This term, Year 2 pupils have been learning about Islam and Christianity through their enquiry questions…

Who is Muslim and how do they live?

Why does Christmas matter to Christians?

In order to learn from religious experts and make connections between these different religions, Year 2 embarked on an all-day outing to Truro Cathedral and the Carnon Downs Islamic Community Centre.

The festive season started early in Truro Cathedral, which was decorated with a truly magnificent Christmas tree, stood some 20ft tall!

The children enjoyed a Christmas workshop, which involved collaging angel Christmas cards. Each pupil was then given a decorative star, on which they wrote the name of a person who is special to them. These stars were later hung upon the cathedral’s Christmas tree.

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We were then taken on a magical tour of the building, learning and acting out the Nativity of Jesus along the way. Children were enthralled by the story, which developed their understanding of why Christmas is important to Christians.

After enjoying our lunch in the Cathedrals choir vestry, we continued our religious journey to the Carnon Downs Islamic Community Centre. This is the only masjid (another word for mosque) in Cornwall. One of the centre’s aims is to educate Muslims and Non-Muslims, both young and old, about the true teachings of Islam; “Peace”.

One of the masjid’s Imams, Mohammad, gave us a warm welcome into the beautiful building. Children demonstrated their respect for others’ beliefs and practices by taking off their shoes before entering the centre. Mohammad then enlightened us with an introductory presentation on Islam; he explained the Five Pillars of Islam, demonstrated passages of the Quran in Arabic and answered some very insightful questions from our pupils about their beliefs and practices.

“Why do Muslims pray?”

“Do Muslims celebrate Christmas?”

“Do you believe in Jesus?”

We were then taken on a tour of the masjid by one of their volunteers, Abdul-Bari, who showed us the washroom and prayer rooms. Our visit was wonderfully concluded with an Adhan (an Islamic call to public prayer). The children watched with wonder and fascination as Mohammad and Abdul-Bari demonstrated their daily prayer, facing east in the direction of Mecca.

Following this trip, Year 2 pupils wrote some wonderfully detailed recounts of the visits to these religious buildings, demonstrating the impacts of the experience.  They have continued the pursuit of their enquiry questions in English lessons, in which pupils have been making connections between Islam and Christianity by discussing and writing about the similarities and differences of their beliefs and practices.