societies shaped Africa, Arabia, and Europe.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

Students can trace expansion from Arabia through North Africa to Iberia and distinguish conquest from trade. They can explain that the Qur’an was standardized under Caliph Uthman and that disputes over leadership shaped Sunni and Shia traditions. They can give examples of influence, such as trans-Saharan trade and Arabic scholarship in Spain.

03

Common Misconceptions

Some students think Islam spread only through conquest and leave out trade and conversion. Others assume Sunni and Shia use different Qur’ans, rather than tracing their division to disputes over leadership. Students may also think the Qur’an was standardized during Muhammad’s lifetime, rather than under early caliphs.

04

How to Assess It

Give students a blank Mediterranean map and ask them to trace the route from Arabia through North Africa to Iberia. Below it, ask: “What did Uthman do with the Qur’an, and what disagreement shaped Sunni and Shia traditions?”

1. 01

   Give pairs a blank map and colored pencils; have them mark conquest and trade routes from Arabia to North Africa and Iberia.

2. 02

   Have pairs discuss why some early Muslims supported Abu Bakr while others supported Ali as Muhammad’s successor.

3. 03

   Hand out four event cards: Muhammad’s preaching, the move to Medina, Uthman’s Qur’an copies, and Muslim rule in Iberia; teams order them.

4. 04

   Show a current photo of Córdoba’s mosque-cathedral; ask students what its horseshoe arches reveal about medieval Spain.

• SS24.8.5b

  Trace the spread of culture, language, and religion among African civilizations.

• SS24.8.1a

  Trace the spread of Christianity in Europe and the wider Mediterranean region and outline the organizational structure of the early Catholic Church, including t...