NEW 2016 Religious Studies KS3 curriculum lesson on the Bible as a source of authority for Christians. A visual starter asks students to identify the content of the Bible through the interpretation of pictures to each represent certain elements, e.g. the life of Jesus. Sources of wisdom and authority are used through quotes from the Bible to suggest why it has such authority within Christianity, focusing on the elements of worship, the conscience, the nature of God and the creation story. Students are then asked to complete a diamond 9 activity in pairs, to evaluate a number of reasons why Christians consider the Bible as a source of authority. The plenary asks students to reflect on their learning through the PLTS (Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills).

NEW 2016 Religious Studies KS3 curriculum lesson on the symbols and artefacts used by Christians during worship. The lesson focuses on symbols and artefacts linked to Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Church services. Quotes from the 'Last Supper' in the Bible are used as sources of wisdom and authority to get students to explore why religious symbols have survived thousands of years and are important to Christians today. The plenary asks students to use scrabble tiles to create between 2 and 5 words linked to the lesson and compete to get the highest scoring words.

NEW 2016 Edexcel Religious Studies lesson on the role of the prophets in Islam following the 'Religion, Peace and Conflict through Islam'. Students start off exploring the nature of prophet-hood and the importance of prophets in religion. Students investigate the history and importance of all the prophets in Islam including; Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma'il (Ishmael), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad. Students then get the opportunity to create a Facebook profile for one of the prophets. Finally, students evaluate reasons why the prophets are still important and relevant to Muslims today. The plenary involves students reflecting on their learning and progress through the PLTS (Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills).

NEW 2018 AQA Religious Studies Specification ‘A’ lesson on ‘Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings’ following the 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson includes differentiated tasks for every activity, designed to stretch and challenge all students. The initial task recounts the birth of the Buddha and students are asked to re-tell it in a creative way. Students then respond to 'sacred writing' from the Anguttara Nikaya, to highlight the luxurious upbringing the Buddha had. Students then consider the Four Sights and what impression these might have left on the Buddha and how they informed his decision to leave the palace. Students self-reflect on their learning through De-Bono's hats.

NEW 2018 AQA Religious Studies Specification ‘A’ lesson on ‘Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings’ following the 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson includes differentiated tasks for every activity, designed to stretch and challenge all students. Students are asked to interpret the meaning of sacred writing from Jataka vol. 1, p.71 and consider how the Buddha used meditation to reach enlightenment. They then explore the significance of the 'three watches' before applying their learning to a GCSE type exam question, with scaffolding provided, as well as a student friendly mark scheme, which can be used for self- or peer-assessment.

NEW 2018 AQA Religious Studies Specification ‘A’ lesson on ‘Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings’ following the 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson includes differentiated tasks for every activity, designed to stretch and challenge all students. Students respond to an overview of the Eightfold Path by considering its nature and the role it plays in overcoming suffering before explaining how following the Eightfold Path can lead Buddhists towards enlightenment. Students then attempt a 12-mark GCSE style exam question, which has scaffolded sentence starters as well as a fully written model answer and a student friendly mark scheme, which can be used for self- or peer-assessment. Finally, students reflect on their learning using PLTS.

A KS3 Religious Studies lesson, using an enquiry based approach to learning and based on Christianity as a way to explore belief in God. Following the 2018 Berkshire SACRE agreed syllabus with a focus on exploring the principles of ‘believing, belonging and behaving’ in a religious and secular context. This is lesson 2 of the topic ‘Does God have a message’. This lesson introduces students to the Holy Trinity and the incarnation of Jesus through the use of quotes from the Bible. The key question for this lesson is; ‘Why is the incarnation important to Christians?’

A KS3 Religious Studies lesson, using an enquiry based approach to learning and based on Christianity as a way to explore belief in God. Following the 2018 Berkshire SACRE agreed syllabus with a focus on exploring the principles of ‘believing, belonging and behaving’ in a religious and secular context. This is lesson 4 of the topic ‘What do I believe’. Students engage with the Christian creation story and comparing it to the Big Bang theory and evolution. The key question for this lesson is; ‘Are science and religion compatible?’ leading to a discussion about why science makes people question belief in God.

A set of individual lessons or thorough revision resources (using PPT) following the 2016 Eduqas Religious Studies A-level course focusing on Christianity Topic 1D. This resource requires the use of the WJEC/EDUQAS RS FOR YR 2/A2 CHRISTIANITY textbook (ISBN: 978-1-911208-36-5). Each slide represents 60 minutes worth of work, which can be done as a class or independently. The rationale is to encourage students to be as independent as possible when working through the information. Each slide includes a list of relevant key words (without definitions), a brief overview of core content, as well as a series of tasks, which can range from reading, to quote analysis, probing questions and graphic organisers. Each slide also features a ‘take it further’ task which allows students to explore the topic further. Wherever reference is made to resources other than the course textbook, these will be included as separate files. Topic 1D includes; The biblical canon, Diverse views about the authority of the Bible, John Calvin’s accommodation theory.

GCSE lesson on the Holy Trinity in Christianity, exploring Christian beliefs through quotes from the Bible. Follows the 'NEW' Edexcel GCSE specification.

GCSE lesson on different types of family in the UK, following the 'NEW' Edexcel GCSE specification. Investigates the benefits and challenges of each type of family.

NEW GCSE RS specification following the Edexcel curriculum. This lesson focuses on the ethical theories of Situation Ethics and Natural Law and how they can be applied to the moral issue of family planning as it appears in Christianity. A brief introduction to both Situation Ethics and Natural Law is followed by an opportunity for students to apply core principles of both theories to the issue of family planning. NOTE: This is a follow-on lesson based on previous student knowledge of family planning and Christian views and attitudes to this issue. Alternatively, it can work as a free-standing introduction to Situation Ethics and Natural Law.

Introduction to Christian denominations focusing on a comparison of conformist and non-conformist groups. Great as an introductory lesson for KS3 with the opportunity of a very creative lesson. Alternatively suitable for use as a GCSE lesson for students to form a fuller understanding of divergent Christian views. Also relevant as a KS5 revision lesson. Focusing on the Protestant and Catholic divide as well as introducing several non-conformist denominations including Quakers, Baptists, Presbyterians, Evangelicals and Church of England. Worksheet goes through some core beliefs so that students can pick out differences between each group.

NEW 2018 Edexcel Religious Studies GCSE following the 'Religion, Peace and Conflict through Islam' unit on Crime and Punishment. Students respond to four aims of punishment and then analyse and evaluate Muslim attitudes to the different aims using sources of wisdom and authority. Students are asked to think critically about the nature of dealing with criminals and divergent interpretations of Allah's commands. Students then get to practice an exam type question and self- or peer-assess their work.

NEW 2018 Edexcel Religious Studies GCSE, following the 'Religion, Peace and Conflict through Islam' topic and also using the new 1-9 grading criteria. Students engage with the concepts of punishment, justice and forgiveness and how these might be linked, using sources of wisdom and authority as a guide. Students then complete a carousel task around the classroom using a doughnut-shaped work sheet, with 5 distinct sections; Qisas, blood money, Qur'an Surah 2, Qur'an Surah 5 and Situation Ethics. Students need to read and summarise each section on their doughnut. Following this, students get the opportunity to answer an exam style question and self- or peer-assess their work.

NEW 2018 Edexcel GCSE in Religious Studies. Lesson on Religion, Peace and Conflict through Islam chapter 3, Living the Muslim Life. This lesson focuses on the nature, role, significance and purpose of Zakah and Khums in Islam. All tasks are differentiated to provide stretch and challenge for all pupils. Students start by considering the nature and benefits of charitable giving and follow this with an analysis of sources of wisdom and authority from the Qur'an to describe the purpose of Zakah in Islam. The main task involves students using an information sheet to complete a table of information on the role and benefits of Zakah and Khums for Muslims. Students then create a Venn diagram to assess the benefits of charitable giving to those giving and receiving as well as for society as a whole. Students apply their learning to an exam style question and self/peer assess using a student-friendly mark scheme. The plenary involves 10 statements students have to correctly identify as true or false.

NEW 2018 Edexcel Religious Studies GCSE lesson on Religion, Peace and Conflict through Islam, topic three; Living the Muslims Life. The learning outcomes follow the 1-9 grading criteria. This lesson is intended to be taught across two 60 minute sessions and asks students to use information from the first half of the lesson to respond to a 12 mark practice exam question. Sentence starters and structure for the NEW Edexcel 12 mark question are included, as well as a model answer and a student friendly mark scheme. The lesson focuses heavily on collaborative learning through working in teams, however, it can work equally well working in pairs or independently as students can access the information in a number of ways. Students are hooked into the lesson by considering the concept of giving up something important to them, linking this to fasting during Ramadan. As the main task for the first session, students get into 5 teams and each analyse a different source of wisdom and authority, as well as team investigating non-religious views on Sawm. There are information sheets included in the PPT for this. The teams are then mixed up, so that 5 students who have researched information are matched up to peer-teach each other and collaborate on creating a poster detailing Muslim views on Sawn, Ramadan and the Night of Power. In the second session, students use the information gathered in the first session to answer a 12 mark GCSE practice exam question, using a scaffold of sentence starters and overall writing structure. Students then respond to a model answer and the mark scheme (this can be printed out to allow students to annotate) by improving their own work through self-assessment. Finally, students reflect on the progress they have made, their strengths and weaknesses.

NEW 2018 AQA Religious Studies Specification ‘A’ lesson on ‘Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings’ following the 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson includes differentiated tasks for every activity, designed to stretch and challenge all students. Students identify different uses and abuses of animals and the environment and which are acceptable, as well as suggesting possible solutions to unacceptable treatment. Students reflect on their learning so far with a progress bridge linked to the learning outcomes. A YouTube video by Al Gore introduces global warming and students identify areas of pollution. Students then respond to sacred writing from both Christianity and Buddhism, followed by another progress bridge linked to the learning outcomes. Lastly, students respond creatively to case studies and information from Catholic Christianity, the Parable of the Talents and Buddhism and the Holy Isle project.

GCSE lesson on scientific views on the origins of the world, focusing on the Big Bang including an activity sheet with evidence for the Big Bang. Follows the 'NEW' Edexcel specification for the 2017/8 GCSE in Religious Studies.