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The Story of God, with Morgan Freeman Curriculum Guide Curriculum Guide for the Film Series The Story of God, With Morgan Freeman Journeys in Film www.journeysinfilm.org In Partnership with USC Rossier School of Education © 2016 NGC Network US, LLC and NGC Network International, LLC. All rights reserved. Journeys in Film: The Story of God Educating for Global Understanding www.journeysinfilm.org Journeys in Film Staff National Advisory Board Joanne Strahl Ashe, Founding Executive Director Liam Neeson, National Spokesperson Eileen Mattingly, Director of Education/Curriculum Content Specialist Brooke Adams Amy Shea, Director of Research Alexi Ashe Meyers Roger B. Hirschland, Executive Editor Sharon Bialy Ethan Silverman, Film Literacy Consultant Mary Carson Martine McDonald, Director of Programs Ted Danson Professor Alan Dershowitz Journeys in Film Board of Directors Sara Jo Fischer Joanne Strahl Ashe, Founder and Chairman Gary Foster Erica Spellman Silverman Scott Frank Diana Barrett Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Julie Lee Jill Iscol, Ed.D. Michael H. Levine Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter Bruce R. Katz Authors of this curriculum guide William Nix Ryan Chamberlain Harold Ramis (In Memoriam) Bengt Johnson Professor Richard A. Schweder Mary Anne Kovacs Tony Shalhoub Marty Kushner Mary Steenburgen Molly S. Lord-Garrettson Walter Teller Loung Ung Sonia Weitz (In Memoriam) Elizabeth Clark Zoia Journeys in Film National Geographic Channel 50 Sandia Lane 1145 17th Street NW Placitas, NM 87043 Washington, DC 20036 505.867.4666 http://channel.nationalgeographic.com www.journeysinfilm.org Journeys in Film: The Story of God Table of Contents Introduction About Journeys in Film 6 A Letter From Liam Neeson 8 A Letter From Executive Producers Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary 9 Introducing The Story of God, With Morgan Freeman 10 Notes to the Teacher 12 Lessons Lesson 1: Hinduism 13 Lesson 2: Buddhism 29 Lesson 3: Judaism 45 Lesson 4: Christianity 64 Lesson 5: Islam 83 Journeys in Film: The Story of God About Journeys in Film Founded in 2003, Journeys in Film operates on the belief Why use this program? that teaching with film has the power to prepare students To be prepared to participate in tomorrow’s global arena, to live and work more successfully in the 21st century as students need to gain an understanding of the world beyond informed and globally competent citizens. Its core mission their own borders. Journeys in Film offers innovative and is to advance global understanding among youth through engaging tools to explore other cultures and social issues, the combination of age-appropriate films from around the beyond the often negative images seen in print, television, world, interdisciplinary classroom materials, and professional and film media. development offerings for teachers. This comprehensive curriculum model promotes widespread use of film as a For today’s media-centric youth, film is an appropriate and window to the world to help students to mitigate existing effective teaching tool. Journeys in Film has carefully selected attitudes of cultural bias, cultivate empathy, develop a richer quality films that tell the stories of young people living in understanding of global issues, and prepare for effective locations that may otherwise never be experienced by your participation in an increasingly interdependent world. Our students. Students travel through these characters and their standards-based lesson plans support various learning styles, stories: They drink tea with an Iranian family in Children of promote literacy, transport students across the globe, and Heaven, play soccer in a Tibetan monastery in The Cup, find foster learning that meets core academic objectives. themselves in the conflict between urban grandson and rural grandmother in South Korea in The Way Home, or watch the Selected films act as springboards for lesson plans in subjects ways modernity challenges Maori traditions in New Zealand ranging from math, science, language arts, and social studies in Whale Rider. to other topics that have become critical for students, including environmental sustainability, poverty and hunger, global health, diversity, and immigration. Prominent educators on our team consult with filmmakers and cultural specialists in the development of curriculum guides, each one dedicated to an in-depth exploration of the culture and issues depicted in a specific film. The guides merge effectively into teachers’ existing lesson plans and mandated curricular requirements, providing teachers with an innovative way to fulfill their school districts’ standards-based goals. 6 Journeys in Film: The Story of God In addition to our ongoing development of teaching guides for culturally sensitive foreign films, Journeys in Film brings outstanding documentary films to the classroom. Working in partnership with the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California, Journeys in Film has identified exceptional narrative and documentary films that teach about a broad range of social issues in real-life settings such as famine-stricken and war-torn Somalia, a maximum- security prison in Alabama, and a World War II concentration camp near Prague. Journeys in Film curriculum guides help teachers integrate these films into their classrooms, examining complex issues, encouraging students to be active rather than passive viewers, and maximizing the power of film to enhance critical thinking skills and to meet the Common Core standards. Journeys in Film is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Journeys in Film: The Story of God 7 A Letter From Liam Neeson Working in films such as Michael By using carefully selected foreign films that depict life in Collins and Schindler’s List, I’ve other countries and cultures around the globe, combined seen the power of film not only with interdisciplinary curricula to transform entertainment to entertain, but also to change media into educational media, we can use the classroom to the way audiences see themselves bring the world to every student. Our foreign film program and the world. When I first met dispels myths and misconceptions, enabling students to Joanne Ashe, herself the daughter overcome biases; it connects the future leaders of the world of Holocaust survivors, she with each other. As we provide teachers with lessons aligned explained to me her vision for a new educational program to Common Core standards, we are also laying a foundation called Journeys in Film: Educating for Global Understanding. for understanding, acceptance, trust, and peace. I grasped immediately how such a program could transform Please share my vision of a more harmonious world where the use of film in the classroom from a passive viewing cross-cultural understanding and the ability to converse activity to an active, integral part of learning. about complex issues are keys to a healthy present and a I have served as the national spokesperson for Journeys in peaceful future. Whether you are a student, an educator, Film since its inception because I absolutely believe in the a filmmaker, or a financial supporter, I encourage you to effectiveness of film as an educational tool that can teach participate in the Journeys in Film program. our young people to value and respect cultural diversity and Please join this vital journey for our kids’ future. They are to see themselves as individuals who can make a difference. counting on us. Journeys in Film gets them ready for the Journeys in Film uses interdisciplinary, standards-aligned world. lesson plans that can support and enrich classroom programs in English, social studies, math, science, and the arts. Using films as a teaching tool is invaluable, and Journeys in Film Sincerely, has succeeded in creating outstanding film-based curricula integrated into core academic subjects. National Spokesperson Journeys in Film 8 Journeys in Film: The Story of God A Letter From Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary Dear All, We went to some of mankind’s greatest religious sites. We traveled with archaeologists, immersed ourselves in religious Who is God? Where did we come experiences and rituals all around the world, and even from? Why does evil happen? became test subjects in scientific labs, where the frontiers of Are miracles real? What happens neuroscience are intersecting with the traditional domain of when we die? These questions religion. We’ve sung the call to prayer at a mosque in Cairo, can be puzzling, terrifying, taken meditation lessons from the Buddhist leader of the even inspirational. We’ve asked oldest line of reincarnating lamas, discussed Galileo with the ourselves these questions many head of the Papal Academy of Sciences, and explored the first times, and most likely, you have, instructions for the afterlife rendered in hieroglyphs inside too. The answers are often as the pyramids of Egypt. different as you and I, and vary depending on where you live, In the end, what surprised us most was finding how personal how you were raised, and what those answers were for each and every one of us. There is no you believe. wrong answer when it comes to understanding God or what you believe. We hope The Story of God and this curriculum That’s why we set out on this guide will spark new interfaith conversations and begin a global journey—to explore different cultures and religions, wider dialogue about the ideas and values that we all share— on the ultimate quest to uncover the meaning of life, the rather than focusing on those we do not. question of God, and everything in between. We are proud to bring you this story and
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