In this paper we present the experimentation of an educational path, designed for a secondary school class, aimed at highlighting a connection between geometric and algebraic knowledge starting from passages taken from the Kitāb al-jabr wa al-muqābala of Al-Khwārizmī and Abū Kāmil’s Kitāb fi al-jabr wa al-muqābala. The motivation for such activity is twofold: the knowledge of the historical development of mathematics can increase its disciplinary knowledge; moreover, focusing attention on the role of the semiotic registers favors understanding of mathematics by the stu-
dents. The main moments of the experience were: administration of a questionnaire to students, to detect any discontinuity in learning Euclidean geometry and algebra; linguistic-literary reading of passages chosen from the texts of Al-Khwārizmī and Abū Kāmil; identification of the mathematical elements in the chosen passages; identification of different semiotic registers, through which mathematics expresses itself, and of their role in the search for the solution of a problem and its parameterization; conclusions regarding the effects of the proposed educational path. Among the effects of the presented didactic path, we highlight the students’ awareness of how the transition process from geometry to symbolic algebra improves understanding of the historical evolution of mathematics; the generalization of a problem and its solution through parameterization and the acquisition of operational skills in the modeling process.