Inspiring RE, teaching
tolerance and respect
This copyright presentation belongs to Lat
Blaylock, RE Today, and is available to
those who attended the Nottinghamshire
SACRE conference, April 2008, for use in
their own schools. Any other use is by
written permission only. Please respect
the gift.
Can RE teach tolerance?
• Yes – indirectly, through a quality learning
experience in AT 1 and AT 2
• Authentic religious learning linked to
attitudinal exploration linked to
opportunities for moral development
• The NATRE database of pupils’ writing
provides numerous examples to search
and use in the classroom at
www.natre.org.uk/db
Pupils’ work to show the way
• The next five slides show what pupils can
do when asked to design a range of goods
and create some prayers or meditations
for the Week of Prayer for Peace between
Religions
• Set your pupils this task too.
This is by a year 2 pupil,
a vision of her own
spirit. She said: ‘I like to
be dreamy. I am all
different colours in my
heart. I chose purple
because it’s my favorite
colour. I am a calm
person.’ Can she
respond sensitively to
questions of identity?
Definitely.
This class peace collage is
evidence of achievement in
a general sense for the
group. Did this piece of
work enable pupils to
identify a key concept in
different religion, a shared
human value? I think so.
Nathan is a 6 year old boy.
Asked to design good to
promote the interfaith week of
prayer for world peace, he came
up with this mug. He chose the
‘peace’ symbols of globe, flower
and human (in 2 colours)
himself. Can Nathan respond
sensitively to questions about
values and living together? You
bet.
Creative and Exciting RE for 5-11s
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Conceptual challenge
Active learning
Varied learning styles
Authentically religious
Imaginative skills in action
Creative potential
God in my heart
By Josh Brown, 7
“We have not answered
the question ‘where is
God?’ But we have
suggested how to go
about answering the
question. Seek and you
will find. But watch out. If
God was at the touch of a
button, would you dare
click it?”
7. Our deepest
thoughts about it are
3. We can see…
8. Our best ideas about this
are
9. We also want to
say
2. We noticed…
4. We’re not sure about…
6. We want to ask about
1. We think this picture is…
5. It made us think
4 things we noticed and 5 things we thought
An observation / reflection strategy
• This is good – you will only know how
good by trying it out.
• It steps and scaffolds a process
• Use it on the whiteboard, or with some
differentiated images, or in any of 20 ways
• As an assessment, it can provide good
evidence of AT2.
• You can vary the prompts in lots of ways
too.
The Commitment Game
• RE needs more interesting and interactive
approaches – here’s one to try out.
Skilful RE for 7-11s
• RE is sometimes narrowed down to facts
and information
• Pupils need interesting learning
experiences as many are in ‘foreign
territory’ with religion
• Good activities for RE 7-11 always take
the thoughts and spirituality of the child
into account
• This seminar offers a half a dozen very
flexible examples
The aims of the game include;
• Enabling 9-12s to discuss
commitment in a structured and
profound way
• creating a conceptual framework
for the understanding of religious
commitment
• providing for excellence and
enjoyment in speaking and
listening through RE.
The Commitment Game
On the board, a green square stands for things you are committed
to, a red one for the things you are not committed to, and an
orange space is for things you’re not so sure about.
Pupils must put the cards in a pile, face downwards, and play in
turns, around the group.
When it’s your turn, you must do three things:
1. Read out the top card;
2. Ask the other players where they would put it and why;
3. Ignore them, and put it where you think it goes for you.
When it’s your turn, if you want to, you can also move another
person’s card to a space that you choose: ‘Move one, place
one’ is the rule.
All cards must be in one space only – no overlapping is allowed.
When the cards are all out, play three more rounds, in which you
just swap two cards over. Say why.
Commitment
What does it mean?
“Commitments are
things that you care
about very much, that
make a difference to
your life”
“A commitment is
something you take on,
and then stick to”
• What is a soldier
committed to?
• What is a police
officer committed to?
• What is Steven
Gerrard committed to?
• What is Angelina Jolie
committed to?
• How does it show?
I live in Leicester, which is a city of
four religions. In my religion, we worship
different gods and goddesses. At home we
have a shrine to the god Shiva. There’s a
murti (you would call it a statue) and we
pray together there, all the family, in the
morning. It helps us to be calm and to think
clearly. I am learning to play rugby at
school at the moment. Leicester has one of
the best rugby clubs in Europe. One of my
commitments is to be vegetarian. We never
eat meat, because animals have lives just
like us, so it’s better not to kill them. When I
grow up, I’d like to run my own business,
and make enough money to travel to visit
my Indian relatives whenever I want to.
When you have played the game…
• Think about the character you have
been given – what would his / her top
commitments be?
• Then think about the children on the
sheets – what are their commitments?
• Then think about yourself. What are
your commitments?
In practice, pupils take about
35 minutes in a group of four
to play – this is purposeful
talk, and listening. Encourage
all to respond to each prompt
in conversation.
Level 4: Pupils can apply ideas from
religions to their own and others lives,
thoughtfully
Why does this work?
• Purposeful speaking and listening (RE
needs more of this)
• Real spiritual engagement via questions
• Challenging low standards, to make RE
interesting
• Structured responses in writing build upon
the experience – gives evidence of
achievement
• Outcomes add AT1 – learn about religion –
to an AT2 starting point
RE to inspire
your pupils
task setting that
leads
excellence in
achievement
• Presentations from the day – download
them from the RE Resources site from
next week (in the subscribers area):
• www.rsresources.org.uk
Religion: present but hardly visible
• How can RE connect to pupils’ own
experience? (AT2 matters most at present)
• How can RE be real, reflecting the
diversity, complexity, simplicity and good
learning?
• How can RE be child-friendly, helping
them to make sense of the world? Even
change the world a bit?
Looking for religion around us
[Refer to the image in ‘Exploring
a Theme: Religion around us,
RE Today, £7.90)
From the picture, list 10 items you
think are connected with religion.
Compare your list with a partner
and tick any you have both
chosen. Talk about the others you
have included and explain why you
picked them.
Underline:
- in red any that are buildings
where religious groups meet;
– in blue any that are to do with
people helping others;
– in black any that are to do with
worship or special events in
people’s lives.
Use your ideas to complete a
paragraph starting with: ‘I think
religion is...’
Take a tour
– Imagine you work for the
Tourist Board. A group of
Japanese visitors want to
know more about religion in
Britain today. You are asked to
plan a walking route around
the town to show the tourists
as many different aspects of
religion as you can.
– Look carefully at the picture.
Think about:
• Where would you take
them and why?
• Whom might they like to
meet?
• What might they ask you?
Plan your route. Add any notes to
your plan to help you answer any
questions
Be a reporter
Imagine you work at the local
newspaper. Your editor wants a
special feature about religion
in your local community. He
has asked you to write it!
Look carefully at the picture.
Make some note about:
• Whom you would interview and
why.
• What questions you would ask.
• What photographs you would
include.
Tip: religion is about
• what people believe,
• how and whom they worship,
• how they live their everyday
lives.
Have you covered all these?
A community like mine?
Not all towns and villages are
like the one shown in the
drawing. What does your
town or community have
that:
• is similar to this one?
• is different from this one?
If you belong to a community
with people of different
religions, beliefs and
customs – what are the best
things about it?
If your community is very
different to that in the
picture, what do you think
you would like best and
least about living in the
town in the picture? Make a
list.
Look carefully at all the people in
the picture - count them, guess
their ages, suggest names for
them.
• In a group of five, choose five
people in the picture who you
think would have something
interesting to say about what
they believe and how they live.
• If you could ask them to write
about themselves for the town
magazine, what do you think
they would say? (You might
need to find out more about
some of them – how can you
do this?)
• In your group, each member
takes one character from the
picture and writes ‘their’
paragraph. Put the paragraphs
together into an article. Make
into a booklet and design an
appropriate front cover.
Where can we find ‘religion’?
To understand what religion is and
why it is significant we need to
look at:
1 A religion’s teaching
2 The ways religion helps people live
their lives
3 The stories of a religion
4. The times when followers come
together for worship
5. What a religion teaches about how
its followers ought to behave
6. The ceremonies, rituals and
celebrations of a religion.
In a group, look at the picture – can
you find any evidence for each of
the above?
Make a poster to show your findings.
Each member illustrates one or
two of the above. It could show
the six aspects linked together.
Add your own thoughts in speech
bubbles. Decide on an appropriate
title.
Briony (4) has done something
many adults have not, or even
cannot – she has looked careful at
things Islamic.
OFSTED long report on RE, 2007
“Pupils are required to support their
views by referring to the teachings and
sacred texts of Christianity and/or one or
two other principal religions. These
requirements appear intellectually
demanding. However, assessment tends
to encourage standard, mechanistic
responses rather than thoughtful
engagement with the issues.”
Learn about religion
Learn from religion
8
Analyse / contextualise
Justify views
7
Account for…
Coherently Understand…
Evaluate
6
Interpret
Express insight
5
Explain
Express views
4
Show understanding
Apply ideas
3
Describe
Make links
2
Retell
Respond sensitively
1
Name
Talk about
Level 3:
Describe…
Make links
Begin to identify the impact… Recognise similarities / differences…
Use a developing religious vocabulary…
 Describe three things Christians believe in, and say what difference the
beliefs make at Christmas.
 Describe the importance of two main Muslim beliefs, and say how they
are shown in pilgrimage to Makkah.
 Describe three ways Hindus celebrate or worship at home or in the
Mandir.
 Suggest what difference worship makes to life (for Hindus, Muslims or
Christians).
 Describe some symbols of belonging that Hindus, Muslims or Christians
use when they worship.
 Make a link between two Muslim artefacts (e.g. Qur’an stand and Prayer
mat) and the fast during Ramadan.
 Make a link between how a Bible story is used in Church, and how it
may have an impact on a Christian child.
 Make a link between a piece of Christian music and a Bible text that
inspired it.
 Recognise and describe three similarities between Divali and Easter.
This activity links to the healthy
schools work, but focuses on
values (AT 2 strand three). By
structuring the response in the
loaf of self and world, teaching
enables a varied response.
Jalpa shows here she is able to
respond sensitively to questions
of values for herself [L2]. If you
think she is here describing her
values and making links between
beliefs and lifestyle (I think she
does) then there is evidence of
an emerging level 3
From today…
• What have you thought about that
you would like to use in the next few
weeks?
• How will you share what you’ve
thought about today with your team?
• What long term issues in your schools
RE have emerged?
Copyright, Lat Blaylock RE Today