A KS3 lesson on the Jewish Kashrut laws with a killer starter task that students love every year. The kashrut laws are cut out into jigsaw pieces and the students have to assemble them correctly in teams, where only one person is allowed to touch the pieces and the rest have to give verbal instructions - AND the student assembling the jigsaw is blindfolded (N.B. this does require blindfolds of some sort!) This task really encourages team work and motivates even the most disengaged students, especially if the teams compete for a prize. Covering the main Kosher laws and with a main task where students are asked to create their own Kosher menu. A winner with the kids every time.

A GCSE lesson introducing Fair Trade and the ethical and moral issues it addresses. No previous knowledge of ethics or morality are necessary and the lesson is based around plenty of case studies for students to get their teeth stuck into. I have used this as a stand-alone lesson with KS3, or as the start of a Fair Trade project with KS4 and as part of a Business Ethics topic at A-level and found students to be very receptive.

A creative and engaging lesson for KS3 about why Jesus is still remembered today with a focus on sources of wisdom and authority. Jesus' core message about how to treat others is explored through the parable of the Good Samaritan and students are given a chance to be creative and work independently by allowing them to write a speech about why Jesus' message is still relevant in today's society. Students respond very well to this lesson, especially those who usually put up barriers to learning in RE. If you have the time, there is scope for this to last for two lessons, as students can deliver their speeches in front of the class in the second lesson.

A GCSE or A-level lesson outlining the content of the four Vedas in Hinduism and focusing on the God Agni in Hindu worship and how each Veda contributes to overall worship in Vedic Hinduism. There are links to the origins of the Vedas, including Aryan and Indus influences and the role of the four Brahmin priests in the Vedic sacrifice (Agni).

NEW KS3 History curriculum on British Reforms following the NEW 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson asks the key question if Emily Davison's death was an accident or an act of protest and students investigate reasons to support both claims before analysing how far Davison's death played a part in the campaign for women to get the vote. A YouTube clip summarises Emily Davison's role in the Suffragette movement and another clip analyses how far her actions were a deliberate act of protest or not. The main task supports student's literacy as it is a reading task; this can be done in pairs, groups or as individuals and allows students to pick out reasons for and against the key question as well as evaluating the impact Emily Davison's death had on the Suffragette campaign. The plenary asks students to reflect on the information they have learnt during the lesson. All tasks are clearly differentiated and this lesson is suitable for all abilities.

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. This lesson is an in-depth study of the first three of the Four Noble Truths, allowing students to create a detailed fact-file or poster (it is also suitable for peer-teaching or a carousel task if you print the main information slides). Students respond to each if the first three of the Four Noble Truth by considering the role suffering plays in human lives, linked to the three poisons and attachment, as well as analysing several sources of sacred writing. The plenary, which can be built up into an entire separate lesson, introduces students the AQA GCSE question types (1-5) and asks them to create their own exam questions about the Four Noble Truths, which can then be answered by individual students, teams or the whole class and be used to build key exam skills.

NEW KS3 History curriculum on British Reforms following the NEW 1-9 grading criteria. Students use information to investigate some core Liberal Reforms and fill in a work sheet with a table analysing the benefits and drawbacks of each Reform. Reforms included focus on children, national insurance and pensions. Students then use the information to write a diary entry from the point of view of either a child, a working class person or a pensioner, allowing them to analyse how successful the Reforms were. All tasks are clearly differentiated and this lesson is suitable for all abilities.

NEW KS3 History curriculum on British Reforms following the NEW 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson starts with an outline of the plight of living conditions for working class people, explored through a source and video clip from the BBC. Students then analyse a selection of sources in more depth to explain why Reforms were necessary. Students then go on a carousel task around the room to investigate six core factors that drove the Liberal Reforms; industrial decline, De Boer war, social reformers, key people, political rivalry and a new philosophy. Finally, students rank the factors in order of importance and link to government Reforms. All tasks are clearly differentiated and this lesson is suitable for all abilities.

NEW KS3 History curriculum on British Reforms following the NEW 1-9 grading criteria. This lesson focuses on the different reasons why women got the vote, including changing attitudes of men and society in general, new opportunities for women through education and work, as well as the role played by women themselves in campaigning for their right to vote. Students are asked to analyse a variety of reasons and place them into the above categories. This forms the basis of a creative task where students produce a leaflet to show why women eventually got the vote. In the plenary, students are asked to reflect on their target grade and the work they completed during the lesson and set a target for future learning. All tasks are clearly differentiated and this lesson is suitable for all abilities.

A GCSE or A-level lesson about the Yajna sacrifice in Vedic Hinduism with a link to Dharma and the Varnas. Focusing heavily on sources of wisdom and authority from the Vedas and giving a comprehensive overview of the role of Rta in the Yajna sacrifice.

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 5 of the topic ‘Does God have a message?’ Students start off by watching a video comparing infant and believer’s baptism, before exploring reasons why Christians want to become baptised. The key question for this lesson is; ‘Which type of baptism is more important?’

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 5 of the topic ‘What do I believe’. Students start off considering the reasons why people pray before watching several videos about the nature of prayer for Christians. Students then apply what they have learnt to the analysis of a selection of Christian quotes about prayer and finish off with a creative task of writing a letter to an alien about prayer.

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 6 of the topic 'What do I believe?’ Students start to considering sacred writing in the form of Bible quotes linking to God’s omnipotence and benevolence, before responding to a variety of picture stimuli about moral and natural evil as part of a discussion on the traditional argument for the problem of evil. Students watch a video clip before evaluating a number of reasons why a benevolent God may have created, or is allowing suffering and evil to occur. The plenary asks students to consider the strengths and weaknesses of both sides of the argument for the problem of evil.

A KS3 Religious Studies lesson, using an enquiry based approach to learning exploring Islam. This is lesson 1 of the topic ‘What makes something special?’ which covers Islamic worship, particularly Salat and Hajj of the Five Pillars of Islam. The SoL follows the 2018 Berkshire SACRE agreed syllabus with a focus on exploring the principles of ‘believing, belonging and behaving’ in a religious and secular context. All tasks are differentiated by choice or challenge in order to stretch learners of all abilities. Students complete a diamond 9 task why places take on religious significance and why religious people would want to visit one. Students then move on to investigate three holy cities in Islam; Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Students then attempt to answer an evaluation question, requiring them to write in extended paragraphs for and against the statement; ‘Medina is the most sacred city in Islam.’ There are two model answers to go through as well as an opportunity for peer- or self-assessment. Finally, students revisit the learning objectives and assess their progress in the lesson.

A KS3 Religious Studies lesson, using an enquiry based approach to learning and based on paranormal beliefs as a way to explore belief in the afterlife. 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 ‘Do you only live once?’ Students start by responding to a variety of experiences surrounding those who have had near death experiences and then watch three video clips, showing arguments for and against near death experiences being genuine. Students respond to this information with a choice of creative tasks, choosing from a diary entry, a report or a debate. Students then respond to an evaluative statement, with sentence starters and expectations modelled on the slide. The statement is; ‘Near death experiences prove that there is life after death.’ Students are expected to answer in three paragraphs, giving reasons for and aganist as well as concluding. The plenary is a self- or peer-assessment task, with a selection of feedback demonstrating the expectations for answering an evaluative question.

A KS3 Religious Studies lesson, using an enquiry based approach to learning exploring Islam. This is lesson 1 of the topic ‘What makes something special?’ which covers Islamic worship, particularly Salat and Hajj of the Five Pillars of Islam. The SoL follows the 2018 Berkshire SACRE agreed syllabus with a focus on exploring the principles of ‘believing, belonging and behaving’ in a religious and secular context. All tasks are differentiated by choice or challenge in order to stretch learners of all abilities. Students are hooked into learning by being asked to respond to a map of the Middle East, with countries colour coded depending on a majority of either Shi’as or Sunnis. Students are invited to ask a question or make an inference from the map. Students then move on to a short historical overview of the reason for the initial split within Islam before a mini-plenary summarises the learning so far and allows students to ask a question about Islam. Students then complete a content clock with 12 blocks of information about the Sunni ‘Articles of Faith’ as well as the Shi’a ‘Roots’, supported by extracts of sacred writing from the Qur’an. There is a further mini-plenary where students get to ask another question and summarise their learning and some might also be able to answer a question they posed earlier in the lesson. Students are then given a choice of analytical question to answer in full paragraphs about how Islamic beliefs infuence Muslims in their daily lives, before a final plenary highlighting the similarities and differences between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.

A KS3 Religious Studies lesson, using an enquiry based approach to learning exploring Islam. This is lesson 1 of the topic ‘What makes something special?’ which covers Islamic worship, particularly Salat and Hajj of the Five Pillars of Islam. The SoL follows the 2018 Berkshire SACRE agreed syllabus with a focus on exploring the principles of ‘believing, belonging and behaving’ in a religious and secular context. All tasks are differentiated by choice or challenge in order to stretch learners of all abilities. Students are hooked into learning by a close up of Muslims on Hajj and are asked to respond to the image by imaging what it would be like to be in the crowd. Students then see a further six images and are asked to infer from them what is happening. Students then watch a 15-minute video diary about a Muslim going on Hajj and get a choice of activities for how they want to respond, either a; diary entry, newspaper article, story board or flow chart. Students then read additional information about the Hajj and have to respond by writing a paragraph about it, linked to the learning outcomes for the lesson. Finally, a creative plenary asks students to create their own picture of their learning in the lesson.

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 GCSE Edexcel RS specification on Christian attitudes to sexual relationships with a strong focus on independent learning and interpretation of sources of wisdom and authority from the Bible. Main task includes detailed information sheet about non-religious attitudes with a focus on legal changes. Video starter task also included.

NEW GCSE Edexcel Religious Studies specification lesson on the origin and value of human life. A Diamond 9 task starter introduces students to the evidence for the theory of evolution. Two video clips, one from the Simpsons and one from the film Noah to compare and contrast evolution to the Christian creation story. Sources of wisdom and authority allow students to suggest the value and origin of human life as presented in Genesis. This lesson includes an information sheet with Creationist, Conformist and Non-conformist Christian perspectives on creation and the problems posed by evolution linked to an exam style question with a mark scheme for self-or peer assessment.