Holidays are incredibly significant in religion, and highlight stories, seasons, or other significant aspects of a religion. In this activity, students will create a spider map highlighting the major holidays celebrated by Muslims. They should describe the significance of each holiday and create an illustration to help summarize what it is and how it is practiced.
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Due Date:
Objective: Create a spider map focusing on 3-5 different major holidays in Islam.
Student Instructions:
Requirements: Minimum of 3 cells showcasing different major holidays celebrated by Muslims. Appropriate scenes to illustrate each cell. 1-3 sentence description for each cell demonstrating your understanding.
Encourage students to share their knowledge and questions about Muslim holidays. This builds understanding, fosters respect, and connects classroom learning to students’ lives.
Establish ground rules for listening and speaking. Remind students to be open-minded, use respectful language, and honor different traditions.
Offer students the chance to talk about their own holiday experiences. This personalizes learning and creates a supportive, inclusive environment.
Ask students to identify similarities and differences between Muslim holidays and those of other faiths or cultures. This builds critical thinking and cultural awareness.
Have students write or draw what they learned about Muslim holidays and why understanding diverse celebrations matters. This reinforces key concepts and promotes empathy.
Major Islamic holidays include Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan; Eid al-Adha, celebrating the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son; and Ramadan itself, a holy month of fasting, reflection, and prayer.
To create a spider map, students list 3–5 Islamic holidays as main branches, then add descriptions and illustrations for each holiday showing its significance and key practices.
Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan and gratitude for strength during fasting. Eid al-Adha honors Ibrahim's faith and willingness to sacrifice, symbolizing obedience and sharing with those in need.
Effective activities include spider maps, creating illustrations, short research projects, group discussions, and comparing Islamic holidays to those of other religions for deeper understanding.
Teachers can use visual aids, student-led presentations, interactive maps, storytelling, and art projects (like spider maps) to make Islamic holidays engaging and accessible for students.