Talking about God - Diocese of St Albans · Talking about God Year Group 1/2 ABOUT THIS UNIT This...

Talking about God A Unit of RE for St Albans Diocese, Year 1/2

Year 1/2 © Diocese of St Albans & RE Today 2008

5 year old Bethanmade this picture.

Do you agree

with her?

- 2 -

Diocese of St Albans/RE Today 2008 Units of Work for RE – Yr 1/2

Talking about God Year Group 1/2

ABOUT THIS UNIT

This unit of RE for 5-7 year olds provides activities and learning ideas to enable children to talk about their ideas of God. Its place in the curriculum is central to good RE because it aims to get to the heart of the subject with young children. Stories of God are important in many religions in teaching children the faith, and in Christianity, the creation stories of Genesis and the stories of Jesus have very significant places. These stories are used in this unit particularly to provoke conversation about God. Prayer is an important activity in many faiths too – and for people not attached to religions. In this unit, it provides a focus for talking about God. Teachers may initially find it difficult to engage in theological talk with children, but accepting that speculation is good, and final answers are not available, can free the teacher to enable exploration of ideas by the children. This is a very significant part of RE.

The unit develops knowledge and understanding of stories which help people understand ideas of God as loving and caring and as the creator of the world. It provides activities which enable children to express their own questions and ideas about the world and God.

An overview of the unit: The unit centres on Christian ideas about God and the pupils’ own ideas. There are possible extensions for the study to other religions, through stories. The unit makes use of ideas, beliefs and concepts in thoughtful and potentially deep ways. It has some natural links to Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL).

Estimated time for this unit: Usually 8–10 hours of teaching time.

Where this unit fits in: This unit will help teachers in fulfilling local Agreed Syllabus requirements. It has been designed to connect with the Agreed Syllabuses for Barnet, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Luton in appropriate ways, and reflects the learning model of the National Non-Statutory Framework for RE (QCA 2004).

Many teachers find this unit difficult, but are pleased with the responses of pupils. In general, teaching need not be troubled by the big questions pupils ask. The best teacher replies root and ground the ‘God talk’ in particular communities (eg ‘Many Christians believe God is best seen in Jesus, but Muslims find God in their holy book, the Qur’an …’)

Issues of continuity and progression: This unit enables pupils to make progress particularly by organising learning around big questions in RE from the very start of school.

KEY STRANDS ADDRESSED BY THIS UNIT

� knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, teachings and sources (AT1) � knowledge and understanding of ways of expressing meaning (AT1) � skill of asking and responding to questions of truth, meaning and purpose (AT2)

ATTITUDES FOCUS

� Self-awareness: pupils become more aware of their own beliefs and ideas � Respect for all: pupils are encouraged to take account of different ideas and points of view � Appreciation and wonder: pupils are enabled to use time, space and silence for reflection on

mysteries and amazing things in the natural and human world.

- 3 -


RE IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL

� This unit makes an important contribution to the RE curriculum in the Church of England school, and connects with the intention that RE should be excellent by enabling the spiritual develop-ment of all pupils through a reflective and thoughtful study of Christianity and of religious and spiritual ideas.

� Quality RE in the Church of England school makes space for pupils to explore questions and makes the resources of the Christian tradition available to them.

� It takes the personal worth of every child, and the family culture of each seriously, seeking to explore religious ideas and emotions in ways that are authentic and have integrity

� It offers opportunities to children to think for themselves, and be broad-minded and open-hearted in their encounters with faith.

Prior learning Vocabulary Resources

It is helpful if pupils have:

the ability to work in classroom speaking and listening in pairs

the willingness to explore unusual and fresh ideas

In this unit, pupils will have an opportunity to use words and phrases such as: � God � Bible � Creation � Creator � World � Humans � Environment � Responsibility � Genesis

Text � The Solihull Handbooks of RE (Foundation Stage or Key

Stage 1) are an excellent practical source for much of this work: from Solihull SACRE, 0121 303 1986, £25 each

� ‘In the beginning’ - Steve Turner (poem about creation) (Lion)

� Reflective Story Telling: A manual for teachers by Helen Matter

� ‘The World that God Made’ – Jan Godfrey and Peter Adderley (A D Publishing)

� The Creation Series (Diamond Books) � ‘The Creation’ (pop-up book) – Brian Wildsmith (Oxford

University Press) � ‘The Story of Creation’ – Jane Ray (Orchard Books) � ‘Wonderful Earth’ - N Butterworth & M Inkpen (Hunt &

Thorpe) � ‘Why do stars come out at night?’ - Annalena McAffee

(Red Fox) - ISBN 0099264560 � Developing Primary RE: Series from RE Today that

addresses all major RE issues for 4-11s � Lion publish a range of children’s Bibles � ‘Don’t just do something, sit there – Developing

children’s spiritual awareness’ - Mary K Stone - ISBN 185175105X

� ‘Whose world is it anyway?’ Primary RE in Practice (RE Today/CEM)

� The Lion Story Teller Bible - Bob Hartman (Lion) - ISBN 0745936075

� Stories about God (Developing Primary RE) pp 8-11 (RE Today) - ISBN 1904024521)

� The Lost Sheep - Butterworth and Inkpen (Collins Picture Lion) - ISBN 0551028734

Artefacts Religious artefacts are available to purchase from: � Articles of Faith (Tel: 0161 763 6232) � Religion in Evidence (Freephone 0800 137525) � The Diocese of St Albans has a number of ‘Godly Play’

kits for loan that relate to this unit.

- 4 -


Teachers also need to relax about saying ‘I don’t know’ in answer to pupils’ questions in this unit, where RE’s interest in unanswerable questions is to the fore.

Treasuring the questions is as important as seeking the answers.

Web � www.request.org.uk is a very useful site for learning

about Christianity. There is a section for infants. Music and the arts feature here.

� www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk is the Welsh Virtual Teacher Centre. It contains some good materials for teaching to this age group.

� Christian artefacts (images) www.theresite.org.uk is a most useful gateway for Christianity and other religions.

� www.natre.org.uk/spiritedarts is the gallery of the Art in Heaven competition. Here children can look at lots of works of art by other pupils from round the country answering the question ’Where is God?’

� www.re-xs.ucsm.ac.uk/schools/ � http://www.torahtots.com/ � Staffordshire Learning Net www.sln.org.uk/re � Cumbria and Lancashire Learning Online has excellent

resources for RE: www.cleo.net.uk - look in Subjects, RE, KS1

DVD/Video/visual/audio � ‘Picturing Creation’ from RE Today: CD, book and

images from Kate Neal on Genesis 1 � ‘It’s a wonderful world’ - Louis Armstrong � Video and book: ‘The Snowman’ - Raymond Briggs � Dottie and Buzz – The Creation (Channel 4 Learning) � Places of worship: KS1 Watch series - Judaism pack

(BBC) � PCET, Folens and Nelson publish some useful

photo/picture packs on particular religions. � Leicestershire LA have a CD Rom picture pack of faith

communities in Leicester. � A visitor from the faith community prepared to ‘bring and

show’, talk and answer children’s questions. � RE Today publish ‘Say Hello to …’, a CD of flash books

about six religions. � Art depicting God(s) throughout the ages. � Resources used in worship allow children first hand

sensory experiences. � See ‘Don’t just do something, sit there’, Mary Stone

pp18f (RMEP) - ISBN 185175105X � ‘Songs for the new millennium’ (Breaking the chains)

(National Society and Methodist Publishing House)

- 5 -


Contributions to spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils: The unit enables pupils to develop Spiritually by thinking for themselves about puzzles and mysteries Socially by working with children in pairs and groups on interesting questions Culturally by learning that different ideas, stories and point of view can all have value

Pupils who can meet the early learning goals will: Recognise that religious beliefs can have an effect on what people do and feel (Personal, Social and Emotional Development) Communicate verbally feelings and thoughts about God, people and the world (Language and Literacy) Become aware that people have beliefs which help them to answer puzzling questions about life (Knowledge and Understanding of the World) Listen to stories and imaginative scenarios and create make-believe characters and stories of their own (Creative Development)

EXPECTATIONS: At the end of this unit:

Nearly all pupils will be able to (L1):

� talk about some questions they find interesting about God � identify some simple answers that Christians give to questions about

God

Most pupils will be able to (L2):

� recognise that people have different ideas about God � identify some simple Christian beliefs about God and Jesus � respond sensitively to stories about God

Some pupils might be able to (L3):

� describe some Christian beliefs about God � make links between stories and beliefs for themselves

ASSESSMENT SUGGESTIONS RE needs an assessment for learning approach to gathering evidence of pupils’ achievements. There is not a particular need for every unit to produce assessment outcomes on paper, in the light of this. NB - Speak and listen: Using verbal responses from children to weigh up evidence of achievement is more appropriate than seeking writing from this age group, as their progress in literacy may be behind their ability to handle the concepts and ideas about God and prayer this unit covers. Teaching assistants can make records as seems suitable to the team, for the purposes of continuous assessment for learning. Provide for the pupils to show what they learned by:

A. Talking about God: � What do different people say about God? � What does God do in this story? � What is God like? � What makes me think about God?

B. Expressing ideas about prayer Making a simple three part book on prayer – focussing on a) an occasion in the Bible when Jesus prayed to God b) an occasion in their experience when a prayer has been said c) way(s) in which something can be used to help people from a particular religion to pray Compile a list of important ingredients for an act of collective worship (school or other occasion for children who withdraw) giving reasons for their choices. Talk about the activity and about prayer as ‘talking to God’.

- 6 -


KEY QUESTIONS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Pupils should learn:

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Practical classroom suggestions that will enable the teacher to see how to plan lessons

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Pupils will be able to:

POINTS TO NOTE

Are there some questions that puzzle us and are hard to answer?

That some questions are puzzling or interesting even when we don’t know the answer

To express their own ideas in a trusting atmosphere in RE

Asking puzzling questions:

� Use riddles and jokes which pose questions to encourage children to start to realise that sometimes we just have to say, ‘I don’t know!’ when faced with a difficult question. Sometimes we can guess at possible answers, but questions remain puzzling.

� Then introduce the idea that sometimes life makes us ask questions we don’t know the answers to: encourage pupils to think of some examples from their own experience eg How does a flower grow? Why did my hamster die? What is beyond the stars?

� Use a book such as ‘Why do stars come out at night?’ as an aid: children could suggest answers to the questions on each page before turning over to reveal the ‘answer’: whose answers do pupils like best? Can they think of some more questions? Can they think of questions that have lots of answers (eg how do we know if someone loves us?)

Talk about puzzling questions and different answers to them

Respond sensitively to simple ideas about God

SEAL: much of this work has con-nections with social and emo-tional aspects of learning.

It is important for personal development that children feel secure. It is good for them to experi-ence thanking and being thanked, praising and being praised.

- 7 -


What would you like to ask God, if you could?

To express puzzling questions of their own, and think about them

Asking God some questions

� Speculate with pupils first of all: if they could know one thing about the future, what would it be? Next week’s lottery numbers? If they will travel to the moon? Who will they marry?

� Ask them to think up three-five questions each that they would like to ask ‘the person who knows everything’. Give them a large question mark template to write these onto. Explain that Christians believe this person is God. Where possible, get the children to write down the questions, or support each other to do so.

� Put all the questions on view - on the whiteboard, or on tables - and invite the children to choose the ones they think are the best questions of all. Talk about which ones they chose and why they are good questions.

� Talk about how God might answer them - get the children to speculate many different answers to each one if they can. Some will be factual (how many stars are there?), some will be spiritual (where does the hate come from in the world? the love?) and some will be funny. All welcome.

Create a ‘wall of questions’ from the pupils’ question mark templates and invite the children to use it like a graffiti wall for answers as well

This activity has a con-nection with the methods of Matthew Lipmann, called ‘Philosophy for children/ P4C’ These are powerful methods in RE.

- 8 -


How do Christians answer some puzzling questions?

That Christians believe in God, who cannot be seen, but cares for all people. They believe that God made the world and loves every person

How do Christians answer some of these questions?

� Introduce some questions which people ask and which religions offer answers to: Who cares for me and who do I care for? What makes each person special? What makes life happy? Ask pupils to suggest their answers. Pick up on any answers the children suggest which could come from a faith perspective or a Christian perspective in particular, and explore these. Children may be able to say whether or not they believe in God, and why/why not.

� As you introduce children to some Christian beliefs and ideas about God (including the idea of God in Jesus) draw attention to the beliefs of at least one other religion and ideas of their God(s) (eg God of Love, God the carer, God is one, God has the truth). This can be done through stories, art, symbols, artefacts.

Start to talk about questions (L1) such as: what makes life happy? Who do I care for and who cares for me? What do I believe? Does God have all the answers?

Respond sensitively to different answers (L2)

It is always good practice to set teaching about Christianity in the broad context of many religions. Tell pupils that Jews and Muslims agree with some things Christians say, and have some different ideas too.

What do Christians learn about God from Bible stories?

To connect ideas about God with stories from the Bible

Stories of God

� Read a story about someone who believes in God: use a story about a Biblical character such as Joseph or the boy Samuel from an early years Bible, for example.

� Then give the children Lego and Playmobil people and ask them to imagine that the Lego person is the person in the story: let them play with the figures, acting out parts of the story, and imagining what sort of questions the figure might ask God. What answers might God give? Do the children think God has all the answers, or are some questions still puzzling? What might their Lego figure say about the questions above?

� Playing around with religion is an excellent learning activity.

Engage imaginatively with stories that feature God, responding sensitively for themselves (L2)

‘Godly Play’ is a structured and formal method of connecting the child’s life of play with the world of religion and spirituality. There are many other ways of doing this too.

- 9 -


Does believing in God make a difference to people’s lives?

That Christians do various different things because they believe in God

What do people who believe in God do? � Fill a cloth bag with artefacts

from Christianity: a Bible and hymn book, a cross, a candle, a chalice, grape juice in a container, a rosary, an Advent calendar etc.

� Let the children feel the shapes inside the bag, then pull out each object in turn.

� Invite a local Christian, a Vicar perhaps, to show the children the different clerical vestments: children could try on the clothes and explore the contents of the bag: allow time for pupils to familiarise themselves with these things through play, and discuss any questions they raise so that they start to build up a simple picture of what Christians do.

� Simple connections between beliefs and actions can be made by the teacher.

Talk about some of the things Christians do and believe - and some of the things they believe (L1/2)

‘Godly Play’ provides interesting and effective ways of enabling children to get involved in spiritual thinking.

What makes you think about God? What do you think?

That it is interesting to think about puzzling questions to do with God

That images and symbols can help us to think about God

Choosing things that make us think about God � Set up several of these paired

and small group talking points/activities. Take a class walk, and ask pupils to choose one leaf that makes them think about God. Show them lots of pictures of the natural world, and ask them to choose one thing that makes them think about what God is like. Can they choose a sound or a piece of music that makes them think about God? Ask children to share their thoughts in twos or threes.

� Use lots of old calendars: if they were asked to make a calendar of 12 monthly pictures for Christians (or Jews or Muslims), which pictures would they choose to make the Christians think about God? Why?

� At Harvest time, get the children to think of many favourite foods, and ask them which one makes them want to say ‘thank you’ (not necessarily to God) the most. Discuss the pupils’ choices and thoughts, keeping an open atmosphere where all ideas are welcome.

Talk about some images, symbols and God (L1)

Think for themselves and respond sensitively to questions about God (L2)

Describe some different things Christians say about God (L3)

Developing children’s ability to use symbols and images is a very important skill in RE. Pupils often surprise adults by the depth of their thoughts.

Ask the children to use the stem ‘I wonder why …’ to gather a sense of where their curiosity takes them.

A good circle time activity.

- 10 -


What do Christians do in a church? What do they think about?

To think for themselves about puzzling questions of God and to explore different possible answers to the questions

Beginning to talk about questions, beliefs and practices

� Remind them about the questions above, and talk about some of the answers Christians might give, eg Christians believe God cares for me, and each person is special because God made them and God loves them, and life is happy when we love each other. Introduce the idea that people who believe in God show this by meeting up with other believers at places of worship, eg Christians go to church on Sundays. Look at some pictures of Christians in church, including children. What might the people be thinking?

� Explore pupils’ questions about what they can see to build up an understanding of what is happening in each picture. Some children may go to church regularly, or be a member of a different faith community, others may have been to weddings or baptisms: encourage children to talk about these times. What are these occasions like?

� Aim to draw on every child’s experience.

Respond sensitively to puzzling questions about God (L2)

Recognise that worship and prayer come from beliefs (L2)

Recognise that although prayer can be seen in actions, worship and prayer happens in people’s hearts and minds (L2)

Inclusion: RE needs to develop and model inclusive practice for the child in a religious family, and the child in a non-religious family. This makes the experience of each child important in the classroom. Teachers are generally very good at model-ling and practising this ‘every-one is valuable’ approach.

- 11 -


Why do some Christians say that praying is like talking with God?

Respond for themselves to ideas about talking to God

Reflect on their own experience of praying

Developing positive attitudes of respect towards other people who hold views and beliefs that are different from their own

Prayers and talking to God.

� Tell two stories of examples in the Christian New Testament of occasions when Jesus prayed to God, eg temptation in the wilderness, blessing of children, a prayer to heal the sick, the Last Supper, in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the cross.

� Introduce the Lord’s Prayer, explaining why it is important for Christians. Talk about how it’s used, what it means. Can children think of/create logos, pictures or illustrations for each phrase of the prayer? (A structured framework could be shown on the whiteboard.)

� Introduce some simple prayers used by Christians (school prayer, grace, blessing) and discuss when they would be used. Which are the children’s favourites? Using a collection of prayer cards for children, ask pupils to look at these and imagine who a Vicar would give each one to. Can they design and make one themselves?

� Explore use of senses in worship: sights, sounds, smells, taste, using a variety of artefacts - incense, a range of music, candles, flowers, food, art, bells.

� Teach pupils that praying is always voluntary, and an alternative is reflecting or meditating. Christians believe God hears all prayers, but not everyone thinks this is true.

� Ask pupils to choose a photograph from a range of pictures of animals, natural scenes and people, and to make up a prayer or reflection that goes with the picture.

� Give children some short periods of silence to absorb the sensory experiences being offered to them, and opportunities to talk about the questions that puzzle them and the beliefs they are sure of about God.

Begin to appreciate the many ways people pray and worship

Retell a story of prayer (L2)

Begin to think for themselves about the importance of prayer to many people (L2)

RE can make curricular use of the activity of assembly or collective worship, but it’s important not to confuse the two: curri-cular RE works to understand worship and prayer, but not to ask for partici-pation in these activities.

- 12 -


Does the world we live in inspire feelings of wonder and appreci-ation?

To reflect for themselves on the beauty of nature

Reflecting on the wonder of the world

� Take the children for a walk to observe and experience the world around us; notice the differences between living and non-living things that the children can see; encourage a sense of awe and wonder by listening and noticing tiny detail in some aspects of the living world – colour and patterns on a leaf, a flower, a beautiful insect. Use a creative visualisation activity using objects from the natural world to help pupils to appreciate and enter into the natural world.

� Make a ‘Creation Table’ to which the children could contribute their own natural objects. The table could be divided into three areas ‘Earth’, ‘Sea’ and ‘Sky’, linking with the KS1 science curriculum.

Respond sensitively to the natural environment (L2)

Think about questions that the natural world makes us ask (L2)

Describe the answers Christians give to some of these questions (L3)

There are obvious con-nections to the science curriculum in this activity, and to the ELGs of knowledge and under-standing of the world.

What can we learn from the story of creation that Jews and Christians tell?

Retell, in simple terms, using religious words, a story of the creation from the Bible

Ask and respond to questions arising out of the Biblical creation story

Express some of their own ideas about the creation story and about God

A creation story for Jews and Christians

� Tell a story about God as creator of the world

� Introduce a Biblical creation story (shared by both Jews and Christians) through the use of an attractive text, such as a Big Book or a pop-up book.

� Read aloud a children’s Bible account.

� Talk about the story and use a storyboard format for the children to retell the story using their own ideas. Ask children to create pictures of their own for their favourite ‘day’ of the story. Ask children to pick their favourite moment in the story, make a painting of it and write/dictate a few words about why they picked it. Make a large class display illustrating the creation story and children’s ideas.

� Read Steve Turner’s poem ‘In the Beginning’ and mime actions to each verse. If possible, put actions to the music version of the poem. Big Book versions are available of ‘In the beginning’.

Recount the outline of the story (L1)

Identify the main moments in the story and the questions it answers (L2)

Respond sensitively to the meaning of the story (L2)

Kate Neal has produced a beautiful set of seven paintings to accompany the story of Genesis 1. ‘Picturing Creation’ from RE Today.

This work links well to the ‘new beginnings’ theme in the science curri-culum, and to SEAL pro-grammes.

- 13 -


What does Jesus’ story of the Lost Sheep mean?

Retell, in simple terms using religious words, another story about God

Ask and respond to questions arising out of the Biblical story of the Lost Sheep

Express some of their own ideas about the creation story and about God

Stories which help people understand God

� Christian ideas of God as loving and caring can be seen in Jesus’ story of the Lost Sheep (Luke 5:3-7). Talk to the children about how Christians believe that God not only made the world but continues to look after it with our help. This story says God is like a Good Shepherd or farmer who cares for every single sheep in his flock. Use a story board format for the children to retell this story.

� Divide the children into small groups to explore the feelings of the Lost Sheep and the Shepherd at the end of the story, through role-play and freeze frame. Children could make faces for ‘wandering off’, ‘feeling scared’, ‘despair’, ‘being found or ‘rejoicing’, ‘feeling safe’.

� Use digital photography to capture ‘freeze frames’ for display on white board – talk about the feelings using a ‘feeling box’ containing words of feelings/emotions to support children’s language develop-ment. Talk about times children may have lost something precious and how they felt when they found it.

� Children could respond to the questions: What do you think the story of the Lost Sheep might be telling Christians about God? What might God be like? What do you think about God? What might he be like?

� Children could express their ideas using words, colours, shapes, and pictures in a class book or collage display.

Name Jesus’ story of the Lost Sheep (L1)

Sequence the story simply (L1)

Suggest a meaning for the story (L2)

This work links to the programme for social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL).

There are some enter-taining versions of the story of the Lost Sheep on YouTube – select them carefully for your pupils.

- 14 -


What have we learned in this unit of RE?

To express ideas and questions more deeply as a result of thinking about God and prayer

To be able to respond sensitively to Christian ideas about God and prayer

Candles and meanings

� Set the classroom out so that pupils can sit in a circle around a low table with some candles on it. Put one large candle in the middle and lots of smaller ones around it, unlit (some Blutack is good to hold them). Get an assistant (or do this yourself) to have a lighter ready.

� Recap with the children the highlights of the unit of work on talking about God, reminding them of the puzzling questions, the creation stories and stories of Jesus and the discussions they have had.

� Remind the class of the first thing God says in the creation story: ‘let there be light’ and talk about how light helps us. Good ideas are like light: why is that?

� Ask the children to think quietly for one minute, and try to think of their best ideas about God. After the minute’s silence, receive the ideas one by one, without comment, and light a candle for each one.

� Finish the activity with a short time silent for pupils to look at the candles and be thoughtful.

Talk about some questions about God and prayer that they have thought of (L1)

Respond sensitively to other children’s questions (L2)

Gathering evidence of achieve-ment in RE should be profess-ional, but not burden-some. Some units will include a formal task assessing pupils’ work, but not all.

Unseen learning can be profound.

Teachers in RE should welcome the possibility.

© Lat Blaylock for the Diocese of St Albans, February 2008

Talking about God - Diocese of St Albans · Talking about God Year Group 1/2 ABOUT THIS UNIT This...

Documents

Transcript of Talking about God - Diocese of St Albans · Talking about God Year Group 1/2 ABOUT THIS UNIT This...