Talibiddeen Jr.

Quraan Based Unit Study:

(A full unit study)

Suratuz Zalzalah (99)

The purpose of this unit study is to memorize Suratul Zilzalah and understand this surah. We will also learn about earthquakes, which are an important part of this surah.

This unit includes learning activities in the following subjects: Quraan, Arabic, English, math, and geography.

Levels: Although originally written for upper elementary to junior high students, I've included activities for younger students as well. It can also be used for adults as well.

Younger children:

Write the name of the surah on the board.

Say: This is Suratuz zalzalah, surah 99, and this Surah was revealed in Madinah. Have student spell out title while looking at it.
Ask: (with student looking at text) This surah has how many ayaat?
Say: "Az zalzalah" means "earthquake". This surah describes some events that will happen on the Day of Judgment such as a great quaking of the earth.

Older Students:

Using the Tafsir opening for this surah, fill out the Introductory Information Chart (also available in Study Guide Template Pack)

1. Reading

 

Younger students:

 

• Recite the surah to students in Arabic. Then read the English translation, one ayaah at a time, stopping to discuss each ayaah.

Áyát 1:

 

"When the earth quakes with its zilzal."

This describes the violent shaking that the earth will suffer.

 

Ayat 2:

 

"And when the earth throws out its burdens"

The earth will burst open and throw out its contents revealing everything in it, including the dead.

 

Áyah 3:

 

"And man will say: "What is the matter with it?"

 "Mankind will be baffled by its situation after it used to be stable, settled and firm, and he used to be settled upon its surface." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Áyah 4: T

 

"that day it will declare its information"

The earth will speak about what people did upon its surface. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

 

The Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Verily, its information is that it will testify against every male and female servant, about what they did upon its surface. It will say that he did such and such on such and such day...."

 

 

Ayah 5:

"Because your Lord will inspire it."

Allah will permit the earth to declare its information. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

 

Áyah 6:

"That Day mankind will proceed in scattered groups."

Mankind will return from the station of Judgment in separate groups. They will be divided into types and categories: those who are miserable and those who are happy, those who are commanded to go to Jannah and those commanded to go to Jahannam (the Hellfire) (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

 

 

Ayah 7:

"that they might be shown their deeds"

People will be rewarded for what they did in this life, good and bad.

 

 

Ayah 8:

So whoever does good equal to the weight of a speck of dust shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of a speck of dust shall see it."

 

Nothing will be ignored in the accounting. Not the slightest evil or good action will go unnoticed. No one will be able to transfer the evil of his actions to another. It is the day when everyone will know the result of their life on earth.

 

 

Older students:

 

• Students should read the surah aloud in Arabic and English (preferably in presence of teacher).

• Student reads the complete tafsir for this surah (pp.556-564. Teacher can also break the reading down into smaller parts, if desired.

If student does not have a copy of the tafsir, the text can be viewed with this links from Tafsir.com:

The Tafsir of Surah Idha Zulzilat (Az-Zalzalah)
(Chapter - 99)
Which was revealed in Makkah
The Virtues of Surat Az-Zalzalah
The Day of Judgement, what will take place during it, the Condition of the Earth and the Condition of the People
The Recompense for Every Minute Deed ThereforeWhich was revealed in Makkah
A Summary of the Story of the People of the Elephant
Dhu Nafr was captured and taken along with the army of Abrahah.
Concerning Allah's statement,

Optional: As student reads the tafsir, have him outline it or turn statements into study questions and write them down. There is a form in the Study Guide Templates Pack where student can record these questions.

NOTE:

During the duration of this lesson, it is a good idea to have student read and recite the surah daily while the teacher listens.

 

Putting It Together

You might want to have student write all work in a special Quraan notebook or make a lap book/portfolio.

Younger students:

 

A. Have students answer the 5 W's about this surah (orally or written):

 

1. Who is this surah about?

2. When did/will the events in this surah take place?

3. Where did/will the events in this surah take place?

2.What happened in this surah?

3. Why did/will this happen?

 

You can use TJ's 5Ws worksheets: 

Version 1: With space for drawing a picture

Version 2: With space to record where surah was revealed, number of ayaat

B. Have students answer orally or in writing:

 

Generate comprehension questions based upon the content of the surah. (from the tafsir)

 

 

Older Students:

 A. Have student, orally or in writing, answer the 5W's of this surah (see above)

Vocabulary

A. Review

There are many basic words that appear over and over in the Quraan.  Quiz older students regularly on this basic vocabulary.  You might dictate the English of these words to student for him to write in Arabic.  Keep a list of missed words (student does not know definition or spelling).

 

 

 

B. In this Surah

Teach vocabulary depending on the student's level.

 

For more advanced students, use the Ayaat breakdown form in the Study Guide Pack to write each Arabic word and its corresponding English translation. In most cases, teacher should complete this activity with the student.

 

For students less advanced in Arabic, pick out key vocabulary (especially nouns) and assign activities to help them learn the words. Here are some vocabulary words to use or get you started.. If you feel student can handle more, select more words from the surah.

 

Students should know the definitions and spelling of  the following Arabic terms at the minimum:

 

generate vocabulary words based upon the surah--to be added, insha Allah.

 

Activities to practice the vocabulary:

• Write each new word (x number of times)

• Write review words (x number of times)

• Take dictation on vocabulary words

• Write the current ayaat or surah

• Alphabetize Arabic/English vocabulary

• Match English to Arabic words

• Given the English word, write the Arabic word

• Given a clue, write the correct Arabic word

• Unscramble a word or ayaat

• Supply the missing letters in words or missing word in ayaat

• Make flashcards to review vocabulary and concepts

 Also see TJ's Spelling Page for more spelling activities

Tajweed

Teach one or more concepts of tajweed found in this surah.

Grammar

Here are some topics you might use  for grammar lessons:

 

to be added, insha Allah 

 

These are just some suggestions. If student has an Arabic class, try to match the concepts that they are learning/have learned with those found in the surah.

 

Memorization Schedule

 

If student has not memorized this surah already, set up a memorization schedule with the schedule form in the Study Guide Pack.  Work together to establish a realistic goal. 

 

For older students, schedule daily memorization sessions, after salaat are often good times.

Work with younger students daily to memorize the surah.

 

Use TJ's Surah Progress Chart (Color in a star for each ayaah memorized) for younger children to track their progress through the surah.

 

 

Audio Recitations

 

Before and during memorization, student should listen to teacher or a Qari to learn the correct pronunciation. Below are links to recitations several popular Qaris.

These links point to the pages which list all surahs recited by that particular Qari, not this particular surah. Simply select this lesson's surah, insha Allah and download or listen to.

• Shaykh Sudais

• Muhammad Minshawi

• Muhammad Minshawi Learning

• Mahmoud Husary

• Mahmoud Husary learning

• Recitation for Teaching Children

• Saeed Al Ghamidi

Memorization Aids

 

Software

 

Juz 30 memorization software (download).

Called Juz 30 but you can memorize the whole quraan with this program now. Husary is the Qari for Juz 30 and you can select the Muhsin Kahn translation or the Saheeh International. You can also download translations in other languages.  Cute for kids and can be used by adults and children.  Many options to tailor your memorization sessions to fit your needs. Really neat!

 

Quraan Explorer (use online, no download)

Haven't got a chance to try it yet, but took a quick peek. It looks really nice. A friend of mine sent in the link on a homeschooling group. Listen to the Quran Recitation and Translation online in Arabic, English, and Urdu.

Repetition Aids

 

Have student use something such as TJ's Hifz Helpers to help them keep track of their repetitions during the sessions. With younger students you might also count off the repetitions with your hands (counting up or down)

Hifz Helper-Counter Mat

(food theme)

 

Hifz Helper-Counter Mat

(vehicle theme)

 Completion

When student has memorized the surah, present him/her with a completion certificate and use progress charts such as those below to chart your progress through the Quraan.

 

Juz Amma Progress Chart

Color in a star for each surah memorized

 

Juz Amma Progress Chart 2

Color in a box for each ayaah memorized

Read and Learn about Earthquakes

Understanding Earthquakes Unit Study (Homeschool Learning Network)

Earthquakes are frightening events of nature that have terrible aftereffects for mankind. How do earthquakes happen? What have been the major earthquakes in history, and how can we protect ourselves from them?

Includes a set of 9 lessons which include experiments.

Photo source: FEMA

Earthquakes.

Nicely written collection of resources for kids from FEMA for kids.

 

Earthquakes for Kids

 

Learning Links and Activities

Compiled by USGS

 

Earthquake Resources for Kids by Cyber Sleuth Kids, an internet search guide for the K-12 student.

 

PBS Savage Earth,Restless Planet

Articles including video and animations.

 

Faultline.

Nice resource from the Exploratorium includes information about the Great Quakes of California, Quake basics, photo, and links.

 

How Earthquakes Happen (BBC)

Animated and PDF version of material

 

Earthquakes (BBC):

Why do they happen?

Are they dangerous?

How often do they happen?

Have there been serious ones recently?

Why is it dangerous after a quake?

 

The Science of Earthquakes.

Nice article, informative but not too technical.

 

How Earthquakes Work from How Stuff Works

 

Journey to the Center of the Earth:

created by 100 5th grade students

 

Ever Wonder What Causes Earthquakes?

 

EarthScience Center, The: the USGS consulted on this interactive web-based learning module developed by Logal Software Co,; excellent learning tool for earthquake location, magnitude, distribution and forecasting, Plug-in required that works on PCs and MacOS9 only

 

Earthquake Facts for Kids

 

Earthquake Photo Collections

 

Natural Hazards Slide Show from NOAA

 

Fault Tours

 

Virtual Coursework: Earthquake

Earthquake Themed Literature

Earthquake ABC

The Shaky Vacation (fiction) (for young children)

The Tales of the Earthquake Survivors (news article)

Fluency

Select a short paragraph in the story or tafsir. Have student read it repeatedly several days to increase fluency. See TJ's Language Arts Reading Skills page if you are  unfamiliar with repeated reading.

With younger students, do paired reading with the English ayaat. You and student read, teacher letting the student read the words he/she knows or can sound out and teacher reads unknown, undecodable words.

Spelling/Vocabulary

• Earthquake Word Search

• Earthquake Crossword: online activity

• Kid Zone: games, puzzles

• Online Wordsearch Puzzles: interactive word search puzzles with earthquake-related words

• Plate Tectonics Activities: games, quiz

• Earthquake Vocabulary

• Earthquake Crossword Puzzle

• Earthquake Challenge

• Earthquake Alphabetizing Activity

• Earthquake Draw and Write

Younger students:

 

Choose vocabulary from the story according to the child's level. Discuss the meanings and write in sentences, if appropriate for child's age.  .See TJ's "Working With Words." section on the language arts page for more ideas to practice vocabulary or TJ's Spelling Page.

 

Older Students:

 

Have student look up and write the definition for selected words and use in sentences.

Also, see TJ's "Working With Words" section on the language arts reading page for more ideas to practice vocabulary.

 

You might use the following exercise, Writing Descriptive Sentences, with these words to have students write descriptive sentences

 

Give students vocabulary words and a passage (from the story above or tafsir) for dictation. Student should practice writing the passage each day. At the end of the unit, dictate the words and passage to student. 

Grammar

1. Using the text of the English translation, have students sort all words in the ayaat into categories of parts of speech. (nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, etc)

Sample worksheet (bible based)

2. Use the dictation passage that you have selected (mentioned in the vocabulary section above) and discuss grammar concepts found there.

3. Take the following verbs found in the tafsir and turn them into nouns.

to be added, insha Allah 

Composition

Assign a paragraph or report or other creative writing assignment related to elephants (see English section above for reading material) or the history of Yemen (see Geography section below for reading material).

Research Help and Tips:

kidcyber guide to Researching a topic

Chart for recording notes

Have students complete earthquake themed math problems or make up your own.

 

 

How much bigger is a magnitude 8.7 earthquake than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake? Compare magnitude and energy with "Try It Yourself" Calculator.

 

 

Geometry Problem of the Week: Earthquake theme

 

Earthquake Math from FEMA for Kids: (Go online to take quiz and get score)

 

A small earthquake hit Northern California on a Tuesday afternoon. It was felt by people in three cities: Los Manos (population 3,482), Mount Good (population 4,210) and Meganville (872). How many people felt the earthquake?
5,684 people
8,564 people
8,654 people
8,546 people


2. The news said that Bigburg also felt the quake. Its population is 2,998. Now how many people felt the quake?
11,562 people
10,690 people
10,989 people
7,773 people


3. Suppose that it takes two straps each 25 inches long to strap a water heater to the wall to keep it from falling over during an earthquake. There are 420 homes in Los Manos. If every single home in Los Manos strapped their water heater to the wall, how many inches of strap would it take?
1,200 inches
50 inches
420 inches
21,000 inches


4. If you convert those inches into feet, how many feet would it take?
12 feet
21,012 feet
1,750 feet
252,000 feet


5. Pretend that in the first earthquake 10 homes were slightly damaged; in the second 50 homes were slightly damaged and in the third earthquake 30 homes were slightly damaged. What is the average number of homes damaged in the earthquakes?
11
30
35
 

Earthquake Intensity Database Search or National Earthquake Information Center or SC Earthquake Data Center

The Earthquake Intensity Database is a collection of damage and felt reports for over 23,000 U.S. earthquakes. Use data to make up word problems or to make tables and graphs.

 

Set of Experiments from FEMA Kids. Nice for younger children

Experiment 1:

If you are outside during an earthquake, it's important to get away from buildings, overpasses and power lines. Try this experiment to see why

Experiment 2:

If you are inside during an earthquake, it's important to take cover under a heavy piece of furniture for protection. To see why, try this experiment.

Experiment 3:

One of the most important things to do before an earthquake is to strap down the hot water heater to keep it from spilling over or starting a fire during an earthquake. To demonstrate why that's important, try this experiment.

Earthquake Science Experiments and Project Ideas

Earthquake Science for Kids

"CUSEC has put together a list of websites, that offer earthquake information and projects geared towards kids.  These sites will give kids a better understanding of the hazard and the types of research that is involved in the scientific community.  Additionally, some of the sites show kids just what to do and expect in the event of an earthquake."

Make a Quake

Spaghetti Fault (simulation

Earthquake Slip Classroom Exercise

Ring of Fire. What it it?

Ring of Fire Diagram.

Ring of Fire - BBC News

Today In Earthquake History. Determine How long ago these quakes took place.

Latest Earthquakes

Earthquake themed Recipes

 

Tasty Quake Activity: http://www.fema.gov/kids/tastyeq.htm

Earthquake Cake

Earthquake Cake II

 

 Is your house earthquake safe? Go on a Home Hazards Hunt to see.

Is your family prepared for an earthquake? Learn what to do before, during, and after an earthquake.

Earthquake Preparedness

Tips for Preparing Children

Prepare a Home Earthquake Plan

Earthquake Duck, Cover, and Roll Drill

Emergency Supplies Checklist

Preparing Your Family for an Earthquake

 

Coloring Pages to Print: Earthquake-related coloring pages to print out and color

Online Coloring Pages: Interactively color earthquake-related pictures

Earthquake coloring page from Homeschooling.about.com

If you know of any additional resources that you feel would be great to add to this unit, please let me know.