To be honest, I don't think I would use this material in my 6th grade World Cultures class. We don't get into Muslim Spain in depth, and I think the concept of martyrs and some of the topics that I would need to address with them for this topic would not be developmentally accessible for many of them. However, here are my thoughts on what I might do if I did use this material.
6th Grade World Cultures
Martyrs of Córdoba Activity: Heroes or Fanatics?
Power Up (Do First): Discuss with your table group:
- What makes someone a hero?
- What is a “fanatic”? Define this word in your own words, then look up the definition in an online dictionary to see if your definition is accurate.
Come back together as a whole class and discuss answers, then have students fill in the definitions of hero and fanatic on their guided notes handout.
- Hero - A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities
- Fanatic - A person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause
Activity:
In this activity, students will read about the Martyrs of Córdoba, and decide whether they should be classified as heroes or fanatics based on the evidence presented in the primary and secondary source documents.
Hero or Fanatic Handout:
Students will have the outline of a person on a handout with a line down the middle. One side of the body will be the HERO and one side of the body will be the FANATIC. Using the sources, they will fill in evidence on the body outline that classifies the Martyrs of Cordoba as either heroes or fanatics.
Open-Note Check for Understanding:
Using the notes from your handout and the definitions of hero and fanatic, answer the following question in 4-6 complete sentences:
Were the Martyrs of Córdoba heroes or fanatics? Use evidence from the documents to support your answer.