"in this world, unity is ACHIEVABLE only by learning to unite in spite of differences, rather than insisting on unity without differences. for their total eradication is an impossibility." -maulana wahiduddin khan
interdisciplinary collaboration project overview
Over the course of human history, as well as into the present, religion has been a powerful force in shaping the world as we know it. Unfortunately, this has often been because of hatred, intolerance, or simply a lack of understanding. It is these very trends which we hope to combat with this project, and indeed with the studio art, English, and social studies curricula. With that in mind, we hope that our students can all approach this unit from a place of curiosity and a genuine desire to understand the world around us and the people with whom we share it. In a world in which religious conflicts continue to devastate entire regions and tear families apart, there is no room for more intolerance. What we need is educated celebrations of the diversity found in our global human community, and it is in this spirit that we embark on this interdisciplinary collaboration project.
Our first unit goal is simple. By the end of the unit, our tenth-grade students should understand the five major religions of the world (and more if they so choose) from historical, sociocultural, and artistic points of view. In social studies, students will be studying the "who, what, where, when, why, and how" of each religion's historical context, focusing on the origins, traditions, beliefs, and conflicts of each religion. Looking at a variety of primary and secondary sources, students will examine the cause and effects of religious intolerance and radicalism over time as well. In English, students will focus on multiple social and cultural perspectives from both sacred and contemporary texts, videos, songs, and art. While the social studies curriculum focuses on the major movements and trends, the English curriculum aims to analyze and explore the smalls voices of such movements through a social justice lens. In studio art, students will study the history behind some of the most recognized and symbolic religious art. After establishing a knowledge base about the history of religious symbols, students will work with a variety of media to create their own interpretations of various forms of religious art which emphasize both the cultural traditions and religious beliefs in an artistic format authentic to each religion.
In addition to an understanding of the historical, sociocultural, and artistic traditions and perspectives of the five religions of study, students will foster an awareness of both the historical and sociocultural conflicts and hardships which masses of people have endured over time as a result of social and religious oppression and intolerance. They will also focus on current events in the world of organized religion and be challenged to critically read a variety of non-fiction articles, blogs, memoirs, and testimonials of the people who have witnessed or been subject to oppression as a result of religious radicalism or intolerance. Our second unit goal is to expose students to the facts and human perspectives of prejudice and oppression and encourage them to form their own opinion about religious conflicts/current issues. Our objectives are not persuasive in nature--we don't want students to subscribe to one point of view or conform to a religion. Rather, we simply want them to challenge their preexisting conceptions of religion with historical facts, cultural perspectives, and depictions of religion in art. As educators, our role is to challenge them to think in new ways about familiar topics, to experience cognitive dissonance, think about the larger global community, and appreciate the diversity in our world today.
Our first unit goal is simple. By the end of the unit, our tenth-grade students should understand the five major religions of the world (and more if they so choose) from historical, sociocultural, and artistic points of view. In social studies, students will be studying the "who, what, where, when, why, and how" of each religion's historical context, focusing on the origins, traditions, beliefs, and conflicts of each religion. Looking at a variety of primary and secondary sources, students will examine the cause and effects of religious intolerance and radicalism over time as well. In English, students will focus on multiple social and cultural perspectives from both sacred and contemporary texts, videos, songs, and art. While the social studies curriculum focuses on the major movements and trends, the English curriculum aims to analyze and explore the smalls voices of such movements through a social justice lens. In studio art, students will study the history behind some of the most recognized and symbolic religious art. After establishing a knowledge base about the history of religious symbols, students will work with a variety of media to create their own interpretations of various forms of religious art which emphasize both the cultural traditions and religious beliefs in an artistic format authentic to each religion.
In addition to an understanding of the historical, sociocultural, and artistic traditions and perspectives of the five religions of study, students will foster an awareness of both the historical and sociocultural conflicts and hardships which masses of people have endured over time as a result of social and religious oppression and intolerance. They will also focus on current events in the world of organized religion and be challenged to critically read a variety of non-fiction articles, blogs, memoirs, and testimonials of the people who have witnessed or been subject to oppression as a result of religious radicalism or intolerance. Our second unit goal is to expose students to the facts and human perspectives of prejudice and oppression and encourage them to form their own opinion about religious conflicts/current issues. Our objectives are not persuasive in nature--we don't want students to subscribe to one point of view or conform to a religion. Rather, we simply want them to challenge their preexisting conceptions of religion with historical facts, cultural perspectives, and depictions of religion in art. As educators, our role is to challenge them to think in new ways about familiar topics, to experience cognitive dissonance, think about the larger global community, and appreciate the diversity in our world today.
theoretical framework
The Freedom of Faith interdisciplinary collaboration unit is intended to be a comprehensive learning experience for students rich in multiliteracies engagement and collaboration among subject areas. It is structured so that students can traverse the terrain of a topic about which many of them may not have an abundance of prior knowledge, or prior knowledge which may be clouded by stereotypes communicated to them when interacting in their secondary discourses. The structure of the unit is based on the idea of disciplinary literacy, what Elizabeth Moje describes as, "a matter of simultaneous intersections of constructing knowledge, identifying with a domain, and navigating different pathways toward goals" (Moje, 2008, p. 102). Our interdisciplinary unit involves collaboration at the beginning and end of the unit (a scavenger hunt and museum walk open house), but also involves "simultaneous intersections" during the fours weeks of instruction in each subject. In studio art, English, and social studies, students will be learning about the same religion on the same designated days, but will be doing so using the specific discourses of each subject. The final projects in each class challenge students to communicate with a variety of multiliteracies and draw on the knowledge they have acquired about each religion in each subject area.
In addition to a focus on the implementation of multiliteracies and collaboration, our Freedom of Faith unit supports new and critical literacies which challenge students to think critically about texts and their individual roles in a larger global society. Paulo Freire believes, "Learners should collaboratively pursue critical consciousness of their world via a cyclical process of reflection and action" (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006, p. 9). While our first unit goal focuses on establishing a basic understanding of the five religions, our second goal aims to increase student awareness about a variety of sociocultural issues and conflicts within and among religions. Whether it is reading primary sources about religious wars or acts of oppression throughout history in social studies, reading non-fiction articles about religious radicalism in English, or creating a piece of artwork which attempts to unite religious symbols which carry stereotypical connotations for some students, our unit attempts to encourage students to think critically about the world around them. Hirsch believes, "students need to be familiar with a cultural canon in order to be able to negotiate their social context effectively" (Miller, p. 445). From religious, social, cultural, historical, and artistic perspectives, we hope that the range of projects, multiliteracies, and collaborative efforts to bring members of the students' community in to participate will create a sense of responsibility in students' to be accepting and positive contributors within society.
Finally, Alvermann argues, "Because culturally responsive instruction need not match home, community and school literacies in grid-like precision, teachers come away with what Au(2000) described as a heightened sensitivity of the need to connect patterns of participation and home/community values with the regular curriculum. Although teachers need not be be 'insiders' in a particular culture to engage in culturally responsive instruction (Au, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1994), they can learn about that culture, respect its values, and view differences in students' literacies as strengths, not deficits" (Alvermann, 2001, p. 15). Alvermann captures the goals of our unit beautifully. We want our students to learn about others, respect others, and view the world through a positive lens of acceptance. Especially in an age of social media, messages are easily misconstrued. Students must be able to navigate various literacies and challenge the norm. Most of all, we want our students to realize that religion is just another thread in the tapestry we each weave to explain our own lives, and that cultures weave to explain their own stories.
In addition to a focus on the implementation of multiliteracies and collaboration, our Freedom of Faith unit supports new and critical literacies which challenge students to think critically about texts and their individual roles in a larger global society. Paulo Freire believes, "Learners should collaboratively pursue critical consciousness of their world via a cyclical process of reflection and action" (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006, p. 9). While our first unit goal focuses on establishing a basic understanding of the five religions, our second goal aims to increase student awareness about a variety of sociocultural issues and conflicts within and among religions. Whether it is reading primary sources about religious wars or acts of oppression throughout history in social studies, reading non-fiction articles about religious radicalism in English, or creating a piece of artwork which attempts to unite religious symbols which carry stereotypical connotations for some students, our unit attempts to encourage students to think critically about the world around them. Hirsch believes, "students need to be familiar with a cultural canon in order to be able to negotiate their social context effectively" (Miller, p. 445). From religious, social, cultural, historical, and artistic perspectives, we hope that the range of projects, multiliteracies, and collaborative efforts to bring members of the students' community in to participate will create a sense of responsibility in students' to be accepting and positive contributors within society.
Finally, Alvermann argues, "Because culturally responsive instruction need not match home, community and school literacies in grid-like precision, teachers come away with what Au(2000) described as a heightened sensitivity of the need to connect patterns of participation and home/community values with the regular curriculum. Although teachers need not be be 'insiders' in a particular culture to engage in culturally responsive instruction (Au, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1994), they can learn about that culture, respect its values, and view differences in students' literacies as strengths, not deficits" (Alvermann, 2001, p. 15). Alvermann captures the goals of our unit beautifully. We want our students to learn about others, respect others, and view the world through a positive lens of acceptance. Especially in an age of social media, messages are easily misconstrued. Students must be able to navigate various literacies and challenge the norm. Most of all, we want our students to realize that religion is just another thread in the tapestry we each weave to explain our own lives, and that cultures weave to explain their own stories.
Freedom of Faith unit standards
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Introducing the unit
To introduce the unit, students will complete a scavenger hunt around the school. For the first three periods of the day (studio art, English, and social studies) students will move as a class with their teacher to look for items in and around the school. Each class (studio art, English, and social studies) will have a scavenger hunt that is unique to their focus for the unit. Essentially, students will complete three different scavenger hunts during each period. Each scavenger hunt should take about thirty minutes, leaving twenty minutes at the end of each period to reflect on the clues that they have retrieved and make predictions about what the unit is about. At the end of the first three class periods, all tenth-grade students will report to the auditorium. Laying out all of the clues that they have retrieved (religious relics, sacred texts, paintings, sculptures, poems, song titles, non-fiction articles), students will walk around the auditorium while listening to traditional music from each religion, and look at the religions jackdaw that they have unearthed from all corners of the school. Not only is this activity uniting students to work together to reach a common goal (completing the scavenger hunt), it also provides them with the opportunity to interact with cultural artifacts associated with each religion. By touching religious symbols, listening to religious hymns, reading scripture, and watching videos of prayer rituals, students are engaging with auditory, visual, and gestural multiliteracies. .After students have had a chance to explore all of the objects, Ms. Mercer, Ms. Soldo, Ms. Green, and Mr. Delone will formally introduce the Freedom of Faith unit to students.
Studio Art with ms. Mercer & ms. soldo
Freedom of Faith in the studio art classroom will focus on the symbols of the five main religions. By looking at these symbols, connections will be made between the common themes of each religion. Students will also be able to recognize how certain ideas are represented in different ways in each of the religions. Drawing on a key art form from each religion, students will create a piece of artwork relating to each religion while also learning more about the elements of design, a key focus of any studio art classroom. Throughout the unit, the overall goals of the unit will be addressed through the different pieces of artwork students create. The specific goal for the studio art component of the unit will be for students to gain an understanding of the themes across the religions. Students will also make personal connections to the themes through the final project.
English Language Arts with Ms. Green
Over the course of the unit in English class, students will be examining all five religions through a literary lens. Analyzing a variety of texts and engaging a number of multiliteracies practices (videos, blogs, art, poems, parables, books, graphic novels, etc.) from traditional and contemporary time periods, students will identify a variety of literary elements (metaphor, voice, tone) and evaluate commonalities among multiple perspectives and thematic similarities between the five religions. Challenging students' perceptions and preconceived notions of the cultures and traditions within the five religions, the objective in English is not about agreeing or disagreeing with the perspectives evident in traditional and contemporary texts. The curriculum seeks to expose students to multiple perspectives and foster an appreciation of others' right to their own views, even if we as individuals do not (or cannot) agree with them. Similar to an optical illusion, there are two sides to every story, multiple perspectives to examine, and usually something hidden in the larger picture that we cannot see, or something small on which we perseverate which prevents us from seeing the bigger picture. Nevertheless, the fact that one sees the rabbit does not preclude the existence of the duck; the two are not mutually exclusive, but rather two sides of the same coin. It is not that there is either an old woman or a beautiful young lady, for both exist simultaneously, sharing reality despite our brain's limited ability to hold multiple perspectives at once. It is with the understanding of the human mind's struggle to see things from the point of view of others that the English unit embarks, for it is only through practice that one can develop these abilities. In the words of Paulo Freire, we must "read the word and the world" (Lankshear &Knobel, 2006, p. 9). As human beings in a world plagued by social oppression and religious conflict, students must not take everything at face value, but instead be critical thinkers, challenging their own perspectives and accepting the voices of others whom may be different from their own.
Social studies with mr. delone
Within this Freedom of Faith unit for Social Studies, we will be focusing on the five major religions of the world from a historical perspective. We will study and explore when these religions came to be, where they were started and by whom, and also the major practices and beliefs that each takes part in. The goal in the Social Studies classroom is to compare and contrast these major religions but also teach our students that difference among one another is natural. We also want students to be able to make personal connections and deepen their understandings of each religion we study which will also be reinforced in each of their content area classrooms. We will spend one day to introduce the unit and activate prior knowledge on all of the religions and then follow up with 3 days on each religion. To conclude the unit in Social Studies, students will choose one of the 5 religions and create a brochure including everything about the religion which will be shown at our museum walk.
Concluding the unit
Throughout the course of the unit, students will be working on final projects in each class for the Freedom of Faith open house which will take place on the final day of the unit. Parents will be invited to stop by the school from 7:00 pm-8:00 pm to participate in the Freedom of Faith Museum Walk. In each wing of the school, students' art, English, and social studies projects will be on display for parents to see. Jackdaw artifacts from the unit introduction will also be available for parents to interact with. Computers will be set up so that parents can peruse the "Humans of Geneseo" blog and watch videos/listen to podcasts that were created in English class. The open house will conclude with a video diary in the auditorium which displays select students' reflections on the unit. Refreshments will also be provided.