More Sketches Inspired by Islam

I hope you enjoy these beautiful sketches made by four of your classmates.

I love the way that Keira has illustrated the connections between the three religions founded by Abraham!

Spelling Tips for Wednesday's Quiz

Here are some of the vocabulary words that can be tricky to spell, along with some tips and suggestions:

prophet: Don't be tricked by this word's homophone -- profit -- which refers to excess money. Remember that our word, referring to a "spiritual messenger", includes a "PH", rather than an "F".

pillar: On today's crossword, several students misspelled this word by using "er" at the end. The word properly ends with "ar".

belief: Some people misspell this word as beleif. Remember this famous spelling rule "i before e, except after c; or when sounding as "A", as in neighbor and weigh."

mosque: A Muslim place of worship begins with an "M", and it ends with "que", a phoneme that is pronounced like a k.

BONUS HINT FOR TOMORROW'S QUIZ: Be careful about the spelling of one of Mr. Richmond's favorite words: ritual.

Musical Mondays (on a Thursday!)

As a follow-up to today's musical selection, here's another holiday performance by The Piano Guys:

Religion Video: Theocracy

6th graders: Fantastic job on today's Science Fair! I especially enjoyed the way that you presented to the younger children and shared your enthusiasm about your experiments.

I also noticed the excellent eye contact that several of you made with the students, teachers and parents who viewed the projects. By looking the visitors in the eye, you were able to establish a connection and help them to better understand your topics.

Islam: The Five Pillars

This map shows the parts of the world that are predominantly Muslim.  
The green locations are home to mostly Sunni Muslims, whereas the yellow locations are home to mostly Shiite Muslims.

While studying Islam, we have discussed the Five Pillars, which are considered to be the religion's most significant rituals and practices:

1. The duty to proclaim the Declaration of Faith: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger."


2. The obligation to pray five times each day, each time facing Mecca.


3. The duty to give to the poor.


4. The obligation to fast from sunrise to sunset, each day during the holy month of Ramadan.


5. The requirement to take the hajj: the pilgrimage to Mecca.