Earth Prayers, Poems & Invocations

Program Area

This activity is suitable for the Grade 9 Self and Society, Arts, or Languages program. It can also be used in comparable areas of the Grade 10 or senior curricula.

Learning Outcomes

Teaching, learning and evaluation will focus on the student’s ability to:
• Integrate the multiplicity of multicultural experiences of peers with relation to the Earth and the world around them;
• Create spiritual statements of reverence for the Earth which are from their own cultural milieu;
• Develop tolerance through the experience of sharing positive sentiments about the Earth;
• Create statements, poems, and reflections on their personal relationship with the Earth and share them with others;
• Reflect on the spiritual nature of the activity in their Response Journals;
• Develop a spiritual attachment to the Earth.

Classroom Development

The teacher must be sensitive to students whose beliefs preclude participation in any activity of a spiritual nature differing from their own religious faith. Under such circumstances, the activity can be presented in terms of invocations and poems, and the idea of prayers should be downplayed.
This activity is best presented in the form of a single class introduction, followed by daily presentations and occasional research periods and creative response opportunities. The three activities of presentation, compilation and composition may be highlighted as the teacher sees fit.
The teacher can outline a schedule for the reading of Earth prayers by students to students, and perhaps turn the organization of the schedule, and the selection of presenters over to the students themselves. One student per day will present an Earth prayer or poem.
Over time, the book should be supplanted in favour of student compositions and compilations. Ideally, students should be put in control of implementing this activity.

Background Information

The initial source would be Earth Prayers from Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth. This text would soon become unnecessary, as students compile a body of works from their own research. Such bodies of work could be maintained in the school for the use and addition to by subsequent classes.
The teacher should have a practical understanding of the ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds of all his/her students. This could be done, with permission from the board and in consultation with community representatives of the groups involved, by means of a questionnaire or informal class discussions.

Timing

Ongoing. Five minutes per class or less for presentations. Fifteen minutes if Response Journal activities are included. About 40 min should be put aside for the presentation of the concept and the organization of presentations. Students should be encouraged to compile their own scrapbook of “Earth Writings” as part of their Writing Folders.

Resources

Roberts, Elizabeth, and Elias Amidon Eds. Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.
This book consists of spiritual and devotional works which represent the cultural diversity of the student population and the population of the country as a whole. Teachers must ensure that all students are represented, and to include works which will broaden the multicultural horizons of student groups which are not particularly diverse. Works composed by students from previous years should be given preference over published works.

Cross-disciplinary links

This activity could easily be presented in any Program. Use of the material could be made as a meditation aid in Physical Education, as inspiration in artistic settings, as discussion topics in Social Science, and as a spiritual interlude in all areas. A computer class could incorporate student compositions into desktop publishing projects and in Hypertext documents.

Information Sheet For Students

What’s this all about?

This activity has two main functions. The first is to get you to think about your home—the Earth. The second is to give you the opportunity and outlet to explore your own culture and religion from an environmental and literary angle, and to share your discoveries with your peers.
Do most of this work alone, or possibly in pairs. This is your environmental adventure through the culture and spiritual world from which you have your roots. However, there are times when you may wish to discuss strategies for finding source material. Group work sessions with your peers will give you the opportunity to share your research and creative techniques with your peers.

How is this going to get done?

1. Use class time and your own time to examine elements of your culture and beliefs. You are to try to discover the attitude of your own culture towards the environment. Try to find poems, songs, prayers, and short stories that express positive ideas about the Earth. Catalogue these findings in a note book or journal.
   
2. Once you have compiled a short collection of these spiritual statements on the environment, start to write your own. You can write original pieces or rewrite existing ones in your own voice.
   
3. As a class, you should all agree on how you will present these works praising the Earth. One of the best ways to do this is to read one or two pieces at the start or the close of each class. If your class keeps response journals or writing folders, you may wish to describe your reactions to the ideas expressed in these daily readings.
   

Reminder

Remember that you and your peers all have diverse religious and cultural backgrounds; whether you are aware of them or not. You can learn from all sources, so try to respect different works that are presented in class. Be especially tolerant of views that are most different from your own, because these views hold the greatest secrets from which you can learn new ideas and ways of seeing the Earth.

Extended Activities

If your class has access to computers, you should think about compiling the most interesting samples of everyone's work into an anthology. Such a text can be in the form of a booklet, as an electronic journal on a Free-Net, or as a Hypertext document. The finished work can then become part of your school’s reference collection to be used and added to by students in future years.

What can you expect from your teacher?

Your teacher has her own cultural and spiritual traditions, and you should encourage her to participate in your project. You can also count on her for examples of the types of work that you are looking to find or produce. There are many such books, but one in particular, called Earth Prayers, contains excellent examples from many cultures. If you have always though of yourself as having only a “Western Culture,” turn to your teacher for help in locating your personal cultural roots. Another excellent source of cultural information is your grandparents and older members of your family.

Creative Extensions

You should think about using the works that you have found and created in other courses. Other classes can make use of your material as resource material for discussions and projects, even if you are not yet taking these courses. In Art and Drama class you can use your material as inspiration for creative interpretation.

Conclusion

Do not miss this opportunity to explore where you come from—your roots! You will see how different the world that your ancestors inhabited is from the one you live in today. From this knowledge comes the spiritual power to imagine a different way of living. This will help you to understand better the differences that your peers bring to class. Finally, if you can imagine a different world, you are on your way to make changes in the one in which you live; perhaps for something better.