Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

My name is Ms. Voyle and I am really excited to be teaching you your reading lesson today, where we are going to be understanding the authorial context of the story, "The Proudest Blue".

For this lesson, you need a copy of the 2020 Andersen Press edition of "The Proudest Blue" by Ibtihaj Muhammad.

Pause the video and get your copy of the book now.

Great.

Now I know you have the book with you.

During this lesson, you'll need to be listening and looking carefully, and there will also be tasks where you need somebody to talk to.

I hope you are feeling excited and ready to learn.

Let's get started.

The learning outcome for today's lesson is I can understand the author's life and why they chose to write "The Proudest Blue".

Here are our key words for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn.

Author, hijab, fencing, proud.

Good job.

Well done.

We will be hearing these words lot throughout the lesson and looking at their meaning.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will have an introduction to the book.

And in the second part, we will be understanding authorial context.

So, let's begin with an introduction to the book.

"The Proudest Blue".

"The Proudest Blue" is a children's picture book, which celebrates the importance and the beauty of the hijab.

The book is inspired by the author's own life experiences.

The author of "The Proudest Blue" is Ibtihaj Muhammad alongside SK Ali.

And the illustrator of the book is named Hatem Aly.

"The Proudest Blue" tells the story of a girl named Asiya getting her first hijab.

What is a hijab? A hijab is a head covering worn by some Muslim women.

A hijab normally covers the hair, ears, and neck of the person wearing it.

The story is told from the perspective of Faiza and written about her big sister, Asiya.

Here is the front cover of our book, "The Proudest Blue".

Take a look at it.

What can you see? Do you know which of the characters is Faiza and which is Asiya? This little girl in the boat in the illustration is Faiza, and we can see that she's looking up at her big sister who is called Asiya, and we can see that Asiya is wearing a hijab.

The title of the book is "The Proudest Blue", because it is about being proud to wear the hijab.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false, "The Proudest Blue" tells a story which celebrates the importance and beauty of the hijab.

Pause the video and answer now.

That is true.

Well done.

Ibtihaj Muhammad wrote "The Proudest Blue" to celebrate the importance and beauty of the hijab, and she does that through her storytelling.

Why do some Muslim women wear a hijab? A Muslim person is a follower of the religion of Islam.

Now, I'm sure you will have heard of the religion Islam in your religious education lessons, but let's remind ourselves a little bit about it.

Islam is a religion which is centred on the Quran.

That is the Islamic Holy Book, and the Islamic Holy Book contains teachings of Muhammed, the prophet of Allah, who is the Islamic God.

Many Muslim women view wearing the hijab as an expression of their faith.

Personal reasons for wearing it may vary.

This means that if you spoke to different women who wear the hijab, they might give you slightly different reasons that it's important to them.

But mostly, they all consider it as a form of expressing their faith.

Let's check your understanding.

Why do some Muslim women traditionally wear the hijab? A, because they like how it looks.

B, as an expression of their Islamic faith.

Or C, to keep their head and ears warm.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is B.

Muslim women traditionally wear the hijab as an expression of their Islamic faith.

Well done.

It's now time for your first task.

Match the vocabulary to the correct definition.

The vocabulary is Islam, Muslim, and hijab.

The definitions are a follower of the religion of Islam, a head covering worn by some Muslim women, and a religion centred on the Quran and the teachings of Mohamed, the prophet of Allah.

Pause the video and match the vocabulary to the correct definition now.

Let's take a look at the answers.

Islam is a religion centred on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammed, the prophet of Allah.

A Muslim is a follower of the religion of Islam.

And a hijab is a head covering worn by some Muslim women.

Well done for developing and demonstrating your knowledge of vocabulary on this subject.

It will really help you when understanding the meaning behind the story of "The Proudest Blue".

It's now time for the second part of our lesson, where we will be understanding the authorial context of the book, "The Proudest Blue".

The author of "The Proudest Blue" is Ibtihaj Muhammad.

What does authorial context mean? Context means the circumstances surrounding something.

Understanding the authorial context of a book means understanding how it is linked to the circumstances of the author's life.

So, we are going to be learning a bit more about Ibtihaj Muhammad and how her life impacted the writing of the story, "The Proudest Blue", Who is Ibtihaj Muhammad? Take a look at this picture of Ibtihaj.

She is dressed in sports gear.

Do you know which sport she plays? Ibtihaj Muhammad is an American fencer and member of the United States Fencing Team.

That is the name of her sport, fencing.

Ibtihaj is of African American descent, and she was born and raised in New Jersey, United States of America.

Ibtihaj was raised in the Islamic faith and began wearing a hijab at a young age.

And as you can see in this picture, she wears her hijab while playing her sport, fencing.

Let's check your understanding.

Which sport does Ibtihaj Mohammad compete in? A, football, B, gymnastics, or C, fencing? Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is C.

Ibtihaj Muhammad competes in the sport of fencing.

Fencing is a sport that features sword fighting.

Well done.

Why did Ibtihaj Muhammad pursue fencing? Let's find out.

Wearing a hijab poses practical difficulties in some sports, and it is even banned in some cases.

Ibtihaj Mohammad's parents wanted to find a sport that she could participate in that would allow her to still wear her hijab, and that is how they found and chose fencing for her.

Fences wear masks to cover and protect their faces and heads.

This made fencing a sport which would not prevent Ibtihaj from wearing her hijab.

She is able to wear her hijab underneath her fencing mask while she competes.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false.

Ibtihaj Muhammad's career choice was influenced by her family's religious beliefs.

Pause the video and answer now.

That is true.

Well done.

We know that Ibtihaj's parents wanted to find a sport that Ibtihaj could play, which would not prevent her from wearing her hijab.

So, we know lots about Ibtihaj Muhammad, the sport she plays, and why she chose that sport.

Let's learn a little bit more about why she has become culturally significant.

She competed for the United States National Fencing Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal for her achievements.

She was the first woman to ever wear a hijab while competing for the USA in the Olympics.

Ibtihaj became a significant symbol for diversity and inclusion within sports and wider society.

This is really inspiring for many others who would like to see people like themselves represented in sports.

Let's check your understanding.

Why was Ibtihaj Muhammad's participation in the Olympics so significant? A, because she won a gold medal for the USA.

B, because she was the first African American to compete for the USA.

Or C, because she was the first woman to compete for the USA while wearing a hijab.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is C.

Well done.

Winning a bronze medal is a fantastic achievement, but Ibtihaj Muhammad's participation in the Olympics became even more significant because she was the first woman to compete for the USA while wearing a hijab.

What made Ibtihaj Muhammad become an author too? Ibtihaj Muhammad is the author of three books, all of which are about or inspired by her own life.

"The Proudest Blue" is inspired by Ibtihaj's own experiences of wearing the hijab when she was growing up.

The two main characters, Faiza and Asiya, are named after Ibtihaj's sisters.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false.

Ibtihaj Muhammad completely made up the story of "The Proudest Blue".

Pause the video and answer now.

That is false.

Well done.

It is a narrative and there are elements of storytelling involved.

But the story is inspired by Ibtihaj's own experience of wearing the hijab and her characters are inspired by her sisters in real life too.

It's now time for your task.

Reflect on what you have learned about "The Proudest Blue" and Ibtihaj Muhammad.

Why do you think Ibtihaj was inspired to write this children's story? Your sentence starters are, I think Ibtihaj felt or I think Ibtihaj wanted.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Welcome back.

Well done for some fantastic partner talk.

I really enjoyed hearing some of your answers.

You listened so well to Ibtihaj Muhammad's life experiences and considered why this influenced her to write "The Proudest Blue".

Let's take a look at a couple of the answers I heard.

I think Ibtihaj felt proud of her hijab and her religion, and wanted to demonstrate the beauty of it to young girls who wear the hijab.

This is a wonderful answer.

It considers how Ibtihaj wants to pass on her feelings and her pride around her hijab to young girls who might read her story and be inspired.

I think Ibtihaj wanted to help children who might feel different to be proud of who they are and celebrate their differences.

This is a wonderful answer too, because it is so important for young people to see themselves represented in stories.

And "The Proudest Blue" achieves this for young Muslim girls.

We've now come to the end of our lesson, so let's go over a summary together.

The author of "The Proudest Blue" is Ibtihaj Muhammad, written alongside SK Ali.

"The Proudest Blue" is a children's picture book, which celebrates importance and beauty of the hijab.

"The Proudest Blue" is inspired by the author's own life.

Ibtihaj Muhammad was the first American fencing player to wear the hijab and participate in the Olympics.

Ibtihaj wrote "The Proudest Blue", so that young girls who wear the hijab can see themselves represented and feel proud.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson as much as I've enjoyed teaching it.

Well done for your hard work.