Unit Guide

Open Sesame! – Islamic Stories Along The Silk Road

David R. Ostheimer

This unit, consisting of seven lessons to be taught during the language arts block of 1st grade, discusses the stories found during an adventure on the western leg of the fabled Silk Road. Students will listen and/or read stories that travelers throughout the ages may have heard. While exploring these stories, we will encounter traditions from the Islamic world and this unit will attempt to lead students on a grade level appropriate introduction to Islamic culture and customs. This unit will be taught at the end of the school year so students will be using their comprehension skills to answer questions about the stories. The goal of this unit is to provide background information on the Islamic world, particularly Central Asia, to our students while also reinforcing the reading comprehension concepts that have been introduced throughout the year. Ultimately, although the world is a diverse place with many different cultures, when we look at the experiences of another culture, especially as related in literature, we can see that we have many things in common.