Merry Christmas From 2nd Period

Wrapping up a Year in Religion

We haven't had a lot of time to post since we've been back from Thanksgiving break, but we are wrapping up our semester.  As we finish with end of the semester projects and I am getting ready to usher in a new group of students, some students are creating fun end of the semester videos to summarize things they've learned.

...and, just for fun, here is a video of our Student Leadership Committee's flash mom to get students excited about our food drive!

World Religion Project

World Religion Project

Due Tuesday, December 6th

Goal: To explain an aspect of one of the religions studied (Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism) that we did NOT cover in detail and compare and contrast it to a similar part of Christianity.

 

Assignment: Compare and contrast the specific religious element you picked as it is found in Christianity and your other religion using an oral presentation complete with some sort of visual aid.  Your presentation should include elements to create an experience for the class.  You may do this by simulating the festival, bring an example of food, sharing a video you found online, bringing an object to pass around, having a class activity prepared, etc.   

Requirements:

• Select a specific aspect from another religion and be able to compare and contrast it with something similar in Christianity.  Project Topics will be due by Wedensday, November 30^th.
• Create a visual aid that will be shown with your presentation.
• Remember that a visual aid should augment your presentation with details and engaging visual elements like pictures and main ideas.  The bulk of your information should come during your oral presentation; it should NOT be located on your visual aid.
• Prepare and oral presentation that you will give to the class.
•  This is where you will explain what you are comparing and contrasting and what similarities and differences you found.  You must have notes to help you as you give the presentation to the class.  They can be on paper or note cards, and you will turn them in after your presentation.
• Find a way to engage the class with an element that is interactive.
•  This could be a food, an activity, a simulation of a festival, a video, and song, etc (be creative!).  This must be something fun and interesting, but it must also help to explain the aspect that you are comparing and contrasting.
• Make a bibliography to record the sources you use to research your element.
• It must be a typed page that you turn in before your presentation and must included at least four sources that are correctly cited in MLA format. 

Remember – the goal of this activity is to teach the class about something SPECIFIC that we did not already learn about.  You are NOT summarizing any of the religions we’ve learned about.

Happy Belated Halloween

Okay, so Halloween was last week, but Happy Halloween anyway from all of our Religion classes!

7th Grade Religion Luke Notes

Here is the link to accss your class notes.  Make sure you are only editing on your own class!  Also, don't foret to make it clear which chapter your writing about by using our specific outline format.  I have corrected the link so you should be able to edit from this link without any trouble. Good luck!

Period 5 : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QNCqj3sCdfkfG-pWzDKOMyS1L3Bfp6FbCPMSgiu9he4/edit

Period 7: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eGFesXxtqq90u7PtdJjT9nLjKCK9P2T6hZJxU4ZoaS4/edit

Muhammad in Washington D.C.

Our 8th grade students took an trip to Washington D.C. last week where the thought they might get a break from class. Alas! I had a small assignment for them while they were on their journey: to find Muhammad in Washington D.C.  If you're surprised, don't worry, many people aren't aware of the depiction of Muhammad with in the Supreme Court Building.  Follow the link below to learn more!

http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/north&southwalls.pdf

Everybody's Planking!

Between taking a midterm and jumping into our Islam unit, the 8th graders have started to go a little loopy.  I guess it is that time of year.

More Pictures of Creating and Sharing our Books in 7th Grade

Our week of book sharing is drawing to a close, but here are a few more pictures of my awesome 7th graders sharing their creations with lower school students.

Sharing our Luke Books with the Lower School

Today was the first day that our 7th grade class got to share some of their freshly "printed" books.  To give you some idea of what we wrote about, the students had to pick a story from the Gospel of Luke and come up with a modern spin to put on it.  Maybe one of them will appear on our blog some time soon!  Thank you to a special 4th grade class for letting us come visit!

Visit Beth El

Friday night, a few of my 8th Grade World Religion students got to sit in on a Bat Mitzvah at Beth El, a synagogue in Fort Worth. We had a wonderful tour guide named Alex who showed us around the temple and let us know what to expect in the upcoming ceremony. He also let us have an up close and personal look at the Torah and debriefed us after the service!

8th Grade Mid Term Reviews

We are working on collaborative Mid Term reviews in 8th grade.  They are creating the reviews together as a group.  We uploaded them to google docs so that students could look at them and edit them individually.

Period 3:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17vGM389m8POY3IkqIzx3Ve6qHBGMzAUu8NXkuovZBYs/edit?hl=en_US

Period 1:
https://docs.google.com/a/allsaintsftw.net/document/d/17vGM389m8POY3IkqIzx3Ve6qHBGMzAUu8NXkuovZBYs/edit?hl=en_US

Period 2:
https://docs.google.com/a/allsaintsftw.net/document/d/1jyagdDdCOQOie9RYZa5o7VHUKayQtEidNyLBSaxfpns/edit?hl=en_US

Where did the time go!

Yikes!  Last week flew by so fast that I didn't have time to post.  Fortunately, that means we've got lots of good stuff to talk about.  Our seventh graders are writing books that we are going to share with a few lower school classes next week.  They are putting a  modern spin on stories we've read from the Gospel of Luke.  Meanwhile, our eighth graders are getting ready for a trip to a synagogue on Friday.  Beth El was nice enough to allow us to come and sit in on a Shabbat service on Friday night.  All of that, AND the end of the quarter is coming up this Friday.  Everyone is working hard!  I'll keep you posted with pictures and updates.

A Week of Religions

In our World Religion class, we take a little time at the beginning to learn about different holidays from various religions.  Here are a few you may have missed.

Tuesday, September 27th was Meskel, a day that revolves around the story of Queen Eleni (also known as St. Helen) and her search for the true cross.  Legend has it that she dreamt of a bonfire with smoke that  would show the way to the spot where the cross that Jesus was crucified on was buried.  On this day a fire is made to symbolize this and the ashes may be used to make a cross on practitioner's forheads.

Wednesday, September 28th was Navaratri Dusserha.  In Hinduism, nine nights are used to celebrate different incarnations or avatars of the goddess Shakti.  These include Durga the warrior, Lakshmi the giver, and Saraswati the wise.  During this time special offerings of rice, flowers, and money can be left at temples. 

Thursday, September 29th was Rosh Hashanah.  This holiday begins the Jewish new year and  actually began at sundown on Wednesday.  It is a time of prayer and celebrating the creation of the world.  It also begins the ten Days of Awe that culminate in Yom Kippur.

Are You Smarter Than a 7th Grader?

How would you do on 7th grade's upcoming Luke quiz?  Take a look at a few of our review questions to find out!  Not sure about the answers?  Quick, find your nearest 7th grader and have them help you out!

1. Who are Elizabeth and Zechariah

2. Why are Elizabeth and Zechariah unable to have children?

3. Who announces to Zechariah that he will have a son?

4. What is Zechariah’s son to be named?

5. When Zechariah doubts that he will have a son, what is the consequence?

6. How do Mary and Elizabeth know each other?

7. Why is Mary unable to have a child?

8. Who announces to Mary that she will have a son?

9. What is going to be special about Mary’s son, Jesus?

10. To whom is Mary engaged?

11.  What is the name of the famous prayer that Mary says when she learns about her pregnancy?

12.  While Mary is pregnant, she and her husband must travel.  Where do they have to go and why?

13. Where does Mary have her baby?

14. In Luke, who are the first three visitors to baby Jesus?

15. When Jesus is 12, he gets lost in Jerusalem.  Why was he in Jerusalem and where do his parents find him?

16. Where does John the Baptist go to mediate?

17.  When John begins to preach to the people of the Jordan valley, what does he tell them they need to do (hint: there are two things)?

18. What important person does John end up baptizing?

19.  What happens when he does this?

20.  Where does Jesus go to meditate and fast and how long is he there?

21. While in the wilderness, who tempts Jesus?

22.  What three things does Jesus get tempted to do?

More videos!

For some reason,  there are two videos that just won't load!  Don't worry, I'm working on it.  Keep voting and we will come up with some sort of solution in class to make it all fair and just. :)

"Mini" Presentations!

In World Religion, students were given 15 to 20 minutes in class to research a specific idea with in Judaism,  then they were asked to present this info to the class.  These are our appetizers before going on the main course of Judaism!

The History of Religion...

As we start to learn about different religions and cultures, I thought this video might be helpful in gaining some perspective...

Friday's Current Event

On Fridays, I like to give my 8th graders a break by discussing a current event that might be relevent to our class in some way.  Here is a sneak peek of our current event for tomorrow. 

Amish Men Refuse to Use Orange Safety Triangles

*Whew* What a Week!

It has been a fast and furious week, but tomorrow is Friday, and my 5th period 7th grade class can't wait! We have spent the last two weeks discussing the different ways that Jesus is prepared for his ministry in the early parts of the Gospel of Luke.  Now we're getting ready to move into the parables he used to teach.  Will all this going on, it's a wonder they still have time to ham it up in front of the camera!

The Gospel According to Luke

Our 7th grade classes have been busy looking at the Gospel of Luke lately.  Today they compared a popular video version with what they had read so far in their Bibles.  If you are interested in this activity, take some time to watch the video below after reading the first few chapters of Luke.

Welcoming Fall!

With amazing weather like this, we had no choice but to take our class discussions outside today.  Here is an example of a "Just for Discussion" question from McGrath's book I Believe. 

Do you agree with McGrath's statement that our culture has a decidedly anti-Christian sentiment?  Why or why not?  Make sure to give examples to support your opinion. 

If you feel up to it, ask your student what they think.  Their answers might surprise you!

Context and Perspective

On September 2nd (Friday), 7th grade Religion classes discussed how their experiences shape their perception.  We are going to use this knowledge when we read the Gospel of Luke to understand the different ways Luke tried to relate Jesus' story to his specific audience.  Take a look at the image below.  What do you think it symbolizes?  Why do you think you arrived at this idea first?  Your context and perspective are hard at work making sense out of information given to you!

Learning About the Apostles' Creed

This week in 8th grade, we began our charge against apathy. Students have been encouraged to discuss why they believe what they believe and how it stacks up against the Apostles' Creed. We've had some interesting discussions, and it's only the second week of school! If you're curious about the book we're using I encourage you to order a copy online and follow along with your student.

Two students are hard at work discussing McGrath's ideas of Christian faith.

Collaborating on an assignment helps students test out theories and ideas.

Better late than never!

Our 2011-2012 school year has started with a bang.  It has gone so fast that I haven't even had time to get the blog I had planned for this year up and running!  So, with many apologies for the delayed start, welcome to Ms. Pritchard's Religion class! 

I'm hoping to use this blog as a tool for students, parents, and anyone else who is curious about what is going on in our classroom.  Studying our own religion and others can be a very personal experience, but I believe it should be fun and engaging as well.  As we go through the year, I will flush out what sort of activities and things are "blog-worthy" and hopefully give you some insight into our unique approach to learning about Christianity and World Religions!  In the mean time, take care, and check back often for updates about our 7th and 8th grade class!