Sikhism Encounter Unit

Sikhism Encounter Unit

People

RE, Geography, Literacy and Art co-ordinators.Sikh visitors

Curriculum Links

Geography Art

PSHE/CitizenshipLiteracyMusic

Teaching and Learning

responsible citizens, confident individuals, successful learners

Rules and values for living Special people

FestivalsSpecial books

Places of worship5 Ks

Skills, Attitudes and Knowledge

RE – investigation, interpretation,

communication, respect, self awareness, open-

mindedness, appreciation and wonder

Time/Place

1 day or several lessons over a half term period.

Resources

Websites

DVD/Video materials

Curriculum Links

RE – Sikhism

• Geography – India

• Art – Indian artwork, Sikh artwork, retelling stories through art

• PSHE/Citizenship – values/rules for living

• Literacy- retelling stories through drama/newspaper/etc. Poetry

ResourcesBackground information for SikhismReligion of the Sikhs. Founded in the Punjab in NW India in 1499. About 2 million believers mostly still in the Punjab. Founded by Guru Nanak following a revelation in which he saw that everyone is the child of God and that all religions lead to the same God. 9 more gurus followed Nanak but current Guru is the holy book the Guru Granth Sahib

Websiteswww.atschool.eduweb.co.uk www.sikhkids.co.uk www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk www.bbc.co.uk www.gurmat.info/sms/smspublications/gurunanakforchildren www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/re/virtual/sikh/index.shmtl www.primaryresources.co.uk

DVD/Video materialsvideo extracts – Pathways of Belief, Believe it or Not, Quest – animated world faiths.

Skills, Attitudes and Knowledge

RE Investigation – asking questions, gathering evidence, suggesting answersInterpretation – suggest and explain meanings, see implicationsCommunication – share my thoughts, ideas, beliefs and valuesSynthesis – know that people can share common values and ideasRespect – valuing diversity, being sensitive to the feelings of othersSelf awareness – confident in own beliefs and identity and recognising own uniquenessOpen-mindedness – learning and gaining new understandingAppreciation and wonder – developing imagination and curiosity

S,A and K for other subjects need to be added here.

Skills, Attitudes and Knowledge

RE levelsAT1 L2 - Retell Sikh stories and identify and look for meaning in some of the beliefs and teachings of Sikhism.• Identify some religious practices and characters of Sikhism.

AT2 L2 - Respond sensitively to experiences and feelings of others

AT1 L3 - Describe some of the beliefs and teachings of Sikhism and how these are exemplified in festivals and practices.• Make links between the symbols, stories and language of Sikhism and the beliefs that

underlie them.

AT2 L3 - compare aspects of their own experiences.

AT1 L4 - Describe key beliefs of Sikhism and connect these with features from other religions studied.• Show understanding of what is involved in being a Sikh and belief can be expressed in a

variety of ways.

AT2 L4 - Ask questions about experiences of key figures in Sikhism and begin to suggest answers.

Teaching and Learning

responsible citizens, confident individuals, successful learners

Rules and values for living • Tell the story of Lalo and Malik Bhago or the story of Bhai Kanaya.

These highlight the qualities valued by Sikhs to help the poor and needy and to serve others no matter what their religion. Talk about the other values held by Sikhs ( respect all religions, believe that everyone is equal, believe in one God, work hard, be honest, respect the Guru Granth Sahib, serve others, give money to help others, always wear the 5 K’s and share with those less fortunate.)

• These values could be typed out onto separate pieces of paper and could be used as a ‘put in order of importance’ (pyramid) exercise with a partner. Pairs should be able to give reasons for their answers.

• @ What sorts of things could Sikhs do to demonstrate these qualities/values?

Teaching and Learning responsible citizens, confident individuals, successful learners

Special people

• Tell the story of Guru Nanak.

• Children to retell the story in words and pictures picking out the 6/8 important parts (story grid).

• Retell the story through drama or puppets.

• Each child to paint a picture of Guru Nanak in a scene from the story – put all the pictures together with some captions.

Teaching and Learning responsible citizens, confident individuals, successful learners

Festivals• Diwali – festival of light – tell the story of Guru Hargobind.

• Baisakhih – new year/harvest festival

• Birthday of Guru Nanak

• Children retell the story in pictures/writing/drama

• Make a card

• Give a jumbled version of the story to re-order.

• Find out what Sikhs do to celebrate?

Teaching and Learning responsible citizens, confident individuals, successful learners

Special booksExplain that there is now no human Guru and that the holy book called the Guru Granth Sahib is the written equivalent. • With some reference materials the children should be able to find out

that it contains 5894 religious songs written in Punjabi. These are the combined writings of the first 5 Gurus, plus writings from Hindu and Muslim holy writings which are similar to the Sikh beliefs.

• It is highly respected and is kept on a special, canopy covered platform (manji) in the Gurdwara (holy building) and is kept covered by silk cloths. It is read by the Granthi as well as by members of the congregation.

• Research could be then be presented as a poster complete with illustrations/photos, a piece of written work, a power point presentation etc. ( It could form part of a programme of work where groups of children each research a different element of the religion and feed back to the rest of the class).

Teaching and Learning responsible citizens, confident individuals, successful learners

Places of worship• Sikhs worship in a temple called the Gurdwara. Contains a prayer hall and a

langar (food hall/kitchen). Pictures of Gurus may be on the walls but no statues, bells or incense. Platform with holy book on. Everyone sits on the floor. Children are taught about Sikhism in classrooms.

• Langar is part of the service as people take food along to be shared out. May also have a library and offices.

• Look for pictures of a gurdwara to label/colour.

• Find out about the Temple at Amritsar – the most famous gurdwara.

• Research about the service in the gurdwara – what does the Granthi do? What is a chauri, What is a manji? What do the Ragi do? What happens at the Langar? Research could be then be presented as a poster complete with illustrations/photos, a piece of written work, a power point presentation etc. (It could form part of a programme of work where groups of children each research a different element of the religion and feed back to the rest of the class).

Teaching and Learning responsible citizens, confident individuals, successful learners

5 Ks

• These are the symbols of the Sikh faith and remind Sikhs of their religious duties. They were chosen by Guru Gobind Singh. As they all begin with the letter K they are known collectively as the 5 K’s.

• Children could draw around a child and dress them accordingly.

• Give the children pictures of the 5 K’s and get them to write a few sentences for each one.

• Match a description with a picture.

Curriculum Links

Geography

• India

Link with geographical study of India (eg Chembakoli)

• Look at where India is on a map/globe.

• Look at where the Punjab is.

• Look at geographical features of the area using websites.

• Investigate what happens in the Punjab – industry/jobs, leisure, schools etc

Curriculum Links

Art

• Indian artwork rangoli patterns, mehndi patterns, paisley (mango) patterns – printing – onto paper/fabric

• Sikh artwork

• Retelling stories through art – in pairs paint a section of the story of Guru Nanak. Put these together as a whole story at the end.

• Use Sikh symbol to create repeating patterns. What symbol could children choose to represent themselves –prepare this a pattern.

Curriculum Links

PSHE/Citizenship – values/rules for living

• SEAL – New Beginnings, Going for Goals, Good to be Me

• Link to school rules/classroom rules/rules in our country

• Tell the story of Lalo and Malik Bhago or the story of Bhai Kanaya. These highlight the qualities valued by Sikhs to help the poor and needy and to serve others no matter what their religion. Talk about the other values held by Sikhs (respect all religions, believe that everyone is equal, believe in one God, work hard, be honest, respect the Guru Granth Sahib, serve others, give money to help others, always wear the 5 K’s and share with those less fortunate.)

These values could be typed out onto separate pieces of paper and could be used as a ‘put in order of importance’ (pyramid) exercise with a partner. Pairs should be able to give reasons for their answers.

@ What sorts of things could Sikhs do to demonstrate these qualities/values?

Curriculum Links

Literacy

• Retelling stories through drama

• Newspaper writing

• Poetry – acrostic or haiku poems about an aspect of Sikhism

• Research about Sikhism and give a presentation – orally, poster, powerpoint /textease presenter