SECONDARY
RESOURCES: CONNECTIONS
ACTIVITY 2 - WORLD-WIDE WEBS
AIM
- To develop work on the inter-connections between the individual and the wider
world and the responsibilities this involves
- To introduce the work of faith communities internationally
RE LINKS
- Social activity in religious life
- Identity and responsibility
SCIENCE LINKS
- Food webs composed of several food chains
- Impact of humans on the environment, dependent on social and economic factors
MATERIALS NEEDED
- A large map of the world
- Sheets of A4 paper
- Flipchart paper
- Outline maps of the world
- A shopping list including items from the five continents
TIME NEEDED
This activity contains enough material for more than one lesson and can also be
used in conjunction with Activity One. Exactly how much detail is developed will
depend on individual classes and circumstances, but the main points should be
touched on, however briefly. Some preparation, e.g. research on the shopping basket
contents or on the distribution of faiths worldwide, could be done as homework.
NOTE
It is worth checking with the Geography and Science departments to discover what
work the students have already done on food chains, sustainability and related
subjects.
PART A
- Display a large colourful map of the world prominently. Divide the
class into five groups to represent the five continents. Give each person an A4
world map outline and each group a sheet of flipchart paper. Ask each group to
draw a large, rough map of the continent it represents, covering the flipchart
page.
- Ask the class to think about what they had for their last meal,
and what the ingredients were. Where did they come from (before the supermarket!)?
Then either show a collection of tins, boxes and other items from a typical shopping
basket, or ask the students to identify a set of about 15 items from such a basket.
They can choose anything they might like to buy in the way of food. Each group
makes a list of the items.
- As a group, decide which items come from which areas of the world.
Mark them in the appropriate section on the small maps, remembering that some
items will contain ingredients from many places. Then each group marks those that
come from their continent onto their own large map.
- Ask each group to display their maps. How many items come from which
continent? How many come from Europe? How many come from Britain? How many are
grown locally to the school? Point out that the class has only looked at a few
items. What does this say about world trade and interdependence?
- Now think about what processing and transport will be needed to
get the goods from their original point of growth or manufacture to the local
sales point. Now think what goods can be grown or produced within, say, 25 miles
of the school. How different would the shopping basket be with only these things
in it?
PART B
- Going back to the big map and continents, discuss with the students
which faiths are found on which continents. Where did each originate? Where has
it spread to? (Each group could also be given a faith to investigate as preparation
for the lesson). Look at the chains linking continents here.
- Mark the large map of the world with pins representing the presence
of different faiths.
- Ask the students to identify the faith groups in the local community
(they may be able to remember this from Activity 1). Go back to the subject of
food and introduce the idea that activities involving eating and drinking, and
providing for the poor, are often important aspects of the life of faith communities.
Relate this to food being a basic need for everyone and also a social and ritual
activity (special meals, Sunday lunch etc). Food as a link for people far away
from their own roots. What food, for example, is served at a Gurdwara? Look at
any links this has with the map. Emphasise the inter-connectedness of the world
through faiths.
- All faiths regard the world as the work of a Creator. All see humans
as having some kind of responsibility for themselves and for the rest of creation.
Using these faith statements, think up some ways in which they might be put into
action today:
'A righteous person has regard for the life of his animal'
The Bible, Proverbs 12.10
'If you do not care for the afflictions of others
You do not deserve to be called a human being'
Verse from a poem by the Persian Sufi Poet Sadi
'Right Livelihood'
(part of the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path, meaning to avoid occupations that
cause harm or injustice and choosing those which are beneficial to others).
MORE TO DISCUSS - Extension work (For Key Stage 3)
- Listen to the song 'From a Distance', from the CD Some People's
Lives sung by Bette Midler (Julia Gold music publications Atlantic 821829).
Its theme is the way in which the world looks in harmony from a distance, despite
the various problems that we all experience. Write a song or design a poster about
the inter-connectedness of all life.
- For an example of unsustainable interaction with the environment,
see the activity on 'Easter Island' in the Primary Activities section of this
site. The 'Coffee Chain Game' from Oxfam is another appropriate activity, this
time addressing the complex issues surrounding trade in one commodity.
For RE and general RE (For Key Stage 4 and beyond)
- 'Am
I my brother's keeper?'
This question comes from the Book of Genesis, chapter 4, in the Jewish and Christian
Bibles. Cain, a son of Adam, has just killed his twin brother Abel and is being
called to account by God. This story suggests that questions of responsibility
have been central to the human condition since earliest times. Discuss what being
'my brother's keeper' means in today's society. What possible answers to Cain's
question are there? How would faith groups answer the question?
- Look
at the Planet Pledges on this website. Try to make a web to show
whether/how they are inter-related, giving examples in the local,
national and international community. Which possible actions would
affect more than one of the areas represented by the pledges?
© REEP, Graeme Watson |
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