Lesson 5: How do some people demonstrate the value of scripture?
Discovering how practices can demonstrate the value of the Guru Granth Sahib to many Sikhs.
Learning objective
- To evaluate the significance of religious scripture to some people.
Success criteria
- I can give examples of how the Guru Granth Sahib is treated to show respect.
- I can explain why the Guru Granth Sahib is considered a living Guru by many Sikhs.
- I can make connections between beliefs and practices.
Before the lesson
Check all images, videos, links and presentation slides are suitable for your class.
Presentation: Explain the answer.
Presentation: What is it?
Presentation: What is the Guru Granth Sahib?
Presentation: Guru Granth Sahib.
Presentation: Waheguru etymology.
Artefacts used in connection with the Guru Granth Sahib (optional - see Teacher knowledge).
Link: New Holy Cribs: The Gurdwara on Videolink.*
*These are external websites and we do not have control over their content - please check before showing them to the children.
Check all images, videos, links and presentation slides are suitable for your class.
Presentation: Explain the answer.
Presentation: What is it?
Presentation: What is the Guru Granth Sahib?
Presentation: Guru Granth Sahib.
Presentation: Waheguru etymology.
Artefacts used in connection with the Guru Granth Sahib (optional - see Teacher knowledge).
Link: New Holy Cribs: The Gurdwara on Videolink.*
*These are external websites and we do not have control over their content - please check before showing them to the children.
Lesson plan
Display the Presentation: Explain the answer and ask the children to explain the statement:
"Some Buddhists prefer to listen to teachers explain the teachings in the Buddhist Canon and do not read it themselves." Why might this be?
Display the Presentation: Explain the answer and ask the children to explain the statement:
"Some Buddhists prefer to listen to teachers explain the teachings in the Buddhist Canon and do not read it themselves." Why might this be?
Presentation: Explain the answer
Possible answers may be:
Some Buddhists may prefer to listen to teachings because there are so many texts in the Buddhist Canon they are not sure which one will contain teachings relevant to their situation.
Because Buddhist monks and nuns spend much of their time studying the texts, some Buddhists may feel that they can explain them more clearly than if they read them themselves.
Display the Presentation: What is it? Read each statement aloud and click to reveal a part of a hidden image of the Guru Granth Sahib. Ask the children to predict what the image shows that the statements are referring to.
Display the Presentation: What is it? Read each statement aloud and click to reveal a part of a hidden image of the Guru Granth Sahib. Ask the children to predict what the image shows that the statements are referring to.
Presentation: What is it?
Make presentation full-screen
Explain that all the statements refer to scripture considered sacred in the Sikh worldview: the Guru Granth Sahib.
Explain to the children that the Guru Granth Sahib is the central Sikh scripture. When it was created, it was decided that it would be the final Guru, that it would live eternally and that it would have the highest power and importance. Many Sikhs would describe it as sovereign, like a king or queen. Explain that the pages of the Guru Granth Sahib are called 'limbs' because Sikhs see it as a living Guru rather than a book.
Display the Presentation: What is the Guru Granth Sahib? and share the information with the children.
Display slide 1 of the Presentation: Waheguru etymology and explain that Waheguru is the word Sikh people use for God.
Activities
Visit a local gurdwara or ask a representative from the local Sikh community to visit the school to find out how the Guru Granth Sahib is used and respected in the local community.
Ask the children to work in pairs to role-play an interviewer and either Simran or Arvinda from the videos, asking questions and using knowledge from the lesson to answer as they might expect them to answer.
We value your feedback
We welcome your feedback to help make our resources even better
In this unit
Assessment – R&W Y4: What makes some texts sacred?
Lesson 1: How do people communicate beliefs without words?
Lesson 2: What can we find out about scripture?
Lesson 3: What does it mean if scripture was revealed or remembered?
Lesson 4: Why do some worldviews have more than one book of scripture?
- Current lesson
Lesson 5: How do some people demonstrate the value of scripture?
Lesson 6: How do sacred texts play a part in some people’s lives?
- Optional
Optional: How is Christmas part of a bigger story?
