Chhath Pooja

Project 4 (Title mentioning the International dimension and brief description of the project):	Chhath Pooja: A Breaking Barrier for all castes and                            religions               Chhath festival  is celebrated by natives of Mithila region of Nepal and India. This festival is dedicated to god Sun. Sun is called Surya in Sanscrit, Chhat parba is thanks giving to lord Surya for sustaining life on earth and to worship him to provide his continuous blessings to mankind.  The Sun, source power of nature, considered the god of energy and lord of the life-force, is worshiped in Chhath to promote well-being, prosperity and progress. Hindu people believe sun helps to cure many illness and diseases. Sun is considered as source of healing too. Sun is also considered as token of stability and prosperity. Therefore, people worship sun to ensure the longevity and prosperity of family members, friends and beloved ones.  In the present scenario, this very festival is not limited to one specific community but is celebrated by all castes, communities and religions from across the country and world breaking all the barrier of castes and religions. It thus has become an effective way to connect the people of all spheres of lives and maintain peace and harmony among all kinds people.
Type:	20% Local Curriculum project with an international dimension
SDG focus:	Life on land (SDG 15) Peace, Justice and Strong institutions (SDG 16)
Minimum three Learning Outcomes- at the end of the activity the students will be able to (Write in terms of Knowledge and Skills):	Write critically about the local festival at least two in the communities. Explore and observe the activities of Chhath and write report. Explore the religious, social, and cultural significance of the festival. Write an essay on the importance of any two local festivals celebrated by the community people. Explore any two local festivals of India and compare them with Chhath celebrated in Nepal.
Brief and clear description of Activity that will help in attaining the projected learning outcomes (at least one activity for each learning outcome)	Discussion about the social and cultural significance of the festival by the local expert to the students. Field visit to nearby rivers where people throng during the time of festival and interact with the people with questionnaire. Take live photos and videos of Chhath activities during the festival.  Take interviews with the devotees and puja organizing committee and local government representatives about the religious, social and cultural significance of chhath pooja. Students will write an essay describing the importance of local festivals (any two) celebrated in the community Prepare a report on the activities of Chhath and present it to the local media including newspaper Explore any two local festivals of India on the net and compare with Chhath festival. Then our students will find out different ways of preserving the local festivals including Chhath and promote it by conducting a big mela (fair) for public entertainment as a source of income
Month and duration of activity	03 Month | 18thAugust 2019 - 18th November 2019
Classes / no. of pupils involved	Class 4 and 5 |67 Students
Countries covered	India, Nepal and Mauritius.
Subjects covered with curriculum link	Social studies, Class- 5 (Unit –7, Topic-Our Religions and Festivals) English Class- 5 (Paragraph Writing)
Teachers responsible	Manoj Poddar, Arun Karki, , Binod Mandal, Rajkumar Parajuli, Chandrakala Khadka, Bidhaya Bhandari
Evaluation methods to measure the learning outcome among the pupils	Presentation by three students after the preparation of the report. Photographs, videos taken during the festival. Report writing by the students Evidence of questionnaire BC evaluation sheets
Evidences to be provided in the portfolio	Photographs with captions, videos Evidence of presentation by the students Report in the festival Sample of questionnaire