Unit Lesson Plan

Christina Tillery

World History I
World Religions

World Religions
Ninth Grade World History I
Unit Overview and Rationale:
World History I gives students an overview of major historical civilizations, events, and
people. For the week of March 26th to March 30th, the students of the 2nd block World History I
class will learn about four major world religions. Religions played integral roles in earlier
civilizations and they continue to do so today. Through maps, graphic organizers, and reflection
students will build strong understanding of various religions
Not only students will gain facts about Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, but over this
unit students shall gain a new-found respect for all religions. Students are required to think about
the contributions of religions, and acknowledge any misconceptions they had and contrast them
with the truth. The unit objectives not only correlate to the SOL standards, but also aim to
dismantle any ignorance that students may have about different religions.
The unit is a part of the World History I curriculum for Virginia. This unit will
approximately take four days to be completed, so it is a small unit. The class is held between
8:50 am to 10:15 am, and it is a daily class. Ninth graders are the majority, but there is a small
minority of older students ranging from 10th to 11th grade. This unit will consist of lessons that
will captivate students and have them engage in an empathetic view of Christianity, Islam, and
Buddhism.
This unit is a part of the tested SOL standards for students in World History I. The
organization of the unit is to give students a chronological order of events in the founding of the
three religions and their impact on the world. I want students to use the content to expand on
their own personal knowledge to go out into the world and possibly educate others.
(Prior to this unit, the students learned about Judaism, and after this unit the students will
learn about Hinduism.)
Goals:
1. Students will engage in academic discussion with each other. These discussions shall be
done as a class or in pair share. The aim is to challenge a low energy class to speak and
share their opinions.
2. Students will have a greater understanding of various religions and gain respect for these
religions. (Affective)
3. Students will learned the information that is necessary to pass the Virginia Standards of
Learning examination.

Unit Lesson Plan

Christina Tillery

World History I
World Religions

Essential Questions
Students will be able to address these questions with the knowledge learned throughout the unit.

What are some misconceptions about Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism? (Objectives 1,
3; NCSS Culture
How is Islam similar to Christianity and Judaism? ( Objectives 1, 3: NCSS Global
Connections)
How has Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism contributed to the global community? (
Objectives 3, NCSS Global Connections)

Objectives:
At the end of unit:
1. Students will be able to have a good foundation of the major world religions along with
Judaism for a previous unit.
2. Students will be able to explain the origins of these major religions.
3. Students will be able to summarize the contributions of Christianity, Islam, and
Buddhism to the ancient and modern world.
Standards:
WHI.4

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the civilizations of Persia, India, and China in terms
of chronology, geography, social structures, government, economy, religion, and contributions
to later civilizations by
c) describing the origins, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Hinduism;
d) describing the origins, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Buddhism;
f) describing the impact of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.
WHI. 6 The student will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Rome from about 700 b.c. (b.c.e.) to 500 a.d.
(c.e.) in terms of its impact on Western civilization by
h) describing the origin, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Christianity;
WHI.8

The student will demonstrate knowledge of Islamic civilization from about 600 to 1000 A.D.
(C.E.) by
a) describing the origin, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Islam;
b) assessing the influence of geography on Islamic economic, social, and political
development, including the impact of conquest and trade;
c) identifying historical turning points that affected the spread and influence of Islamic

civilization, with emphasis on the Sunni-Shia division and the Battle of Tours;
d) citing cultural and scientific contributions and achievements of Islamic civilization.
NCSS Standards:

Unit Lesson Plan

Christina Tillery

World History I
World Religions

Culture ( Standard One)

o Students will learn how religion was an integral aspect in ancient
civilizations, and still play a major part in modern societies.
Individual Development and Identity (Standard Four)
o Students will be able to reflect on their own perceptions about religion.
Individuals, Groups, and Institutions (Standard Five)
o Students will analyze how religions promote social control within
societies, and propose accepted social norms regardless of peoples
beliefs.
Global Connections (Standard 9)
o Students will see how religions spread to other regions out side of the
religions origins.

Outline of Content:
Day 1:

Introduction to Christianity
o Origins of Christianity
Had its roots in Judaism
Was led by Jesus of Nazareth, who was proclaimed the Messiah
Conflicted with polytheistic beliefs of Roman Empire
o Beliefs, traditions, and customs of Christianity
Monotheism
Jesus as both Son and incarnation of God
Life after death
New Testament, containing accounts of the life and teachings of
Jesus, as well as writings of early Christians
Christian doctrines established by early church councils
o Spread of Christianity
Popularity of the message
Early martyrs inspired others
Carried by the Apostles, including Paul, throughout the Roman
Empire

Unit Lesson Plan

Christina Tillery

World History I
World Religions

Day 2:

Introduction to Islam
o Origins of Islam
Muhammad, the Prophet
Mecca and Medina on the Arabian Peninsula: Early Muslim cities
o Spread of Islam
Across Asia and Africa and into Spain
Geographic extent of first Muslim empire
o Beliefs, traditions, and customs of Islam
Monotheism: Allah (Arabic word for God)
Quran (Koran): The word of God
Five Pillars of Islam
Acceptance of Judeo-Christian prophets, including Moses and
Jesus

Introduction to Buddhism
o Founder: Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
o Four Noble Truths
o Eightfold Path to Enlightenment

Day 3:

Assessments and Evaluations:

Pre-Assessments:

Students will have to provide their knowledge on the various religions in an

informal warm-up activity.

Formative:

Class Participation
Do It Now: Morning Activities to get students thinking about the content for that day.
Daily writing exercises to prepare students for short answer questions on the unit quiz.
Evaluation Sheets

Summative:

A unit quiz consisting of select-response questions, and writing prompt as a short answerquestion. The Islamic civilization unit is a part of a much larger unit, therefore the
knowledge gained in this unit will be assessed in a greater general test. The unit quiz will
be beneficial for me to assess the students learning through my instruction.

Unit Lesson Plan

Christina Tillery

World History I
World Religions

Notebook Check: This is routine through my mentor teacher, so I will continue it through
my instruction also.

Unit Calendar:
Introduction

Christianity

Islam

Buddhism

Formal Introduction to
the World Religions Unit
Power Point

Warm-Up

Warm-Up

Warm-Up

Origins of Christianity

World Religions
Worksheet:
This is to be
completed in
class and then
used as a guide
on the basic
information of
the religions.
Evaluation Sheet

Rise of Christianity in
Rome

Muhammad Walks by
Lupe Fiasco
(Song Analysis)

The Story of Buddha

Power Point
Inspiration
Graphic
Organizer
Clip from Little
Buddha

Graphic
Organizer
The Proverbs
Worksheet
Class Discussion

Evaluation Sheet

Origins of Islam
Graphic
Organizer
Map of Muhammads
Travels

What do you think?

(Cartoon Analysis)
Evaluation Sheet

The Teachings of
Buddha
We are what we think
we are
Morality Spring Break
Challenge
*Last Day before Spring
Break ^_^

Daily Lesson Plans with Materials/Resources:

Monday (Completion of the Rome Unit):

Review Answers of Quiz 1 and Quiz 2

Complete Rome Power Point
Complete Rome Video

Materials:

Laptop
Overhead projector

Tuesday:

Rome Final Assessment (Quiz)

Unit Lesson Plan

Christina Tillery

World History I
World Religions

Introduction to World Religions

o Individual Work
World Religion Worksheet
http://www.uri.org/kids/world_budd_basi.htm
o Group Work
o Formal Introduction to the Unit of World Religion
A visual Power Point of images

Materials:

Worksheets
Printer
Copier
Laptop
Overhead Projector

Wednesday:

Christianity
o Warm-Up: Who was Jesus of Nazareth?
Reflection upon students responses
o Christianity Rise in Rome
The Origins
Graphic Organizers
Power Point
o Proverbs Worksheet
Discussion as a class
o Evaluation Sheet: Is it possible for people to skew religion for their own personal
gain? (Constantine claiming Christianity as the official religion of the Eastern
Roman Empire)

Materials:

Whiteboard
Dry Erase Markers
Laptop
Overhead Projector
Copier
Printer

Unit Lesson Plan

Christina Tillery

World History I
World Religions

Thursday:

Islam
Do It Now: What do you know about the religion Islam?
o List thoughts on the board
Lupe Fiascos Muhammad Walks
o Listen to the song
o Read through the lyrics/Discuss
Hand out copies to the students
Place a copy on the overhead projector
o How did this song confirm anything you knew or taught you something new?
Graphic Organizer of the foundations of Islam
Tracing Muhammads travels (Map)
o Importance of Mecca and Medina
Cartoon of the Two Different Women ( American and Muslim)
Write what you think the cartoon is trying to say?
What are some misconceptions or stereotypes you had about Muslims or
the religion Islam?
Distribute evaluation sheet
o Without the usage of your notes: Name as many as you can remember of the five
pillars

Materials:

Overhead Projector
Whiteboard
Dry Erase Makers
Laptop
Audio

Friday

Buddhism
Do It Now: What does it means to be true/real/honest with yourself?
o Introduction to Buddhism
Buddhas Life
Power Point
Edited Graphic Organizer
o Morality Challenge
Create a small journal to keep over Spring break: daily write down the
nice, selfless things that you did over break.

Unit Lesson Plan

Christina Tillery

World History I
World Religions

Materials:

Overhead Projector
Dry Erase Marker
Laptop

Differentiation:
The class is very diverse. There are two ELL students, one who speaks Spanish and the
other French. Yet, both gentlemen work very well together. There are also students that have
already failed the course previously, and are still not motivated in class to pass. There are a few
students that are ahead of other students and finish their work rather quickly. My task will be to
keep all students engaged, and have activities where students are constantly interacting with each
other about the topic.
Accommodations:
I would prefer to give physical copies of images I may use because a high number of
students wear glasses in the class. I want them to be able to be able to see clearly the connections
or points I will be relaying to the class. Also, by the time I teach this unit I hope that I will be
able to move some of the students seating because some students are distracted by the people
they sit beside. Oddly enough there are not any 504 plans or IEPs, but it is obvious to see which
students will need extra help.