Dance Curriculum Toolkit

Title of Resource:  Thematic Teaching WORLD RELIGIONS: GRADES 8-12 ACTIVITY IDEAS

Resources Geared Towards: Educators

 

Description of Resource: This resource provides teachers with a variety of Religion based lesson plans that they can choose from specifically designed for students grades 8-12.  It's unusual to find resources that encompass world religions as typically lessons are usually focused more towards Christianity and sometimes Judaism and Islam.  This information provided is equally divided amongst various world religions and offers lesson-planning ideas for educators to implement into their classrooms.  It also supplements the information with suggestions and tips for discussion and classroom management within the classroom when talking about a "taboo" topic such as Religion.  

 

Appropriateness for High School Students: This resource was designed students of high school age, which throughout my research for this project, I realized is surprisingly unusual to find.  There are many more resources for students in primary education in regards to culture, religion, and other social issues that when I found this resource, I was excited that it turned out to be such an enriching source of information for myself as an educator as well as for high school students.

 

Use of Resource in Classroom/Ways to Implement this Resource in my Classroom:  I would utilize this resource in my classroom as a framework for developing a unit and/or lesson plan that encompasses world religions.  This resource inspired me to think about how I would develop a unit that my lesson plan would most likely students will be divided up into groups and will be given one of the many religions that exist in our world to focus on.  Students will be responsible for researching their Religions History, the Dance Culture that exists within that religion.  Some of the religions to be considered for students to study include: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism, and Ethnic religions. These religions can be found throughout the world and encompass continental areas such as: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.  Ultimately develop a dance that embodies the dance culture within the Religion each group studied.  Students will perform their choreographic works for each other at the end of the unit and in closing, I will facilitate a class discussion of the similarities between each of the Religions as a way for students to be able to comprehend that we are all interconnected in some way to the world around us.     

 

Strengths of Resource as a Teaching Tool (Purpose, Value, Uniqueness, Positive Aspects):  The purpose of this lesson is to expose students to the many World Religions that exist in our world today.  The material within this resource is strongly focused on World Religions as a whole and engages students to learn about other religions that they may have not had the chance to in previous classes.  Dance has significantly impacted cultures and religions around the world and I think introducing students to new styles of dance and new religions, they are expanding their knowledge and understanding of the world in a new exciting way!  The uniqueness of this activity is that students will be taken out of their comfort zone of "what they know" and asked to open their minds to learning about how others live and celebrate culture and life.  

 

Possible Modifications to Resource (Weaknesses, Limitations, Supplemental Resources):  Although this resource is centered on teaching students about World Religions I know that every religion that exists in the world is included in the information.  One potential modification that would need to be made to this unit plan would be opening up the floor for students to also do research outside of class about world religions and if they come across a religion that has not been discussed in class that they are interested in exploring, I would absolutely welcome that however, I would need to do my own research outside of the research that I have already done in finding this source to ensure that I am familiar with the religion and culture that group has chosen to research.  In my opinion, if a student takes time outside of class to go above and beyond, my obligation as an educator is to embrace this new found knowledge and take extra time outside of class to make sure that I can provide them with the necessary support needed to be successful in this endeavor.  This also could potentially mean that I as the teacher, need to provide my students with even more resources for researching world religions on top of this source. 

 

Resource Citation:

Thematic teaching: World religions: Grades 8-12 activity ideas. (2002). Retrieved

from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/thismonth/worldreligion/index2.html#1