Religions of Our Rainbow Nation Project Plan

Intel® Teach Programme

Essentials Course

Religions of our Rainbow Nation Project Plan

SECTION A
First Name and Surname / : / Soraya Subrathi
School / : / Habibia Primary
City and Province / : / Western Cape
SECTION B
Subject / Learning Area(s) / : / Life Orientation (LO), English (E) – Home Language, Technology (T)
Phase / Grade(s) / : / Grade 2
Curriculum
Learning Outcomes / Assessment Standards / : / LO / Assessment Standard(s)
2 (LO) / · Identifies values and morals from diverse South
African culture
· Describes important days from diverse religions
3 (LO) / Demonstrates appropriate classroom behaviour,
including group work skills
1 (E) / · Listens attentively for a longer period and responds to an extended sequence of instructions
· Demonstrates appropriate listening behaviour - showing respect for the speaker, taking turns to speak, asking questions for clarification
2 (E) / Uses appropriate language for different purposes and with different people (e.g. interviews people)
4 (E) / · Uses pre-writing strategies to initiate writing
· ‘Publishes’ own writing
5 (E) / · Uses language to think and reason
· Uses language to investigate and explore
· Processes information
Focus Question / : / Are all religions the same?
Content Questions / : / What is a celebration?
Name some religious buildings?
Who are some of the world’s religious leaders?
What is a religion?
What are some of the world’s religions holy books?
Targeted Thinking / : / Comparison, analysis and questioning
Project Goal / : / Learners will use communication and collaboration skills to investigate different religions in South Africa. They will develop their social and cross-cultural skills through collaboration with other learners and will use digital technology to present the knowledge gained.
SECTION C
Description of Project
Classroom Management Procedures / : / Challenge Phase
The teacher reads some picture book stories from different religions to the class. The learners are then asked what they understand by the word religion.The following questions are posed to them in order to guide them to discover what the word religion means:
-What does it mean to serve?
-How can you serve mom and dad?
-Does mom and dad serve somebody?
With reference to the story, the class discuss the fact that there are different religious festivals. The class discuss if all religions celebrate important days, like New Years, in the same way. The teacher then poses the Focus question and asks the class to think about if all religions are the same and how we can research this question.
Gathering Phase
Learners are divided into groups of 4 and choose two religions to research and compare. Learners begin with K-W-L chart on the various religions and are instructed to continue filling in details as they go along with the project.Religious leaders are invited to the class to talk about the various religions and how they celebrate the New year and other festivals. Listening behaviour of learners are observed by the educator. Groups use a journal to record some key information gathered from the speakers.
Learners interview people in their community from the various religious groups on how they celebrate the New year.In doing so, learners gain a better understanding of the differences between the religions. Questionnaire together with interview etiquette is handed as learner support material.
Learners also explore online learning materials with the teacher’s assistance and visit the school or local library.
Web 2 extention:
Learners can collaborate with learners from different religions in other schools. . The learners send leading questions via email to their partners. A basic Wiki must be set up where students can respond to these questions in order to share information about their religions. See instructions for Web 2 tools on Educator Checklist.
Processing Phase
Learners analyse the information they have gathered from the interviews, talks with religious leaders (journals) and the information gathered through their Wiki site. They share their findings with each other by comparing
· Customs and traditions of the new year – what is it that the religions do
· Festivals celebrated
· Holy books, place of worship
· Types of religious leaders
· Symbols
Learners are encouraged to go back to the Focus question
Production Phase
Learners collaborate to create a group presentation about a festival of a specific religion. As a Technology task learners create a religious greeting card using desktop publishing software such as Publisher. The teacher plays a large part in all these collaborations and helps the learners to plan and use ICT to create their final product.It is probably best with this age group to have small groups use the computers at a time so that the teacher can offer more assistance.
Learners can create a brochure or calendar to highlight the religious festivals of different religions. (this can be a gifted/talented learner task or a task for all learners if time/resources allow)
SECTION D
Assessment
Before project: / During project: / After project:
KWL chart / Observation of listening skills
Monitoring journal entries / Greeting card rubric
New Year rubric
Learner Support
Gathering Information: / Processing Information: / Knowledge Production:
Interview sheet
Questions sheets for email collaboration
Email template
Wiki Checklist / Chart for comparing religions
Calendar to indicate religious festivals / Presentation sample
Accommodations for Differentiated Learning
Special Needs Learners / · Learners are given extra assistance from the teacher or classroom helper/peer
· The learner can use more pictures than words to express themselves in their journals and projects
· Learners are given extra time to complete activities
· Learners are given assistance in drafting their interview questions
· Roles are assigned according to abilities during group work.
· Learners can be responsible for collecting and adding suitable pictures to the Wiki sites.
Non-First language Speakers / · Learners can present their findings in their home language – preferably with a translator
· Learners are given additional time to complete activities
· Learners are given assistance with writing their findings
Gifted/Talented Learners / · Learners can assist peers in editing/revising their work
· Learners can assist peers with ICT
· Learners can complete additional research on religions or create extra projects such as the brochure
Materials and Resources Required For Project

Technology – Hardware (Click boxes of all equipment needed)

Camera
Computer(s)
Digital Camera
DVD Player
Internet Connection / Laser Disk
Printer
Projection System
Scanner
Television / Mobile technology
VCR
Video Camera
Video Conferencing Equip.
Other
Technology – Software (Click boxes of all software needed.)
Database/Spreadsheet
Desktop Publishing
E-mail Software
Encyclopedia on CD-ROM / Image Processing
Web Browser (Search)
Multimedia / Web-based Applications
Web Page Development
Word Processing
Other Access to add to Wiki site
Printed Materials / Stories from World Religions – by Shilson
Biscuit's Hanukkah - by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
My Hindu Year (A Year of Religious Festivals) - by Cath Senker
A is for Allah– by Yusuf Islam
Supplies / Artifacts and emblems from a variety of religions. Posters on religion, songs from various religious festivals.
Internet Resources / United Religions Initiative – URI Kids
http://www.uri.org/kids/other_shin.htm
Woodlands Junior School (Kent, UK) – world religions project
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/Religion.html
The World Almanac for Kids
http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKI-Chapter.aspx?chapter_id=11
Other Resources / Guest speakers from different religions – especially those that are represented in the class and wider community.