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.
objectives
lesson plan
1.After reading and analyzing themes of oppression, education, religious extremism, and social justice in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Malala Yousafzai’s “Diary of a Pakistani Schoolgirl” students will discuss the similarities and differences between each girl’s experience in order to complete a “Suspended Themes of Social Justice” graphic organizer.
2.Having discussed and evaluated the themes of oppression, education, religious extremism, and social justice, students will work in groups to investigate various activism websites in order to create an action plan to implement in their community, as a means to elaborate on Malala Yousafzai’s courageous fight for girls’ education in Pakistan.
3. By recognizing Marji and Malala’s commitment to their Islamic faith and their contempt for Islamic Radicals, students will challenge potential stereotypical or preconceived notions about the relationship between the Islamic religion and terrorism.
4. Students will reverently discuss Malala’s fight for social justice without criticizing the Islamic faith as a whole, but rather by examining the negative implications of religious extremism and terrorism.
2.Having discussed and evaluated the themes of oppression, education, religious extremism, and social justice, students will work in groups to investigate various activism websites in order to create an action plan to implement in their community, as a means to elaborate on Malala Yousafzai’s courageous fight for girls’ education in Pakistan.
3. By recognizing Marji and Malala’s commitment to their Islamic faith and their contempt for Islamic Radicals, students will challenge potential stereotypical or preconceived notions about the relationship between the Islamic religion and terrorism.
4. Students will reverently discuss Malala’s fight for social justice without criticizing the Islamic faith as a whole, but rather by examining the negative implications of religious extremism and terrorism.
activity one
1. Students will analyze religious symbols and artifacts in order discuss the similarities and differences between each religion in general and then more specifically, within the context of each religion's texts and scriptures.
2. Working in a small heterogeneous group, students will complete a “list, group, and label” activity for one out of the five religions in order to activate their prior knowledge on the topic of their assigned religion and hopefully generate stereotypes associated with each.
3. After enacting prior knowledge and briefly discussing stereotypes associated with each religion and the differences between each, students will create a piece of scripture for each religion using fragments of actual Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian scripture provided by the teacher.
2. Working in a small heterogeneous group, students will complete a “list, group, and label” activity for one out of the five religions in order to activate their prior knowledge on the topic of their assigned religion and hopefully generate stereotypes associated with each.
3. After enacting prior knowledge and briefly discussing stereotypes associated with each religion and the differences between each, students will create a piece of scripture for each religion using fragments of actual Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian scripture provided by the teacher.
activity two1. Students will create three final comparative religion projects throughout the course of the Freedom of Faith unit to display at the Freedom of Faith final open house. 2. Students will analyze, compare and contrast, and make connections between two or three (depending on the project) religions of their choosing in order to create final projects which reflect their learning in not only English, but social studies and art as well. |
activity three1. Students will analyze the ways that metaphors in parables, koans, and sutras have been used in Buddhism and Christianity to convey metaphysical ideas in order to create their own metaphors about honesty, wisdom, greed, ignorance, or hope.
2. Before discussing what each metaphor means, students will visualize the metaphors as pictures in their minds in order to create an artistic representation of each metaphor. They will also do this for the metaphor that they create themselves. |