10/18/20 Children’s RE

Watch the Video: Your Friend The Rat

Wondering Questions:
• Remy stated that humans once regarded rats as sacred and as animals that would bring one luck. (If a white rat crossed your path, it brought good luck, while a black rat crossing your path would bring bad luck.) How do we regard rats now? Are they getting a bad rap?

• Black rats got the blame for the plague, or Black Death, but the disease was actually caused by fleas, not rats. Remy explains that the brown rat had a part in ending the Black Death. Should the way we view rats and the plague change? Why or why not?

• Rats occupy an honorable position in the Chinese zodiac. The Rat is the first in the rotation of the 12 zodiac signs, meaning that a Rat year is considered a year of renewal. So, when a Rat year comes, it is supposed to generate new experiences with favorable outcomes for all of the signs. (2020 is the Year of the Rat.) Those born in the Year of the Rat are said to be clever, quick thinkers, and successful, but content with living a quiet and peaceful life. Why do you think those are the traits assigned to someone born in the Year of the Rat?

• Has your opinion of rats changed at all? Why or why not? (You can discuss the satirical disclaimer at the end of the short asking children to stay away from rats.)

 

Activity: Chinese Zodiac
Directions:
1. Cut out the Zodiac Animals and Glue them to the Zodiac Wheel by the animal’s name
2. Color Animals if desired.

3. Visit National Geographic Kids at https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/chinese-horoscopes/ to learn more about the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs.

4. Invite children to tell what sign they were born under and consider whether or not they think they have the listed traits.