NY Social Studies 6.6c
The Standard
Islam spread within the Mediterranean region from southwest Asia to northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.
New York State K–12 Social Studies Framework
Key Idea 6.6
MEDITERRANEAN WORLD: FEUDAL WESTERN EUROPE, THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE, AND THE ISLAMIC CALIPHATES (ca. 600 C.E. – ca. 1450): The Mediterranean world was reshaped with the fall of the Roman Empire. Three distinct cultural regions developed: feudal Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the Islamic caliphates. These regions interacted with each other and clashed over control of holy lands.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace Muslim expansion from southwest Asia across North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula. They compare the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates and explain how Islam blended with local languages, customs, learning, art, and government.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can map major areas of expansion and locate Damascus, Baghdad, North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula. They can give two specific examples of cultural blending under the caliphates.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Islam began in North Africa, spread everywhere at once, or erased all local cultures. They may treat Arab and Muslim as identical terms or assume the Abbasids controlled Iberia.
How to Assess It
- Give students a blank regional map and ask them to draw the general path of expansion. Below it, have them explain one example of cultural blending.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a blank Mediterranean map, colored pencils, and date cards to map Umayyad expansion and mark Abbasid centers.
Show images of coins, buildings, and manuscripts, then ask students to write: What evidence shows Islamic and local traditions blending?
Run a card sort where teams match places, rulers, capitals, and cultural achievements to the Umayyad or Abbasid caliphate.
Students investigate Spanish words with Arabic roots, such as azúcar and almohada, then connect each word to Muslim rule in Iberia.
Free download
Printable 6.6c Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6.6c, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetTurn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson