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An investigation into Islamic history and beliefs based on the sitarah.

KS2&3. Originally written by Jim Robinson, updated in April 2019.

Learning Outcomes

Emerging

• Explain the purpose of the sitarah cloth
• Explain the significance of on Qur’anic passage on the sitarah cloth

Expected

• Explain how at least two key Islamic beliefs are represented on the sitarah cloth
• Compare and contrast one ancient use of the sitarah to a modern use
• With reference to two pieces of information, explain what secret story the cloth tells

Exceeding

• Offer a supported view as to whether the sitarah is a sacred object or not

Key words and concepts

Sitarah: screen or curtain hung near the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad.

Haramayn: holy sanctuaries of Mecca and Medina.

Kiswa: ceremonial embroidered black cloth used to cover the Ka’bah.

tomb: place where someone is buried, usually casket-shaped in Islam.

Qur’an: Muslim holy book containing 114 verses of the revelations of Muhammad.

Shahadah: confession of faith, one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Muhammad [often succeeded by ‘Peace be upon him, pbuh, as a mark of respect]: the final prophet of Allah, the ‘Seal of the Prophets’, to whom Allah revealed the Qur’an, the Muslim sacred scripture.

Medina: city established by Muhammad as the first Muslim community, where the Mosque of the prophet houses his tomb along with the tombs of other key figures in Islam.

Mecca: sacred city of Islam and direction of prayer for Muslims.

hajj: annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

mosque: Muslim place of worship.

mihrab: niche in a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca.

Sultan Selim III: Ottoman or Turkish ruler who reigned from 1789-1807.

donation: gift given without expectation of payment.

piety: the quality of being religious or reverent. For Muslims this might be expressed through an act of devotion, e.g., charitable giving at an auspicious event, such as the hajj.

prestige: widely recognised respect and admiration felt for someone or something.

sacred: set apart, special because it is in a sacred space or place or relates to a religious concept or person.

calligraphy: the art of using special script when writing out sacred verses e.g. the thuluth script used on the sitarah to record verses in Arabic from the Qur’an.

Allah: Arabic for God, means literally ‘the’ [al] ‘God’ to represent the fact that there is only one God, as monotheism is a key belief in Islam. ‘Alahu Akbar’ or ‘God is great’ is a key phrase used by Muslims.

Shirk [idolatry]: the placing of an individual or thing above Allah for worship is regarded as a grave sin. No images are allowed in Islam and calligraphy is used instead.

Prophet: messenger of God, Allah. Muslims believe that there have been at least 25 prophets in total starting with Adam, each of whom provided partial messages from Allah whereas the message or revelation imparted to Muhammad is complete and perfect and the final one.

Caliph [successor]: there are believed to be four Rightly Guided Caliphs or ‘successors’ of the prophet Muhammad. These are: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. They are mentioned by name on the top of the sitarah.

angels: the angel Gabriel [Jibril in Arabic] revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad. A belief in angels is central to the Six Articles of Faith in Islam. Angels are heavenly beings who do the will of Allah.

blessings: the conferral of sacred benefits, spiritual rewards from Allah. Some Muslims believe that possessing or being close to objects such as the sitarah confer blessings because they have been close to a sacred place such as the tomb of the prophet Muhammad. For example, reciting one of the verses found on the sitarah is said to confer blessings and lead to paradise.

paradise: in Islam the place where the righteous will go as reward in the afterlife from Allah. Allah judges all individually. There is no intercessor who will stand between the individual and Allah on Judgment Day. There are different ideas about what paradise or Jannah will be like and there are references to it in the Qur’an where it is sometimes described as a celestial garden.

pilgrimage: a sacred journey undertaken as a religious duty or in the hopes of spiritual reward. In Islam pilgrimage [hajj] is one of the Five Pillars or duties of Islam. Only the fit and healthy and those who are free of debt are expected to undertake hajj to Mecca. In Islam there is minor hajj, which can be undertaken at any time of the year, and major hajj which is annual pilgrimage undertaken during the month of hajj [dhul-ul-hajj]. Pilgrimage can include an optional visit to the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina where pilgrims can be near the tomb of Muhammad, which is screened off.

Learning activities

The learning activities are based around the Sitarah, an embroidered cloth to cover the prophet’s tomb in Medina. The Sitarah is held in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and is available to look at online.

Firstly, search for Sitarah, Jameel Centre, Ashmolean and make sure you have this resource. The Jameel Centre is an online resource allowing viewers to look at and learn about some of the museum’s collection.

Explain that pupils are going to investigate and then make a presentation on a museum exhibit [or better still take them to the Ashmolean Museum, Room 31 Islamic Middle East Gallery to look at the sitarah] to answer the question: What secret stories can be told by a sacred object in Islam? This can be done using it as a mystery object initially or a group exercise where they are given the task of identifying what the object is using the weblink above. Prior knowledge of what the inside of a mosque looks like is needed. Labelled drawings of a mosque showing the mihrab, mosque lamps and use of calligraphy would be useful from the start. Similarly, prior knowledge of aspects of the hajj is required such as the decoration of the Ka’bah with a cloth similar to the sitarah and a map of Saudi Arabia showing the pilgrimage route with Mecca and Medina.

Provide some background historical information about the sitarah as a sacred curtain donated initially by a Muslim ruler during hajj to be hung on a wall in or near the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina. Pupils can be given the task of finding additional background information using a range of resources such as: the video of the tomb, recent photographs of the tomb, links to the British Museum hajj exhibition, weblinks to information about the Prophet’s Mosque and the Green Dome in Medina, information about the Ka’bah and the kiswa cloth that cover it and the sacred sites of Mecca and Medina [the Haramayn]. Remind them that they are trying to find out what secret stories can be revealed by the sitarah and that they are acting like detectives finding clues.

Show pupils the sitarah either in the Ashmolean Museum as part of a museum visit or as a PowerPoint presentation in the classroom using its online resources. Take pupils through what they need to focus on working from the outside edge to the middle in a clockwise direction. Draw attention to the framing of the overall design within arches and columns that resemble the mihrab, then the calligraphy and the finer details such as the imperial monogram of Sultan Selim III at the bottom which is two crossed swords and symbol in between. Ask pupils to write down as many key facts as they can remember about the sitarah and then share these in pairs or groups. If pupils are on a museum visit there is an interactive board with a link to the online information about the sitarah also.

Provide pupils with quote from Dr Christopher Brown CBE Director of the Ashmolean Museum about why the sitarah is so important in understanding the ‘complex nature of the Islamic cultural tradition’. Ask pupils to record on a large sheet of paper what they have learnt so far about this Islamic cultural tradition and about their own cultural traditions [e.g. the importance of learning about other cultures and religions, shared values, celebrating diversity]. Then ask them to record at least three questions they would like to ask about the sitarah as a sacred object and about the possible secret meanings and stories hidden in its design. Swap questions with each other to use as a later task where the other pupil has to try and answer the question and provide useful information regarding the sitarah.

Provide pupils with a printed version of the Ashmolean information about the sitarah. Ask pupils to work in pairs to recall aspects of the sitarah and then label an image of the sitarah explaining what it shows about Muslim beliefs.

Ask pupils to work in pairs to exchange views and make a range of written comments on why each of the following five verses from the Qur’an was chosen to be embroidered onto the sitarah.

Encourage them to say what each verse reveals about why the sitarah is a sacred object, and what each verse might be saying about the meaning and purpose of life. Prompt their thinking by asking which quote from the Qur’an might be the most revealing in this respect. [The Throne Verse seems the most likely as it brings rewards.]

Ask them to focus on the design which recalls the mosque, the place of worship and in particular the mihrab showing the direction of prayer [Mecca] and the references to Caliphs and the donation of the sitarah by the Sultan. Direct the discussion towards whether the sitarah is an example of piety [devotion through the act of giving at an auspicious event, the hajj] or prestige [marking the accession to the throne of the Sultan; something that was standard practice at the time amongst the Ottoman rulers].

1. 29:35 Chapter of the Light which proclaims God as the ‘light of the heavens and ’ [Think about the mosque lamp.]
2. 33:56 Chapter of the Clans: ‘Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all ’
3. The Shahadah: ‘There is no god but God and Muhammad is His Prophet.’ [The names of Allah and of Muhammad are on the red roundels at the top of the ]
4. 2:225 Throne Verse. One part of it states: ‘His throne extends over the heavens and on earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them, for He is the Most High, The Supreme in “’

Explain that you would now like them to work out answers to their original questions asked about the sitarah and its possible secret meanings and stories. They can email a Muslim or ask an RE Expert to help them find the answers. Share some of the answers across the class.

In preparation for the next lesson, pupils should assemble all the information that they have gathered so far about the sitarah in response to the original main question about the secret stories it might reveal and then decide how this information will be presented. Examples could include: a poster display of questions and answers; a cartoon illustrating the voyage of the sitarah from Constantinople to Medina and then Oxford; an interactive quiz; a guidebook for visitors to the museum going to see the exhibit; a letter of thanks to the museum or the donor Dr Khalil explaining how it has helped deepen understanding of Muslims tradition and culture; or as a collection of recordings of pupils speaking about what they have learnt about and from the sitarah to donate to the Ashmolean Museum Education Department for use as a resources for future RE students.

Provide access for pupils to computers and other resources to enable them to produce their presentations. They should choose a catchy title, bearing in mind the key question, ‘What secret stories can be told by a sacred object in Islam?’ and think about the intended audience. This is where Assessment for Learning could be applied to improve presentations and think about assessment opportunities.

Encourage the pupils to include some or all of the following ideas in their presentations:

• the ‘secret stories’ that can now be told about the sacred object, the sitarah (this could include a sense of competition for finding the most obscure or most revealing secret e.g. Sultan Selim III, the original donor of the sitarah, was a member of the Sufi order of whirling dervishes and this means the sitarah may well have been given out of piety as well as prestige;
• some mistaken beliefs about the prophet’s tomb, e.g. that you should ask for Muhammad’s mercy when only Allah can grant mercy to the believer;
• their ideas about the sitarah as a CURTAIN – why might that be significant for Muslims here?
• what big questions of life are being addressed within the design of the sitarah and within the embroidered quotations [e.g. about God, the role of Muhammad as God’s prophet, the ultimate rewards for Muslims who honour God, Muhammad and the teachings of the Qur’an]
• how people might give different answers to those questions, depending on their own beliefs;
• their own insights into the stories, mistaken beliefs, mysteries and big questions raised by their study of the sitarah, using reasoning and examples to support their ideas;
• their thoughts about how and why the Sufi practice of dhikr which involves the repeated recitation of the name of Allah might create a trance like state of union with God;
• the choice made by the designer of the sitarah to use the Thuluth script for the embroidered verses of the Qur’an and what secret stories this tells us about the art of calligraphy [e.g., the belief that you cannot be a calligrapher until you have mastered the Thuluth script; the beauty behind the lines and shapes created this way and how it might show devotion to Allah and His revelation in the words of the Qur’an];
• their own thoughts about how the arts and beautifully embroidered cloth specifically might lift people spiritually [e.g. linking with the idea of beauty and order in creation being a sign or ayat of Allah].

Ask pupils to present their completed work to others. This can be done in a variety of ways: as a poster in which questions are answered; as a PowerPoint presentation; as a cartoon charting the creation of the sitarah to its donation to the Ashmolean; as a guide for visitors to the Ashmolean; as a question and answer interactive display to go in the museum for young visitors.

Remind pupils of the questions they wrote about the sacredness of the sitarah and ask them to choose three of the best. Explain that a key Muslim belief is that there is only one God and worship of anything or anyone other than God is called shirk (idolatry), which is a sin. Ask them to work out in small groups what answers they think that present day Muslims might give to these questions, bearing in mind the points above about shirk. What answers might believers from another religion such as Christianity give? [This could link with the idea of relics of Jesus and saints.]

Explain that not all Muslims will agree about the value of the sitarah in providing protection and blessings. Most believe that only Allah can provide this, so Muslims should perform their religious duties such as prayer (du’a), follow the teachings of the Qur’an and remember the words of the 1^st Caliph Abu Bakr, “Oh people, if Muhammad is the sole object of your worship, then know that he is dead. But if it is Allah the One God you worship then know that He does not die.” Other Muslims may believe that going to the Prophet’s Mosque at Medina as part of hajj and praying in front of his tomb will gain them protection (for example from hell) and blessings in life. However, visiting the Prophet’s tomb is regarded as an optional part of hajj. The verses from the Qur’an embroidered onto the sitarah remind Muslims of the Allah’s power over the universe and the importance of worshipping Him alone. Remind them also about shirk (see above). This could provide the basis of a pupil debate about the spiritual value of the sitarah, arguing both for and against from a Muslim perspective.

Revisit the group exercise and the sheet summarising what was learnt about Islamic cultural tradition and one’s own tradition (based around the quote from Dr Christopher Brown). What can now be added to this? In summary and as feedback, do pupils feel that the sitarah is an object of piety or prestige? What has it taught them about their own beliefs and what insights have they gained about the beliefs of Muslims, bearing in mind that there might be differences within these?

[There are videos of the hajj available from the British Museum shop that might be relevant in terms of the procession of the kiswa or ceremonial cloth covering the Ka’bah at Mecca.]

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.

An investigation into how different artistic and musical forms inspired by Biblical texts have been used to express Christian beliefs about peace, including the idea of divine.

For 7-11 year olds. Originally written by Rachel Woods, updated in April 2019.

Learning Outcomes

Emerging

• Offer a meaning of the word ‘peace’
• Make a link between Christian belief and the idea of peace with reference to a piece of Christian art or music

Expected

• Show understanding of two Christian concepts, such as forgiveness and justice, through talking or writing
• Identify an aspect of a painting and explain how it links to a Christian idea

Exceeding

• Make a link between a Christian idea or belief and a biblical text read
• Suggest, with reference to Christian art or music, why these pieces were created

Key words and concepts

The Peace of God: In the book of Genesis, in the Bible, all the creatures are described as being in harmony with one another and at peace with God. Before the temptation of Adam and Eve, Adam is described as walking with God in the cool of the day. As a result of the falling of Adam and Eve into sin in the Garden of Eden, after they had eaten the fruit from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, Christians believe that all humans failed to be obedient to God, and so were separated from God’s love. A core belief in Christianity is that Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross for the sins of every human being, enabled all people to receive the peace of God, through restored relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and with other people.

Reconciliation: The belief that situations, relationships between people and God can be put right.

Restoration: The belief that God, through Jesus death and resurrection, offers healing, wholeness, justice, peace in people’s lives.

Inspiration: Here, referring to an uplifting influence or feeling (that some believe could be divine) that motivates or qualifies a person to communicate moral or religious ideas or truths in a creative way. People who observe the results of that creativity may in turn be ‘inspired’ to change their life in some way, or look at life differently.

War and Spiritual battle: War may be understood as the opposite of peace, both in military and relationship terms. That there is a constant spiritual battle between life and death, good and evil is a core belief in Christianity. Christians believe that Christ’s death on the cross was the ultimate victory over sin and death, making it possible for people to be at peace with God and in relationships with one another.

The Trinity: Christianity is a monotheistic religion which teaches that God has three ways of being. These are the Father, Jesus the incarnate and the Holy Spirit working in the world. The Trinity is held to be one God working in harmony in three different ways.

Incarnation: The doctrine that God took human form in Jesus Christ. It is also the belief that God in Christ is active in the Church and in the world.

Christ/Messiah: The anointed one. Messiah is used in the Jewish tradition to refer to the expected leader sent by God, who will bring salvation to God’ s people. Jesus’ followers applied this title to him, and its Greek equivalent, Christ, is the source of the words Christian and Christianity.

Pacifist: a person who believes in pacifism or is opposed to war or to violence of any kind.

The Parables: g., The parable of the prodigal, or lost son. Jesus communicated about the Kingdom of God, and God’s relationship with people through stories, using everyday situations and objects.

Ritual: The Peace: a part of some church services where people offer one another a sign of peace, by shaking hands, or greeting with a kiss on the cheek.

Ritual: Eucharist: A service celebrating the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, using elements of bread and wine (also known as Holy Communion).

Learning activities

The learning activities below are based around art and music expressing Christian beliefs. A full table is given. These pieces of art and music should be easy to find online, but you will want to identify them before you start teaching.

Explain to the pupils that amongst the most powerful ways of expressing important ideas are the use of art and music, and that as a class you are going to look at how different artistic and musical forms inspired by Biblical texts have been used to express Christian beliefs about peace, including the idea of divine peace.

As a class, create a mind map harvesting all that the pupils know about peace in Christianity and comparisons with other religions. Remind them, for example, that peace – ‘shalom’ – is an important idea in Judaism and that peace – ‘salaam’ – is in the root of the word ‘Islam’.

Explain that ‘peace’ is one of the main themes of the Bible (it appears around 250 times) and that many artists and composers have tried to communicate its importance. Remind the pupils that the Bible was written down over several hundred years and ask them why they think peace might have been such an important idea over this length of time. Is it still an important idea for us today? Encourage pupils to share their ideas on why this might be so. Explain that one way of gaining insights into this big idea is to investigate artistic and musical expressions and to think of how this might inspire us today.

Arrange the pupils into groups of three and give each group one key text from the Christian Bible and examples of the following visual art, music, and songs (including lyrics).

Old Testament

New Testament

Working with art

Show the class the following pictures: Jan Breughel – ‘Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden’, Paul Hobbs – ‘Three in One,’ Raphael – The Mond Crucifixion, Craigie Aitchison – ‘Crucifixion’, ‘Rembrandt – Return of the Prodigal Son’, Charlie Mackesy – sculpture The return of the Prodigal Son’ (NB without the pupils seeing titles and descriptions)

Ask the pupils to describe what they see in the works of art and to consider the idea that ‘peace’ is not just ‘the absence of war’.

Give them the titles of the works of art and ask them to match these with the pictures. Encourage them to say how the title might help to understand more about the theme, and where or how they see Peace communicated in these works of art? [Remind them about of the idea of peace being a great theme of the Bible – see above.]

Ask them what they know about Christian ideas of forgiveness, reconciliation, justice and restoration and whether these ideas appear to feature in the artworks. How might these ideas help us understand what these artists were communicating about the Christian concept of ‘the Peace of God’? How might they help us go further than thinking of peace as more than just the end of a conflict?

Encourage pupils to record any views, observations, and comments they have about peace and the different ways in which the works of art express it, and add them to a working wall display.

Now arrange the pupils into groups of four and ask each group to comment on the works of art under three headings – subject, atmosphere and message. Ask them to write any questions the work of art raises, what they agree with and what they disagree with.

Each group then meets up with another group and compares works of art. They could then try to answer one another’s questions and explain what they agree and disagree about. Ask them to describe and interpret the meaning of:

• the ideas they notice in each individual work of art;
• the similarities they notice between any two or three of the works of art;
• the differences they notice between any two or three of the works of art.

Each group can then feedback to the whole class and pupils can be encouraged to research any unanswered questions. Any new ideas can be added to an ongoing ‘Ideas about the Art of Peace’ record.

Conduct a vote for the work of art that pupils think most effectively communicates Christian beliefs about peace. The results and reasons given can be added to the working wall display.

Explain that to get further insights into how the idea of peace can really make a difference to us today, it is worth examining the Bible texts that inspired the different works of art. Provide pupils with the Bible texts: Genesis 1 and Matthew 26 v 32- 66 or a children’s version and ask them to search for evidence or make inferences and deductions about the Christian beliefs about peace from the texts.

Lead a short period of reflection, encouraging pupils to think about how the texts and works of art might inspire people to search for peace in their own lives.

Following the reflective time, ask each group to write a label for the works of art, describing their response to them, and about how the content of the Bible text might be reflected in the artwork.

Ask them to further consider what difference these art works could make to a Christian believer’s understanding of peace, and what response they might inspire from a believer and non-believer. What are their own reflections on the ‘search for peace’? What would life be like if more people looked for this kind of peace? Encourage them to add to the ‘Ideas about the Art of peace’ working wall display.

Extend pupils’ understanding by introducing them to the examples of sacred music, both orchestral choral and solo pieces inspired by the same Bible texts, as the different works of art. [See above for samples.]

Ask the pupils such questions as:

• Why have the pieces of music been given these titles?
• What do you think the composer or song writer believes about peace?
• What do you think the composer or singer believes about God?

Ask the pupils to work in pairs to either create a piece of art, or write their own song lyrics responding to the stimulus ‘Finding Peace’, using the artwork, texts and music as stimuli. Encourage pupils to choose their own titles, to feature Christian ideas about ‘the Peace of God’ in their responses and to provide some accompanying notes to explain the ideas that they present.

When the pupils have completed their work give them an opportunity to present a selection to the whole class. Ask them to say which religious groups they think might share these ideas or think differently. Are there any groups’ ideas they think have not been represented in the pupils’ creative reflections? What might those groups think?

Encourage them to add any last questions and answers about what peace might mean to Christians, themselves and others to the ‘Ideas about the Art of Peace’ working wall display.

As a further assessment activity pupils could be asked to choose the content, artwork and design for a website homepage on the theme of inspiring others to explore how Christian and other ideas about peace are communicated through different art forms.

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 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.

Seven videos of good learning in RE, produced by NATRE. Taken from the DVD Good Learning in Religious Education: Seven Short Films to Make Teachers Think.

The following videos are provided by NATRE, and come from their DVD Good Learning in Religious Education: Seven short films to makes teachers think.  The DVD is sponsored by Culham St Gabriel’s and the Diocese of St Albans and is available to purchase on NATRE’s website.

This presentation aims to introduce children at KS1 and children with special needs to the concept of mitzvot (singular = Mitzvah) in Judaism.

This presentation aims to introduce KS2 children to the concept of Incarnation in Christianity.

This presentation aims to help students understand why there are different forms of God in Hinduism.

This presentation aims to help students understand the concept of dharma (in the sense of ‘duty’) in Hinduism.