Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: Building Bridges: A World Religions Program for 8th-9th Grades

Activity 5: Time Line

Part of Building Bridges, Grades 8-9: A World Religions Program

Activity time: 5 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Religions Time Line (from Workshop 1)
  • Sticky notes and fine-point markers
  • World map or globe

Preparation for Activity

  • Post the Religions Time Line where it will be visible to all participants.
  • Place the map or globe where it will be visible to all participants.

Description of Activity

The Religions Time Line is updated to add Buddhism.

Ask participants if they remember from the story when-meaning, during what time period-Siddhartha Gautama lived, or if they remember how old Buddhism is. If they do not remember, ask them to guess. After they have guessed, write "Buddhism" on a sticky note and place it at 531 BCE on the Religions Time Line. Tell participants that this is the estimated year of the Buddha's enlightenment. Note that Buddhism was born only a few years after Taoism, so Lao Tzu and the Buddha were contemporaries, living and teaching at the same time in different parts of the world. Locate India and China on the world map or globe.