ALEX Learning Activity

  

Show and Tell with World Religions

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Myra Harris
System:Hale County
School:Greensboro Middle School
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2267
Title:
Show and Tell with World Religions
Digital Tool/Resource:
Storyboard That
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

In this learning activity, students will identify the origins, development, influence, key tenets, and cultural contributions of an early world religion (Judaism, Greek and Roman gods, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam) in an online storyboard. They will use StoryboardThat to develop a comic strip detailing the early religion and its cultural contributions.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX  Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 8
World History to 1500
3 ) Compare the development of early world religions and philosophies and their key tenets.

Examples: Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Greek and Roman gods

•  Identifying cultural contributions of early world religions and philosophies
Examples: Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Greek and Roman gods, Phoenicians

Unpacked Content
Strand: History
Course Title: World History to 1500
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Compare the early world religions and philosophies, including the origins, development, influence, spread, and cultural contributions of each.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Judaism
  • Diaspora
  • covenant
  • Greek gods
  • Hinduism
  • Buddhism
  • Roman gods
  • oracle
  • Confucianism
  • Daoism
  • Legalism
  • Islam
  • Christianity
  • Zen
  • prophets
  • messiah
  • disciple
  • apostle
  • Darma
  • Karma
  • monotheism
  • polytheism
  • meditation
  • reincarnation
  • excommunicate
  • monastery
  • doctrine
  • parable
  • philosophies
  • tenets
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The origins, development, influence, spread, and cultural contributions of Judaism, Greek and Roman gods, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify locations on a map or globe.
  • Use maps to support conclusions about cultural groups.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The history, key tenets, and beliefs of early world religions and philosophies have influenced regional and world history.
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.AAS.8.3- Recognize that different world cultures have different values, beliefs, and traditions.
Learning Objectives:

The students will be able to:

  • identify cultural contributions of early world religions and philosophies.

  • create a digital comic strip using digital tools
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

Students will use the website storyboardthat.com to create a cartoon that highlights the development of early world religions, their philosophies, and their key tenets.

Students and teachers can use the StoryboardThat quick guide to get a step by step process of how to create a storyboard: quick guide.  

Students will choose one of the major early world religions:  Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Taoism, and Greek and Roman gods. 

Students will create a storyboard detailing the following information about their chosen religion: 

  1. Who founded it and how it was founded

  2. When and where the religion became popular

  3. The main beliefs of the religion

  4. The holy book and philosophies that are the foundation of their chosen religion

  5. How and why did this religion spread

  6. The impact of this religion on world history and culture from their country of origin

  Each question should be a different storyboard panel.   
Assessment Strategies:

The cartoons will be the assessment tool.  The teacher can check that the content represents the origins, development, influence, spread, and cultural contributions of early world religions, using the storyboard rubric. 
Advanced Preparation:

Previous instruction on the major world religions that they will study. Provide articles or web links for research purposes. Make sure students can access StoryboardThat.
Variation Tips (optional):

You might want to consider setting up one StoryboardThat account and allow your kids access. Information can be found on www.storyboardthat.com
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

When you set up a StoryboardThat free account, choose a generic login and password that all students can use. 

You can find examples of completed comic strips on the StoryboardThat website or on google. You can show these examples to your students before they start so they can have a visual example. 
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: digital tools, early religion, multimedia, religion