Spreading the Faith: Spreading World Religions on the Silk Road

During the past couple of weeks we have been learning about world religions. I decided a project would be a nice way to learn about all the information and it would be a nice change from the mundane, every day lessons we do.  For two days I made a webquest for the students to do their research. For another two days we checked out the Chrome Books and each group researched their religion. I split the students desks up into 5 groups, who ever they sat with was the group they would be working on this project with. They were given the handout below as a rubric for this project. Once the research was done we spent a day working on the rough drafts. Once the rough drafts were completed, they started on their final drafts, which they would use to present their religion to the class. Thursday and Friday will be spent presenting the religions.

Name: ________________________________________                        Period: ______              Binder: _________

Spreading the Faith: Religion and the Silk Road

MY RELIGION IS: _______________________________________

Directions: You and your group have been assigned one of the five major world religions. You will become travelers along the Silk Road, the famous trade route linking China and Europe. Your goal is to convince your fellow travelers (the rest of the class) that your religion is one that should be respected, even if they don’t end up following it. Keep in mind that goods and products were not the only things that passed down the Silk Road… religion and ideas did too! The goal of the activity you are about to do (spreading a religion) would have taken place many times throughout the centuries-long history of the Road.

Activity: You will be given a blank tri-fold poster board. This board will be used to convince your fellow travelers about the importance of your assigned religion. Keep in mind that the more creativity, thought, and effort you put into your board, the more likely your fellow travelers will respect your religion.

Tri-Fold Requirements: Look at the diagram below to see where different requirements should be placed on your board. While these are the minimum, don’t be afraid to go above and beyond!

Salvation/Afterlife Stats (Where, how many?)

RELIGION NAME Beliefs Individual Beliefs Deities Holy Text Excerpts Symbol Must have image of symbol

Holidays Founder/History Castes (Hinduism)

4 images minimum – one must be of the symbol

Explanation of Each Section:

LEFT PANEL

Salvation/Afterlife: This is where you explain to travelers what the goal of your religion is. If they are good people, what happens to them? What happens when they die?

Stats: How many people practice your religion worldwide? In which countries or areas is your religion widely practiced?

CENTER PANEL

Religion Name: The name of your assigned religion should be at the top, in the center, and easy to see

Key Beliefs: What are the key beliefs of your religion? However, don’t just give the name of your religion’s key beliefs. Make sure you explain what they mean. A person interested in your religion is going to want to know details!

Deities: Does your religion have a deity or deities? If none, then tell why, If there are multiple ones, list the major ones and give their roles. If only one, what is the name given to the deity? What role do they play in peoples’ lives?

Holy Text Excerpts: Your group will be given the holy text of your religion. You need to skim through the text and find an excerpt or excerpts that would appeal to someone who might be interested in following your religion.  This is not something that should be done in 30 seconds. One group member should really search hard for an appealing verse or verses to include. Explain the significance of the verse or verses that you chose.

Symbol: What is the symbol of your religion? Where does it come from? What does it mean? You must also have a picture of your symbol on the board.

RIGHT PANEL

Holidays: What are the major holidays that your religion celebrates? What customs and traditions are a part of these holidays? List them individually and explain their importance.  Try and make the holidays sound appealing while making sure the traveler will understand why they are important.

Founder/History: Give the background information about your religion? Where was it founded? Who started the religion? Give a short biography of the founder.  If no single founder exists (Hinduism) describe things about its structure such as the caste system.

DON’T FORGET: A minimum of four images is required, one of which has to be the symbol of your religion. You can certainly include more than four images. Remember, color is going to be more appealing!