Learning Understanding from a Nonfiction Text

SUGGESTED TIME:

1 class period to introduce the text; 1 class period to discuss the text; if desired, additional class periods can be devoted to in-class silent reading of the text  

For each reading assignment, students should read the following articles from the interactive website The Travels of Ibn Battuta by UC Berkeley, either for in-class reading or for homework:

• Assignment 1: 
  
  • Introduction
  • Across North Africa to Cairo: 1325
• Assignment 2: 
  
  • In Cairo: 1326
  • Cairo to Jerusalem, Damascus, Medina, and Mecca: 1326
• Assignment 3: 
  
  • The Hajj - from Medina to Mecca: 1326
  • Iraq and Persia: 1326 - 1327
• Assignment 4: 
  
  • The Red Sea to East Africa and the Arabian Sea: 1328 - 1330
  • Anatolia: 1330 - 1331
• Assignment 5: 
  
  • Lands of the Golden Horde & the Chagatai: 1332 - 1333
  • Delhi, the Capital of Muslim India: 1334 - 1341
• Assignment 6:
  
  • Escape from Delhi to the Maldive Islands and Sri Lanka: 1341 - 1344
  • Through the Strait of Malacca to China: 1345 - 1346
• Assignment 7:
  
  • Return Home: 1346 - 1349
  • On to al-Andalus and Morocco: 1349 - 1350
• Assignment 8:
  
  • Journey to Mali: 1350 - 1351
  • Writing the Rihla: 1355
  • The Travels of Ibn Battuta: Side Trips
• Have students answer the worksheet questions as they read the articles.
• Allow at least 50 min of class time to have a class discussion of the worksheet questions.

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RELATED SUBJECT:

English Language Arts

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LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Read a nonfiction text and understand the central ideas 
• Determine the author’s purpose in the text 
• Compose sentences that demonstrate comprehension of the word understanding 
• Write answers to questions about the book, demonstrating an understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar   
• Engage effectively in collaborative discussions about the book

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REQUIRED MATERIALS:

• Nonfiction text: The Travels of Ibn Battuta by UC Berkeley 
• Video: Ibn Battuta by PBS World Explorers (~4 min) 
• Prohuman Grade 7 Unit 8 Worksheet 2: Learning Understanding from a Nonfiction Text

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ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

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CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

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LESSON PROCEDURE

Step 1: 

• Introduce the lesson by stating that we will learn about one of the greatest explorers of all time, Ibn Battuta, who traveled the Medieval Islamic world.
• Explain that Ibn Battuta wrote a type of literature called a rihla. Meaning "voyage" in Arabic, rihla is a genre (type) of Arab literature that combines a description of travel (travelogue) with commentary on the people and practices of Islam throughout the Muslim world.
• Have students take notes on the key facts they learn from the following video: Ibn Battuta by PBS World Explorers (~4 min) 

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Step 2: 

• Have students read the articles on The Travels of Ibn Battuta by UC Berkeley over several sessions of in-class reading or for homework.
• Have students answer the worksheet questions while reading the articles.

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Step 3: 

• Invite students to a whole-class discussion of the worksheet questions.

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GRADE 7 UNIT 4 WORKSHEET 2: LEARNING CURIOSITY FROM A NONFICTION TEXT

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QUESTIONS TO ANSWER WHILE READING The Travels of Ibn Battuta by UC Berkeley. Reading Assignments: 

• Assignment 1: 
  
  • Introduction
  • Across North Africa to Cairo: 1325
• Assignment 2: 
  
  • In Cairo: 1326
  • Cairo to Jerusalem, Damascus, Medina, and Mecca: 1326
• Assignment 3: 
  
  • The Hajj - from Medina to Mecca: 1326
  • Iraq and Persia: 1326 - 1327
• Assignment 4: 
  
  • The Red Sea to East Africa and the Arabian Sea: 1328 - 1330
  • Anatolia: 1330 - 1331
• Assignment 5: 
  
  • Lands of the Golden Horde & the Chagatai: 1332 - 1333
  • Delhi, the Capital of Muslim India: 1334 - 1341
• Assignment 6:
  
  • Escape from Delhi to the Maldive Islands and Sri Lanka: 1341 - 1344
  • Through the Strait of Malacca to China: 1345 - 1346
• Assignment 7:
  
  • Return Home: 1346 - 1349
  • On to al-Andalus and Morocco: 1349 - 1350
• Assignment 8:
  
  • Journey to Mali: 1350 - 1351
  • Writing the Rihla: 1355
  • The Travels of Ibn Battuta: Side Trips

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1. Where and in which century was Ibn Battuta born?
2. What were some reasons the text gave for why Ibn Battuta wanted to travel?
3. What was the main religion of the places where Ibn Battuta traveled?
4. At the time Ibn Battuta traveled, how large was the Mamluk Empire, and what modern countries were part of it?
5. About 100 years before Ibn Battuta's travels, what was the impact on the people of Persia and Iraq of the Mongol Invasion, led by Genghis Khan's grandson Hulagu?
6. Look at the map of the Mongol Empire during this period. What modern-day countries were part of this empire?
7. What do we learn from Ibn Battuta's book about his attitudes toward slavery in the Medieval Islamic World in these passages?
8. Ibn Battuta’s return trip coincided with the spread of the bubonic plague from Central Asia to the Mediterranean and into Europe and North Africa. What was the bubonic plague, how did it spread, and how many people died from it? 
9. In 1453, about 120 years after Ibn Battuta visited Constantinople, what historical event happened to change that city?
10. What are the modern names of the places  Ibn Battuta visited?
11. Ibn Battuta put his stories into the form of a travel book called a “rihla.” What does this genre of literature do? In what century was the Arabic version found and translated into French, German, and then English?
12. What did you learn about understanding from Ibn Battuta?
13. If you could visit any three of the places Ibn Battuta saw, which would you choose and why? What would you like to understand about those places?

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