Case 03 · Sky · Draft, not yet checked
Why does the moon change shape?
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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 Yunus 10:5
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ ٱلشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءًۭ وَٱلْقَمَرَ نُورًۭا وَقَدَّرَهُۥ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا۟ عَدَدَ ٱلسِّنِينَ وَٱلْحِسَابَ ۚ مَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ ذَٰلِكَ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ يُفَصِّلُ ٱلْءَايَٰتِ لِقَوْمٍۢ يَعْلَمُونَ
It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). Nowise did Allah create this but in truth and righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His Signs in detail, for those who understand.
English: Abdullah Yusuf Ali
You will need
About 30 minutes · Things at home
- A torch (or a lamp without its shade)
- A ball or an orange
- A room you can make dark
- A pencil for the moon diary
The journey
- Inspire: Look at the moon tonight, or at a photo of it.
- Investigate: My moon diary · The moon or a calendar? · Make the moon's shapes
- Integrate: which name of Allah does it remind you of, and a small plan for the week.
- Impart: Play the torch-and-ball game with someone. Ask them to guess each shape.
For grown-ups: the science
The moon does not make its own light: it shines with sunlight. As it travels around the earth, about once a month, we see more or less of its sunlit side. These changing shapes are the phases. The Islamic calendar follows the moon, and each month begins with the new crescent.
- • The moon reflects sunlight, and its phases come from how much of its lit side we see as it orbits the earth. Source: NASA Science, “Moon Phases”.
- • From one new moon to the next takes about 29.5 days. Source: NASA Science, “Moon Phases”.
- • In Singapore, MUIS announces when each Islamic month begins. Source: MUIS (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura).
A good case for Ramadan.