Year 7 have been looking at some of the beliefs and rituals of various world religions as part of our humanities learning. We recently researched the role of mandalas as used by Tibetan Buddhists. These are highly intricate pieces of artwork that help Buddhists with their meditation.
We started our learning by watching a short video about explaining a little more about mandalas. We invited all pupils to share their thoughts about what they could see in the video.
One response was that we could see a very large plate being made. Other pupils commented on the possible materials being used, as well as suggesting reasons as to why the mandala was being made.
Each Year 7 class member then completed a worksheet. Our task involved reading a short passage explaining a little more about mandala and Buddhism. Each piece of information was accompanied with the relevant signs.
We then had to answer some questions using the information that we had just read.
What are mandalas made out of? What are they used for? What happens to them after they have been made?
Year 7 were surprised to find that mandalas are destroyed by the Buddhists once they have been created. This is connected with the Buddhist belief that nothing lasts forever.
We finished off our work by decorating some mandala prints. You can listen to one of the Year 7 students explaining a little more about his work in the podcast below.