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Key words and concepts

Lord’s prayer: A prayer Jesus taught to his disciples when they asked him how to pray. A central prayer in many Christian denominations.

Taizé: An ecumenical Christian community with a strong devotion to peace and justice through prayer and meditation.

Icon: Painting or mosaic of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, a saint, or a Church feast. Used as an aid to devotion, usually in the Orthodox tradition.

Ecumenical: Movement within the Church towards co-operation and eventual unity.

Prayer: A request for help or an expression of thanks usually addressed to God. For many people it is a way of communicating with God about anything at anytime and anywhere. Prayers can be said alone or with a faith community, at home or as part of a religious service.

Forgiveness: The act of letting go of anger and resentment against someone who has offended or hurt you in some way. In many religions, forgiveness is about showing mercy and compassion towards the person who has offended or hurt you regardless of whether they are truly sorry.

Giving thanks: In this context; saying thank you to God for the world, people and events that happen in life.

Learning activities

The lesson resource is a sung prayer; ‘Oh Lord Hear my Prayer’, originating from the Taizé community, a monastic, peace-building Christian community in France. Taizé particularly supports young people.

You will need the lyrics to the prayer. There are many videos on YouTube featuring both images and lyrics as the prayer is sung. If you find a video you like that has no lyrics, search the internet for lyrics separately and hand them out or read them to children.

Stage 1: O Lord Hear My Prayer:

Create a calm and quiet environment before listening to the song. Some ideas:

Have the music playing before the children enter the room. Explain that they are going to listen to some very special music and they have to be quiet
Sit the children in a circle and light a candle (adhering to the schools health and safety requirements). Ask children to close their eyes and listen to the music.

When the music has ended ask them to think of one question they want to ask. Children share their questions and they are written down (organise into Who, What, Where, Why). [It is important not to answer the questions at this point].

(10mins) Invite the children to select an activity to do while they think about the questions. Choose activities that allow children to reflect. Avoid ‘small world’ items for example, which children will be tempted to simply play with. [Have the instrumental version playing while the children are active]:

Colouring patterns rather than pictures;
Modelling clay, e.g., Play-Doh;
Selection of books and cushions (reading area);
Threading activities;
Painting;
Collage and making materials.

Bring the children back together and think about the questions as a group. [They may have made something relating to the music]

Stage 2: O Lord Hear My Prayer

Listen to ‘O Lord Hear My Prayer’ again and remind the children of the previous discussion.

Ask the children the following questions if they haven’t already been covered:

Why do you think they are singing this?
How does it make you feel?
Why do you think they say the same words over and over again?
Can you think about what the people are doing as they sing this? Are they standing, sitting? etc…
Where do you think they are?
Do you think anyone can sing this?

Show the children some Taizé photographs. There are many online, both on Taizé’s website and Google images. Explain that Taizé is an ecumenical Christian community in France (ecumenical means that people come from all sorts of Christian denominations, the aim is to be together rather than pursue one way of being Christian). The music is an example of prayers used during meetings. In the Taizé community, short songs repeated over and over create a meditative atmosphere and it is believed that this allows people to find and listen to God in prayer. It is also a way of joining everyone together in prayer. Meetings usually take place in a church or other welcoming space. Let the children know that some Christians like to pray or meditate in this way. There are often icons, candles, a cross, an open Bible, flowers in the church or prayer space. People can usually choose whether to sit on the floor, a bench or chair, stand or kneel during prayer.

Ask the children to suggest ways of making a quiet space in the classroom for them to go and think, reflect, pray:

What would they put there?
What would it look like?
When could they use it?
What would they use it for?

Stage 3: Prayer

Show images you have found online of Christians praying- in different places, different types of people, different types of prayer.

Explain that this lesson is about Christian prayer but many people who belong to many religions around the world also pray. Many Christians believe that you can pray anywhere and at any time. There are lots of different ways to pray too.

Show the words of the Lord’s Prayer- a very important prayer in Christianity.

Explain that when some people pray to God the prayers say: “I’m sorry” or “I love you” or “Thank you” or “Please help me”. Ask the children who they say these things to? [This may be related to family, friends and /or religion.]

Ask the children to imagine they could speak to that person now, what would they say? [Relate to the four areas above “I’m sorry” etc. Children can write/draw in a large speech bubble.]

Stage 4: Reflecting

Explain that people also pray for others around the world and show the children a selection of photos to illustrate different things people may pray for, e.g.:

people who are ill;
people who may not have enough to eat or drink;
countries involved in war.

Ask the children to say why they think people pray for these people.

Set up an area where children can look at the photos, take a pebble and drop it into an imaginary river (blue material etc) with their thought, wish or prayer for these people.

Stage 5: Prayer and music

Introduce children to some more examples of music being used in prayer. Music is also used to prepare people for worship and can range from chants to rock Some examples:

Happy Day by Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Traditional Christmas singing at Kings College Chapel, Cambridge
The Muslim call to prayer, or adhan
Christian rock or pop, for example from a Hillsong concert
Sikh singing in the Temple these songs are called ragaas and are part of worship

Stage 6: Exploring…introducing prayer in Judaism and Islam

Explain that when people pray they sometimes use things to help them. Show some images of icons in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, such as of saints, Mary and Jesus, and Jesus and his disciples. Some of these icons will be painted on the walls and ceiling of Orthodox churches.

Ask the children sit in a circle and pass a tambourine around: but to do it so that it doesn’t make a noise! Talk to them about taking care of important objects and that they are going to pass some special objects to each other that are used in prayer.

Show the children a Jewish Tallit (prayer shawl). This is used by Jewish people in prayer (usually only men). It cloaks the person like God’s love cloaks us in life.

Now pass the artefacts around carefully [This can be done in small groups], e.g., the tallit, Hajj robe, an Islamic prayer mat, cushion (hassock), prayer beads (selection), rosary, icons, cross, prayer hats from Muslim and Jewish traditions.

Ask children how they think these things are used in prayer. Can they say which things appear to be similar for different religious people?

What questions do they want to ask about these objects?

Use stories to put prayer in context, e.g., ‘Goodnight Sh’ma’ by Jacqueline Jules or ‘I am a Muslim’ by AGGARWAL and M.

Ask the children to say what helps / would help them to sit and think? (or pray if appropriate).

An investigation into Buddhist values through a study of the Buddha’s enlightenment and one of his previous lives.

KS1 and lower KS2. Originally written by Lorraine Haran, updated in April 2019.

Key Buddhist Teachings (background for teachers)

The Four Noble Truths

Life involve suffering (dukkha).
The origins of suffering lie in wanting, which is made more intense by greed, hatred and ignorance (Samudaya)
The ending of suffering is possible (Nirhodha).

The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to end suffering and become enlightened (Magga).

Right understanding (seeing the world as it is, in terms of the Four Noble Truths).
Right Thought (commitment to follow the path).
Right Speech (truthfulness, gentle and useful speech).
Right Action (following the Five Precepts with love and compassion).
Right Livelihood (avoiding work that causes harm or injustice, choosing one which is beneficial to others).
Right Effort (avoiding bad thoughts, encouraging good).
Right Mindfulness (attentiveness and awareness).
Right Meditation (training the mind in meditation).

(When people follow the path, the wheel turns in a positive direction traditionally clockwise symbolising their development).

The Five Moral Precepts: Buddhists should refrain from:

Harming and killing living beings,
Sexual misconduct,
Taking drugs or drinking that impair clarity of the mind,
Taking what is not freely given,
Wrong speech.

(There is a positive aspect of each precept, e.g. it is not enough not to harm – one should show compassion for all living things).

Enlightenment and Nirvana: Buddhist believe that there is a cycle of birth, life and death and rebirth. This goes on and on. They believe that unless someone gains Enlightenment, when they die they will be reborn. If a person can gain Enlightenment, they can break out of this Breaking out of the cycle is called Nirvana (sometimes called Nibbana) It is the end of everything that is not perfect. It is perfect peace, free of suffering.

Meditation: Buddhists try to reach Nirvana by following the Buddha’s teaching and by Meditation means training the mind to empty it all of thoughts. When this happens what is important comes clear.

Buddha: the ‘Awakened’ or ‘Enlightened’ One. The Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal around 2,500 years ago. Siddhartha was born into the royal family of a small kingdom on the Indian Nepalese border. He is believed by Buddhists to be a human being who became Enlightened (awakened).

Dharma: universal law; ultimate truth. The teaching of the Buddha.

The Jataka Tales or Birth Stories form one of the sacred books of the Buddhists and relate to the adventures of the Buddha in his former existences, in both human and animal form. The Buddha was a great storyteller and often told stories illustrate his thinking. Stories were also told about the Buddha by his followers both to explain and understand the Dharma. These stories have been passed down to the present day and the most popular ones are the Jataka tales, a collection of hundreds of tales about the Buddha’s past lives. They show the kind of life one should lead to become a Buddha one day. In many of these stories, the Buddha appears as an animal to teach the value of qualities such as kindness, compassion, and giving.

Karuna: compassion. The importance of being compassionate, generous, kind, truthful, helpful and patient: Actions have consequences.

Learning activities

Resources:

This lesson requires several images and a video clip of Siddhartha’s life. You will need to find these online before you start.

Images: lotus flower, Prince Siddhartha, Gautama Buddha

Video clip: the life of Siddhartha Gautama, or the life of the Buddha

Show the class an image of a lotus flower. This is a well-used symbol in both Hinduism and Buddhism and you will find may examples online.

Explain to the children that the flower is a lotus flower and that this is a symbol that is frequently used in Buddhism, because it shows how something beautiful and precious can grow out of the soil of the earth. Explain that they will be thinking about the most valuable things in the world in the next few sessions and that this will include an investigation into what followers of the Buddha – Buddhists – think is most valuable.

Ask the children for their ideas about what is most valuable (a) in their lives and (b) in the world.

Explain that in Buddhist philosophy many people can be seen as too distracted to see what is really valuable in life. The person whose teachings they follow became known as ‘The Buddha’ and they are going to find out about his life and what he taught.

Write the names ‘Prince Siddhartha’ and ‘The Buddha’ on the board. Play the video clip you have found. Explain that at the end you will talk about how the Prince became The Buddha. Play the video.

At the end of the film, show the children a picture or image of the Buddha and ask them to recall the story: what do they think were the most important parts? Record what pupils say on sticky notes and share with class, placing answers around the image.

Ask the children to share experiences and feelings about times when they have done something that was extremely difficult, for example, learning something new or embarking on something that will take a long time. What do they think were the difficult things that Prince Siddhartha did when he went on his search for the truth about life? Ask them to complete the sentence, “I think the hard challenges that Prince Siddhartha had to face were…” and to explain why they think these were hard challenges. Can they think about how he might have been feeling when he saw the old man, the sick man, the dead man and the ‘seeker’? [This activity could be done as a ‘hot seat’ activity for lower KS2].

Ask the children to share experiences of times when members of the class have experienced or done something that put the needs of others before their own. Ask them to respond to such questions as:

Have you ever given away something you wanted for yourself?
What did you give away?
Was it easy to do?
Why did you do it
How did you feel?
What effect did it have on you / the other person?
Encourage them then to complete a couple of sentences such as:
I put others first by ………………………………………………………………
This made me feel ………………………………………………………………

Some children could go on to draw a picture of an experience of a time when they put others first, and write simple sentences about it.

Next, remind the children of the part in the film where the Buddha remembers all his ‘past lives’ and explain that Buddhists believe that when a person dies they will usually be ‘reborn’ in a different form depending on how they have lived their life. There are many stories in Buddhism that describe the Buddha’s previous ‘lives’, sometimes as an animal. These stories show how the Buddha did many helpful things in his previous lives and this helped his progress from one life to the next. One of these stories is about a monkey king who put others before himself.

Download the story: http://www.clear-vision.org/Fileshttps://clearvision.education/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/MonkeyKing.pdf/MonkeyKing.pdf

Read the story from the beginning and stop at the point where a mango falls into the water and drifts downstream. Ask the children to talk with each other about what might happen next.

Read the rest of the story. Stop reading from time to time to check understanding.

Engage the children in a sequencing activity to help them recollect the main aspects of the story. Provide them with a set of the following sentences on separate cards [You could also provide the pupils with a set of six picture cards depicting these scenes: you can find these in the Clear Vision pack if you have it]:

A little monkey found a mango.
“Pick those mangoes”, said the Monkey King.
The King found the mango.
The King saw the monkey’s tail.
The Monkey King held on.
The Monkey King died.

Ask the children to work in small groups to put the cards in sequence, making sure they can justify their choice of order. Most children can then go on to write their own sentence for each picture, using some key words that you can put up on the board: Moon, mountain, river, monkey, mango, tail, King, died, tree, bridge, monument. Some children may be able to independently write up the story, using illustrations and key words as support.

Next, engage the children in a drama re-enactment of the story. [This could also be adapted for a Music activity, with children choosing choose a variety of musical instruments which will they think will express the emotional tempo of key events in the story, e.g., finger cymbals – calmness, drums – the King’s men approaching, bells to build up to tension, or an Art activity with children using different media to make props representing, e.g., masks, river, tree branches, crowns.]

Ask them to imagine that they are one of the band of monkeys living harmoniously in the mango tree. Take them through the following actions:

Climb the tree.
Explore.
Eat and enjoy the mangoes.
Sleep, play and carefully pick all the fruit that hangs out over the water.
Tell them that the human King and his soldiers arrive: hide in the bramches.
You are very frightened. Try not to move or make a sound.
You see the monkey King leap over the river and make himself into a bridge. [Use long piece of ribbon or string and lay it on the floor to represent the bridge.]
One at a time, quietly and carefully, cross the bridge to safety.

Then ask the children to respond to such questions as:

How did it feel living in the tree?
How did you feel hiding from the King?
Why did you cross?
What advice would you give to those who have yet to cross?
How did you feel when the monkey king made himself into a bridge for you to cross?
How did you feel when you escaped?
When did you feel safe?
What would have been the consequences if you didn’t cross?
How would the world change if everyone was selfish?
Who would you look to in your life to guide you in times of fear?
Why might Buddhists think this story is a good one?

Prepare the outline of a mind-map on what the Monkey King might be thinking and show it to the pupils. Ask them to complete their own version in small groups and to share their ideas with the rest of the class.

Encourage the children to then offer views about what Buddhists might believe this story tells them about what is of great value and to add their ideas on the edge of their mind- map diagrams.

Engage the pupils in a ‘Conscience corridor’ activity around the Monkey King’s sacrifice:

Select one pupil to be the Monkey King and ask the rest of the class to create two lines approximately a meter apart facing each other.
Ask pupils on one side of the ‘corridor’ to think or a reason for the Monkey King to act selfishly and just save himself. Ask pupils on the other side to take the opposite view and think of a reason for the Monkey King to sacrifice himself to save the other [Pupils could choose which viewpoint they wish to voice or be told which view point to take.]
The Monkey King then walks slowly through the corridor and pupils on each side whisper their reasons. [Pupils who lack confidence can ‘pass’ by clapping or repeat a comment that has already been spoken.]
Once the King has reached the end of the corridor, ask them to recall the main reasons on either side and to say what they would have done in the King’s What were the main reasons for their decision?
Ask the other children to say what they think they would have done, with reasons that link the situation to their own lives and experiences.

The ‘Conscience corridor’ activity could then be repeated, but with a different pupil playing the part of the human King. This time the dilemma is whether to order his men to shoot the Monkey King:

Again, at the end of the corridor, ask the pupil playing the part of the human King to recall the main reasons given on either side and to say what they would have done in the King’s situation. What were the main reasons for their decision? What do they think a Buddhist would do, and why?

At the end of the activity, engage pupils in a class discussion and write up their ideas on sticky notes to put on a ‘Monkey King’ poster. Ask them for their responses to such questions as:

What is the opposite of selflessness?
What does the story tell us about greed?
What is ‘compassion’?
How did the Monkey King show compassion for others?
What is ‘sacrifice’?
What sacrifice did the Monkey King make?
Who do you know that is selfless in your life?
What does it mean ‘to set a good example’?
In what ways did both kings in the story set a good example?
Can you think of how people could set a good example, in the school, or locally or globally?
What is ‘wisdom’?
What does the story tell us about the qualities of a good leader?
What do you think happened to the human king after the monkey king died? Did he change his life? Did he grow in wisdom?
Finally, encourage pupils to add their own sticky note to the poster, completing this sentence:

I think that Buddhists value ………… the most.

An investigation into the purposes and practice of prayer for Muslims.

For 5-8 year olds. Originally written by Fiona Moss. Updated in April 2019.

Key words and concepts

Five pillars: The basic precepts of Sunni Islam including belief in One God and his prophet Muhammad, prayer, giving of charity, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca. Shi’a Muslims observe the 5 Pillars plus additional obligatory acts.

Salah: Communication with, and worship of, Allah, performed under specific conditions, in the manner taught by the Prophet Muhammad and recited in Arabic. The five daily times of salah are fixed by Allah.

Shahadah: Declaration of faith, which consists of the statement, ‘There is no god except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’.

Minaret: high tower on the Mosque which is traditionally the place that the call to prayer is shouted from.

Adhan: the words that call Muslims to pray 5 times a day.

Allahu Akbar (four times) – God is most great

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa- Allah (once) – I witness that there is no god except God

Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasula- Allah (once) – I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God

Hayya ala-s-salah (twice) – Come to prayer

Hayya ala-l-falah (twice) – Come to salvation

Allalhu Akbar(twice) – God is most great

La ilaha-illa-Allah (once) – There is no god except God

Muezzin or Mu’adhin: person who recites the call to prayer, the Adhan.

Belief: a confidence that something is true that is not easily proved and is something that others will have different views and opinions about. The term often refers to people’s faith or religious convictions.

Prayer: a way of communicating with the divine. It can take the form of worshipping the divine, asking the divine to intercede on earth or for support or guidance.

Commitment: showing dedication to something that is important to you perhaps a particular belief, activity or cause, even if that commitment means forgoing other things.

Learning activities

Ask the children what their favourite sound is. Is it the theme tune for a TV programme, the sound of the key in the door when Mum comes in from work, the chimes of the ice cream van or their best friend’s voice? What it is that they like about that sound? Does it suggest a particular thing is going to happen or is to do with the people associated with the sound?

Use a Persona doll to introduce the religious material for this question. Create a doll with an Islamic persona. He could be called Ahmed. for clothing he should wear a Topi but the rest of his clothes might match your school uniform or clothes that the children in your community might wear. Construct the doll’s persona, the following is an example. you will need some appropriate connections to your children and perhaps some local place names:

Ahmed is 7 and lives near the park, on his way home from school with Mum he always goes down the slide. He has one younger sister and a younger brother. He lives in a big house because one of his grandmothers lives there too. He likes that because there is always someone to talk to. His favourite food is cheese and tomato pizza and ice cream.

He helps look after the wildlife garden at school. He particularly likes looking for frogs in the pond. He is also a new member of the school chess club. In the summer he brings his cricket bat and at lunchtime he and his friends play cricket on the school field.

Every school night at 4:40 p.m. he goes with his younger brother to the Madrassa or Mosque school. They both carry a copy of the Qur’an in a bag under their arm. At Madrassa he learns how to read the Qur’an and be a good Muslim. Recently he did really well in his exams at the Madrassa.

Once the children have been introduced to Ahmed and know a bit about his life you should ask what the children think Ahmed’s favourite sound is. Take suggestions from the children.

Ahmed should then share from his bag a picture of a mosque with a minaret and show the teacher how to play the children his favourite sound. This is the call to prayer, or adhan. Find a clip of it being played on YouTube. There are many. Find one you would like to explore with the class.

Explain that this is a really important sound for Ahmed. After the children have heard the sound ask Ahmed to explain its importance to him. He should explain that this sound, called the Adhan, is called out five times a day from his local Mosque.

Ask the children to predict why the Adhan might be shouted from the Mosque five times a day.

Ahmed should explain that in some Mosques it is shouted from the top of a tall tower – a minaret, in others it is said into a microphone.

Ask the children to imagine why a tall tower or a microphone is used; Why do the children think Ahmed has chosen this sound? Is this sound like a sound that is used in any other religious building in their town?

Explain that the words that they heard are calling Muslims to pray either at the mosque, at home, at school or whether they are. Muslim people try to pray 5 times every People who belong to the Sunni family of Muslims will try to pray 5 separate times, and people who belong to the Shi’a family contract 5 separate prayers into 3 times of the day. However it is not always possible and Muslims can make up their prayers when they get home if they have missed some.

Ask the children to build somewhere that would be suitable for a Muslim to shout out the call to prayer. Construction equipment in the classroom can be used for this.

Ask the children to write or record into a talking button what a Muslim might shout if they want people to stop and come to pray.

Ask the children to draw a series of picture of themselves stopping what they are doing and going to do something important because something or someone has called them.

Ask the children to write or record into a talking button what they would like to shout from the highest part of the school to the rest of the people in the school. What is it important for everyone in school to know or believe or do? Show a photo of the highest point in your community ask children to write or record what they would shout out to the community. Is it a belief or an instruction or a piece of advice? How are the things that you would shout in your school and your community similar or different to what a Muslim shouts as the call to prayer?

Introduce the children to the enquiry question, in this example we have suggested the question, ‘Why do Muslims stop and pray?’ Or ‘Why is the call to prayer important to Muslims?’

Share the words of the Adhan with the children. Explain that they are written in Arabic as this is the language that the Prophet Muhammad spoke.

Allahu Akbar (four times) – God is most great

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa- Allah (once) – I witness that there is no god except God

Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasula- Allah (once) – I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God

Hayya ala-s-salah (twice) – Come to prayer

Hayya ala-l-falah (twice) – Come to salvation

Allalhu Akbar(twice) – God is most great

La ilaha-illa-Allah (once) – There is no god except God

Share the story of Bilal with the children in an imaginative way. Ahmed could have a version of the story in his bag. There are various story books that you can use to share this story with the children or there are versions of the story online. Bilal was the first person Muhammad asked to shout the call to prayer.

Take care to tell the story in a way that involves the children in the story telling and helps them to understand why the story is still significant to Muslims today. Ask the children such questions as:

What sort of person do you think Bilal is?
Do you think it is fair that Ummayah is making Bilal pray in the same way as him?
Should you ever disobey someone?
Do you think you should be allowed to believe in God?
Why do you think that Bilal was chosen to be the first Muezzin (person who does the call to prayer in the Mosque)?
Does everyone pray?
What do people pray about?
How do people pray in different religions? Who do different people pray to? Do they pray for the same things do you think?

As a further way of engaging the children in the story you could have a series of items used in the story and ask children to go around the classroom finding them before you tell the story. This will help the children to engage in the story as they listen out for their props. You could use a rock, a broom, some money, some sand, a picture of a mosque with a minaret. Emphasise to the children that Muslims don’t draw pictures of people that are important in their religion or of God which is why you haven’t drawn a picture of Bilal.

Ask the children to do the following activities in turn (carousel arrangement):

Work in a group to find a way of retelling the story to older or younger children to make it memorable. They could make a jigsaw like the one shown in the film. They could make a story map of the plot of the story – how can they do this without drawing people?
Work in a group to create mood pictures of the different feelings of Bilal in the story. Write a description of his moods at different times and as a group use these to retell the story of Bilal.
Draw a picture showing a time when you stood up for something that was important. Why did you stick up for what you think? Why was your belief or idea so important?

Go back to the enquiry question and ask children to share why they think the call to prayer, the Adhan, is important to Ahmed. Ask all the children to then prepare a series of questions which Ahmed can answer about the call to prayer and its significance in his life and the life of his family such as what happens when it is prayer time in your house? How do you know it is prayer time? Can you hear the call to prayer from your house? Why do Muslim people pray? Why do Muslim people try and pray five times a day?

Ask the children to draw a picture of Ahmed either at home or near the Mosque with a speech bubble expressing why the call to prayer is important. Ask them to make a speech bubble for themselves too. Pre-print the speech bubbles with a sentence starters such as:

The call to prayer is important to me ..
The call to prayer is important to my family ..
I like to stop what I’m doing and pray ..
I like to stop what I am doing ..
Prayer is not important to me ..

An enquiry into an icon of Christ the Teacher.

For 3-5 year olds. Originally written by Emma McVittie. Updated in April 2019.

Key words and concept

Icon: painting or mosaic of Jesus, Mary, a saint, or a Church feast. Used as an aid to devotion, usually in the Christian Orthodox tradition.

Devotion: (in a religious context) an act of worship which usually involves prayer.

Orthodox: (i) the Eastern Orthodox Church consisting of national Churches (mainly Greek or Slav), including the ancient Eastern Patriarchates. They hold the common Orthodox faith, and are in communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. (ii) Conforming to the creeds sanctioned by the ecumenical councils, e.g., Nicaea, Chalcedon.

Belonging: can be defined in a variety of ways including a sense of belonging through connections to: people, places, groups and communities. Belonging can enhance our sense of identity and aid the development of relationships within particular groups and communities.

Symbolism: the use of one object / picture to represent another object, idea, action or thought. Widely used in religion and can evoke a sense of emotion and an affinity with an individual’s faith.

Learning activity

Each activity is designed to have 10-15 minutes of teacher led input either as a whole class or in small groups, followed by children engaging in related activities.

Stage 1: Christ the Teacher:

Show the children icon of Christ the Teacher. There are many images online. This icon shows Jesus holding an open book, has hand raised and a halo around his head.

Ask the children some of the questions from the selection below, which can be tailored to specific age groups:

Who is it?
What are the letters for?
What does the book say?
What is the mark on his hand?
What’s the shape on his head for?
What can you see?
What part of the icon do you see first?
Why do you think this is?
What did you notice next?
Where do you think you might find it?
Who is in the painting?
What is the person holding?
What do you think the artist was thinking about when they painted this?
What might a Christian think about the icon?
What do you think about this piece of art?
What do you like?
Is there anything you don’t like?

Would you change anything about it?

Invite and record children’s own questions. Keep them visible and answer them when you can.

Explain to the children that an ‘icon’ is a painting or mosaic of Jesus, Mary, a saint, or a Church feast. It is used as an aid to devotion (prayer and worship), usually in the Christian Orthodox tradition.

Ask if the children have any questions of their own about the icon.

Now ask the children where they think they might see a picture like this? You might want to display a selection of pictures for children to choose from, e.g. a church, a school, a house. Explain that you might see it in all of those places but especially in churches in the Orthodox tradition.

Find images of Orthodox churches and cathedrals online- show children a selection, showing icons and the richly painted walls and woodwork.

Explain to the children that icons are usually found in a Christian Orthodox place of worship but also in other Christian places too.

Give small groups a selection of icon pictures to look at, gathered from the internet. Look for icons of:

Jesus as a baby with Mary
Jesus and his disciples
Jesus and the saints
Scenes form Jesus’ life

Give pupil five minutes to choose the one they like the best and to think of a reason why they like it.

Ask the children to show their picture to the class and take it in turns to share it and say why they like it.

Stage 2: Symbols

Show children some of the images of the stained glass windows, asking the same questions as in stage 1 with the additional ones below, if appropriate:

How do you think these are made?
What do you think the person is doing?
What do you think the person is holding?
What do you think the colours tell you?

Explain the meaning of some of the windows and introduce the idea of symbolism being a way to say something but without words.

Can they think of ways to say things without using words? Ask children to mime: Hello, goodbye, I’m tired, I’m grumpy, thank you.

In small groups with an adult, can they think of a picture or a symbol to ‘say’ these things, e.g. draw round their hand to say hello or goodbye.

You can also use road signs, commercial symbols, charity symbols and mascots.

Work with the class to think about a picture for class stained glass window and the colours and symbols you might use and why. [The outline can be drawn for the children and then completed using a variety of media.] Throughout the activity, ask the children about what symbolism they want to use and why.

Stage 3: Symbolism from world religions

This can be split into 3 short sessions

Session A

Remind children about the icons and the stained-glass windows they have looked at and tell them that as well as symbols being used in religious worship and celebrations that actions and music are also used. All these things help people to feel part of their religious group/community.

Ask children to sit in a circle quietly and explain that they are going to close their eyes and listen to some special music.

Play The ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from Handel’s Messiah and ask the children to think of one word to describe how it made them feel.

Explain that the words were taken from the Christian Bible by a composer named George Frideric Handel over 300 years ago.

Session B

Now ask the children to watch some dancing from the Hindu tradition. There are many clips online.

Ask the children to think about a question they would like to ask about what they have seen, share the questions with the class and display.

Session C

Explain to the children that Islamic art patterns have no beginning and no end – ask children to create their own using a variety of media such as pastels, paints, chalk, water and food colouring, drawing in sand. Along the lines of ‘taking a pencil for a walk’ rather than creating geometric patterns at this stage.

Bringing it all together

Ask the children to report back on what have seen and heard: what was their favourite and why?

Explain that these different ways of showing belonging are also about a person’s thoughts, feelings and ideas (their identity). Work with small groups to either compose some music, make up a special dance or design a pattern based on Islamic art. Ask them to relate their ideas to themselves and what kind of person they think they are.

Stage 4: Personal signs and symbols

Ask children if they belong to any groups e.g. football, dance, rainbows etc. Do they have to wear anything special when they go to the group? Do they follow special routines there?

Explain that sometimes people who belong to / follow a religious faith wear special symbols to show belonging. You could use pictures of such items as: a cross, a hijab, a kippah, a tilak mark, a turban.

It is useful to be able to have the objects available for the children to handle at this stage.

Encourage children to ask questions about the objects:

What is it used for?
When is it used / worn?
Who wears it?
Why do they wear it?

Ask the children to give their views on each item.

In small groups support children to think of a special symbol for themselves. This can then be made using a variety of media. When all the children have made their own identity symbol, they can be put together to create a symbol of the whole class.

An investigation into the Jewish concept of Tzedakah

KS1. Originally written by Mary Myatt. Updated in April 2019.

Learning Outcomes

Emerging

Explain what it feels like to give and receive
Give a reason why it might be good to give

Expected

Use the word ‘Tzedakah’ correctly showing understanding of its meaning
Explain why two different type of things can both be given as gifts
Explain the purpose of Tzedakah in Judaism

Exceeding

Make a link between conversations about giving and receiving and a Jewish stimulus (artwork or story) studied
Explain why Tzedakah is important in Judaism

Key words

Judaism: Judaism, the religion of the Jews, traces its roots back to Abraham, and most of its laws back to the time of Moses. It is a worldwide religion with around 15 million followers. The vast majority of Jews live in Israel and the United States of America. Many of the words here are Hebrew in origin, though some variations come from Jewish communities who lived throughout central and eastern Europe, and elsewhere.

Tzedekah : This is an act of charity and literally means, ‘justice, fair action’ or ‘righteousness’. Jewish people traditionally give 10% of their income to charity and it is an important religious duty to give assistance and money to those in need.

Mitzvot: This means ‘Commandment’, that is, what God commands that people do or don’t do. The Torah – the first five books of the Hebrew Bible – contains 613 Mitzvot.In practice, Jews should do mitzvotevery day.

Torah The Torah is the first part of the Jewish bible. It is the central and most important document of Judaism and has been used by Jews through the ages.

Learning activities

Set the learning activities in the context of a key question:‘What does it mean to give?’

Show a picture of Julie Wohl’s Tzedekah (found on the link below, if broken, search Google for the painter and title: https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/92394229825353634/)

Ask the children to spot 10 things in the painting.

Can they make a link between two or more items and something in their own lives?

Introduce children to some stories about giving, e.g., A Thread of Kindness (ISBN 1-929628-01-3) or Ten Tzedekah Pennies (ISBN 1929628196) and ask the children to say what things in the story might be special to Jewish people.

In order to help children understand what it is like to give something away they could try this exercise: Each child could be given some Play Doh (or similar modelling clay) to make into a ‘gift’. When they have made a gift, ask them to give it to their neighbour. Ask them to talk about what it feels like to give something away. Is it a difficult thing to do?

With separate pieces of Play Doh ask them to make something which represents something that doesn’t cost money but would be good to give to someone else. This could be a shape which represents friendship, a smile, good wishes. They could be asked ‘Are there other things which we can give as gifts which don’t cost money?’

Engage children in thinking about what they like to give and receive. Ask them such questions as: ‘What is the best present you have ever given to someone?’ ‘Why do you think they loved it?’ ‘What do we value that doesn’t cost money?’

Ask, ‘When we give something away, do we sometimes get something back?’

Explain that Tzedekah tells Jewish children something important about how to live together: that it is important to give to people in need: that we enjoy things which people give to us: that gratitude is important: that there are things apart from money which we can give to other people. Children could ask one another whether they enjoy giving or receiving – reflecting on when they might have been given something which is exciting and that they had wanted. How does it feel to give something, e.g., a picture, or something they have made such as a cake, to someone in their family?

Ask the children to think about whether they should share some of the things they have been given, and to talk to a partner about things that should be shared. Gather some ideas from the class as a whole.

Encourage children to ask their own questions about giving and receiving. What questions would they ask Julie Wohl about the gifts in her painting?

Provide the children with some boxes with Tzedekah written on them and ask them to create pictures of people in need within their own community, e.g., someone looking lonely. Give the children tokens to put in the boxes. As they put the token in the box they could say why Jewish children might want to help that person. Ask them to say whether children from other religious groups might want to help those people and to give a good reason for their answer.

The children could have a blank box where they reflect quietly on who they think might need help in their school and family and what the token could do for them. Provide large circles of paper to act as ‘tokens’. On the token, ask children to complete the sentence ‘I think they are in need because… and ‘This is what could be done to help them: …’ When they have finished, ask them to fold their tokens and put them in the Tzedekah box. Ask the children whether they think the tokens should be read out, or be kept secret. What reasons can they given for their answer? What other questions can they think of about giving and receiving?

Remind the children of the big question: ‘What does it mean to give?’ and of the main resource, the Tzedekah Artwork by Julie Wohl. Show children pages from the Islamic Aid, Christian Aid and Comic Relief websites and explain that all sorts of people of different religions and beliefs try to help people in need. Ask them to describe things on the websites which seem similar and some things which seem different, e.g., The Christian Aid site may show crisis appeals; The Islamic Aid site may show current projects; the Comic Relief site may show comedians and Red Nose Day. All the sites may show people in need, how to give money, etc.

Culham St Gabriel’s has teamed up with award-winning film-makers, TrueTube, to produce seven exciting new films to support Key Stage 1 RE. These excellent five minute films are already rating as the most popular on TrueTube. Together with the well-worked out lesson plans that accompany each film they make a substantial resource for introducing key ideas in six major religions.

Each film revolves around a little girl called Charlie and her loveably inquisitive soft toy, Blue. Together, Charlie and Blue investigate an RE-inspired question and they meet people from different religions and beliefs who can help them find the answers they are looking for, enabling Key Stage 1 children to learn alongside them.

Script-writer: Kath Yelland

Lesson Plans: Emma McVittie, Linda Whitworth, Dave Francis and Bob Ayres

Zippity-zip, let’s go on a trip! Charlie takes her favourite soft toy (and best friend) Blue back to school to see the display her class has made to show different beliefs about the soul. Does believing in a soul make someone behave differently?

Download the teacher notes

Charlie and Blue in the Classroom (About the Films)

Find out more about how the Charlie and Blue films and teacher notes can be used in primary classrooms.

Script-writer: Kath Yelland

Lesson Plans: Emma McVittie, Linda Whitworth, Dave Francis and Bob Ayres

Zippity-zip, let’s go on a trip! Charlie and her favourite soft toy (and best friend) Blue visit their neighbour Seyed in his garden to find out why Muslims believe they should look after the world.

Download the teacher notes

Charlie and Blue in the Classroom (About the Films)

Find out more about how the Charlie and Blue films and teacher notes can be used in primary classrooms.

Script-writer: Kath Yelland

Lesson Plans: Emma McVittie, Linda Whitworth, Dave Francis and Bob Ayres

Zippity-zip, let’s go on a trip! Charlie and her favourite soft toy (and best friend) Blue visit a Hindu Mandir where Geetha shows them how Hindus use their senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell in worship.

Download the teacher notes

Charlie and Blue in the Classroom (About the Films)

Find out more about how the Charlie and Blue films and teacher notes can be used in primary classrooms.

Script-writer: Kath Yelland

Lesson Plans: Emma McVittie, Linda Whitworth, Dave Francis and Bob Ayres

Zippity-zip, let’s go on a trip! Charlie and her favourite soft toy (and best friend) Blue visit a Buddhist Centre to find out what it means to be enlightened, and how Buddhists try to live more peaceful lives.

Download the teacher notes

Charlie and Blue in the Classroom (About the Films)

Find out more about how the Charlie and Blue films and teacher notes can be used in primary classrooms.