Wiltshire RE Starter Stimulus
Starter ideas for the following key question from the 2011 Agreed Syllabus:
KS1.1 What do some people believe about
God?
This resource aims to provide some stimulus texts, images and ideas to help
children begin to address the above question.
It links to the following learning outcomes from p34 of the syllabus:
Pupils can:
• Talk about some ways a Christian might describe God
• Talk about different words and art that are used to describe God
• Talk about their own ideas about God
Many of the slides have notes to give suggestions for use. Look at the
slide show in Normal mode and look for the notes at the bottom of the
page.
Christians say God can do lots of things.
What do they think? What do you think?
Who?
Time starter
Space maker
Earth shaper
Mud modeller
Garden planter
Fruit grower
Stable sleeper
Miracle maker
Eye opener
Cross carrier
Devil crusher
Grave buster
Promise keeper
Hand holder
Heart warmer
Cheerer upper
Energy booster
Life giver
God is like...
Different people have different ideas about what
God is like. What are your ideas?
You are going to discover five ideas about God from
Christian people.
Do you think they are
good ideas?
Is God like
any of these
things in any
way? Think
carefully!
Puzzle
Tree
Shadow
Torch
Parent
5 Christian comments about God:
‘I think God is big and strong’
‘I think God can light up your life’
‘I think God is puzzling and mysterious’
‘I believe God is like your mum or your dad,
but even better’
‘My idea is that God is always really close to us,
but hard to see sometimes’
Can you choose a picture to go with each of the 5
ideas?
5 Christian comments about God: which
picture?
‘I think God is big and strong’
‘I think God can light up your life’
‘I think God is puzzling and mysterious’
‘I believe God is like your mum or your dad,
but even better’
‘My idea is that God is always really
close to us, but hard to see sometimes’
Christians think God is...
• Like a tree because...
• Like a torch because...
• Like mums or dads because...
• Like your shadow because...
• Like a jigsaw because...
The next four slides show
art work from pupils who
have been thinking about
God.
Look and learn, then make
one of your own, using
your own ideas about God
God Is In Me and
In My Brother
Anna Walker
Age 5
‘Where is God? God
lives in my little
brother. And God
lives in me.’
God's Footprints
Thomas Moore (5)
‘In my picture I have
painted the sky and the
sun, then I added grass
and flowers. Next I
painted God’s footprints
because although you
can’t see God, I think you
can see that He has been
everywhere.’
Who Is God? Joao Age
7
‘I think God is hope. Hope
might look like a halo with
lovely things around it.
I have drawn the halo with
the sun shining in the
middle. There is rainbow
light coming out around
the edges. He is also
Spirit and human at the
same time.
One of my friends said my
picture looked a bit like a
keyhole. That made me
think that God is the key
to heaven. So God is
hope. He is the key to
heaven.’
Amazing, Fabulous
God
Samuel (6)
‘This is my picture of
God. He is showing us
that he is amazing and
fabulous!’
My favourite picture
is...
because...
Some suggestions for using this resource:
1. What’s the title?
Give the four paintings out without the captions.
Children could work together in pairs or small groups to
talk about what ideas of God the artist may have had.
Then give the caption out and discuss further.
2. Making connections
Ask children to find an object that might make a person
think of God. If appropriate, it might be something they
bring from home, or you might take children outside to
find something suitable. Children may refer to the
wind, trees, leaves, stones, water, sun, sky etc. How
might the object remind someone of God? What
features are there that might link to ideas of God?
3. Expressing through art
Ask your children to design their own art work
entitled “Where is God?” A sentence of
explanation helps to show what is being
expressed.
The annual RE art competition, Spirited Arts,
gets thousands of pupil entries each year.
Have a look at the website to see some more
children’s work. www.natre.org.uk/spiritedarts
Why not enter your children’s artworks?