The Muslim Invasion and Occupation of Spain 711-1492

Objective –The objective is to introduce and make students more familiar with the Muslim Invasion and Occupation
of Spain. The students will use connections to previous knowledge (introduced in my class) and new knowledge
to obtain a deeper understanding of the time period and events, and their continuing influence on Spain today.

Pre activities-

A. Intro to the history of this event and time period- 45 minutes

Muslim Invasion and Occupation PowerPoint

Maps

Map of the Invaders of Spain

711AD Map

1000 AD Map

1200 AD Map

B. Discuss the historical figure Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar “El Cid”- 45 minutes

Historical El Cid

Show them the epic poemEl Cantar de Mio Cid or El Poema de Mio Cid

C. Watch some video clips 1961's El Cid (with Charlton Heston) varies

Discuss if it is historically accurate

Review of Accuracy

D. Review geometrical terms in Spanish and the use of them in

Muslim artwork 45 minutes

Tessellations in Muslim Architecture

Have a discussion of math/art connection tessellations

Show my prezi

Share my resources for the Prezi

Dartmouth math website

E. Review flamenco dancing and its connection to this time

period. (We created castanets in class) 10 minutes

Flamenco PowerPoint

F. Create (as a class) a list of how Spain is still influenced today

by this time period. 30-45 minutes

Student directed small groups where they discuss, or research this topic. When finished we will put it on the smart board.

Activity – Individual choice of project (They may work alone, or in groups and choose any option)

  1. Persuasive essay

Write about why El Cid was such a strong leader, or how did he help to lessen prejudice in Spain between religions?

StateRubric

2. Read El Cantar de Mio Cid (or El Poema de Mio Cid)

Compare and contrast the poem with the movie and true

history using a ven diagram graphic organizer. Show which

areas overlap and which ones do not.

Ven Diagram Rubric

3. Reenactment/historical fiction skit or podcast

Rubric for Historical Reenactment

  1. There must be a person in the role of at least one of these people, or another that you can justify:

Muslims-

a.Ben Yúsef

b.Motamid

c.King of Valencia

d.Typical soldier

e.Typical civilian

f.Typical farmer

Christians-

a.El Cid

b.Jimena

c.Sancho

d.Alfonso

e.Urraca

f.Ordoñez

g.Typical soldier

h. Typical civilain

2.One must write and perform a reenactment that is historically accurate, or is reflective of events in the vein of historical fiction.

4. Create a piece of historical fiction

1.Create a fictional account of either a Úmayyad Muslim, an Almoravid Muslim, or a Christian etc in the form of a story, letters, or journal entries.

2.The piece must be in the spirit of the time and events that occurred.

3. It must include historically accurate information.

  1. Write about how the invasion, battles etc would have affected his/her life.

Historical Fiction Rubric

5. Create a detailed timeline of events

Timeline of Events-

1.The timeline should include all moderate to major events. Start with the invasion of Spain in 711 and conclude with the end of the Reconquista in 1492.

  1. Do not simply copy and paste one from online (I have already gone and looked it up to make sure I am familiar with many of the websites), it must be handwritten. It needs to be on a large paper (you can use the large construction paper, or I can cut you any size from the large roll). It could have an illustration for the major events.

Timeline Rubric

6. Create detailed maps of the Muslim spread throughout Spain

Must include a map for each time period (711, 1492 and two maps

in between these two years)that shows the Muslim controlled areas

of Spain vs the Christian controlled areas of Spain.

Map Rubric

  1. Create a diorama model

One must demonstrate understanding of the agricultural advancement brought by the Muslims to Spain (either a general topic such as better irrigation techniques, or focus on an individual crop). An understanding of the importance and continuing influence on Spain must be demonstrated.

Diorama Rubric

  1. Create a model, or poster, that demonstrates the understanding of the use of geometry in Muslim art or architecture.

One can create, or recreate, a building that utilizes this form of artwork, or you could fill a large poster with your own tessellation design that is representative of this art form in Muslim architecture. Please make sure to label all of the geometric terms/shapes in Spanish and English that are used in your design. (Don’t forget that shapes can be broken down into smaller parts like lines and points.)

Rubric for diorama

Rubric for poster

Geometry vocabulary power point

9. Learn and perform flamenco dancing for the class and discuss how the dance relates to this historical event.

Must use castanets and wear/create a skirt that would be like those worn by dancers. After the dance please explain how this dance relates to this topic.

Flamenco Rubric