Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is considered one of the holiest times of the year for Muslims. This month of fasting and reflection helps bring those who observe closer to their faith, friends, and family members. It ends with Eid al-Fitr, known as the Festival of Breaking Fast, where Muslims gather to celebrate with family, food, prayer, and other traditions.

To help you teach your students about these two important Islamic holidays, we’ve curated a group of resources to bring Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr activities into your classroom:

• Explore diverse perspectives on Ramadan in ELA
• Discover the history and traditions of Ramadan in social studies

[Explore diverse perspectives on Ramadan in ELA](id-ela)

Teach students about the Muslim holy month through literature and informational texts to help them see both real-life and fictionalized versions of Ramadan celebrations:

Discover the gifts of Ramadan

How much do your students know about the holiday of Ramadan? Introduce them to the significance of the holiday through the following lesson:

• Watch an interactive video to build background knowledge about the holiday of Ramadan.
• Read the fictional story “Gifts of Ramadan” by Kim Ellis and explore how the theme of self-control follows the main character, Asef, throughout the story.
• Have students write a poem from Asef’s point of view that could take place during the story. 

Learn more about religious and cultural traditions

Ramadan is just one of many cultural and religious holidays celebrated around the world. Students can better understand the meaning of the word “tradition” by exploring articles on topics like:

• Definitions of the terms “customs” and “traditions.”
• The challenges of breaking the daily Ramadan fast.
• How interfaith families celebrate various religious holiday traditions in their homes.

Share the novel “A Very Large Expanse of Sea” by Tahereh Mafi

In Mafi’s novel, a teenage Muslim girl named Shirin must battle Islamophobia in her school and community after the 9/11 attacks. Students can better understand what Muslim Americans faced during that time by exploring resources like:

• A Q&A article with the author about the experiences that inspired her novels.
• An article that explains how families prepare for fasting, prayer, and reflection during Ramadan.
• An article that interviews women who wear hijabs and their experiences wearing them in American communities.

[Discover the history and traditions of Ramadan in social studies](id-ss)

Build students’ background knowledge about Ramadan and other spring holidays, and start discussions about diverse perspectives with these social studies resources:

See how people around the world celebrate Ramadan

Explore the celebrations and sacrifices that take place during the ninth month of the Islamic year to help students better understand the significance of Ramadan:

• Give students an introduction to the Islamic faith and the prophet Muhammad to build background knowledge about the holiday and its significance.
• Read about how Muslim families balance their religious duties of fasting, prayer, and reflection with their daily schedules and routines during Ramadan.
• See how one Michigan TikTok star’s Ramadan recipes videos were a hit on the app—and how he brought those viral dishes straight to the “Chopped” kitchen!

Compare Ramadan to other spring religious celebrations

Give your students an overview of the histories and traditions of various religious celebrations that happen in the spring:

• Discover the similarities and differences among Christian, Jewish, and Muslim holidays like Passover, Easter, Ramadan, and Eid al-Fitr. 
• Break students into jigsaw groups and assign each group a holiday to study and create a presentation for the class.
• Have students share their presentations with the class using the information they learned. Encourage the listeners to ask questions and take notes about information they find interesting.

Teach students more about Islamic culture

The Muslim religion is popular with people from Middle Easter, African, and some European backgrounds. Teach students about how this religion got started and spread across the world by assigning texts on topics like:

• How Islam spread in Africa starting in the seventh century and made an impact on African culture.
• How Jews, Christians, and Muslims worship the same God in different belief systems.
• An explainer article about the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Teach about all the spring holidays with Newsela

Use Newsela’s knowledge and skill-building products to create timely, engaging lessons for all the spring holidays this year. Teaching about different celebrations and cultures can introduce students to diverse perspectives and share their experiences from the holidays they celebrate.

If you’re not a Newsela customer yet, sign up for Newsela Lite and get a 45-day free trial of all our premium and differentiated content and activities to help you plan more exciting activities all school year.