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9th grade · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 16

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.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 9.5b; 9.5c · the rise of Islam, the caliphates, and the achievements of Muslim scholars that spread through trade

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Muslims worship in mosques. Cities like Baghdad and Córdoba had libraries and scholars from many cultures.
  2. Knowledge traveled through the Islamic world: Hindu-Arabic numerals, paper-making and the astrolabe for finding time and direction.
  3. The Ottoman Empire grew under rulers like Suleiman I (1520–1566), who organized its laws.

Example: What are the numerals 0 to 9 we use today often called? They began in India. They reached Europe through Arabic-speaking scholars. Answer: Hindu-Arabic numerals

The Islamic World in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 7 of 16 in 9th grade Social Studies, after Medieval Europe and before Empires of Asia.

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.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Al-Zahrawi, a physician in al-Andalus, is known for…

    • building a trade fleet
    • writing a large medical text with drawings of surgical tools
    • writing the Qur'an
    • inventing the printing press

  2. Question 2

    The numerals 0 to 9 used today are often called…

    • Roman numerals
    • Hindu-Arabic numerals
    • Mayan glyphs
    • Egyptian symbols

  3. Question 3

    Why is it wrong to describe the Islamic world as one uniform society?

    • It had only one city.
    • Everyone spoke the same language.
    • It included many peoples, languages and cultures across three continents.
    • It was a single village.

  4. Question 4

    The Ottoman millet system allowed…

    • only one religion to exist
    • the sultan to be elected by farmers
    • religious communities to run some of their own affairs, such as courts and schools
    • everyone to move freely without any laws

  5. Question 5

    Why is a number system with zero and place value useful?

    • It only works for money.
    • It makes writing large numbers and calculating easier than Roman numerals.
    • It removes the need to count.
    • It makes numbers bigger.

  6. Question 6

    How did the Hajj help ideas spread?

    • It kept people apart.
    • It ended trade.
    • Pilgrims from many lands met, shared news and carried ideas home.
    • Pilgrims were forbidden to speak.

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