URI Kids - Activities
URI Kids - Activities
Encountering Others: Field Trips
Objective:
To expose students to various
places of worship and to give them first hand knowledge of what it feels like to
be a sacred place.
Materials:
A place or places to go, and
planning through your organization.
The Lesson:
Find a place of worship near
your organization and plan a field trip there. You might consider having a
formal tour, or inviting someone of the faith to speak to your group while
there. You might choose a church, synagogue, mosque, monastery, convent, or
anything else you have available. Prior to going, talk with students about
appropriate behavior while in a sacred place (a great resource is How to Be a
Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies
edited by Arthur J. Magida).
During the visit, point out important structures as well as discuss the
different events that go on during a typical service. For example, if you were
in a synagogue, you could discuss what happens during a Torah reading, see the
Ark where the Torah is kept, and look at the yad, or hand, which is used as a
pointer on the scroll.
It is ideal to go to more than one place of worship from more than one religion
since it allows students to compare experiences and consider both what is
similar and different about religions and religious spaces.
Follow-up/Assessment:
Have students reflect on what they saw and learned, as well as what they felt
while in a sacred place. They might do this in writing, in small groups or a
large group conversation, or visually as a small art project. If you are using
learning logs or journals, student may want to bring them on the trip and write
some reflections right in the space.