YEAR 9 SYLLABUS
3. PILGRIMAGE
Aims:
To create a greater awareness of the significance of this religious phenomenon and to examine parallels in secular activity to aid understanding in this respect. To provide opportunity for pupils to consider their own quest, the search for meaning, purpose and value. In the main Christian, but with a reference to the Muslim Hajj to provide a basis for later work on Islam.
'Implicit' Ideas:
Life as a spiritual journey; shared group experience; challenge to our sense of reality - life more than the here and now - places with special meaning; awareness of God and miraculous; conscience/ guilt and forgiveness, wholeness; the ultimate destiny; drama, story, legend, myth, music, poetry, symbols.
Concepts:
Implicit: community; conscience; harmony; motivation; purpose; sharing; wholeness
Explicit: faith; discipleship; meditation; miracle; pilgrimage; prayer; renunciation; shrine; vision; faith; submission; Five Pillars of Islam; brotherhood; Ka'aba; Hajj; Ummah; Sikh; Amritsar; Guru; Guru Granth Sahib; Khalsa
Content and Suggestions:
- Group phenomena: secular aspects of pilgrimage, e.g. fans in the pop and football worlds. Could make a class collection of badges, emblems, magazines, illustrations or examples of distinctive clothing. Discuss the kind of atmosphere. Questions on page 5 of "Pilgrimages". Explain and define the word "pilgrim" in a religious context.
- The Crusades: In the Middle Ages there was little difference between sacred and secular. See pages 6-9 in "Pilgrimages". Could design a Crusader's Cross and then written work on the Crusades in the four sections of the cross - the idea of pilgrimage as part of the incentive to go... what would it achieve for the pilgrim?
- Pilgrimages to Canterbury, Walsingham and Lourdes. Could do poster work - e.g. draw one of Chaucer's pilgrims and three roads leading to the three places. At the end of each road explain what happened at each place, what pilgrim's did on arrival and what they hoped to achieve by going. (Or some variation or other activity to achieve that end).
- The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca - Hajj. What happens and why?... a basic idea... refer back to first year work on the life of Mohammed.
- The Journey of Life - taking up again the theme started last year and the earlier work this year on Rites of Passage. Introduce to theme and characters of Bunyan's book, "Pilgrim's Progress". Here life is seen as a pilgrimage, a preparation, a quest. Does life have a purpose? If so, how will that purpose affect our lives now? If not, what alternative views of life are there? Can life still be seen as a pilgrimage? How can a religious belief help?
- Pupils to relate to their own lives, past and future. Describe some of the 'milestones' and 'signposts' along the way.
Time:
About 4 weeks
Resources:
Pilgrimage FitzWimarc Work Guide
Pilgrimages Books
Pilgrimage Cassette tape
Lourdes Cassette tape
Canterbury Cassette tape
Mecca Cassette tape
Pilgrimage 2 slides
Pilgrimage OHP slide
Lourdes Video
Jerusalem (dull) Video
Mecca - Hajj Video
Pilgrimage Video
Pilgrimage Photo posters
Belief File Video
Taize VHS
Investigating Christianity CD-ROM
Aspects of Religion CD-ROM
Sources of Faith CD-ROM
Assessment:
- Knowledge of examples of pilgrimage from the past and modern religious experience.
- Ability to compare with secular ideas and experience in own lives.
- Understanding of the nature and meaning of pilgrimage for religious people
- Beginnings of ability to seek and perceive meaning to and purpose of life.
- In applying ideas to own life, to evaluate religious dimension to life on a personal basis.
Collecting information from familiar life experiences and using in written tasks. Researching and discussing.
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