UKS2 Topic: Early Islamic Civilisation Block D: the Rise and Fall of Baghdad

UKS2 Topic: Early Islamic Civilisation Block D: The rise and fall of Baghdad

Session 5: War comes to Baghdad
National Curriculum / History: Develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods studied. Address and devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity, difference and significance.
Teaching Objectives / To investigate the fall of Baghdad as the centre of the Islamic civilisation.
Resources
Book: Silent Music: A story of Baghdad by James Rumford; Teacher notes on the fall of Baghdad and Yaqut al-Musta'simi; Slides showing examples of magazine front covers. / Weblinks
Silent Music: A story of Baghdad by James Rumford; The Mongol Conquest of Baghdad.
an on-line writing website which showcases over 100,000 pieces of writing, including examples based on Hamilton plans, where you could upload examples of your children’s writing.
Whole class: Share reading of ‘Silent Music: A story of Baghdad’ (or use an online reading of the text). You might want to take the opportunity to link this book more closely to your English curriculum: though not a difficult text, it is a good example of first-person writing - autobiographical (albeit fictitious) in that it tells of events in someone’s life; it features a section of descriptive verbs that describe what it is like to create calligraphy. It is a poignant reminder that war remains a threat to people in Baghdad to this day, as Ali - the book’s narrator - uses the ‘silent music’ of his writing to drown out the sound of destruction (just as his hero Yaqut al-Musta'simi did in 1258).
Use this reference to Yaqut as a link back in time to the Baghdad that the chn have been learning about. Do the chn know why this date is special (don’t share the Teaching Objective until this point in the session!)?
Hard/ Medium/ Easy
Allow the chn 15-20 minutes to use the books you have in class, alongside internet research, to find out a little more about Yaqutand the events of CE1258 in Baghdad (session resource). Allow paired work to support less confident readers. Chn make brief notes as necessary, but the focus is on gaining the ‘gist’ of events.
There is further information on the Mongol invasion. Use this with caution and guidance though, as not all of the images shown pertain to ancient Baghdad - many depict more recent conflict (also avoid the comments section). However, the video may provide useful evidence to link with Ali’s experience as told in Silent Music…
Whole class:Bring chn back together, allowing them to feed-back on what they have found out. Scribe key information, or prepare it ready on the IWB, for chn to refer to. Introduce the task - to create a magazine front cover (for display) that breaks the news of the fall of Baghdad. Ask the chn what features such a piece might combine before showing them some examples (session resource). Tell chn that this will be a relatively quick task that they should aim to achieve by the end of the session. Using software such as MS PowerPoint™ or MS Publisher™ will allow relatively easy combination, layering and editing of text and images.You might like to upload your children’s work onto Pobble, an on-line platform for sharing writing. The medium and hard challenges require that chn succinctly synthesise learning from across the topic block.
Hard
Information and imagery given on magazine cover shows good understanding and evidence of learning from across the block, e.g. that Baghdad was a peaceful city, populated by merchants, scholars and ordinary people, unprepared for war. / Medium
Magazine cover also shows evidence of learning from across the block, e.g. that Baghdad was a peaceful city, poorly built for defence. / Easy
Magazine cover shows evidence of understanding that the fall of Baghdad was a major event for the early Islamic civilisation.
Plenary / Ask chn why Baghdad fell so easily. Ensure chn understand that it was a peaceful city, unprepared to defend itself, particularly from such a well-equipped, armed and brutal force as the Mongol army.
Outcomes / Children will:
●Read ‘Silent Music: A story of Baghdad’, recognising that war remains a threat to people in modern times
●Hear about Yaqut al-Musta'simi, calligrapher who survived the Mongol attack on Baghdad
●Research weapons and tactics used by the Mongol invaders; discuss why Baghdad fell so easily
●Create a magazine front cover, breaking the news about the fall of Baghdad
● an on-line writing website which showcases over 100,000 pieces of writing, including examples based on Hamilton plans

© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.

We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites