|
|
||||
|
Places to go when you're done with everything: If you have another site you'd like to visit, clear it with Miss Gowen first. You may also check your email provided you don't spend the whole period doing it! |
|||
|
In this project, you will learn about different religions and traditions from around the world. We'll look at how other people relate to God, the ways others worship, and the holy books and the symbols they use. We'll compare the religions to see how they are alike and different. You will create a presentation about your religion for the rest of the class. Then we'll create two quilts that show quotes from the sacred writings of each faith. One quilt will be on the Internet, and the other will be a real, physical cloth quilt. Computer programs you will use: Netscape/Internet Explorer, AppleWorks,
Adobe PageMill, & PowerPoint. |
|
|||
|
Part 1: Learning About Different Religions
Activities: Go to the websites that have information about the religion you are studying. Use the worksheet you are given to record a few facts about the religion. Then add your facts to the big chart. Remember: You may use ONLY the links listed here unless otherwise noted. Do not go to any other pages without approval from the teacher. If you can't find a fact, skip it and go to the next. Then try this site to find the information you need. 1. Bahai | Bahai-Faith.org | Bahai by Subject 2. Buddhism | Personal Beliefs: Buddhism | Buddhism Movie | A Brief History of Buddhism 3. The Amish/Mennonites | Amish Photo Gallery | The Amish, Mennonites and the Plain People | Amish: The Gentle People | 4. Roman Catholic | Catholic.net | Catholic Encyclopedia | The Vatican 5. Mormons | All About Mormons 6. Hinduism | Personal Beliefs: Hinduism | Hinduism Movie | Meeting God | Hindukids.org 7. Islam | Personal Beliefs: Islam | Islam Movie | Famous Mosques 8. Judaism | Judaism 101 | Virtal Chanukah | Akhlah! 9. Shinto | Personal Beliefs: Shintoism 10. Taoism | Daoism Movie 11. Native American Spirituality | The Big Picture: Native Americans | National Museum of the American Indian 12. Quakers | Quakers in Brief (you may use the links) | Facts About Friends 13. Confucianism | The Geography of Confucianism | Personal Beliefs: Confucianism | Confucianism Movie 14. Greek Orthodox (you may use the links) | Rainbow Series on the Orthodox Faith 15. Jainism (you may use the links) | About.com: Jainism (you may use the links) | A to Z of Jainism | Jainism Movie | Jain History |
||||
|
Every religion and culture has symbols that represent its beliefs. In this part you'll look at some symbols. Some you will recognize, and others will be new to you. We will talk about symbolism in class before we do this section. We'll look at symbols of Christianity at a great site, and everyone will try their hand at creating mandalas.
Activities: Find the symbol(s) for the religion you chose. Use the websites listed below to explore different symbols and their meanings. Copy the symbol(s) for the religion onto a piece of paper. Or, find a picture of the symbol online and print it out. On your paper, describe the meaning of the symbol(s). There may be many variations on the symbols and their meanings. Try to choose the major, most important ones. Symbols.com -- Use the Word Index to look for the name of the religion. If you know the name of the symbol you're looking for, look for that name here too. Mandalas -- This would be for those studying Buddhism and Hinduism. Also, look at mandalas created by children. Native American Symbols -- Check out this site, which is about how some schools use Native American symbols as mascots. Om -- This site contains a picture of the Om symbol, used in Jainism. Om -- This one is used in Hinduism. Look here for more Hindu symbols. Symbols of the Orthodox Faith | Christian Symbolism Islam -- The star and crescent moon are commonly used to depict the Islamic religion. But what do they mean? A lot of people think the Amish use hex signs as one of their symbols because there are a lot of hex signs on barns in areas where the Amish live. It's not true, though. What's a hex sign? Find out here. |
|
|||
|
Part 3: Holy Days, Holidays and Rites of Passage In this part you'll be looking at what people celebrate. On a blank sheet of paper, list any important holy days celebrated by people of the religion you chose, along with a short description of its meaning. Then list any important rites of passage. Use the resources listed below. Later you will add this information to a web-based calendar. A "holy day" is a day which celebrates some important event or idea within a religion. Examples in Christianity would be Christmas and Easter. There may also be holy times of the year, such as Lent. List those too. List the really important ones, the ones that Catholics would call "days of obligation." (Don't list minor celebrations, like those of individual saints. That would take you days!) Note that some holidays are cultural and not religious -- like Thanksgiving, Independence Day, and Memorial Day. A "rite of passage" is a celebration of some important event or change in a person's life. These usually happen at the same age within a religion, and are like a personal holiday. For instance, in the Catholic religion, there is baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation (among others). Feztve | Holidays on the Net | World's Bank Holidays | Earth Calendar | Multi-Cultural Calendar
|
|
|||
|
Part 4: Geographical Breakdown and Holy Places This part is about geography, and there are three things you'll need to do. First, you need to show on a world map the main places in the world where the religion you chose is practiced. Get your map here by clicking and holding down, then saving it in the Documents folder. Further directions will be given in class. When it's finished, the map will be used as part of a presentation you do later on. It needs to be in your portfolio for now. Since the major religions are practiced all over the world, it won't be possible for you to include every single area. Just get the main areas. You can use the information you've already gathered, as well as the resources listed below. The second piece is to list any places that are holy and revered to adherents of the religion you chose. In the Catholic religion, for instance, the Vatican would be an example. You will also list the names of the places of worship, such as church, temple, or mosque. (I don't mean to list names of individual places, just what they call their houses of worship. There may also be more than one kind of place -- for Catholics, three examples are church, cathedral, and basilica.) List any such places in the Southern Maine area. Use the local phone book, and the resources below, to help. Places of Peace and Power | Temples of India | Islamic Pilgrimage Sites | Links to Sacred Sites
|
||||
|
Please! Read all of the directions before you jump into this! In this part of the project you will help in the creation of a display about the names used to refer to God (the Divine Spirit, the Creator, however he/she/it is viewed in the religion you chose). Your task is to list the names for God in the religion you chose. Then, you'll create a small piece of artwork using each name. You should include all of the words you can find that refer to God or an aspect of God. For instance, Catholics call God by these names: God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Jesus, etc. If the name has a translation, include that too. At least 5 names per person is required, but no more than 10. If your religion has no names for God, or only a few, use the resources below to find some from other religions. Perhaps you can think of some others from mythology (remember, what we call "mythology" was once someone's spiritual beliefs!) I want everyone to participate because you are really practicing for later, when you use AppleWorks to make your quilt square. Since this is intended for display, you'll need to be artistic. Don't just get a magic marker and write the words. Use AppleWorks to do this part of the project. Use a Painting document and the Text tool. Change the fonts and colors. (Do not get larger than 72 points!) If you use Outline as your style, you can later use the Paint Bucket to fill in the letters with patterns and colors. You may also get images from the internet that are related to the religion and add those as well (just save them in your folder as usual, and then drag and drop). Then you can print out your work and cut it out. The Names for God | The Names and Titles for God | The One Hundred Most Beautiful Names of God | Names of God | The Names of God | Mythological Characters Worldwide
In this part you will create a quilt square that includes a meaningful quotation from a holy book of the religion you chose. If your religion does not have a holy book, try to find a meaningful saying or principle from the religion. The quote must be cleared with the teacher before you make the quilt square! To make your quilt square, follow the directions on the handout given in class. When the square is complete, it will be printed out on transfer paper and ironed onto cloth. Then you can embellish it with paint, glitter, buttons, etc. |