subject	Signs and Symbols
topic	Pattern: the crescent
grade	Two
time	30 minutes
objective	To enable students to understand the significance of the crescent.
instructional material	Islamic calender

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A crescent is representative of the moon, and the moon is symbolic to Muslims for a very important reason : the lumar calender.  The Muslims follow the moon instead of the sun, so the months are never in the same season for many years in a row.  For example, in the calender we use in North America, the month of January is always in the winter.  That will never change.  But in the lunar calender, Muharrem, the first month in the Arabic calender, can be in winter this year, and in a few years in the spring.  It rotates so that it follows the solar calender by 11 days every year.  That means that for example the first day of Muharrem is January 1st this year, but next year the first day of Muharrem will be December 20th.

 

DEVELOPMENT

 

Go through the Islamic calender, and tell them the name of each month, and what it means in English.  Tell them if there are any special occasions that happen during that month (e.g. fasting during the month of Ramadan, etc.)

 

REINFORCING ACTIVITIES

 

Give each student a photocopied calender, and let them colour in the pages.