Sharing Good Practice
DISCOVER A TREASURE TROVE OF
INFORMATION ABOUT THE UAE
BY FRANCESCA AFFLECK
H
owever long you have lived
in the UAE, there is always
more to uncover. This ever-
innovating nation consistently
provides us with new opportunities,
and reveals to us clues about its
historical and geological past.
The Ministry of Education’s UAE
Social
Studies curriculum has
pointed us in the right direction in
terms of beginning to unpack the
past and look towards the future. As
educators, we owe it to ourselves
and the young people who call this
country ‘home’, to discover more
about where they live.
The crucial word here is curiosity.
It was, for me, what fuelled years of
research, which began many years
ago, as a Year 5 teacher in Dubai.
For example, did you know that
thousands of years before the Burj
Khalifa was built, camel caravans
stopped at a caravanserai practically
in its shadow? Did you know that
bone ash in a cave in Mleiha, Sharjah
and flint sites in Jebel Barakah in Abu
Dhabi tell us that early Man travelled
up through Arabia from Africa before
they dispersed across the globe?
That elephants roamed through the
savannah-like Mleisa in Abu Dhabi
6-8 million years ago? Have you ever
wondered who lived in the hidden
villages in the mountains of Ras
Al Khaimah, or why seafarers from
Portugal built forts in Fujairah? Did
you know that the smaller emirates of
Um al Quwain and Ajman were once
important bronze age sites?
Teams of archaeologists, historians
and geologists, from the UAE and
around the world, have been studying
these sites and natural features and
are making new discoveries everyday
with the help of modern technology
such as carbon dating. The
information they uncover is making
its way into modern museums such
as the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, Sarouq
al Hadid in Dubai or Al Hisn fort in
Sharjah - not to mention some of the
more established museums, housed
in forts in Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah,
Ajman and Umm Al Quwain, as well
as websites and books. For those
students who are more inclined to
learn using mobile devices, there’s
the new Abu Dhabi Culture app
or newspaper articles from local
newspapers such as The National or
Gulf News.
Exploring, studying and discovering
the United Arab Emirates provides
students
with
a
number
of
opportunities: to think critically
about the impact of the rapid
development
of
the
country;
make links between trade and
transportation in the early days and
influences on life here, then and now,
and hypothesise about clues in the
numerous archaeological sites. We
can all be inspired by the heritage of
a people who lived so resourcefully
in a harsh environment – an excellent
case study about the use of natural
resources. We can ask questions
about how the Arabian Peninsula
was formed geologically, discover
when and how the desert or Hajar
mountains were formed or why the
Arabian Gulf is so shallow. Analyse
settlements in this region, from the
stone age through to today. Dig
deeper and you will find that this area
was on the path to globalisation
long before you think.
So if you are looking to instil curiosity,
21st century skills such as inquiry
and critical thinking or ensure your
teaching is cross curricular and
relevant, then learning and teaching
about the UAE provides all those
paths.
Discovering the United Arab
Emirates the book, provides a
gateway into learning more about
where we live, providing answers to a
multitude of questions – and fuelling
curiosity to discover the answers to
more. With the help of geologists,
geographers and historians, the
book and associated lesson plans,
provide a comprehensive look at
the past, present and future of the
United Arab Emirates.
Happy discovering…
Francesca Affleck is the Author of Discovering the United Arab Emirates and
an Education Consultant. In between consultancy projects, she is often found
in schools offering author talks and workshops, writing lesson plans, working
towards a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership or traveling across the
Emirates with her camera.
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