• Complements QCA non-statutory unit 6c 'Why are sacred texts important?'

• Provides opportunity for cultural development

• Explore the role of storytelling and oral traditions as a way of remembering and passing on information

• Explore how Christians today can still identify with and see relevance of Bible texts

• Reflect on their own values and attitudes to religion

Photocopies of 'A Cautionary Tale' (PDF) (The sketch is in two parts; if time does not allow you to use both parts, simply introduce the scenario and use part two only in the lesson) You will need two readers for each part of the sketch.

Psalm 137:1-6

Writing paper

• Introduce 'A Cautionary Tale' to the class

• This sketch attempts to illustrate how things can be forgotten if they are not passed on

• Stories, traditions and culture can be taken for granted and lost due to lack of attention

• The sketch is read to the group
   
• After the sketch, discuss the issues raised
   
• Did anyone identify with or recognise the situation or the characters?

• What do people think they have learned from their parents, grandparents etc?

• Have any skills or traditions been passed on to them?

• Do they think that passing on cultures and traditions is important? Why/why not?
   
• Move on to think about how the Bible is a reflection of the passing on of stories, histories, laws, proverbs etc that still have relevance for people today

• The Old Testament is the history of a people, and their relationship with God

• Many of the stories were not originally written down, but passed on by word of mouth
• People learned about who they were, and their relationship with God, from their elders, and they, from their elders

• Read Psalm 137:1-6

• This is a famous passage from the Old Testament

• In the passage, the Hebrew people are remembering their past

• They had been captured by their enemies and taken to a strange land where they and their God were mocked and insulted

• They are reminding themselves about Jerusalem, about the goodness of God, and the way in which God will deliver them from captivity.

• Christians today use the Bible as a way of learning about God
• It is also used as a basis for worship, prayer and daily living as they feel it's teachings have relevance today
• They are learning from the stories of people that lived many thousands of years ago and are themselves carrying on and becoming a part of that history and tradition

• This Psalm, which is thousands of years old, was made into a song (Rivers of Babylon) that got into the pop charts during the 1970's
   
• This says something about the way that people can still identify with the feelings and experiences of those who have gone before
   
• Christians from black communities often identify with the stories of the captured Hebrews due to their historical experience of captivity and removal from their homelands.

• The passing on of stories and traditions has been important for communities the world over
   
• Black people have passed on their stories for centuries
   
• The Anansi stories show how storytelling traditions have survived
   
• The stories have travelled from West Africa to America and the Caribbean (and to Britain) through the movement of African people
   
• The African Griot tradition of storytelling and oral history also survives today
   
• It is not just through stories that histories and wisdom are passed on
   
• Cultures and traditions are often passed on in ways we don't even notice or think about
   
• What does the group think they have learned from their parents or grandparents?

• The boys in the sketch had relied on their mother to always be around and took her for granted

• They did not take the time to learn anything from her, nothing practical or cultural

• They did not understand about paying bills or cleaning, washing or ironing and so could not look after themselves

• They loved their mum's Caribbean food but they did not even know how to cook it

• They had ignored their mother's attempts to teach them what she had learned about her own culture, in the form of cooking traditional meals
   
• Food and recipes are just one way of seeing how of culture and tradition can be passed on; another way is through music.

• Music has always played an important role in the lives of Black communities

• It has been used as a source of sustenance and strength, self-expression and also as a way of telling their story and protesting against injustice

• The way that music has changed and developed is another illustration of passing things on and learning from what has gone before

• Many forms of music we know today have their roots in music that was created generations ago

• Each generation has added something different and created a new sound.

• All people are a part of history where customs, traditions, stories and ways of living have been passed on for generations
   
• In the same way that music has developed, things do not always stay exactly the same
   
• Each new generation adds its own experience and ideas and culture changes and adapts, but we can still learn from what has gone before.

This activity uses the group's opinions on the passing on of traditions and cultures and looks at what they think this may mean for Christianity/religion today and in the future. (This activity can be opened up to include other faith traditions). It also encourages reflection on their own values and their opinions on religion

• Use the following questions to initiate a class discussion

• The class may work in small groups if preferred (perhaps with each group tackling different questions)

1. Recap on one of the questions from the lesson: Is the passing on of cultures and traditions important today? Why/why not?
2. Are young people today really interested in the past?
3. The Bible is a very ancient text with its roots in oral history, what does the group think of its relevance today?
4. Using their knowledge of Biblical quotes, characters or stories from study in previous key stages, ask the group to give reasons why they think Christians might still find the Bible relevant to their lives today.
5. Today, we have more ways of 'explaining' the way the world works (science, archaeology, technology etc.). Does the class think religion/Christianity will become more or less popular as the world advances? Why/why not?

    6.   Do people share the same religious views as their parents?

• This discussion could be used as a basis for planning questions for members (particularly younger members) of faith communities about their beliefs or as a class activity to encourage reflection on people's own beliefs and values