Case 06 · My body · Draft, not yet checked
Why are my fingertips special?
Print this Case File
Six A4 pages in black and white: one page for you, a cover to colour, then Inspire, Investigate (two pages), and Integrate and Impart. Choose the level by your child, not by age. Siblings can each have their own.
Explorer draws, circles, counts and says (often ages 4–7). Investigator predicts, tests, records and explains (often ages 7–11).
Finished the case?
The ayah: Surah Al-Qiyamah 75:3–4
أَيَحْسَبُ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ أَلَّن نَّجْمَعَ عِظَامَهُۥ
Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones?
بَلَىٰ قَٰدِرِينَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن نُّسَوِّىَ بَنَانَهُۥ
Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers.
English: Abdullah Yusuf Ali
You will need
About 30 minutes · Things at home
- A soft pencil and some paper
- Clear sticky tape
- A magnifying glass, if you have one
- A shiny spoon or plastic cup, and a little cocoa powder or flour
The journey
- Inspire: Look very closely at the tip of your finger, with a magnifying glass if you have one.
- Investigate: Print detectives · A stamp or a fingerprint? · The mystery print
- Integrate: which name of Allah does it remind you of, and a small plan for the week.
- Impart: Make a fingerprint card for someone at home. Tell them nobody else has their prints.
For grown-ups: the science
The skin on our fingertips has raised ridges that make patterns, usually grouped into loops, whorls and arches. The patterns form before we are born and stay the same as we grow. No two people have been found with the same fingerprints, not even identical twins, which is why fingerprints are used to identify people.
- • Fingerprint ridge patterns form before birth and stay the same throughout life. Source: Britannica, “fingerprint”.
- • Identical twins have different fingerprints. Source: Britannica, “fingerprint”. [still being checked]