URI Kids - Activities
URI Kids - Activities
Individual Spiritual Growth:
Create Your Own Religion
Objective:
To help students develop and reflect on their own ideas and beliefs. To have
them incorporate outside information into something that is their own.
Materials:
You won't need anything special for this lesson.
The Lesson:
For this assignment, students will be writing a paper or story in which they
will create their own religion. It should include the major components they have
studied, including sacred texts, basic beliefs, holy places and spaces, as well
as holidays or festivals. It could also include special passages, symbols,
icons, and whatever concept of God or holy guides the religion has, and it might
need a geographical and/or cultural context. It could be in the past, or in the
future. The possibilities are endless- their imaginations and your boundaries
are the limits.
Depending on your age level and time flexibility, students could spend time
outlining their religion, or mind-mapping the different areas named above in
order to organize their thoughts. The final draft might be a straightforward
essay, or it might be written as a story (i.e.: as a day in the life). Another
possibility would be for students to make presentations for their class about
their religion and answer questions as if they are the leader of the religion.
Follow-up/Assessment:
The paper that the students turn in will be the major assessment tool. You also
could look at their outline and early drafts.