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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 investigation into Buddhist values through a study of the Buddha’s enlightenment and one of his previous lives.

KS1 and lower KS2. Originally written by Lorraine Haran, updated in April 2019.

Key Buddhist Teachings (background for teachers)

The Four Noble Truths

• Life involve suffering (dukkha).
• The origins of suffering lie in wanting, which is made more intense by greed, hatred and ignorance (Samudaya)
• The ending of suffering is possible (Nirhodha).

The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to end suffering and become enlightened (Magga).

• Right understanding (seeing the world as it is, in terms of the Four Noble Truths).
• Right Thought (commitment to follow the path).
• Right Speech (truthfulness, gentle and useful speech).
• Right Action (following the Five Precepts with love and compassion).
• Right Livelihood (avoiding work that causes harm or injustice, choosing one which is beneficial to others).
• Right Effort (avoiding bad thoughts, encouraging good).
• Right Mindfulness (attentiveness and awareness).
• Right Meditation (training the mind in meditation).

(When people follow the path, the wheel turns in a positive direction traditionally clockwise symbolising their development).

The Five Moral Precepts: Buddhists should refrain from:

• Harming and killing living beings,
• Sexual misconduct,
• Taking drugs or drinking that impair clarity of the mind,
• Taking what is not freely given,
• Wrong speech.

(There is a positive aspect of each precept, e.g. it is not enough not to harm – one should show compassion for all living things).

Enlightenment and Nirvana: Buddhist believe that there is a cycle of birth, life and death and rebirth. This goes on and on. They believe that unless someone gains Enlightenment, when they die they will be reborn. If a person can gain Enlightenment, they can break out of this Breaking out of the cycle is called Nirvana (sometimes called Nibbana) It is the end of everything that is not perfect. It is perfect peace, free of suffering.

Meditation: Buddhists try to reach Nirvana by following the Buddha’s teaching and by Meditation means training the mind to empty it all of thoughts. When this happens what is important comes clear.

Buddha: the ‘Awakened’ or ‘Enlightened’ One. The Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal around 2,500 years ago. Siddhartha was born into the royal family of a small kingdom on the Indian Nepalese border. He is believed by Buddhists to be a human being who became Enlightened (awakened).

Dharma: universal law; ultimate truth. The teaching of the Buddha.

The Jataka Tales or Birth Stories form one of the sacred books of the Buddhists and relate to the adventures of the Buddha in his former existences, in both human and animal form. The Buddha was a great storyteller and often told stories illustrate his thinking. Stories were also told about the Buddha by his followers both to explain and understand the Dharma. These stories have been passed down to the present day and the most popular ones are the Jataka tales, a collection of hundreds of tales about the Buddha’s past lives. They show the kind of life one should lead to become a Buddha one day. In many of these stories, the Buddha appears as an animal to teach the value of qualities such as kindness, compassion, and giving.

Karuna: compassion. The importance of being compassionate, generous, kind, truthful, helpful and patient: Actions have consequences.

Learning activities

Resources:

This lesson requires several images and a video clip of Siddhartha’s life. You will need to find these online before you start.

Images: lotus flower, Prince Siddhartha, Gautama Buddha

Video clip: the life of Siddhartha Gautama, or the life of the Buddha

Show the class an image of a lotus flower. This is a well-used symbol in both Hinduism and Buddhism and you will find may examples online.

Explain to the children that the flower is a lotus flower and that this is a symbol that is frequently used in Buddhism, because it shows how something beautiful and precious can grow out of the soil of the earth. Explain that they will be thinking about the most valuable things in the world in the next few sessions and that this will include an investigation into what followers of the Buddha – Buddhists – think is most valuable.

Ask the children for their ideas about what is most valuable (a) in their lives and (b) in the world.

Explain that in Buddhist philosophy many people can be seen as too distracted to see what is really valuable in life. The person whose teachings they follow became known as ‘The Buddha’ and they are going to find out about his life and what he taught.

Write the names ‘Prince Siddhartha’ and ‘The Buddha’ on the board. Play the video clip you have found. Explain that at the end you will talk about how the Prince became The Buddha. Play the video.

At the end of the film, show the children a picture or image of the Buddha and ask them to recall the story: what do they think were the most important parts? Record what pupils say on sticky notes and share with class, placing answers around the image.

Ask the children to share experiences and feelings about times when they have done something that was extremely difficult, for example, learning something new or embarking on something that will take a long time. What do they think were the difficult things that Prince Siddhartha did when he went on his search for the truth about life? Ask them to complete the sentence, “I think the hard challenges that Prince Siddhartha had to face were…” and to explain why they think these were hard challenges. Can they think about how he might have been feeling when he saw the old man, the sick man, the dead man and the ‘seeker’? [This activity could be done as a ‘hot seat’ activity for lower KS2].

Ask the children to share experiences of times when members of the class have experienced or done something that put the needs of others before their own. Ask them to respond to such questions as:

• Have you ever given away something you wanted for yourself?
• What did you give away?
• Was it easy to do?
• Why did you do it
• How did you feel?
• What effect did it have on you / the other person?
• Encourage them then to complete a couple of sentences such as:
• I put others first by ………………………………………………………………
• This made me feel ………………………………………………………………

Some children could go on to draw a picture of an experience of a time when they put others first, and write simple sentences about it.

Next, remind the children of the part in the film where the Buddha remembers all his ‘past lives’ and explain that Buddhists believe that when a person dies they will usually be ‘reborn’ in a different form depending on how they have lived their life. There are many stories in Buddhism that describe the Buddha’s previous ‘lives’, sometimes as an animal. These stories show how the Buddha did many helpful things in his previous lives and this helped his progress from one life to the next. One of these stories is about a monkey king who put others before himself.

Download the story: http://www.clear-vision.org/Fileshttps://clearvision.education/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/MonkeyKing.pdf/MonkeyKing.pdf

Read the story from the beginning and stop at the point where a mango falls into the water and drifts downstream. Ask the children to talk with each other about what might happen next.

Read the rest of the story. Stop reading from time to time to check understanding.

Engage the children in a sequencing activity to help them recollect the main aspects of the story. Provide them with a set of the following sentences on separate cards [You could also provide the pupils with a set of six picture cards depicting these scenes: you can find these in the Clear Vision pack if you have it]:

• A little monkey found a mango.
• “Pick those mangoes”, said the Monkey King.
• The King found the mango.
• The King saw the monkey’s tail.
• The Monkey King held on.
• The Monkey King died.

Ask the children to work in small groups to put the cards in sequence, making sure they can justify their choice of order. Most children can then go on to write their own sentence for each picture, using some key words that you can put up on the board: Moon, mountain, river, monkey, mango, tail, King, died, tree, bridge, monument. Some children may be able to independently write up the story, using illustrations and key words as support.

Next, engage the children in a drama re-enactment of the story. [This could also be adapted for a Music activity, with children choosing choose a variety of musical instruments which will they think will express the emotional tempo of key events in the story, e.g., finger cymbals – calmness, drums – the King’s men approaching, bells to build up to tension, or an Art activity with children using different media to make props representing, e.g., masks, river, tree branches, crowns.]

Ask them to imagine that they are one of the band of monkeys living harmoniously in the mango tree. Take them through the following actions:

• Climb the tree.
• Explore.
• Eat and enjoy the mangoes.
• Sleep, play and carefully pick all the fruit that hangs out over the water.
• Tell them that the human King and his soldiers arrive: hide in the bramches.
• You are very frightened. Try not to move or make a sound.
• You see the monkey King leap over the river and make himself into a bridge. [Use long piece of ribbon or string and lay it on the floor to represent the bridge.]
• One at a time, quietly and carefully, cross the bridge to safety.

Then ask the children to respond to such questions as:

• How did it feel living in the tree?
• How did you feel hiding from the King?
• Why did you cross?
• What advice would you give to those who have yet to cross?
• How did you feel when the monkey king made himself into a bridge for you to cross?
• How did you feel when you escaped?
• When did you feel safe?
• What would have been the consequences if you didn’t cross?
• How would the world change if everyone was selfish?
• Who would you look to in your life to guide you in times of fear?
• Why might Buddhists think this story is a good one?

Prepare the outline of a mind-map on what the Monkey King might be thinking and show it to the pupils. Ask them to complete their own version in small groups and to share their ideas with the rest of the class.

Encourage the children to then offer views about what Buddhists might believe this story tells them about what is of great value and to add their ideas on the edge of their mind- map diagrams.

Engage the pupils in a ‘Conscience corridor’ activity around the Monkey King’s sacrifice:

• Select one pupil to be the Monkey King and ask the rest of the class to create two lines approximately a meter apart facing each other.
• Ask pupils on one side of the ‘corridor’ to think or a reason for the Monkey King to act selfishly and just save himself. Ask pupils on the other side to take the opposite view and think of a reason for the Monkey King to sacrifice himself to save the other [Pupils could choose which viewpoint they wish to voice or be told which view point to take.]
• The Monkey King then walks slowly through the corridor and pupils on each side whisper their reasons. [Pupils who lack confidence can ‘pass’ by clapping or repeat a comment that has already been spoken.]
• Once the King has reached the end of the corridor, ask them to recall the main reasons on either side and to say what they would have done in the King’s What were the main reasons for their decision?
• Ask the other children to say what they think they would have done, with reasons that link the situation to their own lives and experiences.

The ‘Conscience corridor’ activity could then be repeated, but with a different pupil playing the part of the human King. This time the dilemma is whether to order his men to shoot the Monkey King:

Again, at the end of the corridor, ask the pupil playing the part of the human King to recall the main reasons given on either side and to say what they would have done in the King’s situation. What were the main reasons for their decision? What do they think a Buddhist would do, and why?

At the end of the activity, engage pupils in a class discussion and write up their ideas on sticky notes to put on a ‘Monkey King’ poster. Ask them for their responses to such questions as:

• What is the opposite of selflessness?
• What does the story tell us about greed?
• What is ‘compassion’?
• How did the Monkey King show compassion for others?
• What is ‘sacrifice’?
• What sacrifice did the Monkey King make?
• Who do you know that is selfless in your life?
• What does it mean ‘to set a good example’?
• In what ways did both kings in the story set a good example?
• Can you think of how people could set a good example, in the school, or locally or globally?
• What is ‘wisdom’?
• What does the story tell us about the qualities of a good leader?
• What do you think happened to the human king after the monkey king died? Did he change his life? Did he grow in wisdom?
• Finally, encourage pupils to add their own sticky note to the poster, completing this sentence:

I think that Buddhists value ………… the most.

An investigation into questions about life, suffering and death, using Buddhist sand mandala, shrines and through contact with a local hospice.

For Upper KS2. Originally written by Sabah Raza, updated in April 2019.

Key words

Mandala: The meaning of mandala comes from Sanskrit meaning ‘circle’. The circle represents a symbolic picture of the universe in Buddhism and Hinduism, often using geometric patterns.

Sand Mandalas: An ancient, sacred form of Tibetan Buddhist art_. According to Buddhist scripture, mandalas made from sand transmit positive energies to the environment and to the people who view them; they are believed to purify and heal. The Buddha himself introduced mandala sand painting; the many different sand designs each have a different lesson to teach.

Sacred Tibetan Mandala: The mandala’s purpose is to help transform ordinary minds into enlightened ones and to assist with healing.

Chak-pur: Cone shaped metal funnels with ridges, used to disperse sand in a controlled way.

Buddha: The Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal around 2,500 years Siddhartha was born into the royal family of a small kingdom on the Indian- Nepalese border. He is believed by Buddhists to be a human being who became Enlightened (awakened).

Buddhism: Buddhism is a religion to about 300 million people around the world. The word comes from ‘budhi’, ‘to awaken’. It has its origins about 2,500 years ago. The basic concepts in Buddhism can be summed up by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

Dalai Lama: The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is believed by his followers to be the spiritual leader of Tibet and the Head Monk of Tibetan Buddhism.

Monk: A member of a religious community of men, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Nirvana: the highest state that someone can attain, a state of enlightenment, meaning a person’s individual desires and suffering go away; the goal of the Buddhist path.

Life: The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.

Dying: Occurring at or connected with the time that someone dies.

Death: The action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person or organism.

Hospice: a home providing care for people with a life limiting illness.

Note

If possible, this lesson involves some children visiting a local hospice to create a mandala with residents.

An alternative could be a visit to the classroom of staff form the hospice, or pupils interview family members.

Learning activities

You will need to find the following items online:

• Still image of Buddhists constructing a sand mandala
• Video of the construction and destruction of a sand mandala
• Information about a hospice- website or video

Begin by displaying any image of Buddhists constructing a sand mandala, there are many online, including of the Dalai Lama.

On each table, have an A3 copy of the image stuck on a large piece of sugar paper (groups of six work well for this activity)

Ask the pupils to write down one question each about what they would like to find out about the picture and stick it around the picture [small sticky notes work best].

Ask them, in their groups, to select one question, putting the rest of the questions to one side for now. [Help pupils to modify the question if necessary, so that the question is an ‘open’ one with no ‘easy answer’.]

Encourage one pupil from each group to read out their chosen question, then ask the class to select one main question, which will be investigated over the course of the topic.

The rest of the questions can go in to a ‘We Were Wondering…’ box, to be answered by pupils as extension work over the duration of the unit.

Now show the class the video clip of the construction and destruction of a sand mandala, asking them to look out for answers to some of the questions they might have heard earlier and to note down anything they think is important.

Ask the pupils:

• to feedback any key points they picked up and/or to answer any of the questions that were asked on their table
• What did you notice was being made in the video?
• What do you think the meaning of the image is?
• What sounds, sights and actions did you notice?
• What people did you notice?
• What happened to the image?
• What do you think happens to the sand?

Explain that Buddhists (who follow Buddhism) believe in a cycle of life, death and rebirth. Nirvana is believed to be the end of the cycle of death and rebirth and that Buddhism teaches that Nirvana is reached when all want and suffering is gone. Explain that Nirvana Day is an annual Buddhist festival that remembers the death of the Buddha (the founder of Buddhism) when he passed into Nirvana at the age of 80. On Nirvana Day, Buddhists think about their lives and how they can work towards gaining the perfect peace of Nirvana. They remember friends or relations who have recently died and reflect on the fact that death is a part of life for everyone.

Explain that the idea that nothing stays the same is central to Buddhism. Buddhists believe that loss and change are things to be accepted rather than causes of sadness. Mandalas are a key symbol for this idea, a circle that carries on and on. Sand mandalas that are constructed and deconstructed illustrate this especially well. Explain that this idea is key to their learning in this unit.

Ask the question, What happens to us after we die? What do you think? [Have it written on a large piece of sugar paper.] Encourage pupils to write a brief response on a sticky note and stick it around the question on sugar paper. Give them an opportunity to discuss their answer to this, first in pairs, then as a group and then as a class. Over the course of the next few lessons, read out a few ideas about what pupils think happens to us after we die. Some pupils may suggest viewpoints from their faith, which could lead to further discussions. Have a selection of books from all faiths available and if possible, a pupil laptop for further investigation.

Ask the pupils to think about something or someone they have lost. How did it make them feel? Give out thought bubbles. Ask them to write down their thoughts and feelings and give them an opportunity to share their feelings if they wish to do so.

As a whole class, create a Buddhist Shrine with the following artefacts: a statue of Buddha (Buddharupa), incense (symbolising the fragrance of the perfect life), flowers (the impermanence of life) and lights or candles (representing truth). [Over the coming weeks, the pupils should see the flowers withering and die, demonstrating and reinforcing the key message that loss and change are to be accepted and that all living things die. It is best not to use carnations or chrysanthemums because these remain fresh for a long time. Refer back to the shrine weekly, making observations of the flowers. Add the main class enquiry question to this display, referring back to it at the beginning of each lesson. Have the box of remaining class questions nearby on display, with books on Buddhism for reference.]

Encourage pupils to describe the different items in the shrine and how they reflect Buddhist beliefs.

Introduce pupils to the word ‘Hospice’ and ask Does anyone know what a hospice is or who might go visit one? Think about the beginning part of the word ‘hosp’, does it remind you of anything? What kind of a building do you think it is? What would you expect to find inside? Ask the pupils to write their ideas on a large sheet of paper, to compare to attitudes later in the lesson.

Explain what a hospice is and who would use it. [A home/place that provides care for people with a life limiting illness.] Show information you have researched about a hospice.

Ask for pupils’ responses to such questions as: What do you think about hospices now? Has your opinion changed? What kind of place do we now know a hospice is? How helpful is it to the people that visit it/stay there? Tell me about the sort of people that work/volunteer there. What kind of things can people do there? Ask pupils to compare responses to answers written down earlier.

Ask pupils to suggest similarities and differences they can identity between what they notice about the hospice and Buddhist beliefs, attitudes and symbols. [Bring out points about life, suffering and death and the feelings associated, e.g., with items in the Buddhist shrine, like candles, or in the making of sand mandalas, such as peacefulness, emotional needs, acceptance of change and death.] Ask them to suggest reasons for similarities and differences and whether they think having religious beliefs might make a difference to a person’s attitudes to hospices.

If you are making a hospice visit

Explain that some of the class will be visiting a hospice and will be working with a patient (in pairs), to create a beautiful mandala with oil paints.

Use cardboard or canvas to paint on.

Explain that when they visit, they will be able to talk to their patient and ask prepared questions, so they can start to depict that patient’s life story on a mandala. Remind pupils that the patients they will be meeting will have a life limiting illness and that this is their opportunity to leave a legacy at the hospice/school of their life journey in the visual art form of a Buddhist Mandala. To help pupils make the explicit link, remind them at this point of the Buddhist belief that loss and change are things to be accepted rather than causes of sadness and that Mandalas are a key symbol for this idea.

Alternatively, staff from the hospice can be invited in to lead this session to meet the pupils and answer questions.

Or

Children can interview family members.

Most hospices will only be able to accommodate a fixed number of pupils, depending on space and the number of patients using their services at that time. One suggestion is to select pupils on your gifted and talented register for RE and Art. The rest of the pupils complete the same activities, however they prepare a mandala to tell the story of a parent/grandparent/carer and complete this in school.

Note: Pupils interviewing family members will need to be reminded that they should not ask questions about an illness, e.g. What have you been diagnosed with? Their focus should be the life journey of that person, e.g. key events/journeys/moments in their lives. When selected pupils are visiting the hospice over the next three weeks (for one morning or an afternoon, to be agreed with the Hospice), the rest of the class/classes remain in school to prepare their mandalas.

After a tour of the hospice to view their facilities, pupils ask their questions to their patients. It is key that this is in a relaxed environment and is informal, if possible over a glass of squash and biscuits! Pupils in school will have taken their questions home as homework and should have had their discussions already. All pupils should begin to think about symbols, words or pictures to represent key events and the general layout of the mandalas in this session.

Ask all the pupils, over the next two or three sessions, to draw, then paint their mandalas, either in class, or jointly with their patient at the hospice. Encourage them to use different forms of expression, e.g., words as well as symbols, and to describe the meaning(s) of their designs. [As the project progresses, pupils will have begun to develop confidence and important conversations may be taking place between the patient and the pupils. This spiritual, moral and social element of the project is absolutely key here.]

It may be appropriate to also hold a small ‘tea party’ at the hospice, to include any patients that may be too unwell to travel to school for the assembly. The parents of the pupils involved could also be invited to this. One of the aims is to raise awareness of the great work of hospices and to encourage parents to donate and/or support the school in fundraising for your local hospice.

Encourage pupils to think of five questions to ask a partner in class. Encourage them to think carefully about the wording of their questions and explain that they should try to find out as much as possible about that person, including their beliefs about what they think happens after death, whilst being tactful. Give pupils an opportunity to feedback what they have found out about their friend. Highlight good examples of open questions and suggest ways of rewording closed questions.

Ask them then to compile a similar list of questions to ask their patient or family member; all pupils could use this question as a starting point: Buddhists believe that loss and change are things to be accepted rather than causes of sadness. We will be painting mandalas, as they are a symbol of this idea, a circle that carries on and on. What do you believe happens after we die? Encourage them to suggest answers that might be given by the patients. Ask them to say what answers they think might be given by a patient who was a Buddhist.

Refer pupils back to the Buddhist Shrine and the main class question on life, death and dying and ask them what they have learnt. Invite answers to the main question. Observe the flowers (they should be at least wilting by now, if not dead), demonstrating and reinforcing the key message in Buddhism, that loss and change are to be accepted and that all living things die.

In the final week, hold a whole school assembly, to which all of the year group’s parents are invited, along with the patients and staff of the hospice. This should be a celebration of the completed mandalas. Where possible, pupils and patients briefly present their life journeys and talk through the words and symbols on their mandala, highlighting reasons for similarities and differences in the forms of expressing meaning, and the questions and answers about life, suffering and death that they explored. Pupils who represented the lives of family members on their mandalas, should also showcase their work in this assembly with their family member if possible.

Here are some examples of complete mandalas:

We recommend extending the unit with the activities below:

Divide pupils in to groups of six. Each group chooses a religion or philosophy of life represented in the UK and prepares a project to show adherents’ beliefs about life and death. Pupils plan their own enquiry and resources they will need, asking ‘What do they believe about life and death?’

Note: ensure you are using a pupil-friendly search engine, as there are many inappropriate websites and video clips on death. We recommend setting up several ‘fixed’ searches in a folder of safe websites, that pupils can select from.

Use Mackley, J. (2006) Exploring the Journey of Life and Death, Birmingham: RE Today Services. This publication has several challenging activities, encouraging children to think about the journey of life and death. For example, pupils could explore their own ‘journey of life’ by thinking about the high points and low points in their life so far. Pupils could also explore ‘The Journey of Life’ illustration and pick a route they would like to take, thinking about what they would avoid and what they would include and pupils could write the first page of a ‘Guidebook’ for life.

An investigation into the purposes and practice of prayer for Muslims.

For 5-8 year olds. Originally written by Fiona Moss. Updated in April 2019.

Key words and concepts

Five pillars: The basic precepts of Sunni Islam including belief in One God and his prophet Muhammad, prayer, giving of charity, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca. Shi’a Muslims observe the 5 Pillars plus additional obligatory acts.

Salah: Communication with, and worship of, Allah, performed under specific conditions, in the manner taught by the Prophet Muhammad and recited in Arabic. The five daily times of salah are fixed by Allah.

Shahadah: Declaration of faith, which consists of the statement, ‘There is no god except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’.

Minaret: high tower on the Mosque which is traditionally the place that the call to prayer is shouted from.

Adhan: the words that call Muslims to pray 5 times a day.

Allahu Akbar (four times) – God is most great

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa- Allah (once) – I witness that there is no god except God

Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasula- Allah (once) – I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God

Hayya ala-s-salah (twice) – Come to prayer

Hayya ala-l-falah (twice) – Come to salvation

Allalhu Akbar(twice) – God is most great

La ilaha-illa-Allah (once) – There is no god except God

• Muezzin or Mu’adhin: person who recites the call to prayer, the Adhan.

Belief: a confidence that something is true that is not easily proved and is something that others will have different views and opinions about. The term often refers to people’s faith or religious convictions.

Prayer: a way of communicating with the divine. It can take the form of worshipping the divine, asking the divine to intercede on earth or for support or guidance.

Commitment: showing dedication to something that is important to you perhaps a particular belief, activity or cause, even if that commitment means forgoing other things.

Learning activities

Ask the children what their favourite sound is. Is it the theme tune for a TV programme, the sound of the key in the door when Mum comes in from work, the chimes of the ice cream van or their best friend’s voice? What it is that they like about that sound? Does it suggest a particular thing is going to happen or is to do with the people associated with the sound?

Use a Persona doll to introduce the religious material for this question. Create a doll with an Islamic persona. He could be called Ahmed. for clothing he should wear a Topi but the rest of his clothes might match your school uniform or clothes that the children in your community might wear. Construct the doll’s persona, the following is an example. you will need some appropriate connections to your children and perhaps some local place names:

Ahmed is 7 and lives near the park, on his way home from school with Mum he always goes down the slide. He has one younger sister and a younger brother. He lives in a big house because one of his grandmothers lives there too. He likes that because there is always someone to talk to. His favourite food is cheese and tomato pizza and ice cream.

He helps look after the wildlife garden at school. He particularly likes looking for frogs in the pond. He is also a new member of the school chess club. In the summer he brings his cricket bat and at lunchtime he and his friends play cricket on the school field.

Every school night at 4:40 p.m. he goes with his younger brother to the Madrassa or Mosque school. They both carry a copy of the Qur’an in a bag under their arm. At Madrassa he learns how to read the Qur’an and be a good Muslim. Recently he did really well in his exams at the Madrassa.

Once the children have been introduced to Ahmed and know a bit about his life you should ask what the children think Ahmed’s favourite sound is. Take suggestions from the children.

Ahmed should then share from his bag a picture of a mosque with a minaret and show the teacher how to play the children his favourite sound. This is the call to prayer, or adhan. Find a clip of it being played on YouTube. There are many. Find one you would like to explore with the class.

Explain that this is a really important sound for Ahmed. After the children have heard the sound ask Ahmed to explain its importance to him. He should explain that this sound, called the Adhan, is called out five times a day from his local Mosque.

Ask the children to predict why the Adhan might be shouted from the Mosque five times a day.

Ahmed should explain that in some Mosques it is shouted from the top of a tall tower – a minaret, in others it is said into a microphone.

Ask the children to imagine why a tall tower or a microphone is used; Why do the children think Ahmed has chosen this sound? Is this sound like a sound that is used in any other religious building in their town?

Explain that the words that they heard are calling Muslims to pray either at the mosque, at home, at school or whether they are. Muslim people try to pray 5 times every People who belong to the Sunni family of Muslims will try to pray 5 separate times, and people who belong to the Shi’a family contract 5 separate prayers into 3 times of the day. However it is not always possible and Muslims can make up their prayers when they get home if they have missed some.

Ask the children to build somewhere that would be suitable for a Muslim to shout out the call to prayer. Construction equipment in the classroom can be used for this.

Ask the children to write or record into a talking button what a Muslim might shout if they want people to stop and come to pray.

Ask the children to draw a series of picture of themselves stopping what they are doing and going to do something important because something or someone has called them.

Ask the children to write or record into a talking button what they would like to shout from the highest part of the school to the rest of the people in the school. What is it important for everyone in school to know or believe or do? Show a photo of the highest point in your community ask children to write or record what they would shout out to the community. Is it a belief or an instruction or a piece of advice? How are the things that you would shout in your school and your community similar or different to what a Muslim shouts as the call to prayer?

Introduce the children to the enquiry question, in this example we have suggested the question, ‘Why do Muslims stop and pray?’ Or ‘Why is the call to prayer important to Muslims?’

Share the words of the Adhan with the children. Explain that they are written in Arabic as this is the language that the Prophet Muhammad spoke.

Allahu Akbar (four times) – God is most great

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa- Allah (once) – I witness that there is no god except God

Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasula- Allah (once) – I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God

Hayya ala-s-salah (twice) – Come to prayer

Hayya ala-l-falah (twice) – Come to salvation

Allalhu Akbar(twice) – God is most great

La ilaha-illa-Allah (once) – There is no god except God

Share the story of Bilal with the children in an imaginative way. Ahmed could have a version of the story in his bag. There are various story books that you can use to share this story with the children or there are versions of the story online. Bilal was the first person Muhammad asked to shout the call to prayer.

Take care to tell the story in a way that involves the children in the story telling and helps them to understand why the story is still significant to Muslims today. Ask the children such questions as:

• What sort of person do you think Bilal is?
• Do you think it is fair that Ummayah is making Bilal pray in the same way as him?
• Should you ever disobey someone?
• Do you think you should be allowed to believe in God?
• Why do you think that Bilal was chosen to be the first Muezzin (person who does the call to prayer in the Mosque)?
• Does everyone pray?
• What do people pray about?
• How do people pray in different religions? Who do different people pray to? Do they pray for the same things do you think?

As a further way of engaging the children in the story you could have a series of items used in the story and ask children to go around the classroom finding them before you tell the story. This will help the children to engage in the story as they listen out for their props. You could use a rock, a broom, some money, some sand, a picture of a mosque with a minaret. Emphasise to the children that Muslims don’t draw pictures of people that are important in their religion or of God which is why you haven’t drawn a picture of Bilal.

Ask the children to do the following activities in turn (carousel arrangement):

1. Work in a group to find a way of retelling the story to older or younger children to make it memorable. They could make a jigsaw like the one shown in the film. They could make a story map of the plot of the story – how can they do this without drawing people?
2. Work in a group to create mood pictures of the different feelings of Bilal in the story. Write a description of his moods at different times and as a group use these to retell the story of Bilal.
3. Draw a picture showing a time when you stood up for something that was important. Why did you stick up for what you think? Why was your belief or idea so important?

Go back to the enquiry question and ask children to share why they think the call to prayer, the Adhan, is important to Ahmed. Ask all the children to then prepare a series of questions which Ahmed can answer about the call to prayer and its significance in his life and the life of his family such as what happens when it is prayer time in your house? How do you know it is prayer time? Can you hear the call to prayer from your house? Why do Muslim people pray? Why do Muslim people try and pray five times a day?

Ask the children to draw a picture of Ahmed either at home or near the Mosque with a speech bubble expressing why the call to prayer is important. Ask them to make a speech bubble for themselves too. Pre-print the speech bubbles with a sentence starters such as:

• The call to prayer is important to me ..
• The call to prayer is important to my family ..
• I like to stop what I’m doing and pray ..
• I like to stop what I am doing ..
• Prayer is not important to me ..

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.

An examination of Buddhist beliefs about life and suffering.

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

Key words and concepts

Kamma / karma: Action. Intentional actions that affect one’s circumstances in this and future lives.

Bhavachakra: the ‘Wheel of Becoming’ or ‘Wheel of Life’.

Yama: ‘The Lord of Death’ or ‘Demon of Impermanence’. Yama is often pictured as the monster holding the Wheel of Life, symbolising the fact that suffering and death comes to all living beings. He is also known as a protector of Buddhism and Buddhists against evil.

Buddha: the ‘Awakened’ or ‘Enlightened’ One. Many Buddhists believe there have been many Buddhas through history, but that the Buddha of our age is the enlightened person Siddattha Gotama (Pali) / Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit), who lived in what is now Nepal around 2,500 years ago.

Dhamma / dharma: Universal law; ultimate truth. The teachings of the Buddha.

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:

Kamma / karma: The Buddha taught that effects depends on volition. This marks the Buddhist treatment of kamma as different from the Hindu understanding of karma.

Dhamma / dharma: In this banquet, pupils investigate Buddhist ideas about life, truth and suffering. In particular they focus on the symbolism within the Bhavachakra as a way of finding out what Buddhists believe about the ‘bad attitudes’ that can lead away from true happiness and towards increased suffering.

Wheel of life: Also known as the ‘Wheel of Becoming’. Presented here in diagrammatic form, showing the Buddha preaching / teaching in each of six realms of existence. The Buddha is working to save beings and to help them towards enlightenment whatever state they find themselves in.

Learning activities

This sequence of learning activities is built around the Bhavachakra – the Buddhist ‘Wheel of Life’, below. The image is available as an A4 pdf page in the . downloadable version of this resource. Please go to the end of this resource to download the entire resource, including the Bhavachakra.

Remind them that the Buddha was a great teacher who lived around 2,500 years ago, and that his followers are called Buddhists. They believe that the Buddha, through his own great efforts, found out the best way to live. Explain that Buddhists believe that every action has a consequence for good or ill and that in the diagram you are going to show them this is symbolised in different ways. Every form of being, wherever it is, is subject to this law of cause and effect, known as karma. So – human beings and animals cannot avoid cause and effect, and even if you think there are worlds beyond this one – like heaven and hell – karma still works.

Put the Bhavachakra image up on a whiteboard and take them round the diagram, especially the six worlds of existence, showing how there is suffering everywhere, but that in each world the Buddha is there to help. Explain that it is possible to take this account of six worlds literally, i.e., that beings may be reborn in different worlds, but that it may also apply to our lives here and now in terms of the way people behave. Ask pupils what it might mean to behave ‘like an animal’ or a ‘hungry ghost’, for example.

On the board, put six ‘bad attitudes’ that might be linked to each state of being: Jealousy, Selfishness, Willful ignorance, Pride, Greed and Planning To Do Evil. Can pupils think of examples where each of these might lead to bad consequences? List some of these on the board. Ask pupils to imagine interviewing people who had done these bad actions. What questions would they ask and what answers / excuses do you think they would receive? Compare answers across the class.

Provide pupils with a printed version of the Wheel of Life. Ask pupils to work in pairs to recall aspects of the Wheel, labelling the different sections with key points about what Buddhists believe is being illustrated/symbolized.

Encourage pupils to discuss the details of the picture in their pairs and then to share ideas on the most interesting or puzzling aspects. Prompt their thinking by asking how they can tell that one figure in each of the six ‘worlds of existence’ is the Buddha [He is the largest figure; he has a halo; he carries something to help the beings in that realm]; whether they can think of other religions that picture special people in this way [e.g., Christian Saints, Jesus, Sikh Gurus, etc]; whether they can work out what kind of beings are living in each of the six parts of the main picture, and so on.

Now ask pupils to note what the Buddha is carrying in each world. Ask pupils to imagine that a being in each world has a chance to ask the Buddha ONE question. Pupils can work out their ideas in small groups, write them down, then compare across the class. Keep a note of the questions for the final activity (below).

Point out the monster [Yama] holding the whole wheel in its mouth and ask: Why does a monster hold the wheel of life? [Because, Buddhists believe, all of life is in the grip of suffering and ]

Explain that you would now like them to work out how the Buddha might be helping the creatures in each Divide the class into six groups.

Recap the six realms shown in the Wheel of Life and their meaning:

Realm of the gods or ‘devas’: devas enjoy pleasure and relaxation, however those who live in this realm become used to luxury and cannot achieve Enlightenment.

Realm of the demi-gods: beings in this realm are powerful but angry.

Human Realm: although some human lives are hard, because a human can learn and understand, this realm holds the potential of Enlightenment.

Animal Realm: animals are driven by survival, hunger and competition; their existence is impulsive, they cannot attain wisdom or insight.

Realm of the Hungry Ghosts: these beings are never satisfied and always hungry; they live in a perpetual state of craving that is never sated.

Hell Realm: greed, anger and hatred characterises the hell realm where those inside suffer in various ways

Print out an image of each realm for each group, including information about the realm. Groups think of what it must be lie to live in this state of mind- such as a hungry ghost or an angry demi-god. They crate a modern example to describe this state of mind and explain to the class.

Talk as a class how the buddha might help beings in all the realms, or people in all of these states of mind. Refer to the Buddha’s gifts:

• The lute
• Flaming sword
• Alms bowl
• Book
• Jar of nectar
• Flaming torch

In groups pupils discuss the symbolism of one of these gifts and how it would help people in a specific realm or state of mind. Listen to answers.

Explain that Buddhists believe that the Buddha’s teaching can help everyone to stop suffering, wherever they are [by stopping self-centred desires]. Many Buddhists use paintings of the Wheel of Life to meditate on. They might look at each section and carefully consider what it means for them. Other Buddhists prefer not to use such paintings for meditation, but instead to meditate on a single thought or point. Ask pupils to say which method they think might help a Buddhist to lead a happier life and to give some reasons.

Remind pupils of the questions they wrote for the Buddha and ask them to choose three of the best. Ask them to work out in their groups what answers they think the Buddha might give to these questions, bearing in mind the ‘gifts’ that he is carrying in the Wheel of Life pictures. What answers would pupils give if they were being asked those questions?

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 enquiry into an icon of Christ the Teacher.

For 3-5 year olds. Originally written by Emma McVittie. Updated in April 2019.

Key words and concept

Icon: painting or mosaic of Jesus, Mary, a saint, or a Church feast. Used as an aid to devotion, usually in the Christian Orthodox tradition.

Devotion: (in a religious context) an act of worship which usually involves prayer.

Orthodox: (i) the Eastern Orthodox Church consisting of national Churches (mainly Greek or Slav), including the ancient Eastern Patriarchates. They hold the common Orthodox faith, and are in communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. (ii) Conforming to the creeds sanctioned by the ecumenical councils, e.g., Nicaea, Chalcedon.

Belonging: can be defined in a variety of ways including a sense of belonging through connections to: people, places, groups and communities. Belonging can enhance our sense of identity and aid the development of relationships within particular groups and communities.

Symbolism: the use of one object / picture to represent another object, idea, action or thought. Widely used in religion and can evoke a sense of emotion and an affinity with an individual’s faith.

Learning activity

Each activity is designed to have 10-15 minutes of teacher led input either as a whole class or in small groups, followed by children engaging in related activities.

Stage 1: Christ the Teacher:

Show the children icon of Christ the Teacher. There are many images online. This icon shows Jesus holding an open book, has hand raised and a halo around his head.

Ask the children some of the questions from the selection below, which can be tailored to specific age groups:

• Who is it?
• What are the letters for?
• What does the book say?
• What is the mark on his hand?
• What’s the shape on his head for?
• What can you see?
• What part of the icon do you see first?
• Why do you think this is?
• What did you notice next?
• Where do you think you might find it?
• Who is in the painting?
• What is the person holding?
• What do you think the artist was thinking about when they painted this?
• What might a Christian think about the icon?
• What do you think about this piece of art?
• What do you like?
• Is there anything you don’t like?

Would you change anything about it?

Invite and record children’s own questions. Keep them visible and answer them when you can.

Explain to the children that an ‘icon’ is a painting or mosaic of Jesus, Mary, a saint, or a Church feast. It is used as an aid to devotion (prayer and worship), usually in the Christian Orthodox tradition.

Ask if the children have any questions of their own about the icon.

Now ask the children where they think they might see a picture like this? You might want to display a selection of pictures for children to choose from, e.g. a church, a school, a house. Explain that you might see it in all of those places but especially in churches in the Orthodox tradition.

Find images of Orthodox churches and cathedrals online- show children a selection, showing icons and the richly painted walls and woodwork.

Explain to the children that icons are usually found in a Christian Orthodox place of worship but also in other Christian places too.

Give small groups a selection of icon pictures to look at, gathered from the internet. Look for icons of:

• Jesus as a baby with Mary
• Jesus and his disciples
• Jesus and the saints
• Scenes form Jesus’ life

Give pupil five minutes to choose the one they like the best and to think of a reason why they like it.

Ask the children to show their picture to the class and take it in turns to share it and say why they like it.

Stage 2: Symbols

Show children some of the images of the stained glass windows, asking the same questions as in stage 1 with the additional ones below, if appropriate:

• How do you think these are made?
• What do you think the person is doing?
• What do you think the person is holding?
• What do you think the colours tell you?

Explain the meaning of some of the windows and introduce the idea of symbolism being a way to say something but without words.

Can they think of ways to say things without using words? Ask children to mime: Hello, goodbye, I’m tired, I’m grumpy, thank you.

In small groups with an adult, can they think of a picture or a symbol to ‘say’ these things, e.g. draw round their hand to say hello or goodbye.

You can also use road signs, commercial symbols, charity symbols and mascots.

Work with the class to think about a picture for class stained glass window and the colours and symbols you might use and why. [The outline can be drawn for the children and then completed using a variety of media.] Throughout the activity, ask the children about what symbolism they want to use and why.

Stage 3: Symbolism from world religions

This can be split into 3 short sessions

Session A

Remind children about the icons and the stained-glass windows they have looked at and tell them that as well as symbols being used in religious worship and celebrations that actions and music are also used. All these things help people to feel part of their religious group/community.

Ask children to sit in a circle quietly and explain that they are going to close their eyes and listen to some special music.

Play The ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from Handel’s Messiah and ask the children to think of one word to describe how it made them feel.

Explain that the words were taken from the Christian Bible by a composer named George Frideric Handel over 300 years ago.

Session B

Now ask the children to watch some dancing from the Hindu tradition. There are many clips online.

Ask the children to think about a question they would like to ask about what they have seen, share the questions with the class and display.

Session C

Explain to the children that Islamic art patterns have no beginning and no end – ask children to create their own using a variety of media such as pastels, paints, chalk, water and food colouring, drawing in sand. Along the lines of ‘taking a pencil for a walk’ rather than creating geometric patterns at this stage.

Bringing it all together

Ask the children to report back on what have seen and heard: what was their favourite and why?

Explain that these different ways of showing belonging are also about a person’s thoughts, feelings and ideas (their identity). Work with small groups to either compose some music, make up a special dance or design a pattern based on Islamic art. Ask them to relate their ideas to themselves and what kind of person they think they are.

Stage 4: Personal signs and symbols

Ask children if they belong to any groups e.g. football, dance, rainbows etc. Do they have to wear anything special when they go to the group? Do they follow special routines there?

Explain that sometimes people who belong to / follow a religious faith wear special symbols to show belonging. You could use pictures of such items as: a cross, a hijab, a kippah, a tilak mark, a turban.

It is useful to be able to have the objects available for the children to handle at this stage.

Encourage children to ask questions about the objects:

• What is it used for?
• When is it used / worn?
• Who wears it?
• Why do they wear it?

Ask the children to give their views on each item.

In small groups support children to think of a special symbol for themselves. This can then be made using a variety of media. When all the children have made their own identity symbol, they can be put together to create a symbol of the whole class.