Unit 8 KS 2 Key Theme: Beliefs in Action in the World (1) Year 5 Spring Term

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1 Unit 8 KS 2 Key Theme: Beliefs in Action in the World (1) Year 5 Spring Term ABOUT THIS UNIT: Work in this unit will enable children to explore Beliefs and Actions in the World (1) within Christianity and Buddhism. It will introduce children to beliefs about the creation of the world and care for the environment and will enable them to explore the meanings both in their own lives and within the lives of Christians and Buddhists. It will also introduce children to some of the key areas/ strands of learning in RE. This unit particularly focuses on Beliefs, Teachings and Sources and Values and Commitments. The learning activities are designed to meet the learning needs of visual, oral and kinaesthetic learners. Estimated time for this unit: 10 weeks Focused Religions: Christianity and Buddhism Where this unit fits in: Year 5 Spring Term Unit 8 KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES (from the programmes of study) AT1 a) describe the key aspects of religions, especially the people, stories and traditions which influence belief and values c) identify and begin to describe the similarities and differences within and between religions AT2 b) respond to the challenges of commitment both in their own lives and within religious traditions, recognizing how commitment to a religion is shown in a variety of ways c) discuss their own and others views of religious truth and belief, expressing their own ideas clearly KEY STRANDS ADDRESSED BY THIS UNIT Beliefs, teachings and sources, and, Values and Commitments LINKS TO THE EVERY CHILD MATTERS AGENDA Being Healthy: Staying Safe: Enjoyment and Achievement: engage with challenging concepts and ideas in the philosophy of religion consider how religions and beliefs respond to powerful questions of meaning developing pupils learning about the diversity of religious and ethnic groups promoting pupils own ideas and providing opportunities to explore and reflect on key questions and values Making a Positive Contribution: considering rights and responsibilities for themselves, their communities and within religious traditions Achieving Economic Well-being: considering spiritual issues such as the worth of humans and all living species, including animals and plants

2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PUPILS SPIRITUAL, MORAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT Spiritual Development Discussing and reflecting upon key questions of meaning and truth such as the origins of the universe Learning about and reflecting upon important concepts, experiences and beliefs which are at the heart of religious and other traditions and practices Moral Development Considering the importance of rights and responsibilities and developing a sense of conscience Social Development Considering how religious and other beliefs lead to particular actions and concerns Cultural Development Considering the relationship between religion and cultures and how religious beliefs contribute to cultural identity and practice KEY SKILLS Reflection Enquiry - Communication KEY ATTITUDES Respect for All: Readiness to look at and learn from the positive potentialities of diversity and difference Appreciation and Wonder: Appreciating the sense of wonder at the world in which they live, and their response to questions of meaning and purpose

3 Prior learning Vocabulary Resources It is helpful if children have: In this unit, children will have an opportunity to use words and phrases related to: Myths Creation Environment Interdependent Compassion Wisdon Nearly all can: (at level 3 ) AT1 use a developing religious vocabulary to describe some key features of religions, recognizing similarities and differences make links between beliefs and sources, including religious stories and sacred texts begin to identify the impact religion has on believers lives describe some forms of religious expression. AT2 identify what influences them, making links between aspects of their own and others experiences ask important questions about religion and beliefs, making links between their own and others responses make links between values and commitments, and their own attitudes and behaviour. Pupil friendly level descriptions: I can.. describe some of the things that are the same and different for religious people. Many can: (at level 4) AT1 use a developing religious vocabulary to describe and show understanding of sources, practices, beliefs, ideas, feelings and experiences make links between them, and describe some similarities and differences both within and between religions describe the impact of religion on people s lives suggest meanings for a range of forms of religious expression. Pupil friendly level descriptions: I can compare some of the things that influence me with those that influence other people. AT2 raise and suggest answers to, questions of identity, belonging, meaning, purpose, truth, values and commitments apply their ideas to their own and other people s lives describe what inspires and influences themselves and others. Pupil friendly level descriptions: I can compare some of the things that influence me with those that influence other people. use religious language to describe and compare what practices and experiences may be involved in belonging to different religious groups. ask questions about who we are and where we belong, and suggest answers which refer to people who have inspired and influenced myself and others.

4 Some children will have progressed further and can: (level 5) AT1 use an increasingly wide religious vocabulary to explain the impact of beliefs on individuals and communities describe why people belong to religions understand that similarities and differences illustrate distinctive beliefs within and between religions and suggest possible reasons for this explain how religious sources are used to provide answers to ultimate questions and ethical issues, recognizing diversity in forms of religious, spiritual and moral expression, within and between religions. Pupil friendly level descriptions: I can suggest reasons for the variety of beliefs people hold, and explain how religious sources are used to provide answers to important questions. AT2 ask and suggest answers to questions of identity, belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, values and commitments, relating them to their own and others lives explain what inspires and influences them, expressing their own and others views on the challenges of belonging to a religion. Pupil friendly level descriptions: I can ask questions about things that are important to me and to other people and suggest answers which relate to my own and others lives.

5 Key questions LEARNING OBJECTIVES Pupils should learn: Teaching and Learning Activities Assessment Opportunities Links / points to note How was the world created? to explore ideas and beliefs of how the world was created. to engage with the Biblical creation story through drama Give the class a few minutes thinking time in which they are asked to reflect on how the world came into being. Discuss the children s ideas. Explain that people all over the world have stories which try to answer these puzzling questions of life. These could be researched. Read the creation story found in Genesis chapter 1, accompanied by background music. Divide the class into 7 groups and allocate each group one of the days of creation. Ask each group to create a 2 minute mime/dance/ drama (visual portrayal) to explain their day of creation. Interpretations expressed in drama What beliefs do Christians hold about the creation of the world? to practise and perform the drama of creation Revisit the story of creation found in Genesis chapter one Allow the children time to practise their interpretations of the text Perform cameos of each day of creation (The same background music used in the previous lesson could be used as a background for their performances.) Video the drama/dance/mime created or take digital photographs

6 Key questions LEARNING OBJECTIVES Pupils should learn: Teaching and Learning Activities Assessment Opportunities Links / points to note Explain to the class that not all Christians hold the same beliefs about the creation of the world e.g. Some Christians take the story literally, others interpret the days of creation as periods of time in history and others regard the story as myth. Ask children to reflect upon their interpretation of the story and how/if it reflected their beliefs. Children could write an explanation of their cameo to be displayed with digital photographs, for example. Writing to support their interpretation of the story. What other stories explain the creation of the world? to explore their own and others beliefs/explanation of how the world was created FOUR SESSIONS Complete the Island Project, firstly by considering additional creation stories and then by creating an island of their own. This task can also serve as a focussed assessment task by setting clear expectations which enable the children to reach the appropriate level of attainment. How do Christians beliefs about the creation of the world affect the way they live?

7 Key questions LEARNING OBJECTIVES Pupils should learn: Teaching and Learning Activities Assessment Opportunities Links / points to note What do Buddhists believe about the environment? that everything is linked interdependent. that certain actions follow, e.g. not harming, (respect) compassion and wisdom. Guide the children through a reflection on Everything is linked. See Appendix 1 with further teaching and learning activities. Buddhists believe that everything is linked together in the web of life. The key teaching point and Buddhist insight is to see that nothing stands alone. Everything is in a complex web of relationships. Everything is interdependent. Invite the children to select something that they have eaten today, e.g. a banana, chocolate bar or breakfast cereal Explore the links involved in bringing that food to them. Trace all the growing, manufacture and travel of the food. Children can illustrate this on large sheets of paper. For background understanding teachers may wish to explore a number of websites via Google, under: Buddhism and the environment. Buddhists tend not to focus on God as Creator of the world. The world-nature-the environment is seen more as a given that we need to understand, appreciate and learn from. How do Buddhists act? Return to the tree example. Buddhists teach that we should respect nature and not seek to destroy these webs of relationships. This extends to all creatures whether human or animal. One should act wisely and compassionately. See Appendix 2 for a further reflection. Children can look-up the meaning of compassion and wisdom. Discuss in groups. Devise a short set of guidelines about how to live without harming nature and others. Use compassion and wisdom to guide. These activities could be linked to responsibilities with school or home for action around recycling, looking after the environment etc.

8 Key questions LEARNING OBJECTIVES Pupils should learn: Teaching and Learning Activities Assessment Opportunities Links / points to note What has this got to do with me? to see themselves as part of the chain of interdependence. that what I do has effects on others. In small groups, of ten, using a small net or table cloth demonstrate how, with everyone holding a piece of the outstretched net, a gentle pull on one side is felt on the other. Children can summarize what they have learnt about how Buddhists live and act. Compare with Christian approaches. what Buddhist believe about how to act. Invite the group to experience this and what this means and might say about our family, school, community, country, world. The key insight is to see that because we are all linked we need to act with compassion and wisdom. Children can discuss whether we can ever say that, what I do does not affect others. To improve the school or classroom environment children can make their own Prayer flags, with messages (and designs) for all the world. Tibetan prayer flags can be printed on large strips of coloured material, tied to flag poles outside, or on large sheets of coloured paper strung across the classroom. Buddhists believe that your Prayers and wishes are carried by the wind to all corners of the earth. Follow lesson plans from Festival Matters Y4- Easter.

9 APPENDIX 1 Reflection Everything is Linked (Interdependent) As with all quiet times, the setting, atmosphere and skills of the teacher are paramount. This particular exercise is best done outside sitting under a tree but can be done in the classroom too! Having created a period of stillness ask the children to reflect on the following without asking questions until the exercise is over. It could take a minute or ten minutes, according to the feel of the experience. Pause along the way where you feel it is appropriate: We are going to be still for a few minutes and I want you to think about what I am going to say: This tree (or think of a tree you know or need to get to know!) has been here for many years It grows here, quietly, surely, almost unnoticed It is watered by the rain, warmed by the sun and sometimes chilled by the frost and snow. It is also blown to and fro by strong winds, which it has survived and probably is the stronger for. It is fed by many things in the earth drawn up by its roots. This tree is also home to thousands, if not millions, of tiny bugs and creatures that live here also quietly, surely almost unnoticed. This tree is here because many other things make it possible, like the sun and rain. All these things linked together like a chain, make it possible for us to enjoy this tree at this moment. In turn, the tree itself makes lots of other things happen too. It is home to all those creatures and the tree also helps create good, clean air for us on this planet earth. This tree is very important and linked together with so many other things in the world At the close of the exercise, allow a little time to re-adjust, especially if the children have entered into the reflection in silence and with eyes closed. The teacher can then explore questions. Ask the children to write a piece of creative writing in response to the exercise. Devise a piece of drama or draw a picture to illustrate their feelings and thoughts. How can we act to help and preserve the tree? What might harm the tree and thereby upset the complex web of things that are linked to it? In what ways can we act to help and preserve this tree or through thoughtless actions act in ways that harm this tree?

10 APPENDIX 2 Reflection Everyone is Like Me! Prepare for the reflection as outlined in Appendix 1 Think about what you want and what you do not want Just as I want to be happy and not sad, cared for and loved, so too does everyone else. Whether my family, relatives or friends, everyone wants to be happy. Even those I don t particularly like or get on with, they also just want to be happy. The people who live around us here. People who I do not know people, in fact, all over the world no one wants to be unhappy, everyone wants to be happy. We all have this in common all linked together. Even the animals our pets, wild animals, large and small all want to be happy, none of them like to be hurt or treated cruelly. All beings wish for happiness. Just like me everyone wants to be happy. ( May all beings find happiness and be free from unhappiness A Buddhist prayer) THE ISLAND PROJECT

11 THE ISLAND PROJECT (1) A In the beginning the world was all marshy and water, a waste place. Above it was the sky where Ol-orun, the owner of the sky lived with other gods The gods came down sometimes to play in the marshy waste, coming down spider s webs which hung across great gaps like fairy bridges. But there were no people yet, for there was no solid ground. One day Ol-orun called the chief of the gods into his presence. He told him that he wanted to create firm ground and ask him to set about the task. The Great God was given a snail shell in which there was some loose earth, a pigeon and a hen with five toes. He came down to the marsh and threw the earth from the snail shell into a small place. Then he put the pigeon and the hen on the earth, and they started to scratch and scatter it about. Before long, they had covered much of the marsh and solid ground was formed. When Great God went back to report to Ol-orun the latter sent a chameleon to inspect the work. After a first inspection the chameleon reported that the earth was wide but not dry enough. Then he was sent again, and this time he said it was both wide and dry. The place where creation began was called Ife, meaning wide, and later the world Ile meaning house was added, to show that it was the house from which all other earthly dwellings have originated. B Before the land rose out of the waters at the beginning of the world, Ra the Shining One came into being. He was all powerful, and the secret of his power lay in his name which he has hidden from all the world. Having this power, he had only to name a thing, and that too came into being. I am Khepera at the dawn, and Ra at noon, and Tum in the evening and as he said it, behold he was the sun rising in the east, passing across they sky and setting in the west. And this was the first day of the world. When he named Shu, the wind blew. The rain fell when he named Tufnut, the spitter. After this he spoke the name of Geb and the earth rose above the waters of the sea. He cried Nut! and that goddess was the arch of the sky stretching over the earth with her feet on one horizon and her hands on the other. Then named Hapi, the sacred river. The river by the land was to make it fruitful. Then Ra went on to name all things on earth, which grew into being at his word. Last of all he spoke the words for man and woman, and soon there were people dwelling throughout the land. After this Ra himself took on the shape of a man and became the first king. For thousands of years he reigned over the land, and there was peace and plenty. The Nile rose each year and flooded the fields; then it sank back into its channel, leaving the rich coating of mud which made sure of fine crops as the cool spring turned into the baking summer. C Everything was water as far as the eye could see. Above the water rose the tree Eri-Ramula. Then a worm was born in the tree, it began to eat the wood. The dust fell into the water, year after year, until slowly the world was formed. Then at last the tree fell to the ground. The bark on the lower side of the trunk became the skin of the world; the bark on the other side became the sky. The trunk turned into rock. The branches became hills. D The Universe is round, and the earth floats inside it. At its beginning the divine serpent carried god here and there in its mouth. The mountains appeared where they stopped at night to rest; they created everything between them. Yet all the waters that God made stood still. So the divine serpent etched out the courses of the rivers and the beds of the streams; when they began to flow, the earth began to live. Then God said Hold the earth together. So the serpent coiled himself around it, made it firm, and it has remained so. Yet the serpent coils and uncoils himself. His motion turns out world and sets the planets turning. He moves in quiet pools and running streams, he is the endless tides of the seas, he is the flash of light across the water. In the beginning human beings lived in the sky and imagined nothing else. But one day their chief s daughter fell ill. No one knew what was wrong with her, no one could cure her, she lay and suffered day and night. At length the wise old man of the tribe dreamed a strange dream. He came to the people the next day and said, We must bury the chief s daughter near the great tree that stands by his lodge. Then we must dig it up. The spirit has told me in my dream. The people murmured for that tree gave them food to eat in the winter when they were hungry. Nonetheless they did exactly as the old man said, carrying the girl there and laying her down, then setting themselves to dig up the great tree.

12 It fell with a crash, its roots in the air, leaving a huge hole where it had been, into which fell the girl who had been lying there asleep. The girl grabbed at the roots of the tree to save herself. She dragged the tree down with her, through the hole, down, down, and down they fell; and nothing met them far below but an endless, endless ocean on which swam water fouls of every kind. Swans, plovers and ducks. These saw her fall and took pity on her. Linking themselves together they made a platform of bone and feather on which she landed, though the tree sank straight to the bottom of the sea. She is much too beautiful to drown, the birds said. But she is much too heavy a burden for us to bear for very long. Who will carry her now? I will said the Great Turtle, and took her on his back at once. Then he said, This will bring good fortune to our people. We must make the woman a resting place that will last her for ever and that will be big enough to carry all other creatures who may join her there. You saw the tree that fell with her, the earth still clinging to its roots. One of you must dive to the bottom of the sea and bring some of the earth to me. All the water birds and creatures heard him. But the sea was not only wide, but deep. Otter, muskrat and beaver dived in turn, none of them could reach the bottom. As each of them reemerged on the surface of the sea he rolled over and died from sheer exhaustion. At last toad said, Now I will try, but he was gone so long that the others peering down into the depths of the sea and seeing no sign of him thought him lost. At last, slowly, he swam upwards and appeared among the waves around them. He too was so weary he could hardly croak, he rolled over and died at once. But his mouth had fallen open and in it there was a little speck of earth and this the turtle told them to place on his back. Which they did. Being magic earth it spread and spread onwards until it had made a whole earth. Yet darkness covered it. The animals gathered together again to consider the problem. A lamp was needed, they thought, a Great Lamp placed high up in the sky, high enough to fill the whole earth with light. But none of them knew how to make such a light or how to take it to the sky, or so they said, until the great turtle called the little turtle and she said she might possibly manage to climbed the steep and dangerous road into the sky. All the other animals joined their magic to help her. They caused a great black cloud to form and in it were many rocks, which clashing together filled the sky with flashes of lightning. As soon as she saw these the little turtle climbed into the cloud and rode around in it, all over the sky, seizing each lightening flash that passed until she had enough of them to make a golden burning ball, bigger than she was, and this she threw with all her might higher and higher into the sky. And there it stood, the sun. And when the cloud moved on again, she gathered enough lightning to make another ball, a smaller paler one, which in its turn she threw above her head and that one made the moon. It is good, the great turtle said, now the earth has day. Then he sent the burrowing animals to make holes in the corners of the sky, so that the sun and moon would be able to circle the earth, descending through one hole and rising up again through the other. F Long ago, there was a time when neither heaven or earth existed. Everything was in darkness, confused, unformed and un-separated. All the makings of the universe were trapped inside a single egg. Within this yolk of chaos grew a giant. He was called Pan Ku. After many thousands of years, Pan Ku became too large for the egg. The shell cracked and shattered. All the makings of the universe escaped. The light elements floated upwards to make the glittering heavens. His feet pressed down upon the earth. He grew and grew. Each day the heavens were nudged a little higher and the earth thickened beneath his feet. For eighteen thousand ages Pan Ku grew. He was like a great pillar holding the heaven and the earth apart until they became stable and secure. Eventually, Pan Ku died. His body collapsed and began to change. His breath was released and became the breeze, winds and clouds. His voice became the roar of the thunder. Both his eyes were transformed. The right eye rose as the moon in the sky, his left eye became the sun. Pan Ku s four limbs and body became the four corners of the world, the mountains, hills and valleys. His blood turned into the rivers and gave life to the fields and meadows, which were his skin. The silver hairs of his head became the stars. The hairs on his body became the many grasses, trees and flowers. Pan Ku s teeth and bones became the rocks and minerals in the soil. His sweat fell as the rain and the dew in the morning. All the tiny mites on his body became the living creatures of the world. So Pan Ku was the ancestor of the universe. It was he who made the heavens beautiful and the earth flourish.

13 G In the beginning of creation, when God made heaven and earth, the earth was without form and void, with darkness over the face of the abyss, and a mighty wind which swept over the surface of the waters. God said, Let there be light and there was light; and God saw that the light was good, and he separated light from darkness. He called the light day and the darkness night. So evening came and morning came, the first day. God said, Let there be a vault between the waters, to separate water from water. So God made the vault, and separated the water under the vault from the water above it, and so it was; and God called the vault heaven. Evening came and morning came, a second day. God said, Let the waters under heaven be gathered into one place, so that dry land may appear. And so it was. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the water he called seas; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, let the earth produce fresh growth, let there be on the earth plants bearing seed, fruit trees bearing fruit each with seed according to its kind. So it was; the earth yielded fresh growth, plants bearing seed according to their kind and trees bearing fruit each with seed according to its kind; and God saw that it was good. Evening came, and morning came, a third day. God said, Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to separate day from night, and let them serve as signs both for festivals and for seasons and for years. Let them also shine in the vault of heaven to give light on earth. So it was; God made two great lights, the greater to govern the day and the lesser to govern the night; and with them he made the stars. Evening came, and morning came, a fourth day. A African B Egyptian C Australian Aborigine D Scandanavia (Norse-Viking) E Algonquin Indians N. America F Chinese G Jewish/Christian

14 FORMATIVE GRID When I hear the word environment I think of Something beautiful in our world is A real problem facing our world is BELIEFS IN ACTION IN THE WORLD (1) Something in our world I would like to change is Many christians believe the world began by I think the world began by

15 SUMMATIVE GRID.. SUMMATIVE