The Education Outreach program at CCAS offers original teaching units on a wide range of topics delivered in a clear format. The units include discussion questions, activities, and suggestions of print, audio-visual, and electronic resources. Some feature activities for student or classroom work based on a book, novel, or a specific unit of study. They are meant to guide the teacher in presenting information and encouraging critical thinking.

Introductory Topics

Who are the Arabs?
By Steve Tamari
This module provides an introduction to Arab history and a survey of contemporary Arab society, culture, and politics.

An Introduction to Islam
By Susan Douglass
This unit provides a basic introduction to the Islamic faith, including terminology, beliefs and practices, holidays, and key historical figures.

Contemporary Issues

Islam and Politics
By Amy Sanders
This curriculum unit was written to support high school teachers in meeting state teaching standards on Islam and politics, and related topics. It presents critical moments and influential religious leaders in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when Muslim societies all over the world were undergoing rapid changes.

Sciences

Cotton in the Global Economy: Mapping Material Culture Through Indian Ocean Trade
By Kaylee Steck
This lesson on Indian Ocean trade focuses on the rise of cotton as a global commodity. It foregrounds the antecedents of Europe’s cotton industry and their contributions to industrialization.

The Contributions of Arab Civilization to Mathematics and Science
By Julie Peteet
This unit provides an overview of the achievements made in the arts and sciences in the Arab world between the 7th to the 13th centuries and shows how these intellectual endeavors have had a lasting impact on the course of scientific thought throughout the rest of the world.

Geography of the Arabian Peninsula
By Joan Brodsky Schur
This lesson introduces students to the physical geography of the Arabian Peninsula during the premodern era, its position relative to bodies of land and water, its climate, and its resources.

The Incense Routes: Frankincense and Myrrh: As Good As Gold
By Joan Brodsky Schur
This lesson on the trade of aromatic resins focuses on the origin of frankincense and myrrh in the Arabian Peninsula and the ways that demand for these aromatics integrated the peninsula into the trade routes of Eurasia.

Arts

Tapestry of Travel
By Karima Alavi
This module provides an introduction to the contributions of Arab and Muslim civilizations to geography and world exploration, and introduces students to early travelers including Ibn Battuta, Hasan al-Wazzan, Mansa Musa, and multiple others.

The Illustrator’s Notebook
By Zeina Azzam Seikaly
This guide provides 30 activities related to the book by Mohieddin Ellabbad, The Illustrator’s Notebook, and encourages young readers to learn about the Arab world and Islam through art and writing.