6th grade · Social Studies · Unit 10 of 12
The Islamic World
Scholars, cities and empires
What your child practices
The early Islamic world and its cities, scholars and discoveries (such as algebra and optics), the exchange of knowledge through trade and translation, and the Ottoman Empire.
Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 6.H1.2; 6.E3.3 · the Islamic world, its cities and trade, and the exchange of ideas
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Baghdad became the Abbasid capital in 762 and a center of learning and trade.
- The House of Wisdom translated books from many cultures. Fatima al-Fihri founded al-Qarawiyyin in Fez (859).
- Ideas spread through the Islamic world: Hindu-Arabic numerals (0 to 9) and paper-making.
Example: What are the numerals 0 to 9 often called? They began in India. Scholars in the Islamic world spread them. Answer: Hindu-Arabic numerals
The Islamic World in Arizona
In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 10 of 12 in 6th grade Social Studies, after Medieval Europe and before Renaissance & Reformation.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 6th grade guide for Arizona parents
- Printable 6th grade Social Studies sheet
- Arizona report cards explained
Source: Arizona Department of Education
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Arabic became widely used for learning across the early Islamic world. How did this help ideas spread?
- Scholars from many regions could read and share the same texts.
- It stopped translation.
- It banned trade.
- Nobody could read Arabic.
Scholars from many regions could read and share the same texts.
Hint: A shared language of scholarship made it easier to exchange books and ideas.
Question 2
Al-Zahrawi, a physician in al-Andalus, is known for…
- writing the Qur'an
- building a trade fleet
- writing a large medical text with drawings of surgical tools
- inventing the printing press
writing a large medical text with drawings of surgical tools
Hint: His work was studied in the Islamic world and in Europe.
Question 3
What was an astrolabe used for?
- Making paper
- Measuring the positions of the Sun and stars to find time, direction and location
- Grinding grain
- Weaving cloth
Measuring the positions of the Sun and stars to find time, direction and location
Hint: Muslim astronomers improved this instrument, which helped travelers and set times for prayer.
Question 4
What was the House of Wisdom in Baghdad?
- A market
- A center where scholars translated and studied books from many cultures
- A military school
- A royal palace
A center where scholars translated and studied books from many cultures
Hint: Scholars from different backgrounds gathered, translated and added new ideas.
Question 5
The Alhambra in Granada, Spain, is known for…
- Viking longhouses
- Gothic cathedral spires
- Islamic art with geometric patterns, arches and courtyards
- Roman arenas
Islamic art with geometric patterns, arches and courtyards
Hint: It was built by the rulers of Granada in the 1200s and 1300s.
Question 6
Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) made important discoveries in…
- chemistry of fire
- mining
- farming
- optics, the science of light and vision
optics, the science of light and vision
Hint: He used experiments to show that we see because light enters the eye.