‘Making Every RE Lesson Count’ by Dawn Cox and Louise Hutton

When I think of my most used sentence of 2021, it is oddly not ‘you’re on mute’ it is ‘this is a really exciting time for RE’. After years of being the underdog, we are finally able to show our academic rigor. From the exam reform to having an OFSTED lead for RE, everything is starting to come together. Whilst all this is happening the wonderful Dawn Cox and Louise Hutton come out with ‘Making Every RE Lesson Count’ as though by magic.

Since reading the book, I have waved it in every ITT, SACRE and Network meeting I have been a part of. Such an exciting book, released at the perfect time. These are (a few of the many) reasons why I loved it so much:

The sections make the book easy to navigate. As someone who must read a book cover to cover and not jump around, it has taken me a while to adapt to edu-books but ‘Make Every RE Lesson Count’ has helped with this change. If you are heading to a meeting, or considering your department’s priorities, then you can choose the aspect such as modelling or feedback and read it with ease.

The layout of chapters make it so clear why that aspect is needed. As opposed to other edu-books, it is lovely to be walked through a concept. The pattern of anecdote, why does it matter?, practical applications and reflection questions, will have you nodding and agreeing instantly. The anecdotes set the scene brilliantly. We have all been there, and they are not placed there to make people feel bad, but rather to consider ‘well now what?’. With the practical applications, there are examples that you can put directly into your lessons. Examples like how to use Frayer models in the chapter on Challenge and timelines in the chapter on Explanation, are wonderful for showing how the theories can be done in the classroom.

It is all about RE. If you are someone who thinks ‘I have read everything about teaching ever’, well you have not! Cox and Hutton pull together various aspects of research and teaching and applies them directly to RE itself. As someone who is sometimes overwhelmed by research, I loved being told exactly how it would fit in to my classroom.

It is not just for secondary teachers. A question I receive a lot about research, books and activities is ‘is it only for secondary?’. This is for RE Classrooms. If that’s EYFS, primary, secondary, or even ITT, it’s full of hints and tips that will develop Religious Education holistically. My SACRE has just bought a copy for every primary RE lead in our catchment area.

Overall, what Louise and Dawn have created here is an excellent foundation to what an RE lesson needs to look like!