Skip to main content

First lessons about world religion for primary classes

Religion is lumped in with history, literature, languages and art as one of the humanities but we tend not to feel as comfortable teaching about religion as the other subjects. Teaching about religion does not promote any one particular faith. It introduces the fact that there are differences between people and their ideas and practices about God. Primary students can easily be introduced to the idea that there are different religions during social studies units about the community and its people. Different religions use different types of  buildings. Different religions can be identified by the way some adherents dress.

When you are teaching about communities, say that people worship in different types of buildings. People who are Christians worship in churches or cathedrals. People who are Jewish worship in synagogues. People who are Muslim worship in mosques, and people who are Hindu or Buddhist worship in temples. Take pictures of any of these buildings in your school community and locate them on a map. For buildings that are not in your local area, find pictures online and show them to the class.

When your students are learning about individuals from various cultures around the world and you introduce the idea of clothing as a distinguishing trait, tell the students that different types of clothing can sometimes identify a person's religion. Some Christian clergy may wear a habit, robes, or collars. Some Christian Amish or Mennonite women wear plain dresses and head coverings. Many Jewish men wear a yarmulke, or cap, on their heads. Muslim clergy may wear robes and skull caps. Many Muslim women wear veils, hijabs, or head-coverings. You may be able to show pictures of local members of the community who dress in one of these ways. Connect their pictures to the pictures of the buildings they use for worship.

For a fact-based, objective introduction to the Christian religion and its history, particularly in Kentucky, make plans to visit the Kentucky Faith and Public History Education Project Walking Trail in Paris, Kentucky. Free, two-hour customized, guided field trips are available outdoors in an arboretum with an Eye-Spy game, informational signs, simple quizzes, history-inspired five-minute games, and a picnic area that seats 80. Call 859-987-5407 to arrange for your class to come during the spring, summer, and fall months, March through October.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Birthday to the Trees!

Yesterday, February 6, 2023, was the Jewish festival Tu B'Shvat . It is the birthday of the trees. The date this festival is celebrated shifts from year to year. All Jewish feasts do because the Jewish calendar is lunar. The birthday of the trees it will always be in January or February, however. Why do the trees need a birthday? Because the ancient Jewish law forbade a person from eating from a fruit tree until it was five years old. So, all the trees have their birthdays on the same day.  What does that have to do with us at the Kentucky Faith & Public History Education Project in Paris, Kentucky? Our mission is to provide education around the Christian religion and its history, particularly in Kentucky. As one of the signs on our half-mile Walking Trail says, the first people who believed the Christian message were Jewish people living in Jerusalem in the first century of the Christian era. So, by honoring this Jewish festival, we recall the roots of the Christian faith. Bes...
Post a Comment
Read more

Merry Christmas and Thank You: An Open Letter to Kentucky's K-12 Teachers

 Dear Teacher, It's nearly winter break. We here at the Kentucky Faith & Public History Education Project wish every Kentucky teacher a blessed holiday season. We want you to know that we value what you do and that we understand that your job is not about the paycheck. It's truly about the students. It takes commitment and sacrifice. We want to take this opportunity to thank you.  You more than deserve the recognition and the honor. Many of you keep a warm coat in the trunk of your car for when you have bus duty at the end of the day and the temperature has dropped 20 degrees since you left your house before it was light. You probably have spent several recent evenings preparing to delight your students with a holiday surprise before winter break. You routinely spend your own money to make sure your classroom has enough paper, pencils, crayons and other essential supplies so that every student can learn. Many have made it a personal mission to provide a safe environment fo...
Post a Comment
Read more