Balloon Tag

(developed from ideas taken from the Blinded by Bigotry pack, Community Education Services, Glasgow City Council)

Issues addressed
Learning about world religions.
Go to resources for websites to access information about religions and beliefs

Aims
To help young people learn more about world religions.

Time
20-30 mins (more for bigger groups)

Group size
Any

Age
Any

Preparation
Enough balloons for all participants and string to tie the balloons to their ankles.
Questions or answers in each balloon (make sure you've got matching questions and answers!)

Instructions
Before the balloons are blown up, place pieces of paper with the questions and answers listed below in the balloons. The idea is that the participants try to burst each other's balloons but keep their own safe. When their balloon bursts they are out and should retrieve their piece of paper. Once everyone has had their balloon burst the second stage is to find the person who has the answer to their question or the question to their answer. Following this, the participants should read out the question and the answer to the group, which can then lead to further discussion of the issues.

Some sample questions answers:

Questions	Answers
Sikh men can be identified by their	Beards and turbans, which are an outward sign of their religious identity.
The Sikh place of worship is called a	Gurdwara
The Sikh scripture is a book called	The Guru Granth Sahib
People of the Sikh faith sometimes wear five physical symbols. They are	The five physical symbols can be called the five Ks and they are: Kesh (uncut hair) Kara (a steel bracelet) Kanga (a wooden comb) Kaccha (cotton underwear) Kirpan (sword)
Buddhism was founded by	Siddhartha Gautama in India
Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on	Personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life.
Buddhist temples are designed to symbolise the five elements	Fire Air Earth, symbolised by the square base Water Wisdom, symbolised by the pinnacle at the top.
Wesak is the most important of the Buddhist and is celebrated in May. It celebrates	Buddha's birthday, and, for Theravada Buddhists, marks the day of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death.
Judaism was founded by	Abraham and Moses
Jewish people worship in buildings called	Synagogues
Jewish spiritual leaders are called	Rabbis
Hanukkah is a	Jewish festival – The Festival of Lights – that marks the restoration of the temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE. Hanukkah is celebrated at roughly the same time as Christmas, but there is no connection at all between the festivals.
The word Islam means	surrender to God
The Muslim scripture is called	the Holy Qur'an
The Muslim building for communal worship is called	a mosque
There are five pillars of Islam which help Muslims put their faith into action. They are	Shahadah: declaration of faith Salat: ritual prayer five times a day Zakat: giving a fixed proportion to charity Sawm: fasting Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca
Catholics are	Christians
Christianity was founded by	Followers of Jesus Christ
Christians worship in	Churches
The Christian Holy Book is called	The Bible
Hindus believe in a universal soul or God called	Brahman
Diwali or (Deepvali) is a festival celebrated by	Hindus. It is celebrated between late October and mid-November
The Hindu religion recognises many religious paths, three of which are	The path of knowledge (jnana). The path of work and religious performances (karma). The path of devotion (bhakti).

Some sample questions answers:

Tips for facilitators

Choose the number of questions to suit the number of people in the group - have a mix of questions about each faith group.

For smaller groups choose a selection of questions and place only the questions in the balloons. In this case the participants can ask the question and see if the group know the answer.

A follow-up activity may include making up posters about each religion or discussion about religious groups with input from local religious groups.