Ostara: The Islamic Golden Age
While Europe struggled through the Dark Ages, the Islamic world flourished with science, art, and learning. We explore this golden age as spring brings new growth.
UU Principle Focus
4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
🎯 Learning Goals
- • Understand the Islamic Golden Age and its contributions to world knowledge
- • Appreciate Islamic art, architecture, and geometric patterns
- • Explore multiple perspectives on the Crusades
- • Master coordinate graphing and geometric transformations
- • Understand basic chemistry: matter, elements, reactions
- • Connect Ostara themes of balance to faith and reason
Weekly Lessons
Week 1: The Islamic Golden Age Begins
🕯️ Hearth Circle
While Europe was in the 'Dark Ages,' the Islamic world flourished with learning. What can we learn from other cultures? (4th Principle: Search for Truth)
📚 Language Arts
Introduction to the Islamic Golden Age. Baghdad as a center of learning. The House of Wisdom. Write about cultural exchange.
✖️ Math
Introduction to coordinate plane. Plotting points. Quadrants. Ordered pairs.
🧪 Science: Chemistry
Chemistry introduction: What is matter? Atoms and molecules. States of matter.
✏️ Form Drawing
Islamic geometric patterns—stars and tessellations
🧶 Handwork
Begin spring crafts; egg decorating
📖 Story
The House of Wisdom in Baghdad
📺 "Just Can't" Day
Videos:
- Islamic Golden Age
- States of Matter
Shows:
- Science and Islam
Audio:
- 1001 Inventions audiobook
Week 2: Islamic Science & Mathematics
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Muslim scholars preserved Greek knowledge and made new discoveries. How do we build on the work of those who came before us?
📚 Language Arts
Study Islamic contributions to math and science: algebra, algorithms, astronomy. Research one scholar (Al-Khwarizmi, Ibn Sina).
✖️ Math
Graphing in all four quadrants. Reflections across axes. Distance between points.
🧪 Science: Chemistry
Elements and compounds. The periodic table introduction. Common elements.
✏️ Form Drawing
Continue Islamic geometric patterns—more complex designs
🧶 Handwork
Create geometric art using compass and straightedge
📖 Story
Al-Khwarizmi: Father of Algebra
📺 "Just Can't" Day
Videos:
- History of Algebra
- Elements and Compounds
Shows:
- Genius of the Ancient World
Audio:
- Lost History audiobook
Week 3: Islamic Art & Architecture
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Islamic art uses geometry instead of images to show the infinite beauty of creation. How do patterns reflect the divine? (7th Principle)
📚 Language Arts
Study Islamic art and architecture: mosques, calligraphy, arabesques. Compare to medieval European art. Write a comparison.
✖️ Math
Transformations: translations, reflections, rotations. Identify transformations in Islamic art.
🧪 Science: Chemistry
Chemical reactions: evidence of change. Simple experiments. Safety in chemistry.
✏️ Form Drawing
Calligraphy-inspired designs; arabesque patterns
🧶 Handwork
Create a tessellation artwork; spring planting
📖 Story
The Great Mosques: Córdoba, Damascus, Istanbul
📺 "Just Can't" Day
Videos:
- Islamic Art Documentary
- Chemical Reactions
Shows:
- Art of Islam
Audio:
- Alhambra audiobook
Week 4: The Crusades Begin
🕯️ Hearth Circle
The Crusades brought Christians and Muslims into conflict—but also contact. How do we handle religious differences? (3rd Principle)
📚 Language Arts
Study the First Crusade. Multiple perspectives: Christian, Muslim, Jewish. Write from two different viewpoints.
✖️ Math
Review transformations. Introduction to similar figures. Scale factor.
🧪 Science: Chemistry
Acids and bases. pH scale. Indicators. Safe experiments with household items.
✏️ Form Drawing
Crusader and Islamic shield designs side by side
🧶 Handwork
Dye eggs using natural materials; spring cleaning
📖 Story
The First Crusade: Two Sides of the Story
📺 "Just Can't" Day
Videos:
- Crusades Documentary
- Acids and Bases
Shows:
- The Crusades: Crescent and Cross
Audio:
- Crusades history podcast
Week 5: Cultural Exchange
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Despite conflict, the Crusades led to exchange of ideas, foods, and technologies. How can good come from difficult situations?
📚 Language Arts
Study what Europeans learned from the Islamic world: medicine, math, food, technology. Write about cultural exchange.
✖️ Math
Similar figures and proportions. Solving proportion problems. Scale drawings.
🧪 Science: Chemistry
Mixtures and solutions. Dissolving. Separating mixtures. Filtration, evaporation.
✏️ Form Drawing
Designs combining European and Islamic elements
🧶 Handwork
Cook a recipe with Middle Eastern origins; garden work
📖 Story
What the Crusaders Brought Home
📺 "Just Can't" Day
Videos:
- Medieval Trade Routes
- Mixtures and Solutions
Shows:
- Connections (James Burke)
Audio:
- Silk Road stories
Week 6: Ostara: Balance & New Growth
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Ostara celebrates spring's arrival and the balance of light and dark. The Islamic Golden Age brought balance of faith and reason. How do we balance different parts of ourselves?
📚 Language Arts
Write a reflection on balance: faith and reason, tradition and innovation. Complete Islamic Golden Age projects.
✖️ Math
Review coordinate graphing and transformations. Create a geometric design using transformations.
🧪 Science: Chemistry
Review chemistry concepts. Design an experiment demonstrating a chemical or physical change.
✏️ Form Drawing
Spring equinox designs—balance of light and dark
🧶 Handwork
Complete Ostara crafts; prepare celebration
📖 Story
Spring Equinox Stories from Many Cultures
📺 "Just Can't" Day
Videos:
- Spring Equinox Explained
- Chemistry Review
Shows:
- Planet Earth: Spring
Audio:
- Spring mythology
🌸 Ostara Celebration
- 🟡 Create a balance altar with equal light and dark elements
- 🟡 Display geometric art and tessellation projects
- 🟡 Plant seeds and celebrate new growth
- 🟡 Decorate eggs with geometric patterns
- 🟡 Share a feast featuring foods from the Silk Road
- 🟡 Reflect on balance, growth, and cultural exchange
📚 Recommended Resources
Read-Alouds & Literature
- • 1001 Inventions (National Geographic)
- • The House of Wisdom (Jim Al-Khalili)
- • Alhambra (Washington Irving) - excerpts
Reference
- • DK Eyewitness: Islam
- • Islamic Art and Geometric Design (Met Museum)
- • Chemistry for Kids (DK)