This post continues–and concludes—our three-part series covering some of the key distinguishing features of ARK Academy’s Islamic studies curriculum. In Part I, we examined how our curriculum is being designed to (1) avoid heavy repetition (across years of study) and (2) convey moral lessons in a way that invites reflection. Subsequently, in Part II, we elaborated on our curriculum’s (3) focus on exploration and application. In this blog post, we take a look at how our curriculum seeks to (4) present Islamic studies with depth.
4) Presenting Islamic Studies With Depth
Full-time Islamic school students frequently see Islamic studies as a “side subject” that need not be taken as seriously as other subjects. We want to push back against this by teaching Islamic studies with the same rigor with which we seek to teach the traditional “academic” subjects such as English language arts and mathematics. Specifically, we want our students to come away from their classes with a sense that the Islamic tradition offers depths comparable to those of their other school subjects.
We believe that one way in which Islamic studies can be presented with depth is through the design and use of rich lessons and assessments that demand a level of engagement with Islamic studies that is on par with the level of engagement expected of students in their exploration of other subjects. For example, in first grade, one of our primary learning intentions for students is that they develop an age-appropriate knowledge of the life of Prophet Musa, peace be upon him (among many other prophets). The narrative of Prophet Musa’s life will be presented through lessons featuring storytelling, hands-on activities, and reflective exercises. Our goal is that the knowledge gained and skills built through their participation in the lessons will enable students to make (age-appropriate) sense of many of the (translated) Qur’anic verses covering the story of Prophet Musa. In order to assess whether we are meeting this goal, each student will partake in a one-on-one oral “story-telling centric” conversation with their teacher. In these conversations, the teacher presents the student with a simplified English summary of a sequence of Qur’anic verses pertaining to the life of Prophet Musa. The teacher then asks the student to expand upon the story presented in the summary, and together, they will add narrative details and context, and elaborate on moral lessons drawn from the narrative. The foundational Islamic knowledge that students will be building will serve them not only in their further studies, but also in their daily lives as knowledge-seeking Muslims.
Furthermore, building upon material year after year will allow for deeper inquiries into core beliefs, methods of practice, moral lessons, stories from the Qur’an, and early Islamic history. To extend the example above, in second grade, students will be presented with the biography of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family. Occasionally, we will cover elements in the life of Prophet Muhammad that will mirror those in the life of Prophet Musa, or we will cover verses that were revealed in the Qur’an that invoke Prophet Musa’s story. Since students should have developed an understanding of the life of Prophet Musa in the previous years, we can draw upon this earlier material, helping students make essential connections, and allow them to reinforce their earlier knowledge of Qur’anic narratives.
In the spirit of integration, we also plan to draw upon skills students have built in other subject areas. For example, after learning how to write friendly letters in first grade, early second graders will be asked to imagine what they would say to the Prophet had they known him as a child who had lost his mother and grandfather; they will write a friendly letter consoling him and connecting with him. This activity allows students an opportunity to simultaneously develop an emotional connection to the Prophet, practice the virtue of compassion, and hone their writing skills. As students learn to write persuasive essays, they will craft essays responding to Islamic studies prompts; as they develop familiarity with (and memorize) more verses of the Qur’an, they will begin to quote these as supporting evidence in their essays, where appropriate. Similarly, after students develop some understanding of flat maps and globes in their studies of geography and astronomy, students will be tasked with making use of this knowledge to determine the qibla (direction of prayer) from various points on earth.
Ultimately, as years of study and reflection build upon one another, we hope that our curriculum will present Islamic studies as not being limited to just those areas mentioned above, that is, beliefs, practice, morals, Qur’anic stories, and history. In addition to presenting an exploration of those crucial topic areas, we seek to present students with an expansive view of Islamic studies.
Concluding this Series and Moving Forward
The distinguishing features of the ARK Academy curriculum that we have examined in this series of posts largely reinforce one another. As we have attempted to demonstrate throughout this series, we also believe these distinguishing features are well-suited to our integrative approach.
While we are bringing this series to a close, God-willing, we will continue to explore other topics related to our curriculum in forthcoming posts, and revisit these distinguishing features from time to time.
We would again like to thank our readers (you!) for taking the time to learn more about our approach to curriculum design, and look forward to continuing sharing information about our curriculum and its ongoing development.