The Arab League
The League of Arab States, more commonly referred to as the Arab League, consists of twenty-two nations. Begun in 1945 with only six members, the purpose of the League is to promote cooperation among Arab nations in matters relating to economic and social development and foreign policy.
Presently, the 22 nations are:
1. Egypt
2. Iraq
3. Jordan
4. Lebanon
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Syria
7. Yemen
8. Libya
9. Sudan
10. Morocco
11. Tunisia
12. Kuwait
13. Algeria
14. Bahrain
15. United Arab Emirates (UAE)
16. Oman
17. Qatar
18. Mauritania
19. Somalia
20. Palestine
21. Djibouti
22. Comoros
2. Iraq
3. Jordan
4. Lebanon
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Syria
7. Yemen
8. Libya
9. Sudan
10. Morocco
11. Tunisia
12. Kuwait
13. Algeria
14. Bahrain
15. United Arab Emirates (UAE)
16. Oman
17. Qatar
18. Mauritania
19. Somalia
20. Palestine
21. Djibouti
22. Comoros
So, how can you incorporate this into the curriculum?
Well, lucky you if you are a history, geography, or social studies teacher! Or if you ever just happen to teach those subjects.
If you teach in Elementary school or a subject that is non-history related, there are still things you can do!
- When doing any kind of geography lesson, you can take time to mention the Arab League and point out who its members are. This can be done in conjunction with tasks such as reading maps, labeling parts of a map, using a compass rose or a scale.
- Children could even combine their geography skills with their history researching and writing skills by having individual, pairs, or groups of students research some basic facts about each of the countries.
- Often, world history before 1492 boils down to The Fertile Crescent, Egypt, China, and Rome. Rarely do teachers have the time to include African, Arab, Indian, or any other kind of history. Perhaps instead of focusing on mummies and pyramids, a teacher could instead or additionally discuss the achievements of various Arab nations.
- Biome Study - From the tall mountains to the vast empty deserts, the Arab world has an incredible variety. Students can research the landscapes and wildlife and discuss how land features affect the way people live.
If you teach in Elementary school or a subject that is non-history related, there are still things you can do!
- Art projects - at some point, many students create maps. Some of these are drawn, some are made of plaster or clay, some of paper mache. At some point, ask students to create maps of other parts of the world.
- Our number system comes from the Arab world. Students can study various ways to write and do basic math computations (IE, with Roman Numerals, Arabic numbers, Chinese numbers, dots and dashes, etc.)
- Students can solve word problems or graphs using numbers from the Arab world. For example, they could create a chart depicting the change over time in the price of gas coming from the Middle East. They could answer word problems relating to the populations or population densities of various Arab States. They can estimate the number of grains of sand in the Sahara Desert. The possibilities are endless when it comes to mathematical word problems.
- English teachers can read stories from the Arab world or featuring Arab characters. Though the stories could be used to teach English writing conventions (for example, poetry or author's purpose) the themes and characters can still be Arab.
- Teachers and students can study current events relating to foreign policy and the Middle East.