Christian Travelling Altar

Gloucester City Museum and Art Gallery

Key Stage:

KS3 Religious Education A study of worship forms part of all the Agreed Syllabuses we have researched

Overview:

These resources can be used as stand-alones in the context of units on Christianity or Buddhism, but probably can best be deployed togther in an enquiry- style approach. The following suggestion is quite teacher-led, but could easily be adapted to a less prescriptive method.

Suggested Classroom Activity

Show the pupils the still image of the Christian Travelling Altar, and tell them that very little is known about how the altar would have been used. Ask the pupils how we could gain an insight into its use from studying living faiths. After a short discussion, set them the task of working in pairs to test the idea that we could look at the common features of home shrine use in living faiths.

Video 1. Buddhism. Question..Describe

Give them the links to the videos in which Buddhist and Christian practicioners are asked the same four questions about their use of home shrines. Ask them to list what they consider to be the most important differences and similarities between the interviewees’ responses.The total length of the four answers is seven minutes for the Buddhist and five minutes for the Christian, so the whole exercise should take the pupils twenty to thirty minutes. Finish with a group discussion of what they have learned.

Video 2. Question..How do you pay respect to the objects?

Video 3.Question..How do you use the objects?

Video 4, Question..How does the practice help you?

Video 5. Christianity. Question..Can you describe what we are looking at?

Video 6. Question..How do you pay respect?

Video 7. Question..How do you use the objects?

Video 8, Question..How does the practice help you?

Development Activity:

This CultureStreet teachers lesson plan was originally developed to support content around a portable Roman shrine to Mercury discovered at Segedunum in Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne. Take a look Roman Lead Shrine and then compare this relic with the Christian one found near Gloucester.

Learning Objectives:

Pupils will learn about common features of personal worship by employing higher order learning skills.

Research, Notes and Links:

Download this lesson plan