What does learning in RE in a
Christian community offer every
child?
Commitment is a key idea for
all religions. This work
enables children to think hard
about religious commitments
and their own commitments.
The Commitment Game
• RE needs more interesting and interactive
approaches – here’s one to try out.
The aims of the game
include;
• Enabling 8-11s 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
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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 these 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.
4. 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.
5. All cards must be in one space only – no overlapping is
allowed.
6. When the cards are all out, play three more rounds, in which
you just swap two cards over. Say why.
Progress steps described:
Step  Describe the commitments of others and of myself
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 Make a link between a religious idea and an idea of mine
about commitment
 Show that I understand some examples of religious
commitments
 Apply ideas like commitment, influence or hypocrisy for
myself
 Explain the impact of religious commitments on
people’s lives, explaining similarities and differences
between religions
 Explain the impact of my commitments on myself and
my family
 Interpret what sacred texts say about commitment,
making insightful commentary of my own about it.
 Explain with arguments and examples how and why my
commitments reflect my beliefs and influence my ethics
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?
Christopher: “Me and my family live in Lincoln. I like
football, and I usually play every Saturday in the
season. I like Spiderman comics. I draw my own
versions of Spiderman stories when I have time. My
religion is important to me as well. My family go to
worship every Sunday, and I enjoy my group at Church
(It’s called ‘Pathfinders’, because we’re trying to find
the best path to live life). I think it’s important to pray
and worship. Jesus gave us life, and he gave his life
for us, so I want to give something back. When I grow
up, if I’m not good enough to be a footballer, then I’d
like to work for Christian Aid, travelling in less
developed countries to try and help people in need.”
Karam: “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.”
Hannah: “We are a large family from London,
and our faith makes a lot of differences to our
way of life. I don’t go to a Jewish school (there
isn’t one near to us) but we do lots of Jewish
things in our family and on Shabbat at the
Synagogue. We try to keep all the
Commandments of the Torah. I like the festivals
best, and my favourite is Pesach, because I’m
the youngest in our family. I am a dancer, but
sometimes I miss a performance if it’s on
Shabbat. I don’t mind this, because it matters
to me to follow the Torah. I want to be a
professional dancer when I grow up.”
Adapting the game: what really matters?
• Ask 6-8 year olds: what really, really matters?
• In circle time, write ten items that matter onto cards and have
10 number cards as well.
• Invite a pupil to say ‘what matters least’ from the ten, and say
why. Another pupil does number 9, and so on
• When the list of ten is done, invite any pupil to swap two
around, giving a reason.
• Produce more numbers, up to 15 and ask pupils to suggest
what five more things we should talk about
• This simple values clarification activity usually shows what
matter more than money.
• Invite children to do an individual piece of work: Money
matters, but what matters more – and why?
• Ten items you might use: playstation / safety / life / football /
love / pets / family / God / learning / food.
Commitments: A discussion game.
Give pupils ten cards which have a word or drawing on them for something
many people are committed to. Ask them to discuss each one and see
where they think it goes on the discussion board above. There will be
one left over. The learning is in the speaking and listening.
This discussion asks pupils to sort, rank
and prioritise different commitments – is
caring for pets as important as loving your
family? What about eating a good diet, or
serving your God? Different views
strengthen learning.
Commitment is sometimes religious, even for 8 year olds. Deborah says
“I am committed to worshipping in the church every day. I like praying
and worshipping. It is very good, praying and worshipping God.”
Maika, 7, writes about her commitments: “I am committed to the holy
book and my God because the holy Bible shows you pictures about
Jesus and it tells you more about your God and it is very important to
us. Christians care about our God and about the Holy Bible and we
love our God. I show this: I pray to my God to worship him and to
show him that I love him.”
Incarnational art
Christians love to take
the far away and long
ago stories of Jesus and
put them in their own
‘here and now’
The ‘word is made
flesh’ in the various
global contexts of the
multi-cultures of
Christianity
Pupils can try the same –
they might write the story
of the incarnation for their
own town, or paint Jesus
crucified in Leicester, or
Christchurch. Can they
make a poem about ‘what
if Jesus came today?’
This demands some
learning from us.
Whether you think
this is a casual
plastic blasphemy,
or a serious
Christological
statement, you may
agree that it doesn’t
quite sum up the
splendour of the
Christ of the four
gospels adequately.
Carol is 7. In her
piece of work,
she is speculating
about the arrival
of Jesus in her
own community
(Thurmaston is a
suburb of
Leicester, UK).
The work reflects
her knowledge of
stories of Jesus as
a person who is a
worshipper, who
believes in God as
‘father’, who has
fishermen as
disciples, and
who helps those
in trouble. This is
a lot of learning!
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Richard (12) painted his ‘Back from the dead: Three Scenes’ in watercolour. He
writes ‘I have shown the crucifixion to the right, and the ascension to the left. The
main image is Jesus back from the dead. I painted him in triumph and made the
changing weather a symbol for Christians’ belief and hope in him”
Can he explain and express his views of religious narrative, meaning and belief? If
so, it’s evidence of work at Step 5.
David, 7, “I think if Jesus came to Earth
today he would be a lollipop person,
because he helps everyone and is
always helping us to be happy.”
Craig, 12, explains his imagery
and approaches the topic with
spiritual interest. Can he express
insights of his own using reasons
and examples into the questions
of meaning in the gospel
narrative? If so, this is evidence
he can work at step 6 – a high
achievement for a 12 year old.
Nathan, 10, is able to
explain and perhaps
interpret the story of
the feeding of five
thousand creatively
for himself, and
shows a well
developed
understanding of the
meaning and power of
miracle stories.
‘The Last Supper: Kindness’ by 9 year old Harry.
“Jesus was still kind even though he was doomed.
I did the dark, closing in on him with black sugar paper"
Sunset at the Cross by Nathan, 10
“When I first painted ‘Sunset at the Cross’ I
tried to paint the scene of Jesus death. I
believe that this painting reflects the sadness of
it. I put a yellow glow around Jesus to show that
he is the Son of God. I also painted Jesus in
the rags the Romans would have put on him as
well as a crown of thorns. I painted this painting
with water colours then went over with chalk
crayons in some places. I would like to end by
saying that I am very proud of my painting.”
This unusually evocative work by ten year old
Nathan aims to go beyond detail of the story to the
significance of the event.Picturing
WhatJesus:
makes
it a
Fresh Ideas
RE
successful painting? Today
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