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| Moon Watchers: Shirin's Ramadan Miracle by Reza Jalali |
RAMADAN
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The Islamic religion is
a relatively young religion. It was founded in the sixth century C.E. and is
one of three monotheistic religions (Islam/Judaism/Christianity). Muslims are
people who believe in the Islamic religion. They also believe in the biblical
teachings of Abraham (Biblical Old Testament from Hebrew Bible/Jewish Torah)
and Jesus (Biblical New Testament beginning of Christianity). Muslims believe
there have been many prophets, and Muhammad is the last. Ramadan is a
month-long commemoration of the revelation of the Quran (also spelled Koran) to
the prophet Muhammad. The messenger angel Gabriel revealed God’s word to Muhammad. These revelations became the Quran, a book as
sacred to Muslims as the Bible is to Christians, and the Torah is to Jews. Ramadan
is observed by fasting from dawn to dusk each day. Only healthy adults are
required to participate in fasting. A special breakfast, Suhoor, is served
before sunrise, and after sunset a meal called Iftar is enjoyed. Islamic
holidays follow the lunar calendar. Because the lunar calendar is 354 days, we
cannot place it on a consistent date or season in the 365-day solar calendar.
Title: Moon Watchers: Shirin’s Ramadan Miracle Topic: Family life
Author: Reza
Jalali
Illustrator:
Anne Sibley O’Brien Media: Watercolor
Genre/sub-genre: Fiction/Ramadan
Summary:
Nine-year-old Shirin thinks she is old enough to participate in the Ramadan
fast, but her family assures her there are other ways to participate. Will
Shirin be able to think of a good deed?
Ask: What do you know about Ramadan? What questions do you
have about the moon’s role?
Picture Walk
and make predictions. As students make predictions, ask, “What evidence are
you using for your prediction?” Or use listen twice activity.
Infer: Based
on the cover, what can you infer about Ramadan? (moon plays a role in Ramadan)
Listen twice
activities: Listen first with eyes
Closed. Think about your own family and how you and your siblings both tease
and care about each other. Now listen with eyes Open. What do you notice about
how Shirin and Ali look at each other? (sometimes annoyed; sometimes with love;
connected)
During reading: Inform, Explain, Discuss, Share
·
Vocabulary Definitions:
1. Fast – to go without food or water
2. Allah – the Islamic name for God
3. Muslim – a person who believes in the Islamic religion.
4. Crescent – the thin curved shape of the new moon
5. Samovar – a highly decorated tea urn
6. Suhur – a special meal served before daylight each morning of Ramadan
to prepare for the day’s fast
7. Iftar – a special
meal served after sundown each evening of Ramadan to break the fast
·
Background Knowledge:
1. Ramadan begins with
the sighting of the new moon marking the ninth month of the lunar
calendar. Muslims will fast during the daylight hours for the entire phase of
this moon.
At the end of the month, when another new moon is sighted, Muslims celebrate Eid ul-Fitr, marking the end of the Ramadan fast.
2. The purpose of fasting is to teach humbleness and understanding of
what it is like for the poor to go hungry, to appreciate what you
have, and to develop self- discipline. It is not a punishment, it is a lesson in feeling
empathy for others, gratitude, and self-control. Children, the elderly, and people
with health issues are not required to fast.
3. Mono means one.
Monotheism is a religious belief in only one true God. Poly means more than one or multiple. Polytheism is a religious belief in more than one God. Examples of modern-day polytheistic religions: Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Japanese Shintoism. Many native tribes in the
Americas and Africa are polytheistic, as were the ancient Greeks and Scandinavians.
4. Islam is a religion, not a country. Muslims live in every part of the
world, including the United States.
5. Ramadan is a time to pray, gather with one’s community, give to
charity, spread
kindness
and good deeds and reflect on your values.
6. Muslims pray five
times per day. They face in the direction of Mecca, a city in Saudi
Arabia that is the birthplace of Muhammad, the
site of the cave where the angel
Gabriel revealed God’s word, and the home of
the Kaaba (cube) which was the first
house of God.
Basic WH Questions:
·
Who is narrating
the story? (Shirin, the girl)
·
Who is too young
to fast all day? (Shirin)
·
What compromise
does Shirin make with her parents? (she fasts for parts of the day)
·
When does Ramadan
begin? (when they see the crescent shape of a new moon beginning the ninth
month of the Lunar calendar)
·
Where did
Shirin’s family pray? (at home; in the entry hallway; on prayer rugs)
·
Why did Shirin’s
dad murmur words in the direction of the open window? (it faces east in the
direction of Mecca)
·
How did the
family pray? (stand straight on prayer rug, eyes closed, lips moving, bow,
kneel, press foreheads to the floor, repeat, forehead touching prayer stone, and kiss prayer stone)
·
Cause/Effect:
What is the effect of fasting? (hunger; tired; low energy; understand what it
is like to be poor and hungry; empathy for others; feel humble/ recognize you
are no better than anyone else in the eyes of God; do good deeds and give
charity to help poor)
·
Identify Author’s
Genre: Fiction/Ramadan
·
How do you know?
(Illustrations instead of photos; narrative style/information on copyright page
tells us)
·
Author’s Purpose:
Why did the author write this story? (to teach us about Ramadan and fasting; to
show Muslims have different traditions regarding head covering for women; to
show Muslim families are just like all families; to show a sibling relationship)
·
Identify
Illustrator’s Media: Watercolor
·
How did the
illustrations help you understand the story? (can see the crescent shape of the
new moon; can see the interaction between family members)
·
What Questions do
you have?
Bloom’s
Taxonomy – Higher Level Thinking Questions
- (Use to stimulate thought)
· Knowledge: Locate
Mecca on a map. (in Saudi Arabia)
· Comprehension:
From the United States, generalize which direction on the compass you would you
face to face Mecca? (east)
· Application:
Use your knowledge of other written languages to think of a word that describes
Islamic writing. (calligraphy)
· Analysis: As
a class and with teacher help, investigate different styles of Muslim women’s
head coverings. See: https://www.imb.org/2018/07/09/muslim-womens-head-coverings/https://www.imb.org/2018/07/09/muslim-womens-head-coverings/
· Synthesis: Shirin
didn’t say anything when she saw her brother, Ali, eating when he was supposed
to be fasting. How else could she have handled the situation? (talked to him
privately; asked nicely if he was sure he really needed to break his fast;
encouraged him to try a little longer; told him she now understood why he
thought she couldn’t make it through the whole day; got mad at him for teasing
her when he couldn’t make it through the whole day himself; told on him)
· Evaluation:
Considering each of these options, evaluate whether the outcome would be
positive or negative for their sibling relationship. (positive except for the
last two)
Demonstrate Comprehension Using Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligences - (Use to demonstrate
comprehension and higher-level thinking)
- Interpersonal: Talk with classmates about a time you felt
really hungry and tired. Exchange ideas about what food you would serve
for iftar.
- Intrapersonal: Regardless of your religion or lack of religion,
a prayer is a
solemn request for help or expression of gratitude. With eyes closed,
silently say your own personal prayer. Meditate on that thought for
several minutes.
- Bodily
Kinesthetic: Break into groups.
Perform a group skit in which one sibling catches another sibling doing
something wrong (can be unrelated to religious holidays). Be sure to use
body language, facial expressions, and eye contact or avoidance.
- Linguistic: Practice printing the Arabic alphabet.
- Logical
Mathematical: Using graph paper,
ruler, pencil and eraser, create your own geometric pattern. Cover paper
in overlapping squares, triangles, hexagons and other shapes. Use crayon
or colored pencil to color all shapes forming a pattern.
- Musical: Watch a video of children playing drums and
singing in Arabic.
- Naturalist: Observe and sketch the moon each night of a
lunar month.
- Spatial: Google “interior Islamic mosque domes.” Notice how there is a large circle (the bottom of the dome) and a smaller circle (near the top of the dome). Also notice how the pattern shapes are larger near the bottom, and smaller near the top. This is called “perspective.” Things appear smaller as they move farther away in space. With these design principles in mind, create your own dome design using graph paper, pencil and eraser, ruler, and a compass for making circles. Color your design patterns.
- Practice Retell.
·
Describe Shirin (nine-year old girl; wants
to participate in Islamic culture like the adults do; gets angry and annoyed
with big brother; copies her dad; feels jealous)
·
Include character’s feelings and your own feelings as
you listened (annoyed/mocking, curious/interested, hurt that she is being treated like a child, adventurous,
wants to be like adults, playful, understanding, proud, hungry, excited,
confused/surprised)
·
Describe Setting (typical American family home (Maine), outdoors in backyard at night)
·
Use sequence words when retelling.
· Provide details
about the Islamic prayer ritual. (face Mecca; pray five times per day; use a prayer rug; stand; pray silently; bow; kneel; touch forehead to ground or
prayer stone; repeat)
· Explain problems/solutions (Problems: Shirin wants to fast, older brother treats
her like a child, can’t decide on a good deed; Solutions: fasts for parts of
the day, spots brother breaking fast, doesn’t report brother demonstrating
maturity and understanding)
Compare/Contrast: How is Islam the same as (or different from) Christianity? (same
because both are monotheistic religions; different because Islam uses the Quran
and believes Muhammad is a prophet, while Christians use the Bible and don’t
teach about Muhammad, the two religions celebrate different holidays)
Text – Self:
How is this text similar to your life?
Text – Text:
How is this text similar to other texts you have read or listened to?
Text – World:
What does this remind you of in the real world?
Opinion:
What was your favorite part of this lesson? Why?
Use two or three new vocabulary words in a sentence. (teacher or student choice)
Pair with Non-Fiction book:
What You Will
See Inside A Mosque. Aisha Karen Khan. Satisfy your curiosity by taking a look inside a mosque. Learn about
the call to prayer, prayer clocks, prayer rugs, what to wear, why you will find
low sinks in the bathrooms, and so much more!
This lesson is from my latest book, The Pringle Plan For Holiday Read Alouds. Buy it here and on Amazon!
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