After students gather information about Christianity by reading informative texts, literature, or watching a video, they can display their understanding using a spider map. Students will highlight the important facts about Christianity using illustrations and descriptions. This is a great way to help organize information and can serve as a quick reference when reviewing for tests and quizzes! This example answers the following essential questions about Christianity:
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Due Date:
Objective: Create a spider map that describes different important facts and features of Christianity.
Student Instructions:
Requirements: Minimum of 5 cells showcasing different facts about Christianity. Appropriate scenes to illustrate each category. 1-3 sentence description for each cell demonstrating your understanding.
Start by briefing the students about Christianity as a religion and some basic information such as Jesus being the God, the cross and the holy trinity, basic beliefs, and faith. Teachers can also assess the prior knowledge of the students and can develop the discussion based on the insights provided by the students.
Help the students identify significant events that led to the development of Christianity, begin by explaining the birth of Jesus and all the people involved, then gradually move towards other significant events such as the crucifixion and resurrection, the early Christian church, the persecution and expansion, and so on.
Once the students have identified all the crucial events that led to the development of Christianity, they can organize the information using any sort of graphic organizer. Students can also make their own sequence charts using symbols and short descriptions of events on a chart paper.
Teachers can also recommend students some simple yet informative readings that can help the students look at significant events from different perspectives. Students can dedicate a short time to reading in every class and discuss their thoughts, views, and opinions with their teachers and classmates as a way to reflect on the reading and create a collaborative learning environment.
Encourage the students to organize debates and discussions about each aspect and topic they have been reading or researching about. Foster a respectful learning environment and guide the students to be sensitive while discussing certain topics and be mindful of other’s opinions.
The Bible is the fundamental text for Christians and incorporates the core beliefs of Christianity into one book. It is separated into the New Testament and the Old Testament, which is shared with Judaism. While the New Testament is focused on the life and teachings of Jesus and the early Christian Church, the Old Testament contains materials from ancient Hebrew literature.
The key principles of Christianity include belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), Jesus' deity and humanity, redemption by grace through trust in Jesus, and the afterlife. Christians also find it important to lead a life similar to Jesus and follow in his footsteps to be kind and compassionate towards humanity.
The most significant Christian celebration, Easter, commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus. It serves as the cornerstone of Christian hope and stands for triumph over sin and death.