Mansa Musa and the Hajj
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Mansa Musa's Hajj made him famous.
Key learning points
- Mansa Musa was a Muslim and his faith was very strong.
- He knew that as a Muslim, he should travel to the holy city of Mecca on a pilgrimage called the Hajj.
- He made the long journey to Mecca accompanied by many people and camels, carrying huge amounts of gold.
- During the journey Mansa Musa gave this gold away to the people that he met.
- His journey and the gold made Mansa Musa and Mali famous throughout the Islamic world.
Keywords
Pilgrimage - a pilgrimage means to travel to a special place that's important to a religion
Hajj - Hajj is the name for the Muslim pilgrimage
Islamic - Islamic means relating to Islam
Common misconception
Pupils may think all Muslims have to do the pilgrimage.
The pilgrimage is something many Muslims would like to do. However, it is only required if they are able to do it. Travelling to Mecca is too expensive for many people. Others might not be physically able to do the pilgrimage.
Teacher tip
Explore the map of Mansa Musa's pilgrimage and how long that journey would have taken.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Where is the Mali Empire on today's map?
Q2.What were the rulers of the Mali Empire called?
Q3.What was the Mali Empire famous for?
Q4.Mansa Musa used his large army to lands rich with gold and salt.
Q5.What happened to the mansa before Mansa Musa?
Q6.What is an empire?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.When was Mansa Musa ruler of the Mali Empire?
Q2.Which religion did Mansa Musa follow?
Q3.Where do Muslims travel for their pilgrimage?
Q4.Very few people knew about Mansa Musa before his Hajj.
Q5.How long did Mansa Musa's pilgrimage take?
Q6.What did Mansa Musa give to people on his Hajj?
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Mansa Musa and the Hajj, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Mansa Musa and the Hajj, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 history lessons from the Ruling and religion unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.