Active Learning Strategies for Teaching about Religion

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Iconography of the Life of Jesus

Religion: Christianity

Purpose: to teach and reinforce knowledge regarding events in the life of Jesus

Cognitive Skills: knowledge, evaluation (student must decide which images to use)

Learning Styles: visual, sequential, reflective

Intelligences: visual-spatial

Use: as homework

For: individuals, pairs, small groups

Estimated time: 30 minutes (or longer), can be done in parts

Materials needed: Computer: Internet and proficiency in word processing or graphic arts applications

Note: can be done listening to music

The Activity:

• Students will match art images from various events in the life of Jesus with descriptions of the events as found in one or more of the Gospels. Teachers may provide a list of events or refer students to Web resource noted below.

• Students can work independently on this project or share responsibility for the project by dividing the many events amongst them, each searching for images for their assigned events.

• Product can be presented as a scrapbook, series of posters, set of cards (art image on one side, description of event on the other), or other ideas student or teacher might have.

Web resources:

• Iconography of the life of Jesus provides descriptions of events

• Christian Iconography provides an extensive list of links to images

• many similar sites also exist, use a search engine to locate other useful sites

Alternative possibilities: can be used for an art history course

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Page updated: February 05, 2006