indicators that she has gone back in time. She also assess and makes a litany of the contents of her backpack which is still with her. In it she still has her EpiPen which will serve a crucial purpose later in the book. You will want to explain what the EpiPen is for students who may not know. She also takes note of a photo album that she was brining to her cousin’s house. Sophia dozes off to sleep amidst having to worry about just how far from her family she may be, not yet having it in mind that she has been transported back in time. Points of connection for Muslim students Page 24 “Ya Rabbi” - means “Oh My Lord” - the word Rab means Lord in Arabic - the “i” at the end which is the long vowel “i” sound indicates first person possession in Arabic when attached to a noun. Page 26 “prayer rug” - Amidst her evaluation of items in her backpack Sophia has a prayer rug. The association of Muslims and prayer rugs is well known. Religiously there is nothing formal or necessary about the prayer rug, in mosques prayer rugs are not used. Muslims may or may not use them in there home, they serve the purpose of providing a clean piece of soft grounding in case it is not easily available, which is commonly the case when traveling as Sophia is here. The arabic word for the prayer rug is sajada which comes from the verb sujud which means “prostration” because the sajada is a thing to prostrate on. Page 30
“the afternoon prayer” - this is the third of the five daily prayers and it is called asr. The book mentions that it comes at the time in the afternoon where the sun has descended as such that the shadows of objects will be the same size as their actual shape, which is roughly halfway from noon to sundown. See her for talk on the time variations since these days the prayer times are all calculated by astrology (and have been for centuries) Muslims, especially younger ones, are not always aware of the reasons for why the prayer times come in when they do, so they might find learning this interesting. This wikipedia article has a cool description about how the prayer times are calculated, though it is probably better served for a math class, but if someone is wondering exactly how the prayer times are calculated it can be referenced.
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