NEW Junior Cycle Religion
A Question of Faith ,
Lori Whelan Niamh McDermott Alex Coulter
The Educational Company of Ireland
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Teacher’s Resource Book
A Question of Faith Teacher’s Resource Book New Junior Cycle Religion
Sample Chapter
Lori Whelan Niamh McDermott Alex Coulter The Educational Company of Ireland
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First published 2019 The Educational Company of Ireland Ballymount Road Walkinstown Dublin 12 www.edco.ie A member of the Smurfit Kappa Group plc Š Lori Whelan, Niamh McDermott, Alex Coulter, 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior permission of the Publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in Ireland issued by the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency, 63 Patrick Street, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
Editor: Caitriona Clarke Design and Layout: emc design Cover Design: emc design Cover Photography: Shutterstock: 13_Phunkod Photos: Shutterstock: p.3, 13_Phunkod; p.5, Olga Zarytska; p.6, Suravid; p.7, Sondem; Getty: p.17, Tiziana Fabi. While every care has been taken to trace and acknowledge copyright, the publishers tender their apologies for any accidental infringement where copyright has proved untraceable. They would be pleased to come to a suitable arrangement with the rightful owner in each case. Web references in this book are intended as a guide for teachers. At the time of going to press, all web addresses were active and contained information relevant to the topics in this book. However, The Educational Company of Ireland and the authors do not accept responsibility for the views or information contained on these websites. Content and addresses may change beyond our control and pupils should be supervised when investigating websites.
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A Q U E S T I O N O F FA I T H
WELCOME TO A Question of Faith Teacher’s Resource Book
The Teacher’s Resource Book for A Question of Faith is designed to help you in your planning and teaching. It contains all the relevant information you will need on the new specification in one, easy-to-access place. Detailed yearly plans will show you how to link material and make departmental planning easier. Sample methodologies and assessments are included for every chapter, and content and solutions are provided in order to save you time. This document outlines the course and learning outcomes. It details assessment and reporting for the new curriculum and provides a year plan for First Year, which shows you how the spiral approach to teaching the new specification can work. Activities are explained, and all templates will be available to download from www.edcolearning.ie. There will also be photocopiable pages for use in the classroom. Lori Whelan, Niamh McDermott and Alex Coulter, 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
Introduction
4
2
Assessment and Reporting
9
3
First Year Plan
12
4
Assessment Activities
15
5
Chapter 1: The Five Major World Religions
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TEACHER’S RESOURCE BOOK – SAMPLE CHAPTER
1. Introduction Course Outline Junior Cycle Religious Education has been designed for a minimum of 200 hours of timetabled student engagement across three years of Junior Cycle. The ClassroomBased Assessments (CBAs) and externally assessed final examination will be set at a common level.
Strands There are three strands in the Junior Cycle Religious Education Specification: Expressing beliefs, Exploring questions and Living our values.
Expressing beliefs This strand develops students’ ability to understand, respect and appreciate how people’s beliefs have been expressed in the past and continue to be expressed today through lifestyle, culture, rites and rituals, community building, social action and ways of life. It enables students to appreciate how people express and live out their different beliefs – religious or otherwise. It also focuses on understanding and appreciating that diversity exists within religions.
Exploring questions This strand enables students to explore some of the questions of meaning, purpose and relationships that people wonder about and to discover how people with different religious beliefs and other interpretations of life respond to these questions. It focuses on students developing the knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes and values that will allow them to question, probe, interpret, analyse and reflect on these big questions. It will help students to develop these attributes in dialogue with each other.
Living our values This strand focuses on enabling students to understand and reflect on the values that underlie actions and to recognise how moral decision-making works in their own lives and in the lives of others based on particular values and/or beliefs. It also enables students to engage in informed discussion about moral issues and to communicate respectfully and explain their personal opinions, values and beliefs.
Learning Outcomes Each strand contains ten Learning Outcomes (LOs). These learning outcomes are at the heart of the programme. The LOs do not have to be taught in any particular order. Some chapters in the textbook will cover or incorporate several learning outcomes. Most LOs will be revisited in later chapters. It is not intended that students will fully cover one LO and move on from it. Some of the LOs are more demanding than others. Remember, it is a three-year programme and therefore students are not expected to fully grasp any specific LO until the end of the three years. Teachers must decide which LOs should be studied at what stage of the three-year cycle. This will depend on the context and on the students’ ability. An example of this would be in Chapter 1, which covers (among other LOs) LO 1.1, which is ‘present the key religious beliefs of the five major world religions found in Ireland today’. You might only cover two of the five major world religions’ beliefs as presented in one year and come back to the other three the following year if you feel it is too much for students to do all five religions at once. 4
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A Q U E S T I O N O F FA I T H
Strand 1: Expressing beliefs Elements
Learning outcomes Students should be able to:
Enquiry
1.1 Present the key religious beliefs of the five major world religions found in Ireland today
Exploration
1.2 Investigate two communities of faith that have a significant presence in their locality/ region (the communities of faith chosen must be associated with two of the five major world religions studied in the specification)
Reflection and Action
1.3 Engage with members of a faith community associated with one of the five major world religions studied in the specification and show an appreciation of how the religious beliefs of the community influence the day-to-day life of its members 1.4 Investigate how Christianity has contributed to Irish culture and heritage 1.5 Explore the presence of religious themes in contemporary culture through an examination of art, music, literature or film 1.6 Examine and appreciate how people give expression to religious belief in religious rituals, in formal places of worship and other sacred spaces 1.7 Discuss the significance of non-religious rituals/celebrations for people’s lives 1.8 Describe the role of prayer in the lives of people of faith 1.9 Explain what was involved in the development of a sacred text within a major world religion and consider its continued significance for the lives of believers 1.10 Discuss the importance of dialogue and interaction between major world religions and within major world religions in promoting peace and reconciliation in the world today 1.11 Research religious or other organisations, working at a national or international level to promote justice, peace and reconciliation and consider how their work is an expression of their founding vision 1.12 Synthesise and consider the insights gained about how people express and live out their beliefs, religious or otherwise
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TEACHER’S RESOURCE BOOK – SAMPLE CHAPTER
Strand 2: Exploring questions Elements
Learning outcomes Students should be able to:
Enquiry
2.1 Research artistic, architectural or archaeological evidence that shows ways in which people have searched for meaning and purpose in life
Exploration Reflection and Action
2.2 Consider responses from one major world religion and from a non-religious world view to some big questions about the meaning of life, such as, why are we here? How should we live? What happens when we die? 2.3 Explore how different narratives/stories, religious and non-religious, express an understanding of creation/the natural world, and consider their meaning and relevance for today 2.4 Research and present the understandings of the Divine found in two major world religions drawing upon their origins in sacred texts and/or other sources of authority 2.5 Create a biography of a founder or early followers of a major world religion, using religious and historical sources of information 2.6 Construct a timeline of one major world religion, making reference to key people, times of expansion and times of challenge 2.7 Explore how the religious teachings of a major world religion address an issue of concern for the world today 2.8 Present stories of individuals or of groups in the history of two major world religions that have had a positive impact on the lives of people because of their commitment to living out their beliefs 2.9 Describe how the faith of a believer can change at different stages in life 2.10 Synthesise and consider the insights gained about how people with different religious beliefs and other interpretations of life respond to questions of meaning, purpose and relationships.
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A Q U E S T I O N O F FA I T H
Strand 3: Living our values Elements
Learning outcomes Students should be able to:
Enquiry
3.1 Examine different sources of values and ways in which the values of a person relate to their everyday life choices, their relationships, and their responsibilities to others.
Exploration Reflection and Action
3.2 Reflect upon and discuss what it means to be moral, why people living in society need to be moral and what are the influences on and sources of authority for a person’s moral decision-making 3.3 Examine a moral code in each of the five major world religions and discuss how each moral code could influence moral decision-making for believers 3.4 Investigate what living a morally good life means with reference to two major world religions and compare with a non-religious world view 3.5 Examine how a moral decision-making process can help a person decide what is right and wrong in an everyday life situation 3.6 Debate a moral issue that arises in their lives and consider what influences two different viewpoints on the issue 3.7 Research the understanding of compassion, justice, peace and reconciliation found in two major world religions and ways in which these understandings can be seen in action 3.8 Explain how an understanding of care for the earth found in a major world religion promotes the wellbeing of all people and the planet and discuss its relevance for today 3.9 Synthesise and consider the insights gained about the norms, values and principles that inform decision-making and actions in the lives of people.
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TEACHER’S RESOURCE BOOK – SAMPLE CHAPTER
Teaching and Learning The new Junior Cycle places the student at the centre of the educational experience. Rather than just imparting information and content to the students, Junior Cycle Religious Education should provide a space for students to discuss deep questions relating to life, meaning and relationships. As a result, the activities and indeed content are much more active in nature than the old curriculum. This active learning approach will help students to develop a range of skills which are contained in the new Junior Cycle as a whole.
Source: NCCA
While suggestions are given in the textbook for different types of active learning, these are by no means exhaustive. The teacher will have much more autonomy when it comes to choosing content, too. For example, while the textbook might cover LO 2.7 (‘explore how the religious teachings of a major world religion address an issue of concern for the world today’) using the topic of poverty, a teacher might decide that their class has more of an interest in using a different topic such as climate change. Remember, once the students are meeting the learning outcomes, a teacher can use a variety of different content and sources, depending on the students’ ability and interests. The idea is that students should find insight in what they learn, which they can apply to their own lives. For example, regardless of their own religious beliefs, perhaps a student might find something in their study of Buddhism which they can apply to their own life. Overall, students should debate, discuss and engage with the material presented. 8
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A Q U E S T I O N O F FA I T H
2. Assessment and Reporting The Junior Cycle places a strong emphasis on assessment as part of the learning process. This approach requires a more varied approach to assessment in ensuring that the assessment method or methods chosen are fit for purpose, timely and relevant to the students. Assessment in Junior Cycle Religious Education will enhance the opportunity for students to become reflective and active participants in their learning and for teachers to support this. Providing focused feedback to students on their learning is a critical component of high-quality assessment. It is a key factor in building students’ capacity to manage their own learning and to encourage their motivation to stick with a difficult task or problem. Assessment is most effective when it moves beyond marks and grades and when reporting focuses not just on how the student has done in the past but on the next steps for further learning. Final assessment still has a role to play, but is only one element of a broader approach to assessment. Essentially, the purpose of assessment and reporting at this stage of education is to support learning.
Assessment for the JCPA The assessment of Religious Education for the purposes of the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA) will comprise two Classroom-Based Assessments – ‘A person of commitment’ and ‘The human search for meaning’ – and a final examination. In addition, students complete a written Assessment Task related to the second Classroom-Based Assessment, which is submitted to the State Examinations Commission for marking along with the final examination.
Rationale for the Classroom-Based Assessments in Religious Education Classroom-Based Assessments are the occasions when the teacher assesses the students in the specific assessments that are set out in the specification. Classroom-Based Assessments are like the formative assessment that occurs every day in every class. However, in the case of the Classroom-Based Assessments, the teacher’s judgement is recorded for the purpose of subject learning and assessment review, and for the school’s reporting to parents and students. The Classroom-Based Assessments will relate to the students’ work during second and third year of Junior Cycle education. The ClassroomBased Assessments link to the priorities for learning and teaching in Junior Cycle Religious Education. Therefore, the Classroom-Based Assessments are designed to support students’ engagement in enquiry, exploration and reflection and action. As they actively engage in practical and meaningful learning experiences that are of personal interest and relevance to them, the Classroom-Based Assessments will provide an opportunity for students to: • Research a topic of personal interest • Use digital technology to learn and to present their learning • Analyse information and draw personal conclusions and insights • Engage in learning beyond the classroom • Make plans, set goals and evaluate their progress in achieving their goals • Communicate clearly and effectively • Collaborate with others on tasks • Reflect on their learning. Through these Classroom-Based Assessments, students will develop their knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes and values, thereby achieving a range of learning outcomes across the strands.
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TEACHER’S RESOURCE BOOK – SAMPLE CHAPTER
Classroom-Based Assessment 1 Title
Format
Student preparation
Completion of assessment
A person of commitment
Individual or group report that may be presented in a wide range of formats
Students will, over a specified time, research and present on a person whose religious beliefs or worldview has had a positive impact on the world around them, past or present.
Towards the end of second year
Classroom-Based Assessment 2 Title
Format
Student preparation
Completion of assessment
The human search for meaning
Individual or group report that may be presented in a wide range of formats
Students will, over a specified time, explore artistic or architectural or archaeological evidence that shows ways that people have engaged in religious belief/the human search for meaning and purpose of life.
During the first term of third year
Assessment Task On completion of the second Classroom-Based Assessment, students will undertake an Assessment Task that will be marked by the State Examinations Commission and allocated 10% of the marks. The Assessment Task will assess students in aspects of their learning including their ability to reflect on: • New knowledge or understanding that has emerged through their experience of the ClassroomBased Assessment and what that means for them • The skills, attitudes and values they have developed, and their capacity to apply them in the future • The beliefs and perspectives they have encountered through the experience of the Classroom-Based Assessment and how this will assist them in meeting the challenges of life.
The Final Examination There will be one examination paper at a common level, set by the State Examinations Commission (SEC). The examination will be two hours in duration and will take place at the end of third year. During this assessment, students will be required to engage with, demonstrate comprehension of, and provide written responses to stimulus material. In any year, the learning outcomes to be assessed will constitute a sample of the relevant outcomes from the three tables of learning outcomes outlined in the specification. The authors will post extra material in relation to Assessment and Reporting when detailed guidelines are available from the NCCA. This will be available at www.edcolearning.ie.
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A Q U E S T I O N O F FA I T H
Layout of a Classroom-Based Assessment Let’s have a look at how Classroom-Based Assessment 1: ‘A Person of Commitment’ might be laid out for students. This CBA can be done through an individual or group report that may be presented in a wide range of formats. Students will, over a definite time (four weeks at the most for CBA1), research and present on a person whose religious beliefs or worldview has had a positive impact on the world around them, past or present. The following outlines how students might be advised on structuring and carrying out their work.
Step 1/Weeks 1/2: Investigating • Once you have decided on a ‘person of commitment’, do some investigative work to find out more information. • Gather all sources (primary and secondary) that you research. • Record the sources gathered to assess reliability and quality. • Ensure you look at different perspectives and differing viewpoints.
Examples of ‘People of Commitment’: • Fr Peter McVerry
• Frances Margaret Taylor
• Sr Stanislaus Kennedy
• Catherine McAuley
• Brother Kevin Crowley
• Margaret Aylward
• Dali Lama
• Edmund Rice
• Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri
• Mary Ward
• Nano Nagle
Step 2/Weeks 2/3: Reflecting on learning Having started some original investigative work on a ‘person of commitment’, you should: • Evaluate what you have learned about this person • Reflect on whether you think differently about things now. What have you learned about this person? Can you apply any of this to your own life? What do you think of the person you have researched?
Step 3/Weeks 3/4: Communicating/Presentations At some stage you will present this information to the class, so presentation practice is essential. The information gathered should be presented in your own words and show how you understand and appreciate the ‘person of commitment’ you chose to study. The presentation should be about three minutes long. You can use notes if you need too. Structure the presentation in the following way: 1 Identify and offer a brief summary of the topic chosen. 2 Explain why you chose this ‘person of commitment’. 3 Think about what you have learned as a result of all your investigative work. 4 Reflect on your learning: do you think any differently about things now? 5 Present your own opinion on the topic.
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Learning Outcomes
Textbook chapters in this term
1.1 1.3 2.4
Ch. 1: The Five Major World Religions (pp. 3–15) Ch. 2: Communities of Faith (pp. 16–20) Ch. 14: Understanding of God (pp. 127–34)
Expressing Religious Beliefs
1.8 2.9
Ch. 7: Prayer (pp. 62–72) Ch. 19: Stages of Faith (pp. 187–94)
November–Christmas (7 weeks)
Communities of Faith and their Religious Beliefs
August–Mid-Term (approx. 8.5 weeks)
Theme
By the end of this term, students will: • Present their findings on the importance of prayer to people of faith (ref. pp. 65, 68) • Recall the unique actions contained in either a Jewish or Islamic prayer (ref. p. 72) • Understand and list the different stages of faith development (ref. pp. 193, 194)
By the end of this term, students will: • Be able to present a group presentation on some of the key religious beliefs of Christianity (ref. p. 9) • Compare and contrast the key beliefs of major world religions (ref. p. 15) • List the communities of faith found in their locality (ref. p. 17) • Reflect on how the religious beliefs of a young Muslim affects their life (ref. p. 20) • Design an interview based on a major world religion’s understanding of God (ref. p. 134)
Learning Intentions
Write a paragraph in response to each of the following questions: 1. How do people of different faiths pray? e.g. Place of worship/ at home, ra’ka etc. 2. Why do you think prayer is important to people of faith? 3. How has prayer affected the life of one person you have studied in this chapter? In pairs, create a Diamond Nine with a list of possible challenges to the faith development of a young person, e.g. social media.
Create a quiz with possible answers on the five major world religions. Research and prepare a presentation on one community of faith in your local area. Write an essay entitled ‘My Understanding of God’.
Summative Assessment
This is a sample First Year Plan layout – you can use this as a guideline to plan your lessons.
3. First Year Plan
(Ch. 7) Working with others; Communicating; Being literate; Managing information and thinking; Being creative (Ch. 19) Communicating; Managing myself; Managing information and thinking; Working with others
(Ch. 1) Being literate; Working with others; Communicating; Being creative; Managing information and thinking (Ch. 2) Working with others; Managing information and thinking; Communicating; Being creative; Managing myself (Ch. 14) Being literate; Managing information and thinking; Working with others; Being creative
Key skills
TEACHER’S RESOURCE BOOK – SAMPLE CHAPTER
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3.4
3.3
Extraordinary People
2.8
2.5
February–Easter (6 weeks)
Making Decisions
January–Mid-Term (6 weeks)
Ch. 18: The Positive Impact of Religious People (pp. 178–86)
Ch. 15: The Life of Jesus Christ and the Development of the Bible (pp. 135–57)
Ch. 24: Moral Decisionmaking Process (pp. 252–69)
Ch. 23: Moral Codes (pp. 239–51)
• Explain the positive impact that Martin Luther King Jr had on others (ref. p. 183)
• Explore what makes somebody an ‘inspirational’ person (ref. p. 179)
• Use role play to illustrate their understanding of at least one parable of Jesus (ref. p. 157)
• Explore similarities and differences contained in the oral and written traditions (ref. p. 149)
• Recall key facts about Palestine and the Holy Roman Empire (ref. pp. 138–40)
By the end of this term, students will:
• Explain both religious and non-religious perspectives on sin (ref. p. 269)
• Recall a story based on the power of forgiveness (ref. pp. 262–3, 267)
• Define the term ‘moral vision’ and illustrate their own understanding of this term (ref. p. 256)
• Compare the moral codes of at least two world religions (ref. pp. 244, 251)
• List the different codes that exist in their local community (ref. pp. 240–1)
By the end of this term, students will:
(Ch. 24) Staying well; Managing myself; Working with others; Being creative; Communicating; Managing information and thinking
• Personality
(Ch. 15) Communicating; Being creative; Being literate; Managing information and thinking; Working with others; Being numerate; Managing myself (Ch. 18) Communicating; Working with others; Being literate; Managing information and thinking
Using the app ‘Book Creator’, design a biography detailing the significant moments in the life of Jesus or Write a blurb (a short promotional piece) for a biography you are writing on the life of Jesus. Write the transcript of an interview between you and Martin Luther King Jr. Use the questions gathered during Think, Pair, Share (pp. 183) to guide the interview.
Create a moral code inspired by the five major world religions entitled ‘Universal Code of Behaviour’. Write a paragraph explaining the choices you have made.
• Random facts.
• Quotes
• Personal information/ statistics
(Ch. 23) Staying well; Managing myself; Working with others; Being creative; Communicating; Managing information and thinking
Create a character profile on someone who has shown forgiveness using the following headings:
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Helping Others
2.6
1.11
Easter–Summer (6 weeks)
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Ch. 17: How Christianity Addresses the Issue of Poverty (pp. 170–7)
Ch. 9: Justice, Peace and Reconciliation (pp. 82–8)
• Research the history and mission of at least one Christian organisation fighting issues of poverty today (ref. p. 177)
• Develop their understanding of different types of poverty (ref. p. 171)
• Recognise the role of reconciliation in building a peaceful society (ref. p. 87)
• Demonstrate their understanding of the term ‘reconciliation’ (ref. p. 83)
By the end of this term, students will:
• What do we have to do/ avoid doing?
• Does our campaign have a unique name/slogan?
• Who are we raising money/ awareness for?
Research Trócaire’s ‘Sign up Sign out Challenge’, a campaign designed to encourage participation in fundraising and raising awareness for issues of poverty. Design your own campaign using ideas from the Trócaire campaign if you wish. Some questions to get you started include:
• Reconciliation
• Peace
• Justice
Write one paragraph on your attitudes towards each of the following:
(Ch. 17) Staying well; Managing myself; Working with others; Being creative; Being literate; Managing information and thinking; Communicating
(Ch. 9) Being literate; Being numerate; Working with others; Communicating
TEACHER’S RESOURCE BOOK – SAMPLE CHAPTER
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A Q U E S T I O N O F FA I T H
4. Assessment Activities 1. What Do You See? An image will be provided in relation to each chapter with questions to prompt student discussion. This activity can be used as an introduction to each chapter. It could take on the form of a ‘Think, Pair, Share’ activity, or alternatively the questions can be used to prompt a class discussion. This image can be accessed on www.edcolearning.ie. See this activity in action for Chapter 1 on page 17.
2. Beat the Teacher! Students are presented with ten statements and must work together to correct any false or misleading information. See page 18 for further details on carrying out this activity and sample questions for Chapter 1.
3. Bingo Card Students design a bingo grid in their class copies and choose nine key terms from a list that the teacher provides. The teacher then calls out words at random that students must fill in until achieving a ‘full house’. See page 19 for further details on carrying out this activity and sample terms for Chapter 1.
4. Diary Entry Students write a diary entry to display their understanding of a topic from the chapter in question. See this activity in action for Chapter 1 on page 20.
5. Diamond Nine Students can use this diamond grid to rank their ideas in order of importance. This template can be photocopied and used for any chapter as you deem appropriate. See page 21 for further details on this activity. (A template will be provided in the full edition of this Teacher’s Resource Book as well as online.)
6. Placemat Students work in groups to discuss and revise their knowledge of a topic/answer questions on a topic. This template can be photocopied and used for any chapter as you deem appropriate. See page 21 for further details on this activity. (A template will be provided in the full edition of this Teacher’s Resource Book as well as online.)
7. KWL Students can fill this template out at the start and end of the chapter to review what it is they know, what they would like to know, and what they have learned upon completion of the chapter. See page 22 for this template, which will also be available on www.edcolearning.ie to download and print off.
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TEACHER’S RESOURCE BOOK – SAMPLE CHAPTER
5. Chapter 1: The Five Major World Religions Statement of Learning
Learning Outcomes
Key Skills
SOL 6: The student appreciates and respects how diverse values, beliefs and traditions have contributed to the communities and culture in which he/she lives.
1.1 present the key religious beliefs of the five major world religions found in Ireland today
Being literate
SOL 8: The student values local, national and international heritage, understands the importance of the relationship between the past and current events and the forces that drive change.
2.4 research and present the understandings of God/Gods/ the Transcendent found in two major world religions drawing upon their origins in sacred texts and/or other sources of authority
pp. 3–15
Working with others Communicating Being creative Managing information and thinking Staying well Managing myself
2.5 create a biography of a founder or early followers of a major world religion, using religious and historical sources of information 3.4 investigate what living a morally good life means with reference to two major world religions and compare with a non-religious world view
Action verbs
Present:
Show something for others to examine.
Research:
Find suitable information, sort, record, analyse and draw conclusions.
Create:
Bring something into existence, cause something to happen as a result of one’s actions.
Examine:
Enquire into, look closely at an argument or concept in a way that uncovers its origins, assumptions and relationships.
Evaluating Student Learning – Chapter 1 Here are some activities you could ask your students to carry out in relation to Chapter 1 to evaluate their learning: 1 Discuss the importance of unity despite the different beliefs of world religions. 2 Describe everyday examples of extreme luxury and hardship. 3 Display how beliefs and guidelines shape the life of a Buddhist. 4 Create a storyboard summarising significant moments in Jesus’s life. 5 Design a poster with some findings about one of the three Hindu gods. 6 Discuss the consequences of good and bad actions. 7 Recall key ideas related to the study of Islam. 8 Label each of the Five Pillars of Islam and describe the significance of each. 9 Research the key beliefs of Judaism and identify similarities with other major world religions. 16
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A Q U E S T I O N O F FA I T H
1. What Do You See?
A meeting of the World Council of Churches, Geneva, 21 June 2018
1
Are there any religions represented in this photograph that you recognise?
2
Do any clothes or symbols help you identify the religions to which these people belong?
3
Do you think these people have any similarities or differences?
4
What do you think people do/discuss at the World Council of Churches?
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TEACHER’S RESOURCE BOOK – SAMPLE CHAPTER
2. Beat the Teacher! Instructions 1 Begin by explaining that you will read a passage/write an extract on the board/explain an idea, etc., but that there will be mistakes in the work. 2 Students will work individually to record any mistakes. 3 When your presentation has finished, students work in pairs to compare and discuss their results and then come up with a combined list. 4 Ask each pair to contribute a mistake that they had noted. The class then discusses this mistake in order to clarify each point. 5 To finish, everyone writes up the corrections given by you.
Applications • Students actively listen and recap on their knowledge by noting and correcting mistakes.
Why do it? • Can help to create a better relationship between the teacher and the class. • Ensures all students are alert and engaging with the class. • A novelty for students to challenge the teacher, making it a fun and motivating game. • Aids in students’ understanding and allows them to collaborate with others.
Variations • The game can be adapted by having the students race the teacher to do something faster, e.g. write a sample answer, explain a passage, create a set of notes on a passage, etc. Students could work in groups to make this easier. • The rules can be reversed so that the students devise a presentation containing intentional mistakes. The teacher must spot each mistake in order to win; if not, the teacher has been beaten. • The students can work in pairs to come up with questions based on the work initially presented by the teacher and then present these questions to the teacher, which the teacher then has to answer. The teacher is awarded one point for every question answered off the top of their head. However, if the teacher fails to do so, and has to look up the answer, the class earn the point and have beaten the teacher.
Sample questions for Chapter 1 • The Middle Way is the Path to true happiness according to Buddhism. ✓ • Hinduism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama. ✗ • Jesus grew up in the province of Bethlehem. ✗ • The Ascension took place forty days after the Resurrection of Jesus. ✓ • Monotheism is the belief in many gods. ✗ • Karma means that if you live a good life, you will be rewarded. ✓ • Vishnu is one of the three most important Gods in Hinduism. ✓ • The Vedas is the holy book of Islam. ✗ • The Five Pillars of Islam guide Muslims in living a proper life. ✓ • The ten plagues were gifts God sent down to Pharaoh. ✗
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3. Bingo Card Instructions 1 Have students draw a rough, blank nine-square bingo grid into their copybooks or onto a sheet of A4 paper. 2 Write twelve key terms to do with the current topic on the board. 3 Students must fill in their nine squares using any nine of the twelve key terms from the board. 4 Call ‘eyes down’. Give the definition of the twelve key terms in any order (you could have the definitions written on flash cards beforehand). 5 Students cross off the term to match the definition and quickly jot down the definition they have matched to the term. When someone gets a line (horizontal, vertical, diagonal), they read out their terms and definitions to make sure they are right. The aim is to work towards a ‘full house’. The rest of the class either agree or disagree with the student’s answers.
Applications • Helps revise the topic just covered. • A fun way to do a test. • Helps to test what knowledge the students may have of a topic before learning about it. • Helps to end a lesson that has introduced a number of unfamiliar terms, in order to aid student learning.
Why do it? • Helps engage the students. • Informs both the teacher and the students about the level of the students’ understanding in terms of the topic, and therefore lets the teacher know if they will need to revise this topic. • Encourages students to learn in a fun way, and gives them a revision technique to use at home.
Variations • Different-sized grids (e.g. sixteen-square grids with twenty-five terms) can be used. • Instead of just definitions, tougher questions that display the standard of the official assessment can be introduced. • Students can be grouped into mixed-ability pairs instead of working individually. • Could also be used as a way to learn how to spell unfamiliar terms. Students can be asked to learn twelve terms and then choose nine of these to fill in their bingo grid from memory. The teacher then spells out the twelve words and the students cross them off if spelled correctly.
Sample terms for Chapter 1 • Monotheism – Belief in one God. • Muhammad – Last and greatest prophet of Islam. • Kaaba – Islam’s holiest shrine. • Qur’an – The sacred text of Islam. • Articles of Faith – Things Muslims must believe in. • Prophet – A messenger of God. • The Five Pillars of Islam – Performed by Muslims to live a proper life. • Wudu – A practice of cleaning before prayer. • Ra’ka – Set of movements during prayer. • Fasting – When you do not eat or drink for a period of time. • Ramadan – Name of the time when a Muslim fasts. • Hajj – A pilgrimage/special journey a Muslim makes once in their lifetime. 19
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4. Judaism Diary Entry Based on today’s learning, write a diary entry from the point of view of a slave living in Egypt during the ten plagues. What are your hopes, fears, feelings about Moses, etc.?
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5. Diamond Nine Instructions 1 Students are given a blank template (which will be available to photocopy in the full edition or to download from www.edcolearning.ie.) and asked to number each box from 1–9. 2 Students use this template to rank ideas from most/least important or to order opinions from ones they agree with the most to those they agree with the least. 3 Students will then explain to the rest of the class how they made each decision.
Applications • Could be used by student to create their own moral code, for example, and identify what they believe to be the most important rules in life to live by.
Why do it? • Encourages discussions and debate amongst students while also fostering an environment where independent learning can take place. • Allows students to peer-assess and express their own views to one another. • Helps students illustrate their own values and identify what is most important to them personally.
Variations • A ranking ladder or pyramid could be used to differentiate how students present their information. • Students could work as part of a ‘Think, Pair, Share’ where they must compare all of their Diamond Nines and decide on a ‘Combined Moral Code’ (in relation to Chapter 1, for example) that they can all agree on.
6. Placemat Instructions 1 Divide the class into groups of four. 2 Provide each group with one large sheet of paper/placemat (which will be available to photocopy in the full edition or to download from www.edcolearning.ie) and a marker for each group member. 3 If providing each group with a large sheet of paper, instruct each group to divide its sheet of paper into sections: an area in the centre and enough separate areas around the outside of this centre area for each member of the group to write into. 4 Ask groups to record their individual responses within their allotted space. 5 Provide time for each student in the group to share their recorded responses with the group without discussion or debate from the other students. 6 Students decide collectively on the 4–5 most important responses and write them in the centre of the placemat.
Applications • Students work in groups of five to provide a summary of the key beliefs of a major world religion (in relation to Chapter 1, for example). Each group is assigned one religion and they collectively decide on the five most interesting beliefs to record in the centre of their placemat.
Why do it? 1 Encourages collaborative learning and peer assessment in the classroom. 2 Models examples of good work completed by students. 3 Can be used to summarise key information at the end of a chapter.
Variations 1 Once students have their top five ideas, for example, they must present their findings to the rest of the class. 2 Students can create a slideshow/PowerPoint/poster explaining how they made their final choices. 21
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7. KWL
K What I Know
W What I Want To Know
L What I Learned
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In Your Own Classroom Learning Intentions
Success Criteria
Other Learning Experiences
Evaluation of Learning (if different)
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Recommended Digital Resources Kahoot www.kahoot.com Create an online quiz for your students to complete as revision for this chapter. Students will need access to the internet and can compete one vs one or as part of a team.
Mentimeter www.mentimeter.com Online voting app which collects students’ opinions in relation to a question or a specific teaching topic.
Powtoon www.powtoon.com Allows students to create an animated slideshow/video containing revision on a key idea.
Classtools www.classtools.net Some examples of apps that can be accessed on this website include random name generators to help differentiate questioning or a countdown timer to structure assessment activities.
Book Creator www.bookcreator.com Create interactive books, stories or comic strips on a new topic or on a person the students have recently studied.
Google Classroom www.classroom.google.com Online classroom set up by the teachers for their students. Can be used in a variety of ways such as setting homework, class assignments or sharing links to resources that aid student learning.
Quizlet www.quizlet.com Create flashcards based on key words from any chapter and test students on their definition, understanding and spelling of these words. Teachers can also browse for flashcards already created in relation to RE.
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