You Be the Teacher: Religion Presentation
Your group will be assigned to become experts on all aspects of a particular religion. Your job is to
teach the rest of the class about this religion and provide a study guide to be used for the CSA and
for the AP Exam in May. so you will prepare a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation and a summary
handout chart. Use text, diagrams, illustrations and symbols to help illustrate your findings.
This is a major research assignment that will require extensive collaboration of group members as
well as a well thought out division of labor approach. All members are expected to participate and
share fully in the workload. Each group will have a special location on the Wiki that members can
share information and files.
All students are expected to participate in all of the major stages of the project: research,
storyboard, production, and presentation.
The final product for this assignment will consist of the following elements:
A. Oral Presentation:
 Speaking participation of all group members.
 Clear summative answers to all of the topics on the second page of this assignment.
 Use of PowerPoint as a visual aide to include appropriate pictures, diagrams, maps, and
descriptions.
B. Handout:
 Religion Graphic Organizer
 Maximum two-page summary of answers to each question
C. PowerPoint Presentation
 Made available to all members of the class via wiki or other means
Your textbook and the companion website are useful for general information, but you will need to
consult additional resources. Prepare a bibliography citing the sources you consulted for this
project.
Here are some websites that you might find useful:
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http://www.adherents.com/
http://www.religioustolerance.org/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/world_religions/index.shtml
http://www.comparative-religion.com/
http://www.easybib.com/ use for citations
Possible Topics:
Buddhism
Christianity
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
Shintoism
Sikhism
Confucianism
Taoism
Animism
Baha’i
You Be the Teacher: Essential Questions
1. What Type of Religion Is it?
 Monotheistic or polytheistic?
 Universalizing or ethnic?
 Hierarchical or autonomous?
2. What Is the History of the Religion?
 Where is the hearth/place of origin?
 Who founded the religion and when?
 What are the types of diffusion (Map it)
 Why and how did the religion spread where it did?
 Is it related or does it have ties to other religions?
 Who are the key figures?
 What are the top 3-5 major events in the religion’s history?
3. What Are the Teachings of the Religion?
 Who is/are the main/major deity(ies)?
 What are the central beliefs of the religion?
 How do people become a follower / member (adherent) of the religion?
 What is/are the major book(s) of the religion?
 What is/are the symbol(s) of the religion?
 What holy days does the religion have?
 Does the religion require pilgrimages? (If so, describe them)
 What calendars (if appropriate) does the religion use?
 What are the major divisions/branches/sects and their distribution?
4. What is the Distribution of the Religion?
 How many people practice the religion worldwide?
 Where does it rank in number of followers compared to other religions?
 Is the religion growing or shrinking in number of followers?
 Where is it practiced? (Map it)
5. What Does the Cultural Landscape of the Religion Look Like?
 What are the places of worship like? (Building structures/architecture)
 What and where are the sacred sites of the religion?
 What/where are burial practices/sites?
 Does the religion have an impact on the layout of homes, communities, towns
and political structures?
Religion Guide For:
Type of
Religion
Hearth
Founder/Date
# of Followers
Worldwide
Diffused To
Major
Deity/ies
Key Figures &
History
Physical
Symbols or
Traits
Basic Beliefs
Major Sects or
Denominations
Cultural
Landscape
Religion Comparison Chart
Judaism
Type of
Religion
Hearth
Founder/Date
# of Followers
Worldwide
Diffused To
Major
Deity/ies
Key Figures &
History
Physical
Symbols or
Traits
Basic Beliefs
Major Sects or
Denominations
Cultural
Landscape
Confucian
Hinduism
Buddhism
Christianity
Islam