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Public School Class Presentation
Kathy
11/13/00 at 10:28:14
slm Here is the class presentation I will do for my son's first grade class on the Month of Ramadan, Insha Allah. Please give me your construcive critisms. I have used so many sources! Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr Today is the ?th day of the month of Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims. During the month of Ramadan, God (swt) gave Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) the Holy Qu’ran. One day, Muhammad (pbuh) saw an angel who told him how God wanted people to live and it is written in the book called the Qu’ran. We celebrate Ramadan to remember this very special month. This happened more than 1400 years ago. At the end of this presentation, Ali or Khadeijah will say a small part of the Quran so you can hear what it sounds like. Muslims are follow the religion of Islam, which is the fastest growing religion in America and the world.  In our world, it is estimated that there are more than a billion Muslims. Do you know there are about six million Muslims in America?  There are close to 2,000 mosques, Islamic schools and Islamic centers in America. (Show the demographic picture map for them to color at the end) Not all Muslims are Arab, just as not all Arabs are Muslim. In fact, Arabs are a minority within the Islamic world. In this classroom you have an American Arab Muslim, and a Somalian Muslim. In your school there are American, Pakistani, Malaysian, Bosnian kids who are Muslim. There are Muslims from all over the world!( hand out multi cultural rulers) Since the Muslim calendar is based on the moon, instead of the sun like our American Calender, the Month of Ramadan doesn't happen at the same time every year. This year Ramadan is during December, when days are short and nights are long. But in other years Ramadan can be in the fall,summer, or spring. Muslims fast every day during the month of Ramadan. The fast is teaches us to learn discipline, self-restraint and generosity. All most all religions have taught their people to fast. For Muslims, fasting has a number of benefits:  It helps us to feel compassion for those who are poorer and less fortunate. Each day we feel a  greater appreciation for what we have as a result of feeling hunger and thirst.  It allows one to build a sense of self-control and willpower, which can be beneficial  throughout life in dealing with temptations such as drugs and bad peer-pressure.  It offers a time for Muslims to "purify" their bodies as well as their souls, by developing a  greater sense of patience and spirituality.      We know the month of Ramadan starts- by sighting the moon. The new moon’s crescent looks like this ( Show a picture of the moon)      Ali and his Dad go up on a high mountain and try to find the moon. It is a special time for them to be together. I pack a special treat for them to eat while they are looking. They take binoculars with them. When they see the moon or someone else does everybody calls each other and tells them that the fasting month has begun! (show binoculars)      We then decorate our house with lights and other decorations.      Before our fasting starts, we eat a little food in the early morning, This meal is called Suhoor. Some of us go back to bed, and some stay awake and read Quran and pray (show prayer rug)      In the very early morning our adthan clock wakes us up. This is what it sounds like-. ( Play the adthan) When Muslims fast, we don't eat or drink anything at all from dawn until sunset. While we are fasting,we shouldn't complain about being hungry or thirsty, and we should avoid getting angry or irritated with people. Ali is not old enough to fast the whole day yet, but  sometimes he tries to practice fasting part of the day.              At the end of each day, we break our fast at a special meal called Iftar. Many Muslims like to start their       Iftar by eating a date, because that was the custom of Prophet Muhammad. Would you like to try a date? (Offer Dates)              Since Muslims come from just about every place in the world, different families have different things they like to eat during their Iftar. Our family especially likes Slovak, German, Indian, and Arab food.              After we eat, my  family will pray  together and Ali will open a toy if he was good. This is the Ramadan quilt I made for Ali. (Present Quilt) He picks a present from each pocket each night. Later in the evening, we sometimes go to the Mosque for the night prayer and some special extra prayers. At night we watch cool video’s about Islam and read books about Muslims from long ago.      Toward the end of the month we acknowledge a special night called Lailat ul-Qadr. In English it is called the Night of Power. It is the night the Qu’ran was first revealed to Muhammad pbuh. It happened in a cave. Once I built a cave in our mosque for the kids to sit in so they could experience the moment. Maybe I will build one for Ali too!      Ali and I like to keep track of the number of days we fast, This is a chain I made. Each night after we complete our fast Ali takes one chain off so that he knows how many days are left. (Show Chain)      We also give charity called zakat, during this month. This is money given to poor people who need to buy food and new clothes so they can enjoy the festival, too. Many Muslims will work in soup kitchens, help homeless people and even send money to hungry children all over the world- even our own neighbors. Some Muslims do not have money to give- so they do good deeds instead. We even consider a smile to be a good deed. Many Muslims make dinners for fasting people.  Ali saves money all year from his allowance and keeps it in a jar. (Show his jar) During this month he picks a poor family and gives them his saved money for charity.      In about two and a half  more weeks, Ramadan will be over. We can tell the month is over by sighting the moon again. Then there will be a big festival called Eid al-Fitr. That's Arabic for "the festival of breaking the fast."          On that day, Muslims’ don't come to school. In some families the children don’t have to go to school for three days. Parents and relatives give presents and money to the kids and each other. In our family, Ali’s Dad takes him to the toy store and he gets to pick out whatever toy he wants. That was the way his dad did it. I buy Ali a couple of toys and socks and underwear!- because that is what my mom did!          Everybody in my family wears our best clothes and goes for special prayers at our Masjid. This is what I like to wear. (Show my outfit)This is what Ali’s Dad wears( Show thob)- and this is what Ali likes to  wear (Show his thob and Kufi)! Our Mosque is too small to hold all the Muslims that come to pray so we get to go to a big banquet hall to pray.  In the summer we go to a park to pray- just like in the old days! Afterwards we go to visit our friends.     We ask everybody we meet to forgive us for any bad things we did to them. Some people like to play an instrument called a Duff,  which is like a drum.  The men, women, and children like to dance to this type of music. (After class we will make some Duffs)                The Month of Ramadan is a very special time of month for Muslims. Thank you for letting me explain and share this part of our holiday with you. Would you like to hear Ali and Khadeijah say a part of the Quran?                       Ali will recite a part of the Qu’ran called Surah al-Fatiha. This prayer is one of the main prayers of Islam. You will hear what Arabic sounds like.
NS

Re: Public School Class Presentation
jaihoon
11/13/00 at 11:37:11
Masha Allah! Thats a very nice idea to present Ramadan by a first grader! Frankly speaking, i haven't read the whole essay in detail. However, the very first line made a lot of difference. In fact, its time Islam begin to be presented, tactfully (= hikmah) from kindergartens onwards. BTW, the moderator of this forum will be in possession of wealth of experience with the kids and islam (which i can only positively envy. :) ) It would have been better if u could cut short the sentence length and the entire essay as well, so that the speech flows naturally. Just one more thing. Change --- "One day, Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him ) saw an angel who told him how God wanted people to live and it is written in the book called the Qu’ran"--- to  Allah sent his angel on Prophet (peace be upon him) and revealed the Holy Quran, the holy book, to him. It was the same angel that came to Jesus (peace be upon him). - Ramadan is the month of purifying our hearts and coming close to Allah. I think that will do. Boy! i wish I was in the classroom to watch the presentation :)

Re: Public School Class Presentation
bhaloo
11/13/00 at 13:00:56
slm Alhumdullilah that's a nice presentation Kathy.  I have a lengthy series of Ramadhan emails.  Insha'Allah tonight I'll post the 12 part series in its entirety up on the board.
NS

Re: Public School Class Presentation
Kathy
11/13/00 at 20:38:49
slm I forgot to say that a life size puppet- named Zak, dressed in a kufi and thob, will present this... along with me... Jaihoon-I like the part that you added. It always helps to draw on the similarities and bring attention detail that the kids are familiar with. Thank you so much for taking the time to post your thoughts! May Allah swt reward you!

Re: Public School Class Presentation
mahsou411
11/13/00 at 22:07:30
slm Alhumdulillah this is wonderful!! I think it is soooo great that you have been given the opportunity to give dawah to these children. :) Just a suggestion if you don't mind. You may want to take out some of the more complicated words that may be too hard for 1st graders such as "estimated" "minority" and "benificial"  You could either change the word to something simpler or define it for the kids. Changing may be eaisier. Also you may want to make up a packet or sheet for them to take home and show to their parents so they too can learn about our wonderful holiday:) I noticed that you mentioned some wonderful traditions that you and your family do during the month like the quilt, the chain,  the sighting with dad, and the cave.  Some people say that these things would be bidah, is that true? Because I was thinking about how I could make Ramadan and Eid really special in my family when I have kids and I would love to "borrow" some of your ideas.  Also, is it ok to decorate your house for Ramadan and Eid? and if so what do some of you guys do? I want to decorate my dorm room and my dorm door so my neigboors can see a little of my "holiday spirit" but I don't want to use like tinsle and stuff (too christmasy, ya know) -Salaam

Re: Public School Class Presentation
mahsou411
11/13/00 at 22:29:04
slm I posted this on the "17 tips..." thread but it may be more releveant here. Insha'Allah it will benefit anyone who is thinking of presenting to their child's class. Kathy, what you have is great so people can take ideas from hers as well. :-)  :-) I am studying to be an elementary education teacher and we are learning alot about age appropriateness and visual displays in my classes.  You may want to run the presentation or an outline of it by the teacher so she/he can let you know if some stuff is too complicated or too long for her class. H/She will know what kind of attention span and cognitive level the kids are at. She may even suggest some visuals to use or how you can connect the lesson to prior knowledge. Also, kids love colorful displays on the walls, especially if it includes their own work. You may ask if you can make some kind of poster or table to set up in the room with other holiday displays.  If you can, get the kids to draw or create something to add to it so that it is more relevant to them. Many children learn better if they can do something hands-on that is related to the lesson.  They are more likely to retain the info. Lastly, children of all ages love read-alouds. You may want to find a good children's book on Ramadhan or even have your child write and illustrate one for you or her/him to read to the class! Then you can have a discussion after (even with the very young kids) and do a presentation to supplement it. This could be good for classes (especially kindergarten to 2nd grade) that do not do well in "teacher directed learning", or lectures.  The key is to get the students invloved:) May Allah bless you with success :-) slm

Re: Public School Class Presentation
Saleema
11/14/00 at 00:02:49
Assalamoalykum, Where we lived in Pakistan, people lighted candels. And some even put up lights. I don't see why these would be bidah? And oh yeah, every where you would go, you would hear nasheeds and Qur'an recitations. And the meanest people living on your street would be so nice during Ramadan. We always got money and clothes. And the little kids gave each other presents. So did the adults. but the adults always gave money and clothes to the children. Eid isn't as much fun as it was in Pakistan......   :( Wassalam

Re: Public School Class Presentation
mahsou411
11/14/00 at 00:09:58
slm Well, I thought some might call it bidah because the Prophet SAWS didn't do some of these things and we are doing new things to celebrate the holiday. I know it may sound stupid but some people think that sooo many things are bidah that I get confused!

Re: Public School Class Presentation
Kathy
11/14/00 at 22:31:25
slm I am using these items as a teaching tool for my child. I am not recomending these things as a way to celebrate the month of Ramadan. The chain teaches my son that the month is 29 or 30 days long. He has a good visual of how much longer our fast will be and also it builds excitement for Eid. Sighting the moon with his Dad has many benefits. Other than the great opportunity of learning about sighting, it is the beginning steps of becoming a man- hanging out with the men. This is why I do not go. It promotes a bonding period that they both look forward to. It has become a father son tye of night and now other families are joining them. The quilt is also jammed packed with facts- Arabic and English numerals, the various phases of the moon. Lalait ul- Quadr is also written on the last 10 days. The toys are for my benefit- keeps him busy as I prepare or put away dinner! I feel a little sad about the cave. It was so cool. I built it at the mosque- a life size one that held about 30 kids. First I read them the story of the Night of Power and then had them go to the cave. We turned down the lights and had the kids say duas and suplications, like Muhammad pbuh did. They truely "got" the experience. One of the brothers- with a booming voice and an amplifier started the sura Iqra... I thought it was awesome and the children could not stop talking about it.  Allah who Allum- Something must have gone wrong because they never asked me to do it again. So bidah- Allah knows best that is not my intention. I am using these items as a teaching tool. May Allah swt forgive me- because all good is from Allah swt and the bad was me.

Re: Public School Class Presentation
mahsou411
11/14/00 at 23:35:14
Slm Alhumdulillah all your stuff sounds great!!!  I would LOVE to use some of these techniques either in the Islamic school that will be here soon insha'Allah and with my own kids.  If anybody else has some good ideas lemme know:) Salaam!
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