ThePhoe nix ofPersia Teacher Resources

1 Khosh amadid! Welcome to The Phoenix of Persia and The Box.

The Phoenix of Persia by Sally Pomme Clayton, illustrated by Amin Hassanzadeh Sharif, is based on a story from the ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR Shahnameh, an epic poem by the 10th century Iranian poet Sally Pomme Clayton is a pioneering storyteller and writer. Amin Hassanzadeh Sharif was born in . She is the author of The Phoenix of Persia and has a long in 1979 and is an award-winning illustrator connection with the Iranian epic Shahnameh. She loves to whose work has been published worldwide. Storytellers in would often tell the stories of the Shahnameh bring fairytales and forgotten myths to new life. Sally Pomme To illustrate The Phoenix of Persia, Amin has to the accompaniment of music. The Phoenix of Persia introduces co-founded The Company of Storytellers with Ben Haggarty used a distinctive sgraffito technique which original music composed by contemporary Iranian musicians and Hugh Lupton (1985), and together they spearheaded involves scratching through a layer of still-wet Amir Eslami (), Nilufar Habibian (), Saeid Kord Mafi storytelling across the UK. She is an inspiring educator, paint to reveal what’s underneath. (), and Arash Moradi (), set to Sally Pomme Clayton’s teaching practical workshops in storytelling and creative stunning narration of this classic tale. writing. www.sallypommeclayton.com Use the QR code Our cross-curricular resource explores the Shahnameh as one in the book to play of the great epics of world literature, with activities on history, the music or visit art, music, drama and more! These resources complement the ABOUT THE MUSICIANS www.tinyowl.co.uk/ creation of The Shahnameh Box - available free to loan via your for Amir Eslami is an award-winning and widely phoenixofpersia schools library service across the UK. more information. recorded ney player, composer and music instructor who lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Nilufar Habibian is an award-winning qanun player, composer and improviser based in London. She performs a variety of styles ranging from Iranian classical and to experimental contemporary Western music.

Saeid Kord Mafi is a composer, santur player and PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at SOAS, Saeid Kord Mafi, Nilufar Habibian, Sally Pomme Clayton University of London. He has participated in and Arash Moradi (L-R) numerous concerts and workshops throughout the world, and has released two albums in Iran.

Arash Moradi is the eldest son of Iran’s leading tanbur player Ali Akbar Moradi from whom he The Phoenix of Persia project was led by Tiny Owl Publishing, in collaboration with City, learnt tanbur from an early age. Arash lives in University of London, HEC Global Learning Centre, Tower Hamlets Schools Library Service and London where he teaches and runs workshops Pop Up Projects CIC, with support from Arts Council England and the Iran Heritage Foundation. on Iranian and . He has performed The book and accompanying music was conceived and initiated by Professor Laudan Nooshin throughout the world. (City, University of London). The Creative Producer and Assistant Editor for the music was Soosan Lolavar and the music was mixed, mastered and edited by Julius Johansson and other students at  Meet the creators of City, University of London. The music was recorded in the sound studios of the Music Department The Phoenix of Persia at Amir Eslami at City, University of London. The teacher resources were created by Professor Laudan Nooshin www.tinyowl.co.uk/ (City, University of London), Lisa Taner (HEC Global Learning Centre) and Sophie Hallam (Tiny Owl). phoenixofpersia in a series of short films. 2 3 Contents About the Shahnameh...... 6 Adult-level Thinking: English...... 8 This resource for teachers provides cross-curricular classroom activities Stereotypes and the danger of a to support The Phoenix of Persia and its music as well as the other books Art...... 10 single story and objects in your resource box. Here you can delve into the rich artistic Music...... 12 and cultural heritage of Iran by exploring its literature, art, music, history, The Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie geography and more. Geography...... 14 warns us about The Danger of a Single Story The Shahnameh Box (see the film on Ted Talks) and how damaging History...... 16 it is to reduce people and situations to a single The Shahnameh Box, available via your local schools library service, explores is a free resource for narrative. She was talking about Africa but this one of the greatest epics of world literature and its history through cultural schools. To borrow Other curriculum links...... 18 is equally important when we consider any artefacts, books and objects. The teacher resources complement these The Shahnameh Box country or region. Adichie’s point was that physical resources but the activities can also be enjoyed alone as complete from your schools reducing people to one single narrative removes units or smaller learning components and are available online: library service, please 5 Persian Miniatures their humanity and individuality. As children www.tinyowl.co.uk/shahnamehbox. contact gillian.harris@ Discover Mahmoud Farshchian – a modern master of towerhamlets.gov.uk Persian painting and miniatures. In these postcards, can be exposed to limited, or even loaded, or call 020 7364 6428. he has illustrated famous poems by . information about people and places, it is  See pages 10-11 for art activities. important to understand what they think they The Shahnameh Box know and to support their critical development. 6 The Phoenix of Persia Chain Game 1 Discover the different instruments and characters Global Citizenship Education by playing this listening and memory game (also available online). We’ve included two evaluation tools to use 2  See pages 12-13 for music activities. before and after your learning about Iran and The Phoenix of Persia. These simple activities 7 Geometric tiles are based on widely-used evaluation practices 4 Discover the beauty of geometric Islamic art. in the field of Global Citizenship Education and  See pages 10-11 for art activities. are drawn from the open site http://toolkit.risc. org.uk. This methodology allows teachers to 3 8 Iranian material understand where their learners are in terms 4 8 This is an ornamental design using the buta or of knowledge and attitudes. Use it before you boteh, a teardrop-shaped motif with a curved start your learning with this resource, and then 5 upper end. Notice the intricate weaving at the again either at an interim period or at the end, 10 back of the material. depending on the duration and depth of your 9 7 learning. We hope that you will find these useful 6 9 Iranian coins in directing your planning and teaching and in In The Phoenix of Persia, the children discover an being able to capture attitudinal change. ancient coin. Examine these contemporary coins 11 from Iran. The Iranian currency is called rial. There are two activities in The Shahnameh Box or you can download them online: 10 Dried rose flowers www.tinyowl.co.uk/shahnamehbox. Pink rose buds from Iran are used for making tea. 1 The Phoenix of Persia 3 I is for Iran Ask the pupils to smell the rose buds and describe 1. What would you see in Iran? Enjoy the beautiful story and listen to the music A non-fiction book on Iran to discover the geography the scent. An open-ended activity, good for helping using the QR code at the beginning of the book. and culture of this fascinating country.  See page 15 for more Iranian delicacies. learners consider what they know of a country  See pages 14-15 for geography activities. without any prompts: for all age groups. 2 Bijan and Manije 11 Phoenix feathers 2. Iran or UK? The story of Bijan and Manije is another ancient story 4 Musical instruments In The Phoenix of Persia, the Simorgh gives A simple sorting activity, using either/or to from the Shahnameh. An epic love story, reminiscent A ney – an Iranian and a frame , similar to the Prince Zal feathers from her tail to protect him. sort visuals: for all age groups. of Romeo and Juliet. daff in the story.  See page 11 to create your own phoenix feather  See pages 12-13 for music activities. using the sgraffito technique.

4 5 Storytelling and the Shahnameh WHAT IS AN EPIC? Epics are usually long cycles of connected, or branching, poems. They are often concerned with battles and heroic deeds, combining historical fact with romance, adventure, magic, the “The bird flapped her wings, and the tree shook. Seeds blew, seeds flew, supernatural, and the Gods. They often tell the stories of several generations of families. The seeds scattered across Earth. Life came into being”. epic tradition is one of performance, so the text is the result of a living performance tradition which incorporates both poetry and prose, speech and song, and is often accompanied by For thousands of years, in many cultures around the world, stories have been music. Other examples of the epic tradition you may be more familiar with are Homer’s The Iliad accompanied by music. Together, storytelling and music can transport listeners to and Milton’s Paradise Lost. www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/corner/shahbground/questions other worlds, other times, and other places.

Iran has an ancient tradition of storytelling and poetry where musicians play instruments to THE ART OF PARDEKHANI bring stories to life. The most important epic in Iran is called the Shahnameh (pronounced Shaah-naah-meh), which means “The Book of Kings”. It was written by the poet Abolqasem The oral storytelling tradition of pardekhani is one of the most widely practised forms of Ferdowsi who lived about a thousand years ago. It took over 30 years to write, and has over storytelling in Iran and is traced back before the advent of Islam. A storyteller would serialise 50,000 rhyming couplets. The Shahnameh is considered to be one of stories to be performed in segments – just like a soap opera with as many twists and turns. the greatest epics of world literature. People would come to a coffee-house (or even at a traditional gymnasium - see page 18) These British Library resources at specified times to see their favourite storyteller perform. As with many oral forms of The Shahnameh starts with the creation of the world and ends with the written by the author Sally Pomme storytelling, the storyteller would sometimes embellish, vary and interpret the Clayton can help support the story in different ways to make it more relevant to audiences of the day. Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century CE. It tells the stories of kings, teaching of the Shahnameh, epic heroes and demons; it deals with themes such as good and evil, love, literature and Ferdowsi: This dramatic form of story narration also uses a large canvas, known as a loyalty, treachery and power. The epic can be roughly divided into three Make your own parts: the first part tells of the mythical creation of Iran; the second www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/ parde (which means ‘curtain’), elaborately painted with depictions of traditional shahnamestories/overview/ parde (pg 10) and part tells of the legendary kings and the heroes and ; stories. The pardekhan, the storyteller, would take the canvas to public places shahoverview create your own the third part blends historical fact with legend and the semi-mythical and perform the story using the parde. This immersion of story and art would www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/ mesmerise audiences as they sought to forget their daily struggles and epic performance! adventures of actual historical kings. corner/shah/synopsis connect to the characters, circumstances and morals of the tale. (pg 8) The stories of the Shahnameh are widely known in Iran and learnt in www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/ corner/shahbground/questions school. Many people know hundreds of lines by heart. Ferdowsi is like the Shakespeare of Iran!

Meet the Poet • Ferdowsi is regarded as one of Iran’s most important national poets. • He was born in Tus, a town in North Eastern Iran in the province of Khorasan. • Following the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century, was becoming part of everyday language. Ferdowsi wrote the Shahnameh in Persian in an effort to preserve the and culture. Many people believe that the very existence of the Iranian language spoken today (Farsi) is due

to works like the Shahnameh. Right: Due to a decline in the popularity of coffeehouses in Iran, and with new forms of entertainment for people to enjoy, there are fewer and fewer pardekhani performances. • The link below details Ferdowsi’s life and times. His life is It is now largely performed in art galleries. The art of pardekhani was included in the DID YOU KNOW? an interesting and enjoyable story to tell your class. UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in need of urgent safeguarding in 2011. www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/corner/ferdowsilife/ Before books were printed and literacy became Above: Over the centuries, many beautiful drawings of the Shahnameh have been Abolqasem Ferdowsi lifeferdowsi. made. One of the most famous illustrated manuscripts is called The Shahnameh of Shah widespread, oral storytelling was commonplace across Tahmasp. This exquisite work of art included 258 Persian miniatures, hand-painted by the all cultures around the world – and is a tradition that 940-1020 CE artists of the royal workshop. This image from The Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp shows the Simorgh feeding its chicks and Zal in its nest. continues today.

6 7 CURRICULUM Creating an EPIC Activity 2 INTERPRETING AND PERFORMING FOCUS: ENGLISH class performance Character Development • Conscience alley. For example, question the Understanding the motives, feelings and actions King as he walks through his ‘people’. of the characters is important in any reading • Hot-seating. and we often have to use inference as well as These activities provide an introduction to The Phoenix of Persia and a LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Talk show with characters. deduction. In picture books, this can be through good basis for more in-depth enquiry. Explore the book with your class and • Writing in role: Zal’s diary, the queen’s diary, • Listen, discuss and express both the text and illustrations. produce your own ‘epic’ performance of The Phoenix of Persia after sharing the king’s diary etc. views about The Phoenix the story and activities. • Illustrate a character and use a thesaurus of Persia For example, when Prince Zal hugs the Simorgh to extend thinking and write descriptions STARTER: Responding and reflecting • Recognise simple recurring good-bye. How do you think he felt? What did around the character.  See page 10 for literary language in stories the Simorgh feel and smell like? Were there any more art activities Using the background information on storytelling and the Shanameh and poetry sounds the Simorgh was making? How did the on pages 6-7, introduce The Phoenix of Persia to your class. • Create a performance piece King feel? Explore this as a freeze frame activity These techniques allow children to ‘get into Discuss ideas surrounding oral storytelling and the notion of an based on The Phoenix first, and tap the pupils on the shoulder to hear the world of the story’ and see themselves in epic. of Persia what their character is thinking or feeling. another’s shoes, all of which they can draw Share the story with your class and encourage children to upon when they write. reflect on its meaning, the illustrations and the language. You As a group, ask the pupils to list and describe could play the recording of the book and discuss the children’s the characters in the story. Choose different responses. How do the children respond to the text differently? TOP TIP characters and develop an understanding  See page 12 for more music activities Children can use their through the following techniques: illustrations, character After reading and enjoying the text, carry out some literacy drawings and descriptions activities to support their understanding and scaffold their own to form the basis for the writing and performance. set design and script for an Activity 3 ‘epic’ class performance of CREATING AN EPIC CLASS PERFORMANCE Activity 1 The Phoenix of Persia. EXPLORING AND ANALYSING TEXT All of your pupils’ story-plotting and character Roles for The Phoenix of Persia: development has provided the perfect background to • The Storyteller (narrator/s) Creating a story map or fortune line is a great develop their own EPIC class performance. It is now • Set design, props, costume design and way of retelling the story and supporting pupils’ time to take all of that learning and develop the story special effects (visual arts team) understanding of the text. Graphic representation into a script and performance. • Musical ensemble (performing arts team) helps pupils understand the shape and sequence You can listen to a ‘music only’ version of of the story so they can retell it orally or in writing. In groups, ask the pupils to adapt the story (or part of The Phoenix of Persia on SoundCloud or the story) into a script, with a narrator and different create your own composition. Ask pupils to draw their own fortune lines in characters. Following their adaptation, pupils can See page 12 response to the text, inferring the feelings of  rehearse and perform their scripts – perhaps for a class • Characters/Actors: the characters or events in the text and plotting assembly that can be shared with your parents and - Shirin & Ali accordingly. Feelings or fortunes are plotted on school community. - Market traders & the audience the vertical axis and events on the horizontal Onomatopoeia is a word which sounds like its - Prince Zal axis. As an alternative, they can draw a story map Of course, there are many different roles apart from meaning. For example: “Dusty wind blew. - The Simorgh / Chicks which tracks the story in visual form, e.g. a journey actors. You could ask children to choose their own roles: A leopard prowled. A wolf howled.” - The Mountain of Gems on a road from place to place. Tip: the path does actors, narrators, ‘design team’ of set designers/artists, - King Sam & Queen Aram not have to be linear or straightforward! Alliteration repeats identical or similar sounds at musicians and so on. - Soldier & courtiers the beginning of words or in stressed syllables. - Wild animals Word collections For example: “Flames flickered and the Simorgh Collecting powerful words and sentences can appeared!” help pupils focus on the language of the story WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? and how it affects our reading of a character or Can your pupils find any other examples in the scene. In The Phoenix of Persia, Sally Pomme book? Create a wall display of memorable lines The Phoenix of Persia is one of many stories in the Shahnameh epic. What happens next to Prince Zal? Clayton uses several examples of alliteration, or phrases – and ask pupils to add their own Ask pupils to research the tale of Prince Zal and Princess Rudabeh on the British Library website. rhyme and onomatopoeia: examples. Tiny Owl’s Bijan and Manije (available in the resource box) tells the story of Rostam - the son of Zal.

8 9 CURRICULUM FOCUS: In The Shahnameh Box, you can find postcards featuring artwork by Mahmoud Farshchian ART Create your own Simorgh – a modern master of Persian painting and miniatures. In these postcards, he has illustrated famous poems by Hafez. Compare these modern In these activities, pupils can experiment with different RESOURCES LEARNING illustrations to the ones from the 16th century. techniques and create their own beautiful illustrations. OBJECTIVES Which do your pupils like best? We will explore centuries of artistic representations of • Sturdy paper Ferdowsi’s epic Shahnameh, from exquisitely detailed • Oil pastels or wax • To learn about illustrative Persian miniatures to contemporary illustrations. crayons techniques and the use of Pupils will also learn how to create their own parde • Black paint or black illustration in picture books oil pastels • Learn about great Islamic for display alongside their performance. Using online resources or the tiles from the resource box, pupils • Cocktail stick or artists, craft makers and Activity 2 Activity 3 can learn about geometric Islamic art. anything to ‘scratch’ designers, and understand CREATE YOUR OWN PHOENIX FEATHER CREATE YOUR OWN PARDE with the historical and cultural One of the most colourful characters in the Long ago in Iran, storytellers (pardekhans) would • Graph paper development of their art Shahnameh is the beautiful, mythic Simorgh. travel with stories painted onto a large canvas forms In the story, the Simorgh gives Prince Zal one (named parde). See pages 6-7 • Develop an understanding  of her feathers to protect him as King. of geometry and create A parde is comprised of several parts called your own geometric art Here you can see Amin preparing his artwork for The Phoenix majlis which form the main story. The climax inspired by Islamic tiles of Persia. Amin uses a special technique called sgraffito where a of the story is illustrated in the centre, with STARTER: sharp tool is used to scratch into a surface to produce drawings with illustrations from the story all around it. Over the centuries, many beautiful drawings of the fine lines. Shahnameh stories have been made. One of the most Using a large piece of paper, ask your pupils to famous illustrated manuscripts is called The Shahnameh illustrate the main part of the story in the centre of Shah Tahmasp. This exquisite work of art included 258 with other elements around it. Ask them to retell Persian miniatures, hand-painted by the artists of the the story of The Phoenix of Persia using their 1. Create a colourful background with wax crayon, royal workshop. parde to help them. What did they choose to oil pastels or felt tips. illustrate as the main part of the parde and 2. Cover it densely with black wax crayon, Research the Persian miniatures from The Shahnameh why? applying as much pressure as possible. of Shah Tahmasp, and other illustrated manuscripts, on 3. Using something like a cocktail stick, draw your Pinterest. Discuss the small size; the full composition; the feather by scraping away the black wax crayon flat, overall design and bright colours; the exquisite detail and revealing the coloured surface below. and feeling of action. Note how some of the illustrations Activity 4 have elaborate borders and decorative designs. In Islamic MATHS AND ISLAMIC ART art, this is referred to as “illumination”, and manuscripts of the Qur’an and other religious books often include a Islamic art has a strong tradition considerable number of illuminated pages. of using geometric patterns for

decoration. In The Shahnameh Box, Are there any similarities with Amin’s work? you can find examples of tiles that use geometric How do illustrations help stories? patterns. This use of geometry is thought to reflect the language of the universe and the greatness of creation. Safavid period, ca. 1520s. The discovery of Prince Zal and his glorious return to court must have had particular resonance for Shah Tahmasp, for it is illustrated Activity 1 three times by different painters in his personal copy of the Shahnameh. Notice Ask your pupils to research Islamic geometric tiles how detailed the animals, plants, trees, clouds and so on are. The writing at the top of the page is in a special kind of calligraphy which is itself considered to and design their own patterns using graph paper. be a work of art. Ask your pupils to choose one scene from the (You could also use the wooden tile from the book and illustrate their own Persian miniatures. DID YOU KNOW? resource box to make a rubbing using crayons) Include borders and space for text to add There are some fantastic resources on the their own description of the scene in their best The Simorgh is very similar to the mythological phoenix of Ancient V&A exploring maths and Islamic Art. handwriting. Greece or the firebird of Russian folklore. Research different artist website representations of the phoenix, firebird and Simorgh.

10 11 CURRICULUM FOCUS: Activity 2 FOCUS ON RHYTHM MUSIC Music and Storytelling Ask your pupils to clap these patterns Iranian music uses many different rhythms. Sometimes, slowly; then speed up. They can work in these rhythmic patterns are built out of smaller units, small groups and answer each other in call and response. In these activities, pupils can explore the music from LEARNING OBJECTIVES just like lego bricks, often from 2- and 3-beat units. The Phoenix of Persia and extend it into their own creative These kinds of rhythms are called additive rhythms. • Develop an understanding of how music Ask your pupils to create their own musical work. Understand basic rhythms, get to know the can be used to tell stories 7-time can be made from 3 + 2 + 2, or 2 + 3 + 2 rhythms from combinations of 3 and 2. Iranian instruments and create your own composition. • Learn about different instruments, recognise 11-time can be made from 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 Work in pairs and clap one rhythm their sounds and understand how they are against another – can you keep it going?! RESOURCES 13-time can be made from 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 played • Classroom instruments • Create music using different rhythms and In The Phoenix of Persia, when King Sam and Queen • Access to SoundCloud instruments Aram are first introduced (Chapter 4, from 1:30), the DID YOU KNOW? • Meet the musicians on Tiny Owl’s YouTube music is in 5 time: 3 + 2 (1-2-3, 1-2); when the soldier • Visit www.city.ac.uk for more music activities takes Prince Zal to the mountains in Chapter 6, the Improvisation is an important part of Iranian music. It takes musicians many years to music uses a 14-beat cycle (1-2-3, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3, 1-2- The Chain Game memorise the many modes and melodic STARTER: 3-4) and Chapter 7 uses a 9-beat cycle (1-2, 1-2, 1-2, To familiarise your class with the different patterns which form the basis for creative 1-2-3). Talk to the children about how music can bring a story alive. instruments and characters, play this listening performance. Musicians then improvise on You could discuss some famous themes from film music, such and memory game from The Shahnameh Box the modes and patterns that they have learnt. as Disney’s Frozen “Let It Go” sequence or the Harry Potter or download the resource at www.tinyowl.co.uk /phoenixofpersia music. What other examples can your pupils think of? Activity 3 Explain that music has been part of storytelling for thousands CREATE YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE of years (see page 6-7). If you haven’t already, play the music from The Phoenix of Persia. Discuss how the music makes After listening to the performance of The Phoenix Ask your pupils to perform the the pupils feel, and how it adds to and reflects the story. of Persia, and trying out Activities 1 and 2, ask your composition as part of a whole-class class to create their own musical improvisation for performance of The Phoenix of Persia How does listening to the music change how the children the story. Which instruments would they choose (see page 9). Pupils should think about respond to the story? to represent these characters, and why? Can you the following elements to help their create a tune for each character of the story? music reflect the story:

• The Simorgh • The Mountain of Gems Timbre – Think about the quality of the Activity 1 THE SOUNDS OF THE STORY • King Sam • The Chicks sound. What instruments will you use?

• Queen Aram • The Soldier - How does the soaring sound of the Mood – What mood are you aiming to There are many kinds of musical instruments in Iran. • Prince Zal • Wild animals ney represent the Simorgh? (Chapter 3) create in different parts of the story? In The Phoenix of Persia, you can hear some string, wind • The Tree of Life - How is the sound of the qanun like and percussion instruments. Each instrument represents a Structure – When does the music come baby chicks? (Chapter 8) different character in the story. in? Story with melody, or melody first • Ask the pupils to select an instrument then story? Look at the final pages in the book and learn about the and write a description of how it Dynamics – How loud or how quiet Iranian instruments. Note how the instruments are played sounds. The Shahnameh Box do pupils want their music to be at and what they represent. Listen to the soundtrack again Here you can find the traditional ney • Many of the European instruments we particular points in the story? and see if your pupils can identify the instruments. You instrument and a frame drum, similar to are familiar with have developed over an Iranian daff. What other instruments can also listen to the music-only version on SoundCloud. – How fast or how slow should many centuries from instruments that can you find in your school? Tempo Here you can listen to the music in ‘chapters’ and came from further east. Ask the pupils the music be at different parts of the identify each of the different instruments. story? to find other instruments that are: Pitch – How high or low should each • Why were the different instruments chosen to - string/wind/percussion - sound be? Does the part of the story represent different characters/scenes? blown/plucked/struck/strummed being depicted need deep sounds or - How is the sound of the santur like What are the similarities and more high-pitched ones? the Mountain of Gems? (Chapter 2) differences?

12 13 CURRICULUM FOCUS: Iran – its culture, Activity 1 MAP SKILLS Activity 2 I IS FOR IRAN GEOGRAPHY landscape and wildlife Look at Google Earth to see how you Iran is geographically and culturally diverse. As well as can ‘fly’ to Iran from where you live, or hot deserts there are excellent ski resorts and the most Iran is a country in a part of the world known as the Middle LEARNING OBJECTIVES visit Google maps and zoom in to see famous, Dizin, attracts tourists and athletes from all East. Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilisations. the diversity of the country. over the world. Iran also has a diverse climate, e.g. hot, Whilst our story originates in ancient Iran, previously known as • Equip pupils with knowledge about diverse dry summers in some places, and humidity in others, ‘Persia’ in Europe, we also have some activities and ideas to places, people, resources and natural and Locate the capital cities of the UK and e.g. the coastal areas of the . Tehran, the support your pupils’ understanding of modern day Iran. human environments Iran; identify geographical features capital city, has lots of snow throughout cold winters. • Develop contextual knowledge of the of both countries. What similarities RESOURCES location of globally significant places and differences are there? Zoom in In The Shahnameh Box, you will find the book I is for • Describe and understand key aspects of to see the urban environments and Iran. Share this with your class, perhaps copying a page • Visit www.flickr.com/photos/phoenixofpersia for images of physical geography and human geography scan around the country. Can you or two for each table or do your research online. Iran, its architecture, people, culture and food. see a volcano? Mountains? Areas of After this, do a ‘jigsaw’ activity, STARTER: farming or agriculture? Can they find where one child from each group Download our baseline activities to further Daneshjoo Park? rotates to a new group, and shares explore what pupils know about Iran: At the beginning of The Phoenix of Persia, Shirin and Ali run her/his table’s work. Repeat, until What would you see in Iran? into Daneshjoo Park to listen to the storyteller. Explain to the and Iran or UK? Which countries share a border with each group have shared their children that Daneshjoo Park is a real place in Tehran, the Iran? Which are to the north, the writing and ideas. capital of Iran. The storyteller is performing outside Teātr-e www.tinyowl.co.uk/shahnamehbox south, the east and the west? What Shahr – the city theatre. are the names of the seas to the north You might want to ask your pupils and south? to produce a travel pamphlet that describes what a traveller might like to see and experience in Iran.

Activity 3 IRANIAN FOOD

Iranians are proud of their cuisine and are WILDLIFE famous for feeding you well and making you Activity 4 feel welcome. Iranians also love to picnic! Iran is home to a huge In The Phoenix of Persia, Shirin and Ali variety of wildlife and many bought a tray of sweet, ripe mulberries endangered species too. to snack on and after the performance Wildlife includes the Asian they bought some walnuts. Here are some black bear, Asiatic jackal, pictures of Iranian street food. What food Eurasian lynx and bird species can the children recognize? Have any of the pupils heard of Iran? like stork, eagles and falcons. Have they visited? ▲ Have the children ever tried dried fruit rolls? Domestic animals include Lavashak is dried fruit and is sold by the metre. sheep, goat, camel, water Popular flavours include pomegranate, sour What countries do pupils know in the cherry, plum, kiwi, barberry, and apricot. buffalo and donkey. Middle East? There are over 30 endangered species in Iran Here is a map showing modern day Iran and including the Siberian Crane, Caspian Seal, Hawksbill its surrounding countries, and its flag. Turtle, Persian Leopard and the Asiatic Cheetah. Iran has named a National Cheetah Day to encourage ▲ Balâl is a tasty snack of corn on the conservation of the last remaining population. In the cob commonly served in the winter and especially around parks in the summer. past decade cheetahs have been displayed on the Ears of corn are grilled over charcoal and then dunked into a bucket of salty water national football team’s kit and on stamps. for a few seconds. The warm water and hot corn cause the water to evaporate quickly, leaving behind salty goodness Which endangered animals would you put on around the blackened corn. ▲ Fresh mulberries are popular your national football kit? street snacks!

14 15 CURRICULUM FOCUS: Activity 2 WRITE LIKE A SUMERIAN! HISTORY Ancient Civilisations Cuneiform is one of the first writing systems ever recorded. The first cuneiform Iran and the surrounding region is home to a number of LEARNING OBJECTIVES writings were pictographs – symbols that ancient civilisations including the Sumerians, the Babylonians represented an entire word. Eventually, • To inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more and the Persians. It is where the first cities were built and the Sumerians added abstract symbols or about the past agriculture (farming) started. The region has long been signs to represent specific letters, numbers, • To ask perceptive questions and understand responsible for connecting Asia to Europe, Africa, and the and parts of a word. The Assyriologist and the complexity of people’s lives and the Mediterranean. Discover more about these ancient civilisations curator at the British Museum, Dr Irving diversity of societies and how the Silk Road connected East and West. Finkel shows us how to write cuneiform • Know and understand significant aspects of on a clay tablet: www.youtube.com/ the history of the wider world watch?v=zOwP0KUlnZg.

Using the cuneiform Activity 1 ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS table, ask your pupils Could you to pair up and write a make up your Ask the class to divide into groups, each researching The Babylonians: word in cuneiform – OWN version ▲ different ancient civilisations: The Sumerians, The preferably in modelling of cuneiform to ‘a’, ’i’, ‘u’ are the only vowels that are written • The city of Babylon on the River Euphrates Babylonians and The Persians. Ask your pupils to create clay! See if their partner write a “coded in cuneiform. The other vowels are assumed. in southern , first came to prominence a Google Doodle to illustrate what they have found out. can decode it! message”? as the royal city of King Hammurabi (about The Sumerians: 1790-1750 BCE). • The ancient Sumerians lived in the southern part of what • The Babylonian cities were the centres is now Iraq, and were one of the first civilisations (c. 4500 – of great learning and creativity. The c. 1900 BCE). Babylonians laid the foundations for our Activity 3 THE SILK ROAD • The Sumerians were very inventive, and are likely to have modern mathematical system. Astrology was also very important to the way been responsible for the development of the first writing. During antiquity, ideas, themes, and stories Babylonians lived their lives and viewed the • The Sumerians used a numerical system based on 1, 10 and coursed through the Silk Road, spread by world around them. 60. This way of counting is still used today for measuring merchants, travellers, and pilgrims. An ancient • Babylon is famous for its Hanging Gardens. time as 60 seconds per minute and 60 minutes per hour. network of trade routes that were for centuries It was said to have been built near • They were energetic farmers and traders. Their religion central to cultural interaction between East and present-day Al Hillah in Iraq. The Hanging recognised many gods, whose feats and escapades were West, the Silk Road connected Asia with Africa, Gardens are one of the Seven Wonders described in stories. the Middle East, and Europe. • Rituals as well as parties were enlivened by skilful harpists, of the Ancient World – but the only one whose location has never been definitively lyrists and singers, and Sumerian musical instruments have Show pupils this 5 minute video from TedED established. Can the pupils find out what even been excavated by modern archaeologists. You can ▲ This hand-coloured engraving, probably made in the 19th century after (The Silk Road: Connecting the ancient world the other six wonders are? the first excavations in the Assyrian capital, depicts the fabled Hanging find examples online atThe British Museum. Gardens, with the Tower of Babel in the background. through trade) which is a great introduction to

▲ the Old Silk Road. Working in pairs/groups, ask What would your perfect garden look like? Using The Hanging Gardens The Persians: as inspiration, ask pupils to draw their own dream outdoor space. pupils to answer the following questions from • The first Persian Empire (550–332 BCE) the video: stretched from the Indus Valley in the East to present-day Macedonia and Libya 1. How long was the Silk Road? in the West. 2. Was it one single road? • The Persian way of life and ruling structure 3. Can you name some areas on the route? became a model for Greek and 4. As well as items or commodities traded, Roman civilizations. what else ‘moved’ along the route? • They used a common language – 5. Why did people stop travelling along Aramaic – to connect their multilingual these routes? ▲ ▲ The of Ur. The British ▲ Sumerian wall carving empire together. Historic map of the Persian Empire Museum, London.

16 17 Other Curiculum Links More books from Tiny Owl

One story, Many voices PSHE It’s important for pupils Prince Zal was born with white hair and is likely to have had a to learn about their form of albinism. Ask your class to learn more about albinism For thousands of years, people have been telling stories. From this rich global heritage, we can find own and other people’s feelings and and International Albinism Awareness Day: stories that are strikingly similar but also different. The Phoenix of Persia features a boy born with become aware of the views, needs ‘skin as white as snow’ who is banished to the forest – what fairy tale does this remind you of? and rights of others. In The Phoenix of • Albinism is an inherited genetic condition from both parents, Persia, King Sam abandons his baby that reduces the amount of melanin pigment formed in the skin, Tiny Owl’s One Story, Many Voices series explores well-known stories from all over the world. boy because he looked different. The hair and/or eyes. This means that most people with albinism See more books in the series below: King’s rejection of his baby boy might have very light skin and hair. shock the class who should be able to • Albinism occurs in all racial and ethnic groups throughout the Cinderella of the Nile Bijan Manije explain why he was wrong to do so. world. Most children with albinism are born to parents who have typical hair and eye colour for their ethnic backgrounds. Beverley Naidoo Ali Seidabadi Illustrated by Marjan Vafaeian • What did King Sam learn by the • People with albinism are at risk of isolation because the Illustrated by Marjan Vafaeian end of the story? condition is often misunderstood and this leads to multiple Beautifully retold by the award- Bijan and Manije is another winning author Beverley Naidoo, • Can children find a phrase which forms of discrimination. People with albinism often have their story from the Shahnameh. this earliest recorded version of A story of love across the divide, tells them this? rights abused, from being unable to access adequate health care Cinderella is set in Greece and reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. or education to redress rights abuses. 13th June is International Egypt. “Now I know - white hair, black hair, Albinism Awareness Day. For more information see #OneStoryManyVoices no hair - all life is to be treasured.” http://albinism.ohchr.org.

Tales by RE The Shahnameh takes • Ask your pupils to research what is probably a very new religion place in pre-Islamic to them. The BBC has a website you could explore Another well-known literary master from Iran is Rumi. He was a poet, scholar and Sufi mystic from the ales by Iran (Islam was brought to Iran in www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian. 13th Century. Rumi’s influence is international in scope and his work is loved globally. Our T Rumi the 7th Century CE). Before Islam, series introduces this literary master to a wide audience. was the primary • Some of the instruments we learnt about are also used for religion of the Iranian people. religious or ‘sacred’ purposes. What do you think this means? Grobblechops The Parrot and Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s What might the instrument be used for to make it sacred? Elizabeth Laird. the Merchant oldest, active religions and is still How should you treat such an instrument? Illustrated by Jenny Lucander Marjan Vafaeian practised in Iran today, particularly in Please note that the tanbur is not used for Zoroastrian traditions, A timeless tale of monsters Mah Jahan, a rich merchant the cities of , Tehran and Kerman. but for specific religious practices in Kurdistan. under the bed, Grobblechops is a woman, collects and cages hilarious story about friendship beautiful birds but learns that and overcoming fears. to love something, you must set it free...

PE Varzesh Pahlavani, spirituality as well as literature, The Jackal Who Thought Follow us on meaning ‘the sport of art and music. Group exercises He Was a Peacock @TinyOwl_Books heroes’, is a traditional Iranian form include bodybuilding, martial Fereshteh Sarlak of athletics. It is practised in a dome arts and so on, and are Illustrated by Firoozeh Golmohammadi tinyowlpublishing structure called the Zurkhaneh which accompanied by the rhythmic Jackal dreams of looking bright and tiny_owl_publishing means ‘the house of strength’. The beating of and the beautiful like the peacocks so that all tiny owl publishing roots of Zurkhaneh stretch back to the chanting of epic verses from will admire him. But is being a peacock time of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. the Shahnameh. really as glamorous as it seems? #TalesbyRumi  Download our book posters Originally used to train warriors, • You can watch some traditional exercises accompanied  Sign up to our newsletter Zurkhaneh are traditional gymnasiums by a Morshed playing the drum and chanting verses Send your pictures or ideas to us at Tiny Owl Books. We love to hear from you! in Iran which develop holistic physical from the Shahnameh here: www.youtube.com/ www.tinyowl.co.uk and athletic strength, ethical values and watch?v=b5e5eugm9ZU. You can tweet us @TinyOwl_Books

18 19 for enquiries, please contact:

Tiny Owl Publishing Ltd Sales Office (UK) Trade Orders 7 Peacock Yard Thames & Hudson Ltd Hely Hutchinson Centre (HHC) Iliffe Street Head Office Milton Road, Didcot, Oxfordshire London 181a High Holborn Didcot OX11 7HH SE17 3LH, UK London 01235 759 555 WC1V 7QX [email protected] [email protected]

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To book Sally Pomme Clayton, contact: If you have enjoyed using our resources, Sally Pomme Clayton [email protected] please take a few minutes to complete our online survey: or Tiny Owl Publishing [email protected] Teachers: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PhoenixOfPersia Pupils: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PhoenixofPersiaPupils To arrange school music workshops or book the musicians, contact: Professor Laudan Nooshin [email protected]

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