RE   Year 9

Unit 9C Buddhism

Last modified 24/08/02

by P Clark

About the unit

 

In this unit pupils find out about the life and teachings of Gotama Buddha – the founder of Buddhism and the teachings of Buddhism. They use a range of written and visual sources to select, record and evaluate information on the importance of this religious figure. Pupils will reflect on and evaluate the concepts of truth and wisdom through a study of the four noble truths and the noble eight fold path. They will reflect on questions of human existence and purpose, and consider their own beliefs in the light of their learning about the religious figure.

 

Where the unit fits in

This unit follows on from teachings about religious figures Jesus and Muhammad in year 8 and from teachings about religious belief at the start of year 9.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expectations

At the end of this unit

 

All pupils will:  know about the life of Gotama Buddha and describe accurately key events in his life; understand the reasons for and results of these key events and explain how the principal beliefs and teachings of Gotama Buddha impact on the lives of Buddhists today;

 

Most pupils will: evaluate the importance of the Buddha as a perfect example of how to live for Buddhists today; reflect on questions about the meaning and purpose of human existence and formulate their own response

 

Some pupils will have progressed further and will: know in detail the life story of Gotama Buddha and the importance of key events ; explain religious beliefs, teachings, practices and lifestyles of Buddhists today ; evaluate Buddhist answers to questions of meaning and purpose, using appropriate evidence and examples; think about their own answers to ultimate questions and evaluate the importance of the Buddha as a perfect example for Buddhists today

 

 

 

Language for learning

 

Through the activities in this unit pupils will be able to understand, use and spell correctly words relating to the study of:

·       religion, eg Dhamma, Sangha, Karma, Buddhist, enlightenment 

Speaking and listening – through the activities pupils could:

·       discuss and evaluate conflicting evidence to arrive at a considered viewpoint

·       follow an argument, demonstration, etc, making notes which are then used in another task

Reading – through the activities pupils could:

·       recognise the author’s standpoint and how it affects the meaning

Writing – through the activities pupils could:

·       organise content into complete text

 

·                               

 

 

Prior Learning

 

It is helpful if pupils have:

·       learnt to use technical terminology within the study of religion

·       learnt to interpret source materials from inside faith communities, taking account of different perspectives

·       had opportunities to develop skills of empathy and attitudes of sensitivity and respect

·       had opportunities to agree and disagree with others in a constructive way

·       learnt how to consider and evaluate different practices within a number of religions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buddhism

 

Learning Objectives

Pupils should learn:

Possible teaching activities

Learning outcomes

Pupils:

Points to note

Resources

 

 

 

 

 

1. Introduction to Buddhism

·  Basic information about Buddhism it’s beliefs, practices and affects

·  About the symbols of Buddhism and their meaning

·  Brainstorm to discover prior knowledge and address common misconceptions

·  Read through ‘Buddhist symbols’ worksheet and complete task

·  Plenary group work, present an explanation of the symbol you have covered

·  Know some basic facts about  Buddhism

·  Be able to describe and explain symbols of Buddhism (Wheel, lotus flower etc)

·  Homework ‘My greatest disappointment’

·  Buddhist symbols sheet

2. Life of the Buddha 1

·  That the Buddha’s aim was to solve the problem of suffering

·  About the way that the Buddha achieved enlightenment.

·  About some of the stories the Buddha told

·  In groups discuss ‘My greatest disappointment’

·  Discuss how the disappointment could have been avoided

·  Teacher led discussion about avoiding attachment introduce video

·  Watch life of the Buddha 1

·  Discuss the video

·  Retell the story in storyboard form

·  Understand the motivation of the Buddha to discover an escape from suffering

·  Can explain how attachment can lead to disappointment  and give an example from their own life

·  Can retell the story of the Buddha

·   

·  Video

3. Life of the Buddha 2

·  Some more of the stories that the Buddha told

·  Recap from last lesson the aims of the Buddha

·  Watch life of the Buddha 2 with the aim of recalling the stories and their meaning

·   Ask pupils to retell the stories

·  Complete life of the Buddha from previous lesson and then retell the stories in a modern way as a written task (possible use of IT here)

·  Can explain some of the significance of the Buddha’s teaching

·  Can retell the stories that the Buddha told

·  Homework research the wheel of life

·  Video

4. Teachings of the Buddha

·  the main Buddhist teachings

·  to understand what Dhamma means

·  to evaluate the Buddhist concept of wisdom

·  Teach pupils about the Buddhist scriptures, focusing on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. Ask pupils to write down the information, giving a practical example for each of the Four Noble Truths.

·  Use the  Four Noble Truths worksheet to explain each one.

·  Discuss the word wisdom ‘Who do you think is wise?’Compare discussion with Buddhist wisdom.

·  explain what is contained in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path

·  evaluate the Buddhist concept of wisdom

·   

·  Four noble truths worksheet

5. The Wheel of life

·  To  understand the symbolism of the Buddhist wheel of life

·  To reflect on the use of art to describe the spiritual journey

·  Display the large wheel of life poster ask pupils to guess in groups the significance of any part of the wheel of life

·  In groups ask pupils to write down questions they would ask about the wheel

·  Give pupils further questions to look for in the next task

·  Using the computers access the wheel of life program and discover the answers to their questions if they can

·  Pupils produce their own wheel of life

·  Can explain the Buddhist wheel of life

·  Reflect on the spiritual message of the wheel

·  This may take 2 lessons

·  Homework complete personal wheel of life

·  IT suite

6. Teachings of the Buddha (The noble 8 fold path)

·  To understand the noble 8 fold path

·  To apply the teachings of the noble 8 fold path to their lives

·  Discuss the things that might interfere with happinessReferring back to lesson 3 discuss attachmentsAsk pupils to think of 4 things that would help people avoid sufferingTalk through the Noble 8 fold pathPupils fill in 8 fold path sheet with personal picturesPlenary quiz to test understanding

·  Can explain the 8 fold path and it’s meaning for Buddhists

·  Homework ‘Find out about Buddhists in Buxton.’

·  8 fold path sheet

7. Buddhist Monk

·  To understand the role of the sangha in Buddhist life and to understand what it means to be a Buddhist today

·  Read through and focus on Buddhist monk questionsWatch video focusing on the questionsDiscuss the video raising important pointsAnswer the questionsPlenary quick quiz in teams about the video testing powers of observation

·  Can describe how life is different for a Buddhist monk

·  Can explain the way the belief in Buddhism may affect the life of a beleiver

·  Homework revise for test.

·  Buddhist monk video

 

           BUXTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION