Curriculum Guide Religion Grades K-12 Office of Education North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists 2001 The North American Division The North American Division includes the United States and Canada, as well as the Islands of Bermuda, St. Pierre, and Miquelon. With such a diversity of cultures, this curriculum guide is designed to ensure that uniform standards are maintained. In those places within the Division where governmental academic requirements differ from those of this guide, appropriate adjustments may be made as long as the Seventh-day Adventist philosophy is maintained. Acknowledgments The following persons served as members of the North American Division Workshop Committee for Religion K-12, June 14-July 1, 1999. Gerald Ko valski, Chair Beverly MacLaughlin, Co -Chair Director of Education Associate Director of Education Southern Union Conference Pacific Union Conference Decatur, Georgia Thousand Oaks, California SECONDARY ELEMENTARY DeWayne Boyer, Religion Teacher Tom Amato, Teacher Takoma Academy Foothills Elementary School Takoma Park, Maryland St Helna, California Gordon Kainer, Religion Teacher Debra Fryson, Assoc. Dir. of Education Loma Linda Academy Southern Union Conference Loma Linda, California Decatur, Georgia Glenn Russell, Religion Teacher Suzanne Hayford, Teacher Andrews Academy Parkview Jr. Academy Berrien Springs, Michigan Syracuse, New York Gerry Thompson, Director of Education Gwen Payne, Teacher Pacific Union Conference Clara E. Rogers Elementary School Thousand Oaks, California College Place, Washington Jan Yakush, Religion Teacher Linda Rosen, Teacher College View Academy Sunnyside Elementary School Lincoln, Nebraska Clear Lake, Wisconsin Table of Contents Philosophy ................................................................. 1 Rationale .................................................................. 2 Introduction ............................................................... 3 General Goals .............................................................. 5 Elementary .......................................................... 7 Strands ........................................................ 8 Correlation Guide (Essential Learnings) ............................... 9 Secondary .......................................................... 23 Crossroads Series Logo .......................................... 24 Goal for Crossroads Series ........................................ 25 Presuppositions ................................................ 26 Overview of Textbooks .......................................... 27 Strands (Scope and Instructional Emphasis Correlation Guide) ............. 29 Essential Core Elements .......................................... 35 Appendix ................................................................. 41 Summary of Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists .................... 43 Bloo m’s Taxonomy ................................................... 53 FACT 21 Essential Core Elements ........................................ 55 4 Philosophy The Seventh-day Adventist Church recognizes God as the ultimate source of existence and truth. In the beginning, God created in His image a perfect humanity, a perfection later marred by sin. Through Christ and His Spirit, God determined to restore humanity from its lost state. Through the Bible, He has revealed His will to the world, a revelation that supersedes human reason. Through His Church on earth, He seeks the lost for His kingdo m. The basic tenets of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, including the inspired writing of Ellen White, are directed toward God’s restorative plan for fallen humanity. The Church conducts its own system of education to engender belief in these tenets, within the context of one’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to foster a desire to share that relationship with others. Made in God’s image, every human being, although fallen, is endowed with attributes akin to those of the Creator. Therefore, Adventist education seeks to nurture thinkers rather than mere reflectors of others thoughts; loving service rather than selfish ambition; maximum development of one’s potential; and an appreciation for all that is beautiful, true, and good. An education of this kind imparts far more than academic knowledge. It is a balanced development of the whole person. Its time dimensions span eternity. In Adventist education, homes, schools, and churches cooperate together with divine agencies in preparing learners for citizenship here on this earth and in the New Earth to come. 1 Rationale The ancient observation that inside every person there is a God-shaped vacuum is still true today. Considering that reality, Seventh-day Adventist educational philosophy recognizes that students might excel in the various areas of academics, but if their soul’s deeper inner yearning for God is not met, they can never be fulfilled. Only in Christ can peace and joy be truly found. In light of scriptural emphasis, the K-12 religion curriculum seeks to bring students into a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. Through Christ they are transferred into God’s kingdom, receiving a new perfect status with Him, and experiencing a transformed life. Having embraced God’s love through Christ, the K-12 religion curriculum will help students explore God’s claim on their lives, ever seeking new ways to express their love to Him and others, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Without the central focus on a right relationship with God in school life and academic thought, students can easily conclude that God doesn’t exist or that He really doesn’t matter. The K-12 religion curriculum, therefore, seeks to provide for students a spiritual dimension that has immediate and eternal rewards. The integrity of the Seventh-day Adventist educational system is dependent on a meaningful religion curriculum which enables these life experiences. An important ingredient is a classroom that will maintain an atmosphere that is fundamentally different from other classrooms. Here instructors are to provide an environment which encourages students to not be mere reflectors of other men’s thoughts, but to ponder their own lives and make decisions related to their eternal future. The greatest need in the classroom is a Spirit-filled teacher. “In the highest sense, the work of education and the work of redemption are one; for in education, as in redemption, ‘ot her foundat ion can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ .’ ‘It was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fulness dwell.’ The great principles of education are unchanged. ‘They stand fast forever and ever;’ for they are the principles of t he character of God. To aid the student in comprehending these principles, and in entering into that relation with Christ which will make them a controlling power in the life, should be the teacher’s first effort and his constant aim. The teacher who accepts this aim is in truth a co-worker with Christ, a laborer together with God.” Education, p. 30 2 Introduction The North American Division K-12 Religion Curriculum Guide Committee has taken as its standard the principles and teachings found in the Word of God, as embraced in the 27 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Every effort was made by the committee to make this guide user-friendly in respect to helping the teacher grasp the instructional emphasis and scope of the entire curriculum. Elementary The elementary curriculum strands are based on the 27 Fundamental Beliefs and are combined in theme groupings for grades K-8. The resulting nine strands and related essential learnings are correlated with the lessons on each grade level in the “Correlation Guide.” Strand Fundamental Belief 1. Holy Scriptures 1 2. Trinity 2-5 3. Universal Conflict, Creation, Fall, and 6-10 Redemption of Man 4. The Church and Its Mission 11-15 5. Spiritual Gifts 16, 17 6. Formula for Abundant Life 18-22 7. Christ Our Advocate 23 8. The End of Sin 24, 26, 27 9. Death and Resurrection 25 The goals and essential core elements of the FACT 21 document are also correlated to the strands and essential learnings at each grade level. A summary of the 27 Fundamental Beliefs and the FACT 21 Essential Core Elements are found in the Appendix. The teacher will find this guide helpful: 1. to identify the essential concepts to be taught in grades K-8, 2. to enrich the Bible curriculum beyond the textbook, 3. to plan for instruction and to help implement accountability in teaching, 4. to track class progress. 3 Secondary The Crossroads Series is the religion curriculum for grades 9-12 in Seventh-day Adventist schools. In order to help the teacher understand and appreciate the underlying premise and theme of this series, this curriculum guide includes the following elements: 1. An explanation of the Logo of the Crossroads Series which is found in each textbook. 2. The Goal for the Crossroads Series. 3. The Presuppositions of the Crossroads Series. 4. A general overview of the fourteen textbooks that comprise the Crossroads Series. 5. A Scope and Instructional Emphasis Correlation Guide which identifies forty-eight major religious strands, including the 27 Fundamental Beliefs, and correlates each with the fourteen textbooks. 6. A correlation of the forty-eight major religious strands with each of the FACT 21 Goals and Essential Core Elements. A summary of the 27 Fundamental Beliefs and t he FACT 21 Essential Core Elements are found in the Appendix. The teacher will