Manor Primary School
RE. Year 6. Summer term.
Buddhism and the Buddhist Temple
Overview of the Learning:In this unit children learn about the key beliefs and practices in Buddhism. They will explore current practice and will have opportunities to learn about the historical foundation of the religion.
Core Aims
· describe the key aspects of religions, especially the people, stories and traditions that influence the beliefs and values of others
· identify and begin to describe the similarities and differences within and between religions
· consider the meaning of a range of forms of religious expression, understand why they are important in religion and note links between them
· describe and begin to understand religious and other responses to ultimate and ethical questions
· use specialist vocabulary in communicating their knowledge and understanding
· use and interpret information about religions from a range of sources / Pupils should be taught to
· reflect on what it means to belong to a faith community, communicating their own and others' responses
· respond to the challenges of commitment both in their own lives and within religious traditions, recognising how commitment to a religion is shown in a variety of ways
· discuss their own and others' views of religious truth and belief, expressing their own ideas
· reflect on sources of inspiration in their own and others' lives.
Expectations
Pupils use an increasingly wide religious vocabulary to explain the impact of beliefs on individuals and communities. They describe why people belong to religions. They understand that similarities and differences illustrate distinctive beliefs within and between religions and suggest possible reasons for this. They explain how religious sources are used to provide answers to ultimate questions and ethical issues, recognising diversity in forms of religious, spiritual and moral expression, within and between religions.
Learning Objectives / Suggested Learning Opportunities
· To show an understanding of what Buddhism is
· To understand the story of Siddhartha and Gautama
· To be able to recognise a Buddhist place of worship and recognise features of a Buddhist temple / What is Buddhism as a religious faith?
Introduce the children to Buddhism. Discuss - What is Buddhism? What do they know about this major religion? Where did it originate? Where do Buddhist worship? Who is the Buddha?
Share with the children a video to show the origins of the religion and create a sticky wall of questions they would like to explore about Buddhism.
Share different images of the Buddha, including pictures and statues (rupa - A Buddha Rupa is a Buddha image.) Discuss what the images show about the character of the Buddha. Explain why the Buddha is worshipped and how the rupa helps people to aspire to be the best they can be.
Introduce children to the story of Siddhartha and Gautama. Discuss the life of Siddhartha as a prince, his enlightenment and the beginning of his preaching. Ask the children to contrast his life in the palace and his life helping people to find peace. Why is this story important to the Buddhist religion, what does it teach us?
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/storybuddha.htm
Ask the children to write a newspaper report of an interview with Prince Siddhartha after either seeing the 4 sights or becoming enlightened
ICT links:
Look at Espresso - faiths – Buddhism - Where does Buddhism come from?
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/primary.htm
http://www.dharmaforkids.com/
http://www.schooltrain.info/re/buddhist/buddhist_choose.htm
http://www.aboutbuddha.org/
http://www.chiddingstone.kent.sch.uk/homework/religion/buddhism.htm
*Curriculum visions pupil textbooks
· To understand the importance of rules in religion.
· To understand the beliefs of the Buddha.
· To be aware that the eight fold path is a set of rules Buddhists live their lives by. / What did Lord Buddha teach?
Introduce the children to The Wheel of Dharma. Tell the children it is a symbol of the continuous spreading of the Buddha's teachings to help people live more happily.
Discuss with the children - why do we have rules? How do they help us? Who makes these rules?
Introduce the children to the teaching of Buddhism -Three Signs of Beings, Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path. Explain to the children that these are the rules that Buddhists live their lives by. http://library.thinkquest.org/28505/buddhism/intro.htm
Share information with the children about each of the teachings. Reflect on each of the steps and their meaning to Buddhists
Children can draw the Buddhist wheel and include the Eight fold path. Children to reflect on what this means to people who follow the Buddha’s teachings
Discuss each of the Make comparisons with the 10 commandments which Christians are supposed to live by. Look at the bible, and the Buddhist equivalent. Compare the two books and their teachings.
Children can make comparisons with the eight fold path and the 10 commandments – Children produce a table indicating similarities and differences between the two.
ICT links:
Look at Espresso - faiths – Buddhism - Where does Buddhism come from?
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/primary.htm
http://www.dharmaforkids.com/
http://www.schooltrain.info/re/buddhist/buddhist_choose.htm
http://www.aboutbuddha.org/
http://www.chiddingstone.kent.sch.uk/homework/religion/buddhism.htm
*Curriculum visions pupil textbooks
· To understand how Buddhists worship / How do Buddhists worship?
Children to investigate what the Buddhist temple is looks like. What are it distinctive features? What is the inside of the temple like? What might be found inside the temple?
Share information about Buddhist worship. What happens during an act of worship? Who are the key figures involved in worship? What days does Buddhist worship of? Is everyone allowed to worship in the same way? Are there any special ceremonies?
Children to present first person accounts of Buddhist worship.
Curriculum Visions textbooks on a range of faiths and practices in Buddhism.
Look at Espresso – Buddhism – Worship parts 1 and 2
http://www.chiddingstone.kent.sch.uk/homework/religion/buddhism.htm
· To understand the importance of meditation
· To understand the reasons for and the importance of meditation
· To experience the sensation of quiet and reflection / What is mediation?
Children to reflect on What is meditation and Why do Buddhists meditate? What is it a time for? Do we make enough time for reflection in our own lives?
http://www.buddhapadipa.org/
Introduce the children to meditation. Ask the children to take part in a breathing exercise with you, concentrating on slowing down their breathing. The children are then to clear their minds and think about someone or something in a positive way.
Children discuss/ experience upon times of reflection and meditation.
Curriculum Visions textbooks on a range of faiths and practices.
Teacher resources
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/primary.htm
http://www.dharmaforkids.com/
http://www.schooltrain.info/re/buddhist/buddhist_choose.htm
http://www.aboutbuddha.org/
· To recognise important Buddhist festivals and what they teach us
/ What festivals do Buddhists worship?
Discuss with the children - what do we know about Buddhist festivals? What festivals do they have during the year? Introduce the children to Buddhist celebrations of the moon.
Children to investigate the festival of Wesak using a range of sources. Ask the children to reflect on what they have found out about the festival. What do Buddhists teach us about the festivals of: The Buddha, birth, life, and death? Look at the symbolism of the Lotus flower.
Children can present their learning about the festivals as an information text presented using ICT
ICT links:
Look at Espresso – Buddhism – Festivals parts 1, 2, and 3
http://www.chiddingstone.kent.sch.uk/homework/religion/buddhism.htm
· To understand the Buddhist community
· To understand how life is different for Buddhist men, women, and children
/ Who is part of the Buddhist community?
Introduce the Buddhist community - Who belongs to the Buddhist community? Look at the different points of view in a Buddhist community. Are roles different for men and women? How is life different for adults/ children? How is Buddhism practiced at school?
Look at the fact that Buddhism is an international religion, and people from many different societies and cultures practice Buddhism, or convert to Buddhism.
Children to use text and illustrations to share the different figures in the Buddhist community. Children to compare the roles of different people
Curriculum Visions textbooks on a range of faiths and practices.
Online resources to be found at
http://www.thaibuddhist.com/
http://www.thailandlife.com/buddhist.html
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Manor Primary School