GCSE Interleaved Unit: Religion and Life

GCSE Religious Studies: Philosophy and Ethics: Religion and Life

This unit, ‘Religion and Life’, is devised as part of a brand new, interleaved scheme of work for GCSE. Individual lessons are intended as a double (roughly one and a half hours per lesson) however, due to time restrictions and the embedded support in the corresponding Work Pack, could also be taught in a minimal one hour per lesson.

Lessons Include:

• Different views about good and evil
• Reasons for crime
• Aims of punishment
• Treatment of criminals
• Corporal punishment
• Death penalty
• Forgiveness
• *Lesson resource sheets if using exercise books

This scheme of learning has been devised explicitly to support the Recovery Curriculum, interleave learning with previously-learned religious units (Christianity and Islam) and support cognition through interleaving techniques.

Although part of a unit, lessons can also be taught as a stand-alone lessons, e.g. for revision. The corresponding Work Pack(s) would also support a home-learned curriculum as the PowerPoints and Packs themselves include differentiation and scaffolding, where required.

The interleaved schemed of work are specifically designed to promote the two skills desired for success at GCSE:

• AO1 (Knowledge and Understanding)
• AO2 (Analysis and Evaluation)

The resources are specifically created to ensure students are aware of the skill they are demonstrating and how to improve further through modelling.

These new units bring the relevance back to our topics, for example, through thought experiments and reference to current affairs. Students will experience greater engagement and enjoyment in a fair and balanced approach.

Lessons include:

• Homework Slide
• Unit Cover and lesson overview
• Starter activity, including interleaving
• Key words (literacy focus)
• Introduction of key information (AO1 - knowledge) and how this is used (AO1 - understanding)
• Introduction of a contentious issue or debate (AO2 - analysis) and finalised judgement (AO2 - evaluation)
• Plenary

The lesson resource sheets:
These are designed so that even those who have limited curriculum time can explore the full unit without having to feel the time pressures on their classwork.
The resources provide time-saving activities, whilst still being able to cover the breadth and depth of the course.
In addition, students who may be limited by literacy issues, e.g. slower writing paces, are not disadvantaged or capped in their progress. Therefore, some classes could use a mixed approach - part resources, part exercise book - and all students will be able to progress through the same volume of content.

Please give feedback: I am always happy to respond to comments - whether positive or constructive - this will help to improve the quality of my resources in the future and, more importantly, the quality of pupils’ RE/RS education in general - which is what we’re all here for!