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Introduction 02
Assembly plan:
An introduction to Arab culture 03
The Arab world is a fascinating, diverse geographical pupils develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the language,
region stretching from south-west Asia to north-west history and culture. The materials are designed to be flexible and adaptable
for use in a variety of settings. They can be used as starting points for
Africa. It has an immensely rich culture and history and
individual lessons and assemblies or form part of larger cross-curricular
one of the world’s great languages that is spoken by joint projects involving collaboration over a number of subjects.
more than 300 million people. Arabic is also one of the
official languages of the United Nations and has been Your pupils can learn how to greet a friend and count in Arabic, get
creative making geometric patterns and recipes, and find out about Arab
identified as one of the ten most important languages culture by using our wide range of classroom resources and activities.
for the UK’s future. *
*British Council: Languages for the Future.
This education pack is designed to help mainstream primary teachers
introduce aspects of both Arabic language and Arab culture to their
pupils. It contains lesson and assembly plans, facts and resources to help
An introduction to
Arab culture
Play some Arab music for your pupils to listen to as they come Many other countries also use greetings and expressions which come
in and out of assembly. An example can be found here: from Arabic, because Arabic is the language of Islam and Islam is widely
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfOLMf2M9SA practised in non-Arab countries. In fact, the majority of Muslims do not
live in the Arab world, but live in South and Southeast Asia.
Tell pupils that you are going to find out about the Arab world where
the main language spoken is Arabic. Give the traditional greeting: Although the Arab world shares many things in common, it is extremely
, diverse in terms of culture, religion, and even language. Even though
as-salaamu alaykum . Explain that this is a traditional Arabic
greeting heard in the song on the way into assembly. If you have Arabic is the official language of each country in the Arab world, other
any Arabic speakers in school, invite them to help you present the languages are spoken too and the Arabic language itself can sound very
assembly and perhaps prepare some short phrases in Arabic to different depending where you are. Can you recognise any of the Arab
demonstrate and translate. countries highlighted on the map? Perhaps some of you have visited
these countries or have friends and family who live there.
There are many famous landmarks in Arab countries. Do you recognise
any of these?
© Pius Lee/Shutterstock
Arabic language and Arab culture
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline 05
Slide 4: The Al Haram Mosque or Grand Mosque It is the largest mosque in the world and surrounds one
is in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia of Islam’s holiest places, the Kaaba. The Kaaba is a cube
shaped building, draped in a silk and cotton veil.
Every year millions of Muslims travel to Mecca to complete the Hajj
or pilgrimage. The journey is seen as one of the five pillars of Islam,
central to the faith. It is a spiritual pilgrimage that every adult Muslim
must perform at least once in their lives if they can afford to and are
physically able to make the journey.
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colour of the rock. It is famous for a water system built to supply
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water for 30,000 people and irrigation for gardens. You might also
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recognise it from the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!
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Slide 6: Baalbek in Lebanon
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Another World Heritage Site is at Baalbek in Lebanon which has
beautiful examples of the remains of Roman architecture including
aqueducts, and roads and a grand temple of Jupiter. There are
also many other examples of Roman architecture in other parts
of the Middle East and North Africa.
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www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
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Two more modern landmarks can be found Burj Khalifa Tower
today in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Slide 7: Burj Al Arab Jumeirah Hotel Another site, at 828 metres high is the Burj Khalifa Tower
which is currently the world’s tallest building and contains
a lift with the longest travel distance in the world up to
its 160 storeys!
The luxurious Burj Al Arab Jumeirah Hotel
in Dubai opened in 1999 and is famous for
its sailboat shape on an island in the sea.
© Sophie James/Shutterstock
© Laboran/Shutterstock
Did you know that during the Middle Ages there was
a golden age of inventions and discoveries in the
© Jod
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ck p h o
Arabic language and Arab culture to
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline 09
Storytelling
The Arab world is also famous for its literature and fables. As you listen to these two short fables think about
storytelling traditions. One such storyteller was Luqman what is the moral behind each story and if they remind
‚
Bin Ad. He was a wise man who wrote many animal you of any other fables you have heard.
© Jiri Hera/Shutterstock
The Lion and the Fox The Bragging Rooster
The Lion was the king of the forest, and all the other animals, Two roosters got in a nasty fight one day. When the battle
being afraid of him, tried to stay on friendly terms with him. was over, the loser rested in the shade of a pomegranate
Many years went by and the lion who was now growing old, bush. The winner flew up to a high fence where he flapped
could not hunt as easily as before. Running and stalking was his wings proudly and crowed loudly, bragging of the fight
not as easy as when he was young. He decided to retire to he had just won.
a cave and pretend he was sick. Of course all the animals
A vulture seeing him, swooped down quickly, grabbed the
would want to come and visit their King whom they believed
proud rooster in his powerful claws and flew away with him.
to be sick. But whenever an animal came to visit him and
show concern, the lion would eat them. One day a fox stood
by the door but would not go in. From inside, the lion asked,
‘Why don’t you come in my friend?’
‘I was going to’, answered the fox, looking down at the ground
outside the cave, ‘but now I see footprints of animals who
went in but I don’t see any of their footprints coming out!’
These stories are from The Fables of Luqman reproduced with kind permission from Audrey
Shabbas and AWAIR from The Arabs: Activities for the Elementary and Middle School Level.
Arabic language and Arab culture
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline 10
Lesson plan
01
An introduction to
Arabic language and
the art of calligraphy
Another common greeting in the Arab world is ‘hello’: And the response, ‘I am from…’
Encourage your pupils to practise asking each other where they are
from and answering in Arabic.
Although the way you say it varies from dialect to dialect, all parts of the
Arab world will understand you if you use the following phrase to ask, To complete the conversation, students can use the ‘peace be upon you’
‘Where are you from?’ greeting and response again, or they can say another form of goodbye:
algebra, average,
There are many English words in use today which originally
came from Arabic, especially during the Middle Ages,
when Arab scholars were world leaders in science and
calendar, candy,
technology and trade flourished. These include: algebra,
average, calendar, candy, coffee, cotton, magazine,
mattress, saffron, sherbet, sofa, sugar, syrup, tambourine,
traffic and zero; to name just a few.
Of course, many English words such as computer, Facebook, coffee, cotton,
magazine, mattress,
mobile (phone), and sandwich have also now entered the Arabic
language today.
Share the English words that originated from Arabic with your pupils.
saffron, sherbet,
Ask them to group them into different categories and talk about why
languages ‘borrow’ words from one another and how these may have
entered the English language. Show your pupils the examples of words
sofa, sugar,
that English has ‘borrowed’ from other languages on Information and
activity sheet 2. Ask them to work in pairs to discuss which language
and country they think each word originates from and then match each
syrup, tambourine,
word to its country of origin on the map.
Can they give reasons for their decisions? Gather the whole class
together to discuss whether similar choices were made. Reveal the
traffic, zero
correct answers and discuss whether they were surprised about any
of the individual words and how many have been borrowed from other
languages and countries.
(qiTTa – cat)
(kursi – chair)
(Taawila – table)
School
© Horton Park Pri
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ho
such as eL Seed who blend Arabic calligraphy and street culture.
re
er
In 2012 eL Seed finished his largest piece on a minaret on the Jara
B
id
Mosque in Tunisia. Approved by the town governor and the Imam of
uah
the mosque, the art spreads a message of unity and tolerance. Perhaps
by O
your pupils could try out some calligraffiti, using their design and Arabic
aph
skills. A link to a film of school pupils working with the artist to create
alligraf c
with
unisia
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e,
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os
M
ra
Ja
02
Mathematics, patterns
and the Arab world
© Javarman/Shutterstock
Geometric designs using mathematical shapes,
repetition and symmetry are an important feature
of Arab art and culture.
Combining just a few shapes can create beautiful, complex interlocking
patterns known as Arabesque. Show your pupils some examples of
Arab art and architecture decorated with intricate, repeated geometric
patterns. Examples can be found on the Islamic Art website at:
http://patterninislamicart.com.
Can your pupils spot different shapes and examples of tessellation as
well as line and rotational symmetry? Which is their favourite design?
Provide each pupil with a copy of the geometric pattern on Information
and activity sheet 8. This complex design is actually based on one © Alaincouillaud/iStockphoto
simple shape repeated in different ways. Can your pupils identify the
initial shape and find a six-pointed star, a triangle, a large diamond, a
hexagon and lines of symmetry incorporated into the design? Ask them
to use tracing paper to trace all the types of 2D shapes and then use
colour to create a decorative symmetrical pattern.
03
Celebrations, festivals
and daily life for
young people across
the Arab world
© Mat Wright
Arabic language and Arab culture
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline 25
Lesson plan
04
Music
Barbecue
Candy
Dollar
Llama
Magazine
Robot
Shampoo
Sushi
Tea
Tomato
Vampire
r th d (none) H j th t b a
rolled, like in as in the sounds like the an aspirated h, as in bath
Spanish German ‘ch’ as like a big belly
Bach laugh haha
f (none) (none) TH T D S Sh s z
gargling sound a deep ‘ah’ a hard ‘th’ sound a hard T as in tall a hard d like in a hard s as in as in house
in the throat, like sound in the as in breathe thud sorry
the French ‘r’ throat
y w h n m l k q
(or ‘ee’ as in feet) (or ‘oo’ as in as in henry a ‘k’ sound deep
spoon) in the throat
1 waaHid
© Mat Wright
across the Arab world
Hi there,
My name is Joelle
, and I’m proud to
be a Lebanese te
Hi there, Here, in my coun enager.
I’m a student try, we have spec
Lebanese girl and ial foods for ever
I’m a 13 year old m going to We have special y occasion.
th. In this letter, I’ costumes we wea
at Besancon Baabda ool. r when we celebr
tell you about my
sch traditional festiva ate
in our school is Fr
ench, ls by dancing the
© Mat Wright
The main language traditional ‘dabke
bic. We also and in big weddi ’ dance
er tongue is Ara ngs. In weddings,
although our moth ry , physics, like in all occasio
ish, maths, chemist ns, we eat
study Arabic, Engl We do some Lebanese foods
like ‘tabboule’ w
civics and biology. hich is our traditi
geography, history, orts. onal Lebanese
e art, theatre and sp salad and a lot of
activities as well: lik . We have
other delicious m
eals from our Le
l day at 7.30 a.m cuisine. We also banese
We start our schoo a 20-minute have the delicious
rio ds ea ch day. And we have ‘knefe’ like desser
sev en pe ve to wear t, but a lot
ev ery tw o or three periods. We ha of people eat ‘k
nefe’ for breakfas
br eak l phones
iform an d we can’t keep our cel t.
a sch oo l un l phones At New Year’s Ev
e can bring our cel e, some parents
with us in class. W ve to keep them like watching TV
to know
ning but we ha what fortune-te
with us in the mor back llers think of or
ice. We can get them have to say abou
in the principal’s off At Christmas, w t the New Year.
school. e go to church,
before we leave the teachers we have a big lu
nch for all the
day trips with our family and we op
We sometimes go on . en the gifts.
s every second week
and we have a mas sion, but
ebrate on every occa
We don’t always cel
really fun! I hope you will lik
when we do it, it’s e my country, Le
banon, and I ho
Have a good day. come to visit it on pe you will
e day.
Rita Hanna. © iStockphoto
Joelle Zarazir
© Mat Wright
Fitr is an important religious
k to their homes. After I stud
y I go with my
fasting. brothers and my friends to the
n, the Islamic holy month of playground or to the park to
that marks the end of Ramada do some
sports. I like playing football.
r. It depends When I get back from playgro
from one country to anothe und I go to eat
The date for Eid may differ with my family at 6.30 p.m. Wh
. en we finish we go to brush our
moon by the local authorities teeth and
on the observation of the new wash our hands and all of the
family sit in the sitting room to
the same
it is generally celebrated on talk about
However, in most countries, what happened during the day
and what we will do in the nex
pomp here. t day. I like
itr is celebrated with great that so much. Sometimes we
day as Saudi Arabia. Eid al-F visit my relatives. My mother
for family and father
and prepare luxurious meals watch the TV at 8.30 p.m. to
Saudis decorate their homes see the news. My brother and
I play on
her at computers or Xbox or our pho
di tradition for families to gat nes. At 9.00 p.m., my brothe
and friends. It is common Sau the WWE and action movies rs and I watch
is ser ved,
Before the special Eid meal on TV and then we go to slee
home after the Eid prayers. That what I usually do. This is
p.
member, who
in front of each adult family my life and love it.
young children will line up
One day, there was a wedding
the children. . First I went to the barber sho
dispenses money as gifts to best folklore outfit. I met my
p. I wore my
way to
many Saudis go out of their family, uncles and friends. I saw
Moreover, in the spirit of Eid, and bridegroom they were ver
the bride
n strangers
erosity. It is common for eve y beautiful. We sang tradition
show their kindness and gen ate mansaf for lunch.
al songs and
and gifts
dom and sometimes even toys
to greet one another at ran
traditional By: Mohammad Khalid Soub
complete strangers. It is also - Jordan
will be given to children by
buy large qua ntit ies of rice
to go and
in some areas for Saudi men
the doors of
leave them anonymously at
and other staples and then
Arabia,
In the major cities in Saudi
© Mat Wright
those who are less fortunate.
fireworks shows.
every night there are huge
urally
in Saudi Arabia may var y cult
In conclusion, Eid festivities
brations
one common factor in all cele
depending on the region, but
Arabic language and Arab culture
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline is generosity and hospitality. 49
Amjad Qasem
© Mat Wright
Riyadh is my hometown
his country and the place
No doubt that ever yone is proud of
up. For me, I was born in
where they were born and brought
right
Saudi Arabia. I live in it, in
Riyadh. Riyadh is the capital city of Hi there,
© Mat W
family in a big villa. I like my
the district of Laban. I live with my
What’s your nam
city very much. Riyadh is the bigg
est city in Saudi Arabia. It is e? Mine is Marou
town in Mount Le n Chebly. I live in
the newest cities in The banon. Bickfaya, a
considered one of the biggest and
n city. It has a lot of trees It’s really cool in
Middle East. It is a modern and clea our town. We ha
es and monuments. The ve sports clubs,
and parks. It has many historical plac shops and a lot m restaurants,
t region of Riyadh. The ore. Also, in Bickf
Historical Diriyah is in the North Wes aya, we usually do
where a lot of pe festivals,
centre of Riyadh. It has a lot ople come to ex
Musmak Fortress is located in the pose their new cr
such as Al Mamlakah Center We usually do th eations.
of modern and famous buildings, ree festivals per
Aziz Museum is in the year: The Christ
and Al Faisaliah Tower. King Abdul The New Year Fe mas Festival,
Riyadh. It contains a lot of stival and The Fl
centre of the park in the centre of ower Festival.
the kingdom, Makah, Sometimes we m
monuments of the king, his sons, ake a football fe
stival. Actually it
Madinah and the Islamic History. I
am proud to be a Saudi it’s The World C isn’t a festival;
up or The Cham
pion’s League. Be
Citizen living in this city. huge football fans cause we are
, they make this
By Fahad Hamad Mohamed Al Benh
aar festival to watch
matches in open the final
air. They usually
put the screen un
giant cedar tree der four
s, or sometimes
they put it in the
of the town. public garden
This is my countr
y, and this is my
really enjoy the town; it’s an awes
festivals each year ome town. I
.
ht
the Arab world
© Mat Wrig
world, and the second largest in
square miles. It
(behind only Algeria) at 830,000
- but almost all of
is six times the size of Germany
Saudi Arabia are the
it is desert. The oil reserves in
ated to be 268
second largest in the world, estim
e-fifth of the world’s
billion barrels and are about on
Saudi Arabia are
total oil reserve. The people of
sheep herders and
descended from tribes of nomadic
of the traditions of
goat herders and maintain many
e dates, fatir (flat
their past. Traditional foods lik
thwestern part of
bread), arikah (bread from the sou
are still eaten by
the country), and a spice blend
udis have settled in
Saudis today, although most Sa
follow the nomadic
towns and cities and no longer
lifestyle .
le Eastern cooking
One of the great aspects of Midd
ients for what is
is the ability to substitute ingred
Lamb can be
available or for personal taste.
sa. Spices like
substituted for beef, and vice ver
for a spicier dish.
Arabic language and Arab culture
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
cayenne and cumin can be added 51
d Al Gibran
Student - Mamdouh Mohamme
Information and activity sheet 11:
Arabic recipes
Instructions:
© AS Food studio/Shutterstock
Using a food processor or blender, blend the chickpeas together
(leaving a few whole ones aside for the garnish later). Add the
tahini, lemon juice, garlic (if using), oil, and salt, and blend until
the whole mixture is a creamy consistency. Adjust seasonings
to taste. Pour into a shallow bowl and garnish with a drizzle
of extra olive oil, the whole chickpeas you set aside, and some
chopped parsley if desired. For an authentic breakfast, serve
with warm Arabic bread!
Instructions:
© photobobs/Shutterstock
Mix together the yeast, sugar, and water in a large mixing bowl,
stirring until dissolved. Add the whole wheat flour and 30g/1oz
of the plain flour and whisk together. Put the bowl, uncovered,
in a warm (not hot) place until mixture is frothy and bubbling
(about 15 minutes). Add salt, olive oil, and all of the remaining
flour, and stir until the mixture becomes a soft dough.
Ingredients required:
−− Fresh bunch of mint leaves
−− 6 lemons, juiced
−− 2 cups ice cubes (fewer or more, to taste)
−− Sugar to taste
Instructions:
Place the ice in a blender and crush until very fine. Add the lemon
juice, whole mint leaves, and sugar (for a sweet beverage, add at least
11g/3.5oz sugar). Blend again until well combined. The beverage should
ock
now be a bright green with tiny flecks of mint leaves. Pour into glasses,
/Shutterst
garnish with an extra sprig of mint, and enjoy!
© ulpahn
Arabic language and Arab culture
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline 54
Find out more Many beautiful examples of pattern in Islamic art can be found at:
http://patterninislamicart.com, The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar –
www.mia.org.qa/en Islamic Middle East Gallery – www.vam.ac.uk/page/
i/islamic-middle-east
We hope your pupils enjoyed learning some simple
Arabic and finding out about the Arab world. If you want An alphabetical listing of Arab contributions to world civilization:
www.salon.com/2002/01/08/alphabet
to find out more the following links contain additional
information and resources: If you’d like to see more recipes or learn more about food
in the Arab world (particularly the Eastern Mediterranean):
Lesson plans and teaching resources to help you introduce Arabic http://almashriq.hiof.no/general/600/640/641/khayat/title.html
language and culture: http://arabalicious.com
This site will help you to learn the numbers in Arabic:
A great free app for learning the Arabic alphabet: https://itunes.apple. www.rocketlanguages.com/arabic/learn/counting-in-arabic
com/us/book/lets-explore-arabic-alphabet/id879152581?mt=11
To learn more about Arabic calligraphy and the Arabic alphabet, watch
This link is to a short film – 1001 Inventions and The Library of Secrets the introductory video here: http://calligraphyqalam.com/index.html
tells the story of some of the inventions in the Golden Age of Islam:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZDe9DCx7Wk Use this fun tool to see your name written in Arabic calligraphy instantly:
www.firdaous.org/write-name-arabic-calligraphy.htm?13-a
The following BBC learning zone clips show children talking about prayer
and the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca for the Hajj: Further work on exploring and designing complex geometric patterns
www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/muslim-prayer/5965.html can be found at: www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/teachers-resource-
www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/a-trip-to-mecca/3920.html maths-and-islamic-art-and-design Explore and design more complex
The British Council report, Languages of the Future identifies the geometric patterns
languages most vital to the UK over the next 20 years. For the full report QFI’s Mosaic Tile Generator application introduces students to
go to: www.britishcouncil.org/sites/britishcouncil.uk2/files/ fundamental concepts of Islamic art and architecture through
languages-for-the-future.pdf exploration and creation of a mosaic tile art. Students design and
Useful resources for beginner’s Arabic, or those who want to learn more share their own mosaic tiles after learning principles of tessellation
about the language: www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/arabic/guide/ and geometry and the history of mosaic tiles in Islamic art.
facts.shtml http://qfi.org/get-involved/apps-resources/mosaic-tile-app
Additional activities
Your pupils can find out more about designing their own complex
geometric patterns using activities from the websites from the Victoria
and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art websites at:
www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/teachers-resource-maths-and-
islamic-art-and-design
www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/teachers-resource-exploring-plant-
based-design-through-the-jameel-gallery-of-islamic-art