I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Personal Meaning

Essential Question:

What are the elements of your personal belief system that give your life meaning?

Bridge:

Representations of Quotations

Content:

Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Jainism

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: Students will be lead through a guided imagery activity and create a short list of things that make life meaningful.

Activity: As your students come into class begin creating the atmosphere of a funeral. Play soft music, dim the lights if possible and be somber. When they are all in and seated have them close their eyes and lead them trough a guided imagery exercise in which they imagine what people will say about them at their funeral. Tell them to imagine that they have lived a full life (to age 80 or so) and dies of natural causes. Guide them to thoughts about the qualities and accomplishments they would want people to mention.

Assessment:Students should be thinking hard and creating a mental list of things they want to accomplish and characteristics they want to exhibit throughout their lives.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: Students will write a reflective essay or journal entry in which they come up with a personal definition of the meaning of life or a list of the things that make life meaningful.

Activity: Assign a writing assignment in which students create a definition of the meaning of life or come up with a list of things that make life meaningful. When students have finished writing ask for volunteers to share their definitions and items from their lists. Highlight both the similarities and the differences in the times they mention. Discuss reasons for these differences and similarities.

Assessment:Serious and Thoughtful. Students should be thinking deeply about their own beliefs and how they compare with those of their classmates.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: Students will create a graphic explaining a quote from an Eastern Religion

Activity: Make copies of Student Handout 1 and cut them into strips so that there is one quote on each strip. Make enough copies so that there will be a strip/quote for each student. It does not matter if more than one student has the same quote.
Have students create a graphic representation of what they feel the author of their quote things about the meaning of life. This could be done in the form of a picture, a cartoon, or a collage, but should be free of words and written explanations.
When students have finished group their images by number and post them around the room under a copy of the quote they represent.

Assessment:Amusement. Many of the quotes will seem funny or odd to most of your students. But, when they are forced to think of a visual representation of their meaning they will make the connections between their own beliefs and the beliefs of Eastern thinkers

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: Students will list the basic beliefs of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Jainism.

Activity: Divide your students into cooperative groups. Give each group a sheet of overhead film and markers and assign them one of the following religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism or Jainism. Provide either a reading that summarizes the beliefs of one of the religions or appropriate research materials.
Have them write five sentences that summarize the most important beliefs of the religion they have been assigned. Students should check the sentences with the teacher then transfer them to overhead film.
When all groups are finished, each should display the five sentences they wrote on the overhead and briefly discuss the basic principles of their religion. Students not presenting should copy notes from student generated overheads.

Assessment: Students should feel that they understand the basic tenets of the five Eastern Religions covered in class.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: Students will correctly match quotes with Eastern Religions.

Activity: Give each student a copy of Student Handout #1. Have each student walk around the room looking at the graphic representations of the quotes created by their classmates during STEP TWO and identify which quote came from each religion.
When students have completed the assignment. Write “Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism” on the board. Read each quote and have students call out which Religion they feel that quote represents. Write the number of the quote beneath the Religion that most of the class feels the quote belong with. Allow for discussion and disagreements. When the process is complete correctly identify the quotes with their religions and continue discussion.

Assessment: Student Handout #1 can be collected and graded for accuracy

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: Students will plan a skit in which they simulate a day in a high school that is organized around the tenets of one of the Eastern Religions.

Activity: Divide students into small cooperative groups and assign each group one of the Religions that have been covered in class. Try to give groups a religion different than the one that they summarized in STEP FOUR. Have each group research their religion to determine its impact on society, culture and everyday life.
When research is complete tell student groups to plan a five minute skit depicting a day at a high school organized around their religions beliefs. You might suggest that they include things like school rules, dress code and school activities that could reflect the principles of an Eastern Religion. Try to impose as few limits on their skits as possible, but make sure you know that they will be evaluated on the quality of what they have planned and how accurately and clearly it reflects the tenets of the religion they have been assigned.

Assessment: Positive. Students should be eager to plan an entertaining and informative skit based on their knowledge of their Eastern Religion.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: Students will meet in pairs, present the skit ideas they developed in their groups, take the input offered by their partner back to the group and improve and complete their skit.

Activity: Have students temporarily leave their group and find a partner from another group and share the basic ideas for the skit that were developed in the group. Partners should listen attentively and offer feedback on how they feel the skit could be improved. Both partners should be given time to present their groups ideas and provide feedback.
When this process is complete have students return to their cooperative groups and share the criticism they received. Give your students time to complete and improve their skit.

Assessment: Reassured. Your students should be more sure that their skit will be entertaining and informative after completing the critique and improvement process.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: Students will perform their skits before the class.

Activity: Have student groups perform their skits before the class. Make sure to carefully limit their time. Make it clear to your students that they will be evaluated on the strength of their planning, knowledge and performance.

Assessment: Student skits can be evaluated based on the clear communication of the tenets of their assigned religion, the care with which they planned their skit, its performance, and their knowledge of their topic

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: