Under the Ramadan Moon

Whitman, Sylvia (2008). Under the Ramadan Moon. Morton Grove: Albert Whitman &  Company.

     ISBN # 978-0-8075-8304-3

Under The Ramadan Moon tells the story of what a Muslim family does when celebrating Ramadan. Ramadan is celebrated during the 9^th month of the religious year, which is measured by the moon cycle. It is a time of reflection and celebration. The family in the book fast by day and eat at night, speak kind words, stop bad habits, give to the poor, read Qur’an, hang bright lights, bake sweet treats, visit friends, tell stories, laugh, play and most importantly, pray.

I would use this picture book for 3 to 5 year olds because it gives a simplified explanation of Ramadan, a holiday that is not easy to explain. The language is appropriate for this age group, with rhythm and repetition (‘under the moon, under the Ramadan moon’) evident in the story.

The illustrations have a soft feeling to them, evoking a sense of calm and respect for the book content.

To build background knowledge and provoke interest in the children, I would print out and laminate large pictures of different moons and post them up high on the ceiling (in the order which they appear within the moon cycle) to make children wonder about the moons.

3 ways to present the story

Audience Participation: To tell this story with audience participation, I would first hang the large pictures of the different moons (from provocations) on the ceiling directly on top of the circle (or wherever you choose to tell your story). Then throughout the story, I would give a child (or children) a turn to go ‘under the Ramadan moon’ and do what was described in the book. For example, at the part ‘We eat at night, under the moon, under the moon, under the Ramadan moon’ I would get a child (or children) to go stand under the moon and act like they were eating.

Felt board story (different parts of the moon): I would use the felt board to help children see the different moons in the moon cycle. I would also make different pieces to correspond to the story (food, book of Qur’an, sweet treats, bright lights, nuts, hot tea). I would incorporate audience participation by allowing each child to put up a piece onto the felt board.

                                                                                     

Prop Basket: I would have props corresponding to the story set in a basket (food, book of Qur’an, sweet treats, bright lights, nuts, and hot tea). I would give each child a different prop for them to hold during the story. 

3 possible extensions

Explorations with the moon: As an extension for learning, this story might lead us into a scientific inquiry about the moon. Why does the moon change shapes? What does the surface of the moon feel like? How big is the moon?

Discussion: The story might lead the children and I to have a discussion on “What kind words will we say?” during Ramadan. We would discuss during circle what words are kind and what words aren’t and as a class we will make a list of ‘Kind Words’.

Making and hanging bright lights: An art activity of making paper lamps would be a fun way for children to extend their learning about Ramadan. After making the paper lamps, I would help the children hang them up on a nearby tree (if possible) or on the ceiling of the centre.