From Jerusalem to Elkader
Middle School Curriculum
By Sue Protheroe
An exploration of three Abrahamic faiths coming together (and colliding), an examination of Islam in particular, and a spotlight on the Algerian hero Abd el-Kader

Lesson One: Jerusalem
(4-5 class periods)
- Teacher Lesson Plan
- Viewing Reflection Guide Jerusalem
- Slides: Lesson One
- Map of the Middle East, one/student (optional)
- Sacred Sites of Jerusalem: Notes
- Sacred Sites of Jerusalem: Notes (teacher copy)
- Temple Mount
- Jerusalem Timeline
- World Religions Comparison Chart, one/student
- World Religions Comparison Chart (teacher copy)
- Formative Assessment 3
- Jerusalem: Sacred and Contentious Background Reading (PBS), one/student
- Jerusalem: Sacred and Contentious (video, PBS)
- Summative Assessment
- DVD: National Geographic Presents Jerusalem or Secrets of Jerusalem’s Holiest Sites
Lesson Two: Islam
(4-5 class periods)
- Teacher Lesson Plan
- “What does it mean to be Muslim?” (Secret Life of Muslims, Episode 1)
- Origins and Spread of Islam (7-page reading document, one/student)
- Origins and Spread of Islam: Formative Assessment (one/student)
- Slides: Lesson Two
- Animated Map Shows How Religion Spread Around the World
- Yusef Videos
- Five Pillars of Islam: Notes (one/student)
- Slides: Mosques
Lesson Three: Abd el-Kader to Elkader
(6 class periods)
- Teacher Lesson Plan
- Slides: Lesson Three
- Discover Mascara, Algeria (video)
- Viewing/Reflection Guide: Abd el-Kader: Childhood
- Chapter 2: An Unlikely Leader Emerges (from The Compassionate Warrior: Abd el-Kader of Algeria by Elsa Marston
- The Legend of the Horse
- Viewing/Reflection Guide: Abd el-Kader: Adulthood and Elkader
- Biography Script (for completion of timeline on Viewing/Reflection Guide: Abd el-Kader: Adulthood and Elkader)
- Abdelkader Stage Project (Middle School)
- Summative Assessment: Lesson Three