Viewing archives for Inspirational People

Karen Armstrong explains the concept behind the ‘Charter of Compassion’

An investigation into Sikh belief about God through a study of the Mool Mantar, the Enlightenment of Guru Nanak and the Ik Onkar symbol.

For KS2 pupils. Originally written by Gemma Kingston, updated in April 2019.

Key words and concepts

Amrit: Literally ‘Nectar’. A drink made from sugar dissolved in water and stirred with a sword – drunk during special ceremonies. Considered to be divine.

Guru: ‘Teacher’. The name given to the ten great human teachers of Sikhism and also to the Sikh holy book.

Guru Granth Sahib: The Sikh scripture. The tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh declared that there would be no other living Gurus after him, so instead Sikhs could look to their holy scriptures for guidance, so the holy book became the ‘Guru.’ It is a collection of teachings and writings by Guru Nanak and other Gurus as well as Sikh, Hindu and Muslim saints. These scriptures are written in Punjabi and are greatly respected by all Sikhs as the living word of God. The book is given the same respect as a human Guru.

Guru Nanak: The Sikh faith was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) and shaped by his nine successors in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in South Asia.

Gurdwara: a Sikh place of worship. Any building where the Guru Granth Sahib is kept is a Sikh place of worship. It is called the Gurdwara (‘Gateway to the Guru’). A focal point for the communitu.

Ik Onkar: pronounced ‘Ik O-an-kaar’. Design which represents the statement of faith ‘There is only one God’. The first phrase of the Mool Mantar. It is also used as a symbol to decorate Sikh objects. Punjabi – Found on turban badges.

Khalsa: The brotherhood of Sikhs, founded by the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

Monotheist: someone who believes in one God.

Mool Mantar: Basic teaching; essential teaching. The basic statement of belief at the beginning of the Guru Granth Sahib. The first hymn composed by Guru Nanak.

Punjab: ‘Land of Five Rivers’. The northern region of India where Sikhism originates from.

Sikh: The word ‘Sikh’ in the Punjabi language means ‘disciple’, Sikhs are the disciples of God who follow the writings and teachings of the Ten Sikh Gurus.

Sikhism: Sikhism is founded upon the life and teaching of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and nine successive gurus who lived in the northern part of South Asia between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. Sikhism is a worldwide religion with nearly 30 million adherents which is about 1% of the world’s population.

Waheguru: Wonderful Lord. A Sikh name for God.

Learning activities

You will need:

• the Ik Onkar symbol (shown below), images of Sikh artefacts bearing this symbol.

• A virtual tour of the Gurdwara, or images of a Gurdwara’s various areas.
• An audio file or video of the Mool Mantar, the Sikh prayer, as well as an image of the prayer in the Gurumurkhi script.
• Images and information about the Kara- one of the 5 K’s (a bangle).
• Information about Sarika Watkins-Singh, suspended for wearing her Kara to school.

ENQUIRE.Show the pupils a selection of images showing artefacts decorated with the Ik Onkar symbol, such as the below, and give them a chance to look carefully at the artefacts and notice anything each item has in common. Ask questions about the objects, their purpose and significance. Do they notice the symbol which appears in each?

Draw the pupils’ attention to the Ik Onkar Explain this is an important Sikh symbol which can be seen in many places such as badges, on the walls of a gurdwara and in the home.

Show pupils a selection of symbols from other religious traditions, such as the Jewish Star of David or the Christian cross. Ask pupils to suggest (a) what such symbols communicate to believers, and (b) how believers might use these symbols to show their beliefs. Encourage them to make a record of their answers.

Show pupils the Mool Mantar (sometimes written Mool Mantra) – see below – and ask if they can spot the symbol in the writing: can they work out from the translation what the symbol means? Explain that the first words of the Mool Mantar are ‘Ik Onkar’ meaning ‘there is one God’ and that the symbol acts as a visual reminder to Sikhs of what they believe about God and his oneness (monotheism).

Ask the pupils to design another object that includes the Ik Onkar symbol which would be for Sikhs a constant reminder of God’s oneness.

EXPLORE – A PLACE OF WORSHIP (GURDWARA). Explain the role of the Gurdwara in the Sikh community, perhaps by reading the relevant section of a text book on Sikhism. Point out that the Gurdwara is a focal point for the Sikh community and that it is open to all: it is a place of equality and sharing.

If it is not possible to take pupils to a gurdwara, take them through the virtual tour of a Gurdwara via an online video tour. Ask pupils to look carefully for any Ik Onkar symbols. Encourage pupils to reflect on their significance and ask them to suggest how attending the Gurdwara might inspire Sikhs to treat other people in a kind way. Encourage them to note down their reflections and to say what visits they have made that have inspired them.

EXPLORE – SIKH TEXT. Together with pupils, read the translation of the Mool Mantar – see below. Show the Mool Mantar in its original script (Gurmukhi – the script in which the Punjabi language is written).

Explain that the Mool Mantar means ‘basic teaching’ and is found at the beginning of every section of the Guru Granth Sahib. It is very much like a Sikh creed, the ‘essence’ of the teachings, repeated each day during early morning prayer.

The Mool Mantar – basic teaching

Encourage pupils to memorise the first few lines and ask them why Sikhs might memorise the whole Mool Mantar. Point out that most Sikhs will have heard the Mool Mantar said and sung very many times since they were young and that it contains many teachings that reveal what God is like in Sikh belief.

Ask pupils to work in pairs to come up with two questions to ask a Sikh about the Mool Mantar, especially focusing on what it might mean to that particular Sikh believer, and to the wider community. Ask them then to meet with another pair and to see if they can imagine what a Sikh might say in answer to each other’s questions.

Set pupils the challenge of defining the words ‘eternal,’ ‘immortal,’ and ‘enlightened.’ Ask them to use a dictionary to define them and then (a) to use them as a Sikh would to describe God and (b) to use modelling clay to create a new symbol to represent each of these terms, or any other from the Mool Mantar. Encourage them to take photos and then to write or audio-record their thoughts as to the meaning of their creations. The results could go into a class or online book about the Mool Mantar.

EXPLORE – Guru Nanak. Show an image of Guru Nanak that includes the Ik Onkar. and ask pupils to identify him. Point out the symbol if they have not noticed it. Explain briefly who Guru Nanak is and that the Mool Mantar is believed to be the first thing said by Guru Nanak upon his enlightenment at the age of about 30.

At a time in India when Muslims and Hindus were in conflict, Guru Nanak said ‘there is no Hindu, there is no Muslim’. Ask pupils to suggest what this reveals about what Sikhs believe to be the nature of God, and how Sikhs believe Waheguru is the same God worshipped by all other religions. Ask pupils for their reflections on the idea that there might be One God for all humanity which different people call different names. What other names do the pupils know? (Allah, God, Yahweh, etc.). Explain that not all people (a) believe in God and (b) believe that all religions worship the same God. Can they give examples and suggest reasons for such differences of opinion and belief?

EXPLORE – SIKH LIVING. Show the pupils a range of Sikh artefacts. Focus on the Sikh Kara. Ask pupils to suggest why a Sikh might wear the Kara: what might it mean and symbolise? What might it communicate about the nature of God? For those who need more support, ask what a circle could represent about God?

Explain that the kara is a bangle, usually made from iron or steel and worn on the right wrist. The steel is a symbol of strength, and the circular shape is a symbol of unity and eternity – a circle has no beginning and no end. This reflects the Sikh view of God who is eternal and infinite. The circular shape also stands for unity between Sikhs and between Sikhs and God. It is another representation of Sikh belief in one God, a symbol of God having no beginning or end. It keeps a Sikh focused and close to God.

Look at different styles of Kara available online for Sikhs to buy, with the choice of sacred text from the Guru Granth Sahib engraved on them. Ask them to report back to the class on the type of karas available to Sikhs and to work together to design their own style, based on what they have seen. [Remind pupils of the need to consider websites thoughtfully: what is this website trying to say or do? Who put the material up there and why?]

In role, encourage them to write a sales pitch to a Sikh customer. Their report should include how the bracelet will make a Sikh feel closer to God and what it will remind them about the nature of God. [Pupils could also produce packaging and a card to be sold with the bracelet.]

Explain that Sikhs believe that God doesn’t exist just in the sky or heaven but is present everywhere and lives within the human heart and within all living beings and life. That is one reason why they use the term ‘Waheguru’. Encourage pupils to reflect on the meaning of the word ‘God’ and ask them whether they think the concept of ‘God’ in Sikhism is very different from other beliefs about God. Do they think that God is ‘he’ or ‘she’ or beyond gender? Explain that most religions that believe in God often refer to God using the male pronoun, but that most of them believe that God is beyond gender. This is certainly the case in Sikh teaching.

Use the statements below to prompt deeper thinking. Show pupils the following statements, ask them to reflect upon each in turn and to offer suggestions as to the meaning:

• The Guru Granth Sahib says of God: ‘One Light fills all creation. That Light is You.’ I wonder… what does this mean?
• Sikhs believe that ‘the Creator is in the creation and the creation is in the Creator.’ I wonder… what does this mean?
• Sikhs believe that ‘God is neither male nor female but instead a spirit that spreads across the universe.’ He is like ‘the fragrance within a flower’ (Guru Granth Sahib). I wonder… what does this mean?

As pupils offer their thoughts, encourage reflection on the inspiration given to Sikhs by the statements, and comparison with other world views.

With pupils, read about Sarika Watkins-Singh, who at the age of 14 was suspended twice from school for wearing her Kara until a high court judgement allowed her to wear it.

What are arguments for and against Sarika’s actions? Ask pupils which arguments they find most persuasive and why. Ask them to consider that if school rules say no jewellery in school, would it be ok to wear jewellery if it is a religious symbol?

Hold a class debate.

An investigation into the relationship between the development of the universal declaration on human rights and some key texts from three religions.

KS4. Originally written by Adrian Skilbeck, updated in April 2019.

Key words and concepts

Human Rights: those rights which are inherent in our nature and without which we cannot live as human beings. Human rights and fundamental freedoms allow us to develop fully and use our human qualities, our intelligence, our talents and our conscience.

Universal: in relation to human rights they are conceptually possessed by all people in the world, by virtue of being human.

Inalienable: again in relation to human rights it is the idea that what we possess should not be taken away from or given away by the possessor.

Responsibilities: In relation to human rights it is the idea that those who are in possession of their human rights have a responsibility to help those who do not. In respect of religious teachings, it is common to all the main religions that followers are taught they have a responsibility for those in need.

Needs: as a variation on the concept of rights they are those things required by human beings because they are essential and not merely desirable. In Simone Weil’s work needs are both needs of the body and needs of the soul.

Obligations: acts or courses of action that a person is morally bound to carry out. In relation to human needs they are the things human beings are required to do for other human beings to ensure their needs are met.

Promised Land: The land that God promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 12:7), a land said to flow with milk and honey.

Jerusalem: A holy city for Jews, Christians and Muslims. The name means ‘city of peace’. Israel claims it as its eternal, undivided capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Today Israel controls the whole city, and its ongoing status is disputed.

Homeland: a person or a people’s native land.

Palestine: Often called the Holy Land. Historic region on the east of the Mediterranean Sea, comprising parts of modern Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

Zionism: The belief that Jews should have their own nation. Zionism gained much support in the first half of the twentieth century, leading to the founding of the state of Israel in Palestine in 1948.

Diaspora: the dispersion of the Jews beyond the borders of their country. In general a diaspora refers to any more or less homogenous group of people with a shared heritage or homeland who have moved out to other parts of the world.

Shoah (The Holocaust): a biblical word meaning destruction which has come to stand for the mass murder of European Jewry by the Nazis and their associates during World War 2.

Angel of Death: The figure that appears in the animation is taken from the reference in the Old Testament Book of Exodus Chapter 11 and 12 to the angel who delivers the tenth plague upon Egypt – the death of the firstborn which the Jews are warned to protect themselves against by marking their doors with lamb’s blood. In Judaism the angel of death is known as Samael, Sariel or Azrael, in Islam as Malak Al-Mawt. The visitations of the plagues upon the Egyptians is also described in the Qur’an in Surah al- A’raf 133.

Pupils will need some background information that puts both the animation and the Israeli – Palestinian conflict in context so that they can make sense of it and begin to articulate their responses which will then lead into the rest of this resource.

The song ‘This Land Is Mine’ is taken from the 1960 Hollywood film Exodus, which is about the founding of the state of Israel following World War 2 and in the aftermath of the Shoah (Holocaust). The film focusses on the life of Ari ben Canaan (‘ben’ means ‘son of’) and his attempt to create a peaceful Jewish homeland in Palestine. It is a tale of struggle which does not question the underlying assumptions expressed by the central character and places his actions in an heroic light. Nina Paley’s animation challenges the absolute nature of the statement that ‘This Land is Mine’. Nina Paley is an American Jew and so the animation should be seen as a critical American response to what the Palestinian scholar and writer Edward Said called ‘the main narrative model that dominates American thinking’ with regard to the foundation of Israel, that the Israelis have a God-given right to the land of Palestine. Paley’s film brings out the contrast between the absolute claim to land based on holy scripture and the historical reality of a land that has been fought over by many different peoples for thousands of years. It introduces us to human rights and the complex relationship between religion and politics in the modern world.

This is a stimulus resource that can be used for a range of different pedagogical outcomes. It is used here to facilitate discussion of human rights but it could also be used to explore issues of peace, conflict and reconciliation, the relationship between art and religion, the different ways in which individuals express their beliefs, values and commitments and the conflict between personal and religious/cultural values.

You will need to find ‘This Land is Mine’ by Nina Paley. It is available online.

You will also need to find the following texts online:

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Draft For A Statement of Human Obligations by Simone Weil
• Luke 10: 25-37, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Learning activities

Activity 1: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict

(adapted from Susanna Hookway’s ‘Conflict: Jerusalem’ in Questions of Truth)

Before introducing Nina Paley’s ‘This Land Is Mine’, split the class into four or five teams. Each team is presented with five statements about Israeli/Jewish claims to the land and five statements about Palestinian/Muslim claims to the land. Remind pupils that not all Israelis are Jewish and not all Palestinians are Muslims. The following statements are simplified for this activity – not all Jews or Muslims believe exactly this!

Israeli/Jewish

1. Our history is one of suffering and persecution, especially in the Holocaust. We have been and still are, badly treated and regarded with suspicion by other cultures. We need to establish our identity, freedom and national development and we need to secure the land to do that.
2. God made promises to Abraham which included that we would live in the land forever.
3. The Jews are now a political nation with Israel our historic homeland.
4. For centuries we have prayed that we would celebrate the Passover ‘next year’ in Now our prayers are being answered.
5. Our ancestors have lived here since the twentieth century BCE.

Palestinian/Muslim

1. Our ancestors have lived in the land for at least thirteen centuries.
2. Jews and Palestinians are blood brothers. We share the same father, Abraham, and the same God.
3. The 1922 mandate said the rights of non-Jews should be protected. American presidents promised to consult Arabs. These promises have been broken and continue to be ignored, creating suffering and misery.
4. We have a stake in Abraham’s heritage. Abraham himself never tried to take away anyone’s land. The only land he owned was the field he purchased in order to bury his wife Sarah.
5. We have suffered greatly and been cruelly treated. We need to establish our identity, guarantee our basic human rights including our right to respect, our freedom and our right to self determination as a Palestinian people.

Ask the teams to group their facts under three headings: Religious, Historical and Political. Explain that there will be overlaps but the teams should aim to recognise the close connections between the three.

Encourage the pupils to develop their reasons for their groupings. Do they find any of the statements more persuasive than the others?

Activity 2: ‘This Land Is Mine’: the song and the animation

Bring up the lyrics of the song on a whiteboard. [These can be found on several lyrics websites, but note that although Nina Paley freely shares her material, the lyrics of the song are copyright and should only be used for educational purposes within your Use the information provided in the Key words and concepts section above to provide the relevant context but take care not to reduce the impact of the animation by saying too much about it at this stage.]

Ask pupils for their initial impressions of the lyrics – the thoughts and sentiments expressed, images invoked, the tone of the lyrics.

In small groups, ask pupils to make a list of all the positive words, phrases and images in the lyrics. As a follow up ask them to consider whether there is anything negative in the lyrics.

Play the song (it can be found on You Tube and is the version sung by Andy Williams). Did the music bear out their thoughts? What words would they use to describe the mood or feeling of the song?

Tell the class they are now going to watch a short animation in which the song is Play the animation.

What are students thoughts about the animation? Were they shocked?

Suggested questions:

• What kind of images do the words of the song evoke?
• What kind of feelings/emotions/thoughts do they express?
• What were your reactions to hearing the song?
• What kind of impression did the song and the music make on you?
• How surprised or shocked were you by the video?
• What images were memorable?
• How has it changed your understanding of the song?
• Leaving aside the violent action of the animation, how is the land represented?
• What is the position of the film-maker in relation to conflict in general and the Israeli – Palestinian conflict in particular?
• Does she favour one side over the other?
• Is this a biased or unbiased video?
• What is the film maker saying about the conflict?
• How does the film help us understand the religious nature of the problem?
• The animation has been described as ‘facile’. This means it is too simple and avoids the complexities of the conflict. Do you agree?
• How is the artist using the figure of the angel of death in the animation?
• Which people did you recognise in the animation? [It might be worth identifying the section from the appearance of the British onwards as the important one for the discussion of human rights.]
• The animation uses stereotypes to make a point. Which stereotypes did you recognise?
• The animation is both shocking funny. Why do you think Nina Paley has used humour to make a serious point?

Activity 3a: What is human in ‘Human Rights’?

(adapted from the Human Rights Resource Centre)

Write the words ‘HUMAN’ and ‘RIGHTS’ at the top of chart on a Smartboard. Below the word ‘human’ draw a circle or the outline of a human being. Ask pupils to suggest what qualities define a human being and write the words inside the outline. For example, ‘intelligence,’ ‘sympathy.’

Next ask pupils what they think is needed in order to protect, enhance, and fully develop these qualities of a human being. List their answers outside the circle.

and ask participants to explain them. For example, ‘education,’ ‘friendship,’ ‘loving family.’ [Note: save this list for use in Activity 3b.]

Explain that everything inside the circle relates to human dignity, the wholeness of being Everything written around the outline represents what is necessary to human dignity. Human rights are based on these necessities.

Explain that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) sets the standard for how human beings should behave towards one another so that everyone’s human dignity is respected. Display these two sentences from the UDHR and ask pupils to read and reflect on them for a few minutes:

…recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of the freedom, justice, and peace in the world…

Preamble, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Activity 3b: What do we mean by rights?

Ask pupils to suggest different meanings the word ‘right’ can have (e.g., ‘correct’, ‘opposite of left’, ‘just’.) Ask them to consider common expressions like ‘We’re within our rights’ or ‘You have no right to say that’. Record these different meanings on the board. What is the meaning of ‘right’ when we speak of a human right?

In small groups, ask pupils to suggest a definition for human rights: write these possibilities on the board. Negotiate a definition that gains class consensus and write it on a chart sheet by itself.

Write on the whiteboard this definition of human rights:

Human rights belong to all people regardless of their sex, race, colour, language, national origin, age, class, religion, or political beliefs. They are universal, inalienable, indivisible, and interdependent.

Ask the pupils what they think is meant by: ‘universal’, ‘inalienable’, ‘indivisible’, ‘interdependent’? and then to look up these terms in a dictionary and to write down their meaning.

Write ‘SURVIVAL/SUBSISTENCE,’ ‘HUMAN DIGNITY,’ and ‘CONVENIENCES AND LUXURIES’ on another part of the whiteboard. Discuss the meaning of these terms, then remind pupils of the list of things needed in order to protect, enhance, and fully develop the qualities of a human being that they created in Activity 3a. Ask them to place each item under one of the headings. For example, is education necessary to survival? To human dignity? Is education a convenience or a luxury?

Activity 4: Ranking rights

Provide pupils with a simplified version of nine of the articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They are:

• No one should be held in slavery.
• No one should be tortured.
• Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression of that opinion in any way they wish.
• All human beings are born free and equal and should treat all people as if they are brothers.
• Everyone has the right to a standard of living that allows for good health.
• Everyone has the right to be taken care of if they are unemployed, sick, disabled, widowed, old or unable to look after themselves.
• Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
• Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
• Everyone has the right to education.

Using the Think-Pair-Share strategy, encourage pupils to decide on what they think is the most important human right from the list provided. As a pair they then rank the others. A good approach to the second part of this would be to do it as a Diamond Nine activity. Where does freedom of thought, conscience and religion figure in their ranking?

Activity 5: What Is a Universal Right?

Show pupils the comments of Eleanor Roosevelt, Chair of the UN commission that drafted the UDHR, on the importance of universal human rights standards:

Where, after all, do universal rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.

Without concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.

Eleanor Roosevelt: The Great Question

Engage pupils in some reflection on Eleanor Roosevelt’s words.

Ask them then to suggest examples of how someone’ s human rights might be infringed on a local level and to identify which article in the UDHR is being infringed.

Encourage pupils to work in small groups to develop and role-play a scene in which they show the infringement of the right. Techniques such as marking the moment and thoughts aloud can be employed to explore the significance of the moment and the thoughts of those involved. Who does the person appeal to in order to redress the wrong? Are they taken seriously?

Activity 6: Religion and human rights

Explain that in order to gain a full picture of human rights they will now have the opportunity to investigate teachings from Judaism, Islam and Christianity about the importance of social justice, our responsibilities for others, particularly looking after the most vulnerable in society and to compare the teachings with the Declaration of Human They will be making decisions about which article best matches the religious teaching.

Provide pupils with the following quotations and give them time to read and reflect:

Islam

It is righteous to …spend of your substance out of love for [Allah], for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves (Surah 2:177).

And of his signs is this: he created you of dust and you are now human beings dispersed everywhere (ar-Rum 30:20).

You who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let hatred of any one lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God-conscious. (Surah 5:8).

Judaism

[The Lord]… secures justice for those who are wronged and gives food to the hungry (Psalm 146:7).

Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ (Genesis 1:26).

If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: (Leviticus 25:39).

Christianity

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me (Matthew 25: 35-36).

Human life is precious (Luke 12: 6-7).

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Explain that the three religions here do have much more to say about rights and responsibilities, but that these verses are a focus for the current investigation.

Ask pupils to decide in pairs which articles of the UDHR may be linked to different quotations and to offer some analysis of how religious teachings such as these, which predate the UDHR by hundreds of years, may have been influential in the formation of the Declaration.

Encourage them to make some notes on the similarities and difference they have noticed in the statements.

Activity 7: Comparing Simone Weil’s idea of needs and obligations with human rights via the parable of the Good Samaritan

Explain to pupils that they will have the opportunity now to gain some real depth in their understanding of the possible relationship between religion and human rights through a ‘triangular activity’ in which they compare versions of two texts through the medium of a third:

The two texts are extracts from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Draft For A Statement of Human Obligations by Simone Weil

Mediating text: Luke 10: 25-37, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Introduce pupils to Simone Weil’s work in the context of human rights and the period in which she was writing and provide them with copies of (a) the UDHR.

Remind pupils of the Parable of the Good Samaritan by reading Luke 10:25-37 and encourage them in twos or threes to read through the UDHR and Simone Weil’s essay, picking out features that could be related to the Parable. Ask them to share their connections in a brief class feedback session.

Ask the pupils to then imagine that following a human catastrophe that has wiped out most of humanity, they have been tasked with providing guidance in the setting up of a new human community. Working in two groups or in larger groups that are then split into two, ask one group to draw up a set of ten fundamental rights, and the other to draw up a set of ten fundamental needs and corresponding obligations, with justifying wording in the appropriate language. Encourage each group to then decide on recommendations for ensuring the guidelines can and will be met, how they are to be kept under review and a mechanism for revising them.

Provide an opportunity for the groups to relate their proposals, e.g., as posters displayed on the walls, or as a digital presentation, and ask the class to work out how they will decide on which set of proposals would be the most effective.

Set pupils an evaluation questions, such as, ‘How far do you think some Jewish, Christian and Muslim teachings are consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?’

An examination of the life and work of Daisaku Ikeda, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

For 10-14 year olds. Originally written by Mary Myatt. Updated in April 2019.

Key words and concepts

Justice: the moral principle of fairness for all.

Freedom: the rights of individual to be able to take part in civil and political life without discrimination or repression.

Non-violence: the power of refusing to use violence; the restraint required not to descend to the violence used by oppressors. Gandhi and King used non-violent tactics, inspired by Jesus and other political activities for justice.

Learning activities

Ask your learners to think about ‘the price of justice’. To stimulate discussion show the Muppet Christmas Carol – Marley and Marley (find it on You Tube). Ask them why the characters are in chains. What is holding them captive? What could set them free?

Ask what sort of things people are usually sent to prison for. Write them up on a picture with some prison bars. Show pictures of Gandhi and King in prison and ask your students if they know or can guess what they were supposed to have done that is ‘wrong’. Add these comments to the bars.

Find two or three more examples of contemporary political prisoners or prisoners of conscious. Amnesty International’s website is a good place to look, especially their current letter-writing campaigns. Draw out as a class why these people have been imprisoned. Add the reasons and any quotes that sum up the issue to the bars.

King wrote a famous letter while he was in Birmingham jail, which was written on scraps of newspaper and smuggled out. One of the things he said was that ‘we have a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.’ Ask your students to work in pairs to work out what their message from prison would be and what the possible consequences of different messages might be. Encourage them to write it out for display on newspaper inside prison bars.

Ask students to investigate what Paul said about being in chains for the sake of the gospel. Read the whole passage in Philippians 1: 12-26, or cut up key passages and give to groups to explore. Discuss what the chains represent; what freedom has Paul found? What does he feel about the chains? Add these notes to the prison bars.

Search a quote website for Gandhi’s sayings on ‘freedom’, ‘courage’ and ‘strength’. Display 10- 20 or copy and paste onto sheets. Give groups one or two quotes, either of their own choice or randomly distributed, to discuss and explore. Share with the class. Add these thoughts to the prison bars.

Use the Buddhist Wheel of Life below (For an A4 version please see Appendix 1 of the download available at the end of this resource). Around the outer circle are the ’12 chains of causation’; the elements of human life that keep us trapped, such as craving, desire, sensation, and so on. Discuss whether this represents a different type of being ‘trapped’ to Gandhi’s, and Paul’s. What freedoms are being referred to? How do they differ?

Encourage students to make connections between the quotations. They might add some of their own comments about ‘the chains that bind us’ from these sources to the prison display.

“I stood by when           ” Tell your students how, in 1961, seven black and six white young people known as the ‘Freedom Riders’, decided to travel by bus from Washington to New Orleans, crossing six southern states of America, to challenge local practices of racial segregation. In Birmingham, Alabama, police stood by when members of the Ku Klux Klan beat the Freedom Riders with lead pipes, baseball bats and bicycle chains. Ask students if they can think of other examples of people ‘standing by’ when wrong- doing was taking place. Explain that in 1945 Daisaku Ikeda was a teenager in Japan when the US dropped two nuclear bombs and that he decided then that he could not ‘stand by’ while the existence and threat of these weapons has remained. Ikeda is well-known today as a Buddhist philosopher and writer, and founder of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the world’s largest community of non-ordained Buddhists, or Buddhists who are not monks or nuns. Show students some ideas from the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) website campaigning against nuclear weapons and ask students if they know the reasons people give for keeping nuclear weapons.

Remind your group of the story Jesus told of the ‘Good Samaritan’ (Luke 10.25-37). Explain that Martin Luther King, as a Christian, was influenced by this story, and Gandhi and Ikeda also held Jesus in high regard and followed the teaching of this parable. Ask students to rewrite the story as a poem from the point of view of the priest, the Levite (I stood by when….) and the Samaritan (I didn’t stand by when …..).

Your students could write a similar poem thinking about instances when they might be tempted to just stand by, and instances when they have the courage to not stand by. Alternatively they could write a poem in the style of ‘First they came…’ by Martin Niemoller (find this poem online).

The poems could be written on paper chains. At the end of the poem they could make a record of two or three questions about such dilemmas and suggest how people might go about answering them.

Ask students to consider in pairs whether there are differences in the basic beliefs of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Daisaku Ikeda. Ask them to say what experiences each man had that helped form their views. Issue the pairs or small groups of students with pictures of Gandhi, King and Ikeda. They can stick these in the middle of large sheets of poster paper. Around each picture they should write a number of statements about the beliefs and the experiences of each man so far as they have been able to discover so far. Ask them to link up similar statements and encourage them to explain how some people use religious sources such as the parable of the Good Samaritan to help them understand how to act in difficult circumstances.

Find a clip online of blacksmiths making chains. Accompany this with some music such as Alexander Mosolov’s Zavod (The Iron Foundry) 19. Ask students about their reactions to the short film and the music and the idea of people being in chains. Ask them to reflect, on their own, on what they are making of their lives so far. What might they do in their future life to help ‘set people free’? Gather some views and then offer them Ikeda’s saying that, ‘true and lasting peace will be realised only by forging bonds of trust between people at the deepest level in the depths of their lives’. Ask students to talk to a partner about the difference between chains of despair and chains of strength that bind people together. Can they give examples of each? Gather views from the class.

Show images of Martin Luther King’s marches in 1960s America and Gandhi’s march for equal rights for Indians in South Africa. Ask students how different they think these marches were from the riots and protests that sometimes take place in Britain today (e.g., in London in 2011, or more recent example if appropriate). Ask if students can identify current stories in Britain or America that reflect concerns about exclusion, racism and freedom.

Ask students to work in pairs to consider problems in the world today and to draft some ideas on what (a) Martin Luther King; (b) Gandhi and (c) Ikeda might write on a protest placard. What would students write on a placard about injustices in today’s world? Ask them to create placards with a written explanation to display.

Remind students of the posters they produced around the pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Daisaku Ikeda and offer them some further quotes, e.g., Gandhi’s, ‘You must be the change you want to see’; King’s ‘Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love’; and Ikeda’s ‘A great revolution of character in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and further will cause a change in the destiny of humankind’. Find and display more quotes along these lines, or ask groups to choose quotes online.

Some students might like to go further and make quotes into poems, raps, and songs. Search online for a rap based on Gandhi’s quote, ‘Be the change that you want to see’ and Martin Luther King’s ‘Free at last’ speech set to rhythm / percussion.

To challenge students to demonstrate their level of progress through this investigation, encourage them to refocus on the key question, ‘What price justice?’ Ask them to work in small groups to research and put together a presentation that could be written or filmed that has the following features:

• a description of the ‘price paid’ by Gandhi, King and Ikeda in their fights for justice;
• an outline of responses to Gandhi, King and Ikeda from different Hindus, Christians and Buddhists;
• use of different sources and arguments to explain the reasons for different responses by Hindus, Christians and Buddhists;
• students’ own views on how the life and teaching of Gandhi, King and Ikeda inspires people to fight for justice in the world today;
• what students find to be the most important features of the life and teaching of Gandhi, King and Ikeda for themselves

An investigation into the character of Abraham and the story of the binding of Isaac.

For 10-14 year olds. Originally written by David Aldridge. Updated in April 2019.

Key words and concepts

Abraham: Abraham is often known as the Father of Judaism. It was Abraham’s faith in God, having been brought up in the polytheistic society of Ur, that initially singled him out.

Isaac: Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sarah (although Abraham had another child, Ishmael, by Sarah’s slave Hagar); Isaac’s arrival was miraculous, as Sarah was past childbearing age when he was born. He is believed to be the outcome of God’s promise to give Abraham a line of descendants. His name means ‘laughter’ and expresses the old couple’s joy at finally having a child together.

Akedah: This is the Hebrew word for ‘binding’ and is the name given by Jews to the story of Abraham and Isaac; Abraham binds his son before placing him on the altar.

Sacrifice: the ancient Hebrews practised ritual sacrifice, slaughtering animals and giving them to God as burnt offerings; neighbouring tribes also practised human sacrifice.

Faith: the word faith could refer to someone’s confidence or trust in God or a higher principle, or their devotion or willingness to obey.

Angel: in the Tenakh, angels are supernatural messengers who communicate God’s wishes to His followers.

Covenant: The word Covenant, which literally means an ‘agreement’, is taken by Jews and Christians to refer to a number of promises that God makes to Abraham. For the purposes of this resource, the most relevant one is the promise of numerous descendants. “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations. And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; and kings shall come forth from you. I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be their God” (Genesis 17:4-8).

Moriah: This is the name of the mountain range where God commanded Abraham to take Isaac for sacrifice.

Scripture: This word, which literally means ‘written down’, refers normally to the holy texts of a religion.

Revelation: The process by which God makes His will known to human beings.

Tenakh: The Jewish scriptures, considered to be revealed by God; the Torah is included in the Tenakh. The Tenakh is also the first half of the Christian Bible, in which it is called the ‘Old Testament’.

Torah: The first five books of the Jewish scriptures are called the ‘Torah’; they are the books of law and the most holy texts in Judaism; the story of Abraham and Isaac is found in Genesis, the first book of the Torah.

Talmud: The Talmud is the collected text of Judaism’s ‘oral tradition’; it contains the different opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including the correct interpretation of the difficult story of Abraham and Issac.

The distinctiveness of the approach offered here is that it encourages students to do justice to the ambiguity of the scriptural source for the story of Abraham and Isaac. This is a story that challenges believers in both the Jewish and Christian traditions and has produced a range of divergent interpretations.

It is tempting, for 10-14 year olds, to present this story as a simple example of faith as being prepared to give up anything for God, and then to ask students what they would be prepared to give up or sacrifice for the values that are important in their lives.

Such an approach tends to flatten or ignore the deep problems that believers encounter in their attempts to make sense of this text. The treatment of this stimulus is inspired by the concept of the anguish of Abraham that we find in Kierkegaard’s well-known philosophical exploration of Genesis 22, Fear and Trembling. Although it is not likely that you will find much in Fear and Trembling that is directly accessible to students of age 10 to 14, the text is available online >> and recommended for background exploration. Kierkegaard’s is not a conventional or mainstream Christian reading, and it certainly does not arise from the Jewish tradition, although much of what Kierkegaard is concerned about is foreshadowed in the range of ingenious interpretations of the story that are offered in the Talmudic texts.

Kierkegaard sets himself the task of understanding Abraham psychologically rather than reading him as a ‘type’ or analogical figure in the text, and offers a range of different attempts to do so. His exploration centres on what faith must mean if Abraham is considered the exemplar for it. What are the grounds of faith, what is its relation to our ordinary or everyday ethical understandings, and what hopes or expectations for the future must it be based on?

Learning activities

Introduction

Explain to the students that over the next few lessons we will be asking the question ‘What is Faith?’ with particular reference to the Old Testament / Tenakh story of the binding of Isaac / Akedah. Ask for initial definitions of the word ‘faith’ but explain also that this series will have a critical component. We are trying to understand what faith is and why someone would have it, but also what it is acceptable to do out of faith, and what it is appropriate to put our faith in.

Mirror

The purpose of the activities suggested below is to establish that students already have perspectives on issues that pertain to the broader question of ‘what is faith’, with relation to the stimulus text, and this prepares them to see the stimulus as challenging and relevant to their own perspectives. The issues are the nature of scripture and revelation, their views on whether and how God might communicate directly with people, and the question of what is most important in their lives, and on what grounds they might give it up. This prepares them to engage with some of the complexities and ambiguities of the scriptural story of Abraham and Isaac.

Ask students to consider / list the ways in which people believe that God communicates with people. Ask students to produce a mind map as groups or as a whole class. Select individual students to consider how they would feel if they thought God was communicating to them in one of these ways. What doubts or concerns would they have? What other explanations might they give for what was happening? Encourage students to add these different explanations to their mind map.

Ask students to list three things that are most precious to them. In a pair activity, a partner is to try to persuade them to give up that object, person or experience. Were they successful? What would the cost be? Select pairs to feed back to the class – perhaps try to get an interesting range of precious possessions, people and costs.

Drawing on previous answers, as a class, create NINE ways of seeing scripture, or religious texts. Create together, whatever the individuals’ own views, all can contribute. For example: ‘direct word of God’, ‘God’s attempt to communicate with humans’, ‘interpreted by humans’, ‘written by humans’, etc.

Using these ways of seeing scripture, ask pairs to rank them in a diamond nine shape for themselves. On the board, show the continuum of views towards scripture, with ‘totally reliable’ at the top and ‘totally unreliable’ at the bottom.

Window

Find a clip of Abraham’s sacrifice online, such as the animation created by ‘Testament’.

Alternatively, find a graphic bible version of the story online and print for groups.

Teach the word Akedah (‘binding’, see key vocabulary). Ask students to watch out for this moment.

The sacrifice occurs in Genesis 22. Students will benefit from being given certain contextual information:

• The history of Abraham’s faith relationship with God, for example his willingness to leave his home, or his doubt when God promises him a line of descendants (and hence his recourse to Hagar).
• The importance of Isaac as the miraculous fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham, the meaning of Isaac’s name (laughter).

Remind students about the key question. We are trying to understand ‘What is faith’ in relation to Abraham as an example of religious faith. What was Abraham’s faith, what did it mean to him, and does that make sense to us?

It is important, having watched the video, to return to the scriptural source of the story. Read Genesis 22 with the class and invite responses. Invite students to consider why God decides to test Abraham, what they would have done in his place etc. (See previous section for a list of appropriate questions to ask here).

Analysis task: point out also that Abraham’s reaction in the video/ graphic bible offers a particular interpretation of how Abraham responds.

Discuss what is mentioned in the text, as opposed to what is shown in the video/ graphic bible. Ask students what other interpretive decisions have been made, and what alternatives could have been chosen.

Variation

Students are now introduced to a variety of ways of interpreting the video/ graphic bible. The reason for choosing these interpretations is to introduce key decision points around whether students will choose to try to understand Abraham’s complex psychology or whether they will see him as a cipher or analogue for some other important truth; they will also need to make judgements about the nature and coherence of scripture.

Introduce students to three ways that can be used to make sense of the story of Abraham, using the stimulus cards available at  https://www.reonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/What-is-Faith-cards.pdf

Students do not have to agree, or to come to their own critical view. The purpose of the cards is to experience a variety of critical views.

Take time to discuss, deconstruct and explore together.

Groups could be set further research to find out more about one view, such as Plato’s Euthyphro or Molochite child sacrifice.

Further critical views could be a Christological view (considering the story in the light of Christian theology) or a modern philosophical view, such as Jean Paul Satre’s.

Child Sacrifice. The practice of child sacrifice occurred in the Ancient Near East, such as in the Molochite tribe. The story of Abraham shows God overturning Abraham’s expectation that God wanted him to sacrifice his son, and the rejection of this practice.

The problem of God’s commands. This problem is raised in Plato’s famous play Euthyphro. Euthyphro encounters Socrates and informs him he is taking a certain course of action because the gods demand it. Socrates asks Euthyphro whether his action is good in itself, or only good because the gods demand it. Through this conversation Plato asks on what basis humans should follow the gods’ commands.

The Rabbinic commentaries. In these Jewish scholarly commentaries of the Tenakh the historical context is offered. At the time of Abraham, the son would be considered as entirely the possession of the father. Therefore Abraham has total control over his son’s life and death. However this does not solve the ethical problem of Abraham’s own duty of love and care for his son, or Isaac’s own right to life. The Rabbinic commentaries view the story as a test of Abraham’s faith rather than justifying a father’s total control over his children.

Once students have been introduced to these three possible interpretations, particular groups should be given one interpretation to explore in depth. They should then produce a storyboard for their own video, which would present the story of the Akedah in the light of this particular interpretation. Link back to your earlier discussion on the interpretive decisions that were made in the video stimulus. Depending on your (or your students’) confidence with the range of animation software available online students could also produce these animations.

Conversation

Role play / drama task. Encourage students to enact the events of the Akedah taking it in turns to portray Abraham. At a point in the story of your choice, freeze the frame and interrogate Abraham about his thoughts and feelings. Who does he think is speaking to him? Why is he sure of this? What does he think about what God has asked him to do? Why is he prepared to do it? Encourage other students to question Abraham or further interrogate his answers. They can begin their questions with, “But what about…?” or “What if…?”

This is a critical realist use of drama. This task should not be confused with other uses of drama, which encourage empathy with a believer. Students are being asked to do more here than empathise with a Jewish interpreter of the story, for example. In either articulating their own account of Abraham’s psychology, or questioning that of a peer, they are engaging critically with a range of interpretations of this story and beginning to identify their own. They are not so much empathising with Abraham as offering an account of his story’s meaning in the context of their own beliefs about scripture. You should explain to students that events are only fixed up to the freeze frame. After that, allow the drama to continue and Abraham’s actions to play out in accordance with the discussion, which has just ensued. Their Abraham may, if they wish, make other decisions. This would constitute an expression of a critical judgement about the coherence of the story or its validity as the expression of the will of a benevolent God.

Interesting alternatives / extensions are to do the same thing with Isaac, who can be asked to explain what he thinks of his father’s actions or decisions, and why he is compliant with them, or even God, depending on whether you think it is appropriate to do this with your class. God could explain his motivation for testing Abraham in this way. I would run this task as described above, meaning that their God may, if they wish, make other decisions.

Depending on how much time you have to allocate to this drama activity, students could be assessed on their participation to the task, either through their portrayal of key characters or through their role as questioner.

Students are well prepared, if appropriate in your context, for a written assessment on the Faith of Abraham. They could write about what it meant for Abraham to have faith and whether they would be able to have the same faith, ensuring that they articulate their view on the nature of Old Testament/ Jewish scripture and refer to a range of possible interpretations of the story.

Consideration of how important people such as great spiritual teachers can be deified by their followers.

For 10-14 year olds. Originally written by Dick Powell, updated in April 2019.

Learning Outcomes

Emerging

• Explain two key beliefs about Jesus and Gautama Buddha
• Explain what beliefs about Jesus and Gautama can be seen in an image of each

Expected

• Offer a view as to how far the ‘original’ message of Jesus and Gautama can be updated for future ages
• Offer a view as to how far humans tend to make their own meaning when it comes to religious teachings

Exceeding

• Give an example of an allegory or myth and explain the purpose of this type of thinking
• Give an example of a historical account and explain the purpose of this type  of thinking

Key words and concepts

General

Deity: an alternative word used to describe (a) God or a goddess, or the Supreme Being.

Deification: the word to describe the process by which godlike or extra-ordinary powers are placed on humans to show their supernatural status.

Christianity

God: the word given to the Supreme Being in the Christian tradition. Usually meaning a personal, creator Being who interacts with his creation in various ways, and is considered the first attribute of the Trinity – i.e. God the Father.

Incarnation: The concept that God is able to take human form, and in Christianity the incarnation is in Jesus of Nazareth.

Christ: a Greek word meaning Messiah, or chosen one (of God).

Messiah: a Hebrew word literally meaning the anointed human (by oil) of God. Became a figure in later Jewish theology of a person who would liberate the Jews from oppression – like King David.

Son of God: a Christian term relating to a title given to Jesus demonstrating Jesus’ relationship with God.

Miracle: a supernatural event usually performed outside the laws of natural occurrences.

Trinity: The belief that God is Three-in-One or the Trinity. The core of the Nicene Creed states the acceptance of God as Creator and Father, belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and faith in the Holy Spirit that permeates and reinforces the work of the Church.

Buddhism

Buddhism: Buddhism can be divided into 3 main groups: Theravada, Eastern Buddhism and Northern Buddhism. While these groups share certain core beliefs, there are some differences in interpretation. The main difference with the Mahayana (a kind of Buddhism adopted in Eastern and Northern Buddhism) is the belief that Nirvana / Nibbana is not the ultimate goal of Buddhism. Instead everyone should aim to become a Bodhisattva and eventually a Buddha and help with the salvation of all beings. Theravadins, on the other hand, believe that, while the Bodhisattva path is the best possible goal, it is not for everyone, only the noble few. The majority of people should aim for Nibbana / Nirvana.

Re-birth: Existence is a cycle of birth and death through samsara going on indefinitely until a person can be liberated (Nibbana / Nirvana). Rebirth is like flame passed from one candle to another – not an immutable soul passed from body to body as in Hinduism.

Bodhisattva: for Mahayana Buddhists a bodhisattva a being who is destined for Enlightenment or Buddhahood but who postpones final attainment of this in order to help all living beings to attain it.

Theravada: literally meaning the Way of the Elders, this is generally considered the principal tradition of Buddhism. It was established in Sri Lanka and South East Asia and is now found in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma as well as Sri Lanka.

Mahayana: Mahayana Buddhism is a later development of Theravadin teachings and generally speaking is to be found in countries to the north of India in Asia such as Tibet, China, South Korea and Japan. Mahayana Buddhists see Buddhas and many Bodhisattvas as transcendent and beings to whom devotions and worship can be offered.

Sakyamuni: Siddhartha Gautama also known as Shakyamuni / Sakyamuni (sage of the Shakyas).

Upaya: skill-in-means – the ability to adapt a message to needs of the audience: a skillful way of teaching a great truth. See the parable of the Burning House in Buddhism.

Some of these terms are also key concepts. Here is some further background to some of these to help you prepare for the teaching and learning activities:

Trinity: The central beliefs of Christianity are summed up in the Nicene Creed which is recited each Sunday by Christians of most denominations in their act of worship, usually the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper. The Nicene Creed was drawn up in 325CE by the Council of Nicaea in order to defend the orthodox faith from various heresies that had arisen. This Creed is the belief that God is Three-in-One or the Trinity. The core of the Nicene Creed states the acceptance of God as Creator and Father, belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and faith in the Holy Spirit that permeates and reinforces the work of the Church. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Messiah: a core concept in Christian and Jewish thought with a rich and ancient history stretching back to the time of King David. In Hebrew, originally meaning ‘the anointed’ one (as King David was with holy oil) it came to refer in New Testament times to a human character with king-like qualities who would free the Jewish people from all oppressors. It is likely that Jesus refused to accept this title, even though the word Christ is the Greek form of Messiah, preferring the title prophet. However, the title stuck and the early followers of Jesus probably called ‘Nazarenes’ by outsiders came to be known as Christians – or followers of the Christ – the anointed one sent by God to save his people from the realm of evil.

Trikaya: this is a word describing the three dimensions or bodies of the Bodhisattva concept and is an excellent, if complex, example of the way in which deification occurs from the human Theravadin Buddha character through to a vast cosmic Mahayana pantheon. The three dimensions of the Bodhisattva being the human nature of Gotama, the supernatural entities through which the dharma is transmitted, and the cosmic dimension of the dharma.

Bodhisattva: Mahayana Buddhists see Buddhas and many Bodhisattvas as being transcendent. This leads to devotional activities and worship. In Pure Land Buddhism, for example, faith in the Buddha Amitabha (or Amida) is emphasised. Adherents believe that faith and devotion will mean Amitabha will help them be reborn in the Pure Land he created in which Enlightenment is guaranteed.

Learning activities

Explain that the students are going to explore the lives and characters of two great religious founders in an attempt to discover what they thought about themselves, what their followers thought about them, and what people think about them today.

The intention of these learning activities is for students to gain an appreciation of the idea that ordinary people impose their own interpretations on events, people and experiences and that over the course of time people develop ideas which might differ from the intention of the original author but which might become mainstream ideas.

The focus of this lesson is Jesus of Nazareth and Siddhartha Gautama. Explain that both figures probably existed historically but that questions will be asked of the students about how this can be established. Suggest that the activities here will show how followers within the belief traditions of both figures, Christianity and Buddhism, have interpreted over time, sometimes gradually, sometimes quickly, the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and Siddhartha Gautama so that the outcome we have in the 21^st century might be different from the original intention of that founder. Suggest to the students that the learning activities hope to show that we need to appreciate that religious ideas develop over time, and are influenced by communities and cultures, and other historical events.

Remind the students that although some people today think of Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God, and Siddhartha Gautama as man who attained Enlightenment, and then escaped from being reborn through Nirvana. The learning activities might demonstrate that we need to be critical about what these words mean.

Show different images of Jesus and Gautama Buddha. Can students identify them? How are they able to do this? Discuss if Jesus and Gautama Buddha would have really looked like this.

Create a set of images of Jesus in different cultural forms, some with a message intended by the artist, some telling a story of Jesus; life. For example; show a black, Chinese and Indian Jesus; search ‘Church Ads.net’ for Christian messages cleverly communicated with advertising campaigns; stories form Jesus; life such as miracles or the events of Holy Week. In pairs, students try to identify the meaning of the image for Christians, a message the artist or creator is trying to portray, and whether it would have made sense to 1st Century Jews, Jesus’ followers and companions.

Remind students of the trials of Jesus and if necessary provide the students with the Bible reference to the trial of Jesus by Herod (Luke 23: 6-12) to read in pairs.

As an individual exercise, suggest that they write a short report as a journalist for a newspaper as if they were at the trial and if they had the chance to ask Jesus some questions about his motives and actions, how he felt about his treatment, and how he sees the outcome. Encourage students to share their reports.

Return to the images of Siddhartha Gautama. Ask if students are less familiar with the stories of Siddhartha Gautama than Jesus of Nazareth. If so, ask them if this will affect their judgements, ideas, understanding of Gautama better or worse than Jesus?

Find a similar set of images of Gautama Buddha, such as in different cultural forms (Thai, India, Chinese, etc); at different points in his life (as a prince, starving, as a teacher, reclining prior to attaining Nirvana); and ways the Buddha image is used today, such as an ornament, in a Buddhist shrine, in association with mindfulness as therapy etc. ask pairs to conduct a similar discussion as for Christianity: what is the meaning of the image for Buddhists, what message is the artist trying to communicate, would the message make sense to North Indian people 2.5 thousand years ago?

Remind students of the story of the Buddha –find a clip online or retell the story of his early life, the 4 sights, and his renunciation of his life as a prince. Working in groups of three or four, ask students to present up to five similarities and differences between Jesus and Siddhartha, stressing not only physical ways but also ways they tried to find meaning in life.

Introduce a Stilling exercise of the type below:

A stilling exercise

Teachers of RE are usually familiar with stilling exercises. Follow your own procedures or use all or some of the following. After the exercise the students will be required to write a question on a sticky note and share this with their partner.

Allow the students to find a comfortable and secure place to sit or lie..

Once settled, lead the students in a breathing exercise so that they can become more focussed – this one is often used – instruct the students in an even and quiet voice to place their hand on their heart and listen for a heartbeat, ask them to feel the rhythm, and to see if it is slowing down or even, rapid or calm. Ask them keep their attention on their heartbeat and breathe regularly and calmly; and once they feel their breathing is in tune with their feelings of calm, to place their hand beside their sides and to listen carefully to the exercise. Hold the silence…

In a calm but quiet voice, taking pauses when necessary ask the students to see a path in front of them leading from the classroom to a delightful place in nature… it could be wide…. Or narrow…. winding…. Or straight… following a stream, or a coastal path ….to a forest or in the mountains… wherever the student feels most comfortable.

As you walk down the path you come to a small tree which has lots of branches. This is called the Tree of Troubles, and as you come to it, you pause …. and take any trouble you might have off your shoulders and hang it on the tree before you move off again..

You come to a small gate, it is bright green and as you pass through the gate you notice how all the flowers and trees, bushes and grass have become incredibly colourful and bright. The sun is shining, warm and it is exactly how you want it to be…

You notice a small tree to one side and underneath sits a man meditating cross legged. He is still and calm. His eyes are focused on a point a few inches from his nose. His hands are cupped in front of him on his lap. His name is Siddhartha.

As you approach him he opens his eyes and smiles in welcome. He looks kind… contented… happy and you have so many questions you want to ask him. He says “ask one question about me, but remember that words are valuable and you need to make them count”….

You ask the question. You wait and listen carefully for his answer…

You bow and say thank you – and you turn away back to gate… you go through it…. smiling as you pass the tree of troubles as you know those problems aren’t quite so bad now, and back to the classroom… and when you’re ready…

You open your eyes.

Follow up to the stilling exercise

Ask students to write down their question on the sticky note but not to show it to anyone at this point. Encourage students who couldn’t think of a question to think of one now.

Ask students to share their experiences as precisely as they can with a partner, discussing such questions as: What was the path like? What was the gate like? What did the man look like? Did the image of the man you saw have any features you could recognise? How did he act? How did he respond to your question? What question did you ask – if you think you can share it? Did you think of an answer that you might be given? What answer might we expect from a Buddhist? What answer might be given by a non-Buddhist?

Now consider these extremely challenging questions:

• Does it sometimes happen that what we imagine becomes our reality?
• Do we possibly impose on our reality what we would like rather than what is there?
• How do we go about answering these questions?
• Where should we look to find the answers to life’s deepest questions?
• What impact might answers to life’s deepest questions have on individuals?

Explain that the next learning activity moves on to an examination of story and texts, in order to show that many religious stories are not meant to be factual, nor written as factual by the authors, but interpretations by humans of human experiences. So some idea of what constitutes a story might be useful and the means by which students understand the tools that define these stories is helpful so this can be applied to religious stories – because the problem is that the words look similar, but have very different meanings, are easily confused and often Students might require access to computers in order to investigate the stories with which they are unfamiliar.

Explain that there are different ways of understanding stories from religious traditions. Ask them to work in groups of four to agree definitions and examples of five main types of religious story – firstly discussing and writing on sticky notes their own definitions; then looking at and discussing the definitions provided below and placing on the sheets with the examples.

Types of Story:

• Allegory
• Historical Account
• Legend
• Myth
• Parable

Suggested Definitions:

Allegory: A story using examples from nature to explain a moral or spiritual truth.

Historical Account: Description of what is actually believed to have happened, based on eye-witness testimonies.

Legend: A story using supernatural language to explain something about the relationship between humans and God.

Myth: An old or ancient story with some basis in historical fact.

Parable: A short story told to illustrate a moral point.

Examples:

• David and Goliath
• The Creation story in Genesis 1
• Robin Hood
• Coyote trickster
• The Good Samaritan
• The birth stories of Jesus
• The enlightenment of Gautama
• John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress
• Aesop’s story of the Fox and the Grapes
• Aesop’s story of the Tortoise and the Hare
• Icarus and Daedalus
• Dickens’ Christmas Carol
• Krishna’s birth
• Jesus’ parable of The Sower
• The Buddhist story of Kisa Gotami and the Mustard seed
• Atlantis
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Plato’s story of the cave
• King Arthur and the Round Table
• William Tell
• One Thousand and One Nights

Explain to the students that both Buddhism and Christianity have their own sacred texts and these are not only over 1500 years old or older but have also developed, been edited and have many assumptions in them about the faith. Such texts contain a mix of different types of story. Provide students with background information about Christian and Buddhist texts with the quotations on the Crucifixion of Jesus and Buddha’s Parable of the Burning House.

Ask students to focus on the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, e.g., how crucifixion was a Roman form of execution, not Jewish; how a purple cloak is meant to symbolise the kingship of Jesus, as purple was a colour reserved for royalty; how the charges against Jesus suggested he was being executed for treason and maybe rebellion against the Romans; how Jesus’ death is confirmed by the words “breathed his last”; how a leading Roman soldier made a statement about Jesus.

Ask students to read the five quotations from the story of the crucifixion of Jesus aloud to a partner.

Ask students to discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups:

1. consider how this story would fit into the whole Christian story.
2. If Jesus is referred to as the Son of God, what do you think the centurion meant by this, as he has just seen Jesus stripped, beaten and nailed to a cross?
3. What do you think the term ‘Son of God’ means?
4. Do you think the term ‘Son of God’ means that Jesus has the same characteristics and qualities as God? If so how does this work?
5. If this is an eye-witness account of the event, what would your thoughts be seeing someone spoken of in this way in his death?
6. Is it possible that the death of Jesus is interpreted by his followers to fit what they think rather than what Jesus thought of himself?

Now ask students to focus on the Buddhist Parable of the Burning House, noting that the story comes form the Lotus Sutra, and that there is no evidence to suggest that the Buddha actually spoke this text. It probably reflects the development of Buddhist thought and the manner in which his teachings are intended to help people understand his teachings. For Mahayana Buddhists, the Buddha has become a cosmic figure. He is eternal and has appeared in many forms in history to guide and comfort humans. The noblest form of the Buddha is as a Bodhisattva, who devotes himself to attaining Nirvana or ‘awakening’ for all beings. The parable may be seen as an example of upaya, (skilful means), in this case: a story about how something that is not actually ‘true’ in a literal way, being used as a skilful way of helping people to understand a larger ‘truth’.

Ask students to read the Parable aloud, in pairs, one paragraph at a time.

Ask students to discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups:

1. consider how this story would fit into the overall Buddhist story
2. Why do you think the children did not heed their father’s warning about the fire?
3. In what ways are people today like the children in the story?
4. What might wake people up to the way people waste their lives today?
5. Do you think it matters whether this story was told by the Buddha or not? Why / Why not?

As a summary activity, ask students to work in small groups on a poster or digital presentation that compares the Christian and Buddhist stories. They should use pictures and text and ensure that they have included:

1. similarities in the way Christians and the Buddhists may think about Jesus and the Buddha;
2. different beliefs people hold about Jesus and the Buddha;
3. answers to big questions that Christians and Buddhists can understand when they reflect on (a) the crucifixion and (b) the parable of the burning house;
4. some of their own questions about the meaning and purpose of life that are raised in the two stories, e.g., suffering of innocent individuals, the role of God in the world, the impact of the Buddha’s teaching on individuals and the world;
5. suggested answers to those questions that might be given by (a) Christians and (b) Buddhists;
6. their own reflections on questions of ‘truth’.

An examination of how stories, hymns and prayers can help people understand more about themselves and others with reference to Judaism.

For 8-12 year olds. Originally written by Dave Francis. Updated in April 2019.

Key words and concepts

Rosh Hashanah: Head of the Year. Jewish New Year festival.

Shofar: ram’s horn blown at the season of Rosh Hashanah.

Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement. Fast day occurring on the tenth day after Rosh Hashanah; a solemn day of Tefillah and Teshuva.

Tefillah: self-judgement. Jewish prayer and meditation.

Teshuva: repentance. Returning to G-d. (Jews often write G-d instead of ‘God’ in order to avoid any accidental misuse of the Holy Name.)

Torah: law; teaching. The Five Books of Moses.

Kol Nidrei – lit. ‘All Vows’: Prayer recited on the evening of Yom Kippur.

Fasting: willingly abstaining from food, drink or both, for a period of time.

Forgiveness: in human terms, the giving up being resentful or angry at someone because of a perceived wrong. It can also refer to giving up the demand that someone be punished. When asking for G-d’s forgiveness, people generally refer to their hope that the punishment they deserve from a just G-d will be tempered by mercy.

Creation: the Judaeo-Christian stories of the creation of the world are written in Genesis Chapters 1 & 2. The Jewish calendar is dated from the Creation. Jews write ‘AM’ after each year – meaning ‘Anno Mundi’ (Year of the World). The pattern and purpose of Creation is revealed in the Torah and Talmud (collection of oral Torah / teaching).

Sin: in Judaism, because human beings are given free-will, they are responsible for their own sin. But because human beings are weak and give in to temptation, G-d allows repentance and, through His mercy, can give forgiveness.

Atonement: in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, there were rituals for making amends for wrong-doing, and animal sacrifices were made. On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, most Jews today do not make animal sacrifices, but offer prayers of confession and repentance. Yom Kippur is a day for fasting and charity.

G-d’s forgiveness: according to Rabbi David Shlomo Rosen, to secure G-d’s forgiveness, ‘It is not enough to hope and pray for pardon: man must humble himself, acknowledge his wrong, and resolve to depart from sin (e.g. II Sam. 12:13ff; 1 Kings 21:27-29)’ and then, ‘remorse must be translated into deeds.’ See D. Rosen, 2003, ‘The concept of Forgiveness in Judaism’.

Learning activities

Tell pupils about the investigation they will be doing: into how different sorts of activities and actions can help us understand more about themselves and their relationships. Explain that to know what is important to us, it’s a good idea to compare with what other people find important. Ask pupils to discuss in pairs how we can keep our relationships in a good state of repair.

This lesson focuses on Jewish actions and underlying beliefs around Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (see definitions above). It is a good idea to start by showing pupils examples of modern Jews celebrating these days. There are many video clips on You Tube, some created to teach children, such as BBC clips, some by Jewish musical groups. The Yom Kippur clip should show the blowing of the horn (shofar). Yom Kippur is solemn and Rosh Hashanah is more celebratory, look for clips that reflect the different emotional tones of these days, such as through worship, practices and especially songs sung on these days.

Explain that Jews believe that although people are ‘sinful’ G-d can forgive sins provided people say sorry (repent). So, every year on a special day called Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Jews say sorry for anything they have done wrong and remember that G-d will balance their good deeds against their bad. It is a time to start the new year with good deeds. Ask pupils what their favourite or most special time of the year is.

Play a clip of the shofar (ram’s horn) being sounded at Yom Kippur, as well as Yom Kippur prayers and songs. Ask pupils for their reflections about the music: the chanting and the blowing of the shofar. What are their reactions?

Teach about some Yom Kippur traditions:

• The sound of the shofar reminds Jews of the soul’s yearning to be reunited with God
• Fasting for 25 hours
• Reflecting on the year’s past behavior; resolving to do better in the coming year
• Confession and forgiveness of sins
• Chanting the Kol Nidrei (see key words above)
• Retelling the story of Jonah and the Big Fish which reminds Jews that God will hear them when needed

Why do the class think the tradition of using these practices have survived in Jewish practice for hundreds of years?

Teach about Rosh Hashanah traditions:

• Rosh Hashanah is Jewish new Year, it is celebrated a week before Yom Kippur
• Apples are dipped in honey to represent the hope of a good year to come
• The first day of Rosh Hashanah recalls the first day of creation.
• Sweet delicacies are eaten at meals to represent the hope of a good year
• The shofar is sounded

Ask pupils to work in pairs to create three questions they would like to ask a Jewish teenager during this period. Collect these questions and see if the class can agree on one or two questions to follow up. Ask them to record these questions on paper. Explain that this paper will be their ‘Investigation Sheet’ to record evidence that may help answer their question(s).

Ask pupils to work in small groups to make notes on their investigation sheets of some of the beliefs and concepts underpinning the celebration of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur e.g. creation, repentance, atonement, forgiveness, joy. Allocate separate beliefs and concepts to each group so that all are covered by the class as a whole. Ask each group to note on their sheets what they think Jews may learn from taking part in the festivals, especially about themselves and their relationships.

Share information about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur found in text books such as in RE Today’s publication, Opening Up Judaism, by Fiona Moss, (ed.) 2011 to explore with pupils what these festivals mean to Jews and ask why all religions have evolved festivals and holy days; what purpose do they serve? Do such festivals help families in some special ways? Ask pupils to add any evidence to their investigations in writing.

What other ways of finding answers to their questions might there be? Do they think of asking members of a nearby Jewish community or family? How about asking you, their teacher? Try ‘Email a Believer’ on REonline.org.uk.

Ask the class to work in groups to research the four foods often used at Rosh Hashanah: challah (bread), pomegranates, honey cakes, and apples. What does each symbolise? Can pupils find any information about the history of their usage? Ask groups to draw the food and write inside what it symbolises at the festival.

Show Rosh Hashanah cards, there are many to browse through online. Alternatively show Rosh Hashanah cards from your artefacts collection or from a supplier.

Ask the groups to make Rosh Hashanah cards featuring symbolic foods or any practice discussed. Inside, alongside a suitable greeting, they should complete a sentence beginning, ‘Rosh Hashanah is important because …’

As pupils are completing their cards, tell the story of Jonah and the Big Fish, a story often told at Rosh Hashanah, e.g., from Opening Up Judaism, 17, and ask pupils what they think Jewish people might learn from this story about (a) human beings and (b) G-d. What are their favourite stories? Do they think that stories can influence the way we behave towards others? Ask pupils to add a note on the back of their cards one of the things they think Jews may learn from the story of Jonah. They should then add the name of a story that they think important or meaningful to themselves, with a point they learnt from the story.

Explain that many stories are told in order to encourage people to lead a better life. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are times when Jewish people recommit themselves to being kinder to others in the new year ahead. Ask pupils what good deeds they think they might do today / in the coming week. On their investigation sheets, encourage pupils to add some notes showing how the lives of Jews who keep the festivals may be changed in some way.

An investigation into the importance of Muhammad (pbuh) for pupils with special needs achieving at ‘P Levels’ 1-8.

For pupils with special needs achieving at ‘P Levels’ 1-8. Originally written by Anne Krisman. Updated in April 2019.

Learning Outcomes

Emerging

• Talk about what makes you and others special and unique
• Use the word ‘Qur’an’ in talking or writing

Expected

• Use the words ‘Muhammad’, ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslim’ correctly
• Explain how Muhammad heard God’s words
• Explain why Muhammad is inspirational to Muslims

Exceeding

• Explain, with reference to two Islamic practices, how we can see the impact Muhammad had on Islam

Key words and concepts

Hadith: a report of what the prophet Muhammad said or did. Used as guidance by Muslims.

Nasheed: a form of unaccompanied Islamic devotional music. Sometimes a drum is used.

Qur’an: meaning ‘recitations’. God’s words revealed through the prophet Muhammad in Muslim belief.

Inspirational: influencing people to lead their lives in a special way.

This resource uses the idea of ‘burning core ideas’ to express the key knowledge to communicate to pupils:

• Muhammad is special to Muslims;
• Islam is the name of the Muslim religion;
• Muslims believe in one God called Allah;
• Muslims cannot see their God;
• Muslims do not make pictures of Allah or Muhammad as people;
• Muslims’ holy book is called the Qur’an.

Further key ideas and knowledge:

• Muhammad was  trusted  by people – they called him Al-Amin (the one you can trust);
• Muhammad believed in  one God  called Allah;
• Muslims call him a  messenger  and prophet of Islam (rasul);
• Muslims say ‘Peace be Upon Him’ after the name of Muhammad, sometimes written as ‘pbuh’;
• Muslims believe an  angel  appeared to Muhammad in a cave on a mountain (Mount Hira);
• Muslims believe the angel, called Jibril, revealed the words of the  Qur’an;
• Muslims try to lead their lives from the  example  of Muhammad.

Learning activities

The following activities follow the ‘Five Keys Into RE’ approach (Anne Krisman)

1 Connection – How can we link our theme with pupils’ lives?

Share these thoughts with the pupils:

• We all have special unique qualities.
• We like to help others.
• We have special places where we can be calm.
• We care about

Let pupils know that Muhammad was known as ‘The Friend’ and ‘The Helper’ and that they are going to look at things that connect them with the life of Muhammad. This will begin by looking at their special unique qualities.

Share or gather the special qualities of each child in the class. This can be done by sharing ideas in the classroom, by going around the school and asking people who know them well, or by asking parents and carers to respond. Words such as helpful, kind, peaceful will be gathered.

Make the names and qualities into a class performance: names can be signed, clapped, drummed or chanted for each child, e.g., Joshua the Peaceful, Hannah the Friend.

Make a display with pupils’ pictures, their new values name and where appropriate, comments about why this name is right for them.

Paint either a) the pupil’s first name or b) their values name onto the fold of an A3 or larger piece of paper. Fold the paper to create a symmetrical design. Ask the pupils to then decorate and beautify their name.

An additional idea is to write the pupil’s values name in PVA glue and to encourage children to throw different coloured sand onto it. If you wish to highlight Muhammad’s special colour during this theme, use green sand.

While working you could play different nasheeds about Muhammad, you will find many on you Tube, such as:

• Ya Muhammad
• Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him)
• 99 Names for Muhammad
• 99 Names of Muhammad (translated)

2 Knowledge – How can we communicate burning core knowledge within the theme to our pupils?

Share these examples of burning core knowledge with the pupils:

• Muhammad was trusted by people (Al-Amin);
• Muhammad believed in one God called Allah;
• Muslims call him a prophet and messenger of God (rasul);
• Muslims believe an angel appeared to him in a cave and revealed to him the words of the Qur’an.

Let pupils know that Muhammad was valued by people and called Al-Amin – The Trustworthy. Muslims believe he was a messenger of God and that they are going to learn more about his life.

To highlight the importance of Muhammad’s name of Al-Amin – The Trustworthy – trust the pupils to take a special gold wrapped package to another class. Arrange for the member of staff who receives the package to affirm the trust placed in the pupils and to pass on something special from their room for the pupils to take back to their class.

Ask pupils to carry a message in an envelope or sign that Muslims believe there is only one God and tell this to others in the class or around the school. Anyone who hears the message can take a gold star and add it to a picture of the Arabic calligraphy for Allah, to show that the message has been heard.

Let pupils know that Muhammad believed in one God called Allah.

Listen and watch popular nasheeds which mention Allah, for example Yusuf Islam: A is for Allah, Zain Bhikha: Mountain of Mecca.

Encourage pupils to sign the letter A and the number one while responding to the music.

Islamic plaques with Muslim prayers and the raised names of Allah and Muhammad can be touched – these can be obtained from shops in areas with a Muslim population and through artefact catalogues.

Print out lots of small pictures of the word Allah in Arabic calligraphy. Ask pupils to carefully stick the words on to gold paper, trying to put them on the right way up and showing care in placing them, to reflect how Muslims respond to the name of God. [This can also be repeated with the name of Muhammad, this time sticking the names on green paper and keeping the same rules of respect and care. These two pieces of work can be stuck together and a beautiful border made around them, to link them, with glitter.]

Let pupils know that, Muslims believe that an angel appeared to Muhammad in a cave and revealed to him the words of the Qur’an

Show images of Mount Hira while listening to Zain Bhikha’s Mountain of Mecca.

Ask pupils to create a collage made from brown ripped paper, of the cave at Mount Hira. Then, without creating a human image, add the feeling of the angel Jibril, using glitter, holographic paper, cellophane etc.

Make a peaceful cave area in the classroom by putting together prayer mats, cushions and glittery material. Add light changing resources to show the presence of an angel.

Introduce pupils to the first of four stories of Muhammad and use the sensory story guide to help pupils know about the revelation that Muslims believe Muhammad received on Mount Hira.

Share the sensory story together, allow time for the stimuli to be experienced by each pupil.

Ask pupils to reflect on the story and, where appropriate, to ask questions about it.

Where appropriate, choose a question to focus on, for example, ‘Why did the angel say, “Read!”?’ and share possible answers. Adults can also ask questions and respond.

If time, share the story once more.

3 Senses – Which sensory elements are in the theme?

The following sensory activities can help pupils experience something of the life of Muhammad and the importance of Islam to Muslims:

Recitation of the Qur’an and Call to Prayer (adhan);

Islamic nasheeds (unaccompanied devotional music, sometimes using drums);

Prayer mat and topi (prayer cap).

Play a version of the Call to Prayer (adhan) to pupils while they use red, orange, purple and yellow crayons or sponge paint to create a sunset sky. Versions to be used could include those from Turkey, Bosnia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as well as British muezzins.

Afterwards, encourage pupils to add a black paper cut-out of a dome and minaret, to give a scene of a mosque at sunset.

Engage pupils in the experience of wearing or touching a Muslim prayer cap (topi) for boys and headscarf for girls, while turning the pages of a Qur’an on the whiteboard, a resource called ‘Baybar’s Magnificent Qur’an’.

Encourage them to touch some Muslim prayer mats and then look at how Muslims pray, such as by looking at video clips or animation online.

Help pupils make a prayer mat out of sensory materials, such as textured wallpaper. The prayer mat could include arches, a picture of the Ka’bah at Mecca, and a hanging lamp to stick on.

4 Symbols – Which symbols are the most accessible in the theme?

Share these examples of Muslim symbols with the pupils:

• Moon and star;
• Arabic name of Muhammad and Allah;
• Salaam (peace) – Muslims say ‘peace be upon him’ when talking about Muhammad;
• Islamic art symmetrical designs.

Crescent Moon and Star

Invite pupils to recognise the moon and stars in a slideshow of pictures and to sort a selection of pictures of crescent moons and stars.

Encourage pupils to use Makaton signing for star and moon while listening to a song about wonder in the universe, for example There is Only One God by Zain Bhikha.

Encourage pupils to make collage pictures of the Muslim symbol – the crescent moon and star, or rub over a moon and star stencil and decorate.

Salaam – Peace

Ask pupils to identify what makes them feel peaceful out of a choice of different pictures, such as listening to music, going on the computer, lying down, praying, etc.

Help them practise writing the word Salaam in paint while listening to peaceful chill out music.

Ask pupils to make a dove of peace – there are many templates online. Add cut-outs of the name of Muhammad, with crescent moon and star symbols, to show that Muslims say ‘peace be upon him’ when talking about him.

Islamic art symmetrical designs

Explain that Muslims believe only Allah is the creator and so natural designs are shown in a non-realistic but beautiful way, with unexpected colours being used. Repetition of designs shows that God goes on for ever. An example can be found in Iznik pottery from the 16^th century Ottoman Empire, although its designs are still being used for ceramics in Turkey.

Show images of Iznik art from the Turkish tradition. Ask pupils to look for the colours of blue, red and white and for flowers.

Prepare four pieces of black, blue, red and white paper and make concertina folds. The black will be used for the background. Ask pupils to draw simple flower designs and leaves shapes on the three pieces of paper and to cut these up. They should then lay out the three elements of the flower design on the concertina folded black paper, trying to repeat the pattern.

Create an Iznik Art gallery from the pictures, displayed with images of Iznik art pottery.

5 Values – Which values in the theme speak to our pupils?

Share these examples of Muslim values with the pupils:

• Following a straight path
• Helping poor people
• Caring for animals
• Forgiveness

Explain to pupils that they are going to learn about three more stories about Muhammad (Muslims say peace be upon him) that will help them understand how inspirational he is for all Muslims and how he set an example for all Muslims to follow.

Share the sensory story of Muhammad and Crying Camel allowing time for the stimuli to be delivered in a caring manner to each pupil.

Ask pupils to reflect on the story and, where appropriate, to comment and ask questions about it.

Where appropriate, choose questions to focus on, for example, ‘How do we look when we are sad?’ ‘How can we be kind to animals?’ and share possible answers. Adults can also ask questions and respond.

If time, share the story once more.

In follow up lessons, use Muhammad and the Old Woman, as a call and response poem, and Muhammad and the Sleeping Kitten, with the associated activities, to show how inspirational Muhammad is for Muslims. Can pupils identify the parts of each story that show that Muhammad was helpful, kind, compassionate, loving, generous, following a straight path, brave, forgiving?

Seven videos of good learning in RE, produced by NATRE. Taken from the DVD Good Learning in Religious Education: Seven Short Films to Make Teachers Think.

The following videos are provided by NATRE, and come from their DVD Good Learning in Religious Education: Seven short films to makes teachers think.  The DVD is sponsored by Culham St Gabriel’s and the Diocese of St Albans and is available to purchase on NATRE’s website.