Georgia SS7H2.c
The Standard
Describe how land and religion plays a role in continuing conflicts in the Middle East (i.e. the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the division between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and Kurdish nationalism).
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Social Studies · Analyze continuity and change in Southwest Asia (Middle East).
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how competing claims to territory, sacred places, political authority, and group identity sustain conflict. They compare these factors across Israelis and Palestinians, Sunni and Shia communities, and Kurdish groups.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can identify the groups involved, locate disputed areas, and connect a specific land or religious issue to ongoing tension. The student avoids treating any group as uniform and supports explanations with accurate examples.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume each conflict is caused only by religion, or that all Arabs are Muslim and all Muslims are Arab. They may also treat Sunni and Shia Muslims as separate religions, or believe Kurds have their own recognized country.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Choose one case and write three sentences naming the groups, one disputed claim, and how that claim prolongs conflict.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a blank regional map and location cards, then place Israel, Palestinian territories, Kurdish regions, and major sacred sites.
Ask students to write: When does attachment to land become a political claim, and what evidence from one case supports your answer?
Run a card sort matching groups, locations, beliefs, and political goals, then require pairs to correct one misleading match.
Project a recent AP or Reuters map, then have students label which land, religious, or political factor helps explain the event.
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Related Standards
- SS7G6
Explain the impact of environmental issues across Southwest Asia (Middle East).
- SS7H2.a
Explain how European partitioning in the Middle East following WWI led to regional conflict.
- SS7G8.c
Compare and contrast the prominent religions in Southwest Asia (Middle East): Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
- SS7G8.b
Describe the diversity of religions within Southwest Asian (Middle Eastern) ethnic groups (e.g., Arabs, Persians, and Kurds).
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