Message from sbaker

[Anonymous]

A resource book that I want to recommend is from Teacher Created Materials, World Religions, and is designed to be challenging. ( ISBN 1-55734-624-0 ) The connection for this forum is that it covers Asian religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Taoism all have introductions, mini research projects, worksheets, and tests that a teacher can use in the class.

What I like most about it is the introductions, summaries, and origins of the religions provided by this book. They are well written, but most important is that they concise. I want the students to be able to quickly compare the religions to find similarities. As a class the students have found similarities in the origins of many religions. The students also find many religions have the same basic teachings and practices. This is the primary use for this book in my class.

The book has other interesting and useful worksheets. Every religion seems to have holiday, the book has many research sheets on the main days of celebration. Symbols are used throughout many religions and the book provides color sheets for the student. Religions have a tendency to split through the years and this is covered by the book. It has puzzles and crosswords related to each religion. It even has basic blueprints and definitions for places of worship. The last thing that I find useful in the class is the topic of religious freedom and tolerance. This book has worksheets on these topics.

This book provides many opportunities to bring religion in the classroom as history, art, and moral discussion. As for Asian studies the Buddhism section has the story of Buddha. It covers his enlightenment and teachings. There are examples of scripture to read. The spread of Buddhism and its schools of thought such as Zen and Tibetan are covered. The Taoism section also covers Confucius, so the life of Lao-Tzu and him are discussed. The teachings of both men are included and so are so of the customs.