This is a collection of articles and an interview about this important topic that is affecting more and more people in our nation. The recession is supposed to be over but Red Cross surveys show that in Europe many more people are trapped in poverty and a recent survey revealed that in the UK the use of Food Banks has tripled since April, caused in a large part by changes to the Benefits System and the introduction of the Bedroom Tax.

this is a power-point, quite straightforward - giving an outline of who St John the Baptist was and outlining something of the meaning behind 8 symbols associated with him - The Head - The Lamb - The Shell - The Holly -The The Maltese Cross - The Reed -The Grasshopper and The Camel Hair. All suggestions for improvement and feedback or comments - welcome. I will be adding - after these images - all the texts which relate to St John the Baptist - but this is enough for teachers to work with so it is a useful start.

Ra'ana Mahmood is a Pakistani Doctor who started a non-govermnental organisation called the Geriatric Care Foundation. She is in New York for a Human Rights Conference, presenting a paper about the situation in Pakistan, regarding Women's Rights and the position of Elderly people in Pakistan. Ra&'ana is a good friend of mine and emailed me last night to ask if I would check through her report and correct her mistakes in English. Her report is quite moving AND a rich resource for both RE and Citizenship. Ra&';ana says I may share it here. Please give feedback / rating if you use this.

These are adapted from info on the OCR website. They give a basic outline which I hope to add to, when I have time to bring in info from other sites. Hope it is helpful. I would encourage students to turn this into mind-maps and spacial, or visual patterns which enable them to link common ideas and overlapping theories.

This is a Power Point with 40 slides - all images of Jesus from an African perspective. It gives a sense of the way that Christians everywhere think of Jesus as their Brother, as their Friend, His divine aspect is for all, beyond the confines of one time or place, one nation or race. Christians everywhere can and do claim Jesus as their own.

An exercise to explore the meaning of our names - Includes a homework topic that you can just print out. This exercise is one which I use for page 2 of the Religious Identity Passport with some classes, usually year 7 in the Autumn term, as it helps the class get to know each other and the names make a strong display which gives the students a sense of belonging and ownership of the RE room.

40 slide PPt with videolinks - introduces pilgrimage in an interactive way. Designed to set the scene for and inspire some extended group work involving research and presentation activity on pilgrimage + a simple assessment aid - My initial Pilgrimage resource is getting cluttered. I hope to create separate resources for each of the religions - an overview and exploration of them all - controversy version explores Shi'ite Sufi + more video links - 66 slides. For music/CD of Here in a Blind World please send a personal message.

This is a collection of stories about kings historical and fictional - and some fun videos from youtube which illustrate some Indian stories. It will be useful for literacy + English as well as RE. classes.

Links to 23 different youtube videos of Wordsworth's poem Daffodils. Then many other poems by Wordsworth. A few videos for his poem 'Rainbow.&' Other poems which stimulate creative imagination - including Tiger Tiger. A friend took his Early Years class out to sit among daffodils and listen to a reading of Wordsworth&';s poem. He prepared them well, but once he started to read Daffodils, one just said, 'Boring.&' I seek good ways to develop more Creative Imagination. I include the thread about this and will update + add poems / ideas which you suggest.

An assortment of war poems which include some from Iraqi and American poets and one from a 15 year old girl written on reflecting her visit to Auschwitz. I researched this in relation to work on Remembrance Day but there are poems here which could be used in many other topics including The Holocaust and all topics related to suffering, good and evil, war and peace.

poem, with introduction composed in response to a year 10 contingent who were quite disaffected and atheist-exclusivist-closedmindedist. It was effective in engaging them with the God question. the poem is quite powerful for anyone to read as a meditation and you can omit the central section which is an exploration of evil/suffering, please give some reviews as this helps other readers find the resource.

A sweeping reflection on life which explores and celebrates the beauty and mystery of of our planet, introducing a range of concepts from different religions and world views. In art and music it may stimulate composition. The origins are in RE where the poem emerged from my struggle to get year 10 to engage with the question of God in a serious way - it was movingly effective - but I want to include the questions of suffering and evil and still struggle with this, to keep it a poem and not a book! I hope to publish eventually but do use it as a basis for discussion or creative response.

A resource prepared for year 7 Geography, learning about climate and weather - this song or rap is designed to introduce or revise the topic using musical intelligence. See if you can improve on it. Give me a pm if you would liike to turn it into a youtube video. Enjoy and learn, learn and enjoy!

I use the story of Masada as part of the background to European history which included such widespread anti-Semitism. It is likely that without that climate of prejudice and mistrust, the Holocaust could not have happened. and if students don't understand that fact, then they can look at the Holocaust as an isolated incident, unconnected with their own lives or our world today. I have written a bit more about this and uploaded it as a separate file. Do give your views and other items which are related and I could include to strengthen this resource.

I've used this story in primary and secondary sectors. It's good if you want a story to adapt as a drama. It links with many aspects of the RE curriculum - good and evil, what happens when we die etc - it comes from 'the East' but has parallels with Christianity too. You may explore questions eg 'What's a saint' and 'Are angels real' - and thinking about what make heaven and hell in the lives and experiences of our students - at home, in the playground and in the classroom. inspired to explore this theme further, did a search on the CKG library and found the Akbar story and more.

Life After Death is a fascinating aspect of the curriculum, I have selected some interesting and informative articles about reincarnation and Near Death Experiences, looking for the most serious scientific explorations of these important subjects. 'Proof&' includes - writing match from one life to the next, people born blind who see the room when having out of body NDE&';s and people who are completely brain dead - no activity in the brain at all - when experiencing NDE's

In haste - several hours of research here but many things still not covered. It will give anyone planning to explore Hindu Wedding in an experiential or role-play way, some ideas and basic information. I hope to add to this.

This is the calendar from different sources with some words of caution and information about Navaratri, often called DurgaPuja. I will add to this resource when I get time and then prepare some similar overviews of festivals for the other religions. This is in response to a request for information so my aim here is to offer enough to give the enquirer a start with Hinduism and then they can use it as a 'pattern to follow' when researching the other festivals.

The first article here is from Al Jazeera. It includes a reference to a video interview which you may use part of to shed light on this important issue. I am looking for any articles and videos which will help our students to understand what is happening and how it relates to them, to religious principles of fairness, justice, care for all, compassion and charity etc. I am looking for resources which will inform GCSE or older students and they will be useful for Citizenship and Economics subjects as much as for RE.

In response to a request for ideas for an enrichment day or week - I have just copied some pages from a range or websites in response to a general search on google. I will edit and add to these. Also a copy of the thread from the RE forum. Again I will add to this when others respond with their ideas. I would always love to come and work with any school on a project like this. Passion for RE and Enthusiasm in boundless measure, me!! All the best