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WRITING ISLAMIC STORIES

Story writing is an important part of a child’s literacy development; it develops the imagination, explores ideas, and practices written and grammatical skills. Early attempts can be as simple as making their own book based on a favourite story, drawing a picture and writing a word on each page. The next stage could be to try and write a sentence for each picture in a comic strip format. As children progress to developing their own story writing skills, they may benefit from guidance in how to start, plan, structure and end their stories.

This is also an ideal opportunity to develop their knowledge of Islamic principles such as adhab (manners) and other Sunnah acts. For example, discuss and read up on an aspect of adhab together and then encourage your child to build up a story around the principle.

Here are some tips to help them start writing Islamic stories. To illustrate the point, let us imagine the child has chosen the adhab of removing a harmful object from the path.

1)      Choosing a title – you may want to choose this after the story is written, but try to make it sound exciting or interesting for the reader. e.g. “Bilal and the blind man who fell over the branch.”

2)    Starting the story – once you’ve thought about what is going to happen in your story, you need to write a good first sentence – an unusual event, an interesting setting, somebody speaking, etc.

e.g. “Asalaam Alaikum!” shouted Bilal as he ran out the door to his uncle’s house, without even waiting for his mother’s reply.

3)    What to write about – make sure that the main part of the story is based around the adhab you have chosen, and introduce the characters gradually. The end of the story can explain the adhab more fully so that the reader learns more about Islam through reading your story.

4)    Working out what happens – it may help to talk your ideas through with your parents or a friend. Sometimes it helps to write a few short sentences for the whole story which you can then expand into your full story (this is called an Outline). Think about how the story will end, although you can always change this if you have a better idea as you are writing. Make the ending really good so that the story finishes in an interesting way.

e.g. Bilal goes to see his uncle – he jumps over a branch on the path from last night’s storm – he hears a shout – a blind man fell over the branch – Bilal helps him – Bilal tells his uncle what happened on the way  - his uncle explains about the adhab – Bilal runs back to the path to move the branch.

5)    Making the characters sound real – describe how your characters look, move, or speak. Think about how they are feeling or what they are thinking. This will help you to write more easily about what they say or do.

e.g. The blind man limped slowly, holding tightly to Bilal’s arm because he was frightened he would fall again.

6)    Other things to do  - When you are happy with the story, make a book and write it out in your best handwriting – decide what should go on each page. You may want to draw some pictures of the scenery or objects in the story. Don’t forget to put the title on the cover, and your name as the author! You could also write it on the computer and practice your computer skills. Finally, read it to your brothers and sisters or your friends so that they can enjoy it and learn from it too.

 - Umm Hafsa                                                                               PREVIOUS PAGE     HOME

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