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.\nAll suggestions for improvement and feedback or comments - welcome. \n\nI 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.

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.

I love using inspiring posters on my classroom walls – and indeed in my home. \nThere are some wonderful combinations of photography with quotations from a vast range of cultures and inspiring people which I have used in the past – mostly from Argus. Argus is now part of ‘Trend’ so they may have stopped creating some of those I am familiar with. \nI was looking for these ‘old favourites’ but couldn’t find them. However I did find the following – and hope some may be useful. I will try to find out what happened to some of my favourites. \nMeanwhile – I hope you enjoy this sample.

This is my own reworking of an exercise which I found on one of the RE forums. It gives a powerful experiential insight into the meaning of Sanctity of Life. I follow this with an exercise of voting and statistical analysis which offers a simple opportunity for cross-curricular maths and citizenship.

In response to a question about teaching Eid-ul-Adha to a year 5 class I have collected a range of articles which inlcude pictures and the web address of a BBC site which has a 3 minute video. I hope this is helpful for the year 5 teacher but it will also be very useful for Secondary RE teachers. It includes many perspectives. I will add to it if/ as and when/ time permits. (note - I have not yet read all this. It is not me who has to plan the lesson - but I have increased the text size to make it easier to read.

video links from youtube and book reviews from google search will add more details later. (in haste Pizza going cold)

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

Great resources which you can adapt for any age. Power Point Slide Show has over 80 slides and covers many topics. Save with different headings then delete slides to give many shorter slide shows - and show with music. Stories are versions of traditional stories about episodes in the lives of deities or the Ramayana and Mahabarata. Over a week’s work in these - and I’ll add to them. Don’t forget to give ratings and comments/feedback to help others find what they need. Contact if you would like a workshop - info@bluelotus.co

This is a Power Point slide-show which explores the Parabe of the Sheep and the Goats in some depth, looking at examples of people who have devoted their lives to helping others.\n\nThere are reflective activities and exercises which engage with and explore forgiveness and self-giving in an experiential way. The extended version includes visualisations and a memorial\n\nI conclude with an overview of my approach to teaching RE and some tips on how to avoid pitfalls and make the subject real and alive.\n\nIn process

The basic PPT takes pupils through this topic and includes videos. It begins with a youtube link and has another youtube link in the middle. Activities are positioned at the end of each day of the fire. I did this with year 8 students and we moved on to a Group-Work project. Some of my methods and materials for successful groupwork will be included here.After the project I did not want to lose the additional research that had not been used by our class, so I added additional research to make an 'extended PPT' and added colour to the slides. I've added Team Leader Record Sheets, Checklist for preparing the presentations, Presentation and Feedback Worksheet and some completed Presentation and Feedback Sheets.After the informative slides (50 for the standard one and 75 for the extended one) I added some of the displays the groups in my class produced for their Group Presentations.

Introducing the concept of pilgrimage - Mostly focussing on Christianity but an overview of pilgrimage in all 6 Religions. More detail on Iona, Lindisfarne, Walsingham and more to come. There are some excellent links to videos from Iona, Taize and more + flute music for meditative/reflective time/starter/coming into the classroom quietly etc.

For KS 3 Religious Education A Power Point of images and questions explores similarity difference and change using leaves. Then reflecting on similarity and difference in people - not just physical similarities and differences but also in thoughts and beliefs. Exploration of prejudice, bullying and intolerance in the lives of the pupils present and in wider society. Moving on to reflect on the question 'What is the Purpose of life?' - with some food for thought taken from the six major religions.

Youtube interviews with inspiring spiritual people - including Satish Kumar, Desmond Tutu, Anthony De-Mello, Ekhart Tolle and more. Do suggest some of your own favourites

A range of resources including personal anecdotes of some miracles and spiritual experiences in my life. I work as a free-lance RE consultant and will happily come in and talk about my own spiritual life or make a presentation on any aspect of RE (free - expences only)

A range of resources to use when planning a unit on questions of human rights justice, suffering and the age old issue of 'Is it Fair?&' The oxfam unit is excellent and I have made a worksheet for our students to create cards inspired by the ones created by the students at the school in South Africa which is featured in the Oxfam resources.

includes\nspeech Malala gave at the UN on 12th July 2013\nVideos of M's recovery\nmore vids inc reports and interviews from July - Nov 2013\nsome of M&'s blog + it inspires others\nwksheets 1 bckgnd to start of her speech\nWorksheet with 20 questions plus 2 - in process - on the substance of the speech. (yr 9 upwards needs adaption and differentiation.)\nWorksheet on UN and Human Rights\nTaliban 1 full text of letter from T with background \nTaliban 2 about T from a contrasting perspective\nWomen&';s experiences of T rule.\nBuddhist statues destroyed by T.\nDrone attacks.\n\nfeedback please

what Jesus says about Love. Where might a Christian start when reading the Bible -\n\nStudents can have little idea about how Christians seek guidance, through prayer and Bible reading.\nThis starts with a post from a conversation with an atheist. I've added a bit which reflects on Jesus in an inter-faith way. \nThe Sunday School experience story is in italics. \nUse with exam classes - to give students insight into what it is like to practise a religion \nOther resources which relate to this passage and to text-analysis and understanding the Bible are added

Yr 9 experience a good place to start. Readings / examples of missionaries. Success - eg Bruce Olson (from Wikki), \nfaith challenged - remaining Christian but no longer exclusivist fundamentalist - more liberal - eg blog by Lana Hope in Missions from an unfundamentalist Christian\nsome put Christianity to aside and became atheist in response to their experiences eg Daniel Everett - in the articles about his book 'Don&'t Sleep, There are Snakes.&';\nI hope to add more examples - please suggest some and give your comments.

This is a Facebook Live I recorded relating to my thoughts around a quote from the Sermon on the Mount which I felt was out of context. In Religious Education the one thing we all focus on is the quest for Truth. Truth is elusive - a bit like Life or Reality - impossible to define - but we do have the capacity to aim for it. As a Religious Education Specialist, when anyone uses a quote from any scripture to reinforce their argument, it rings alarm bells because it is possible to justify almost anything with the judicious use of quotations. In this video I refer to the US elections and Mr Trump as an example of some of the things we value and need to protect.

From HOD in Religious Education to giving Mindfulness-Meditation and Empowerment Workshops for resilience, improved mental health and happiness. In this Ebook, DurgaMata shares some practical strategies for reducing stress and increasing happiness - both in your own life and when dealing with challenges in the classroom. DurgaMata gives a fascinating overview of her own ‘spiritual sadhana’ which has taken her from teaching in the classroom to offering an Online Programme to reduce stress, build resilience and increase happiness - which can span the world. DurgaMata writes - The spiritual side of life has always been important to me. In this account I look back at how circumstances moved me from joyful and devoted Head of Religious Education in a large Secondary School, through a challenging time of unemployment as the Ebacc changed the educational landscape - to developing increasing expertise in Health and Wellbeing - especially mental health. After retiring from teaching, I developed a unique and comprehensive program for Raising Consciousness - which I translate as Reducing Stress, Building Resilience and Increasing Happiness. In my small book The Seven Steps to Happiness, I share some of the experiences which have been significant and a mini-seven-step strategy to use in the classroom when a challenging situation occurs. Before 2020, my workshops were all face to face but corona-virus has turned that - on its head, forcing me to take my signature Program ‘The Seven Steps to Happiness’ online. Everyone is suffering from stress - but my particular concern is to support and empower teachers in every way I can, so I dedicate this little book to you. I hope my book will encourage you to see beyond the surface of events to the great, underlying inner principles of love, compassion and oneness which we can all engage with, whatever crazy things may be happening in the world outside - and remind you that if we are to achieve that ideal, we need to begin by taking care of our own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs and ring-fencing the time we need to look after ourselves. If we want to serve others - if we want to care for the children, pupils and students we teach - and if we want to have positive and happy relationships in the staffroom - then we have to ensure we are taking care of ourselves and we have an effective way of replenishing our own reservoir of inner peace and happiness. I hope this little book will give you some leads and encourage you to follow them. Love and Peace DurgaMata ps, hold fire on buying this. I have to edit all the quotes slides to ensure I’m not breaking copyright rules. I’ll let you know when it’s done.