RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CURRIUCLUM
YEAR LEVEL: 7
FERTILE QUESTION:
Term
Year
On Whose Shoulders Do We Stand?
CLASS CONTEXT
Students with special needs/focus (students with different or non-religious backgrounds) –
Events –
Other Considerations RE STRAND/S
Sacred Text, Beliefs, Church
Content Descriptors
STOT12 Ancient Israel
STNT17 Formation of the Gospels
STCW8 Founders of religious communities
BEWR8 The origins of the monotheistic traditions
CHCH6 The origin and establishment of the Christian church,
Dealing with challenges
Legacies
CHPG8 The structure of the Catholic Church in Australia
ASSESSMENT:
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a depth study focusing on the early Church
significant task related to the school charism &/or founding story
design and creation of a “shoebox Church”, or part of a Church.
LEARNING AND TEACHING SEQUENCE
Core Area One: Where did our story begin?
Week
No.s
1-3
Inquiry Phase
Tuning In
Activity/Experience/Differentiation
RESOURCES - ICLTs
Israel – Before & After Christ
Pose the question: Where did our story
begin?
Explore what is our ‘story’ and challenge
students to drill down into the origins of
the school story – Catholic story-early
Christianity – ancient Israel
Identify sources of information that can
tell us of the origins of our story in
Ancient Israel
Identify the parts of the bible that reflect
the story of Ancient Israel and the parts
that reflect the story of 1sr century
Judaism
Monotheistic Religions
Brainstorm with students to identify the
three Abrahamic Religions and discuss
what they have in common
Students access Understanding Faith 11.
Journeys Shared (Pt 3 Abraham)and
follow the activities related to Abraham’s
life
Understanding Faith
11. Journeys Shared (Pt 3 Abraham)
Students access
http://www.reonline.org.uk/knowing/what-re/
as an introduction to the three religions.
They construct a Concept Web to explore
features of the three religions, then use
this information to construct a T-Juncture
to highlight commonalities between the
religions .
Finding Out &
Sorting Out
Abrahamic religions intro website:
http://www.reonline.org.uk/knowing/what-re/
Abrahamic Religions Concept Web &
T-Juncture template
Ancient Israel
Create an annotated timeline (digital or
other) to sequence key historical events
and periods of Ancient Israel
Bible Timelines in class bibles
Divide class into pairs to create a concept
web (digital or other) that identifies key
information about and significance of
some festivals (e.g. Passover Exodus 12 –
14; Hanukah 1 Maccabees 4:52-59 and 2
Macccabees 10: 5-8;) and religious
practice (e.g. sacrifice – Leviticus 4:35,
5:10; circumcision-Genesis 17; JubileeLeviticus 25) in Old Testament texts
Concept Web examples
Graphical Timeline Activity Scripture: Historical,
Social and Cultural Contexts Module p 38
Contrast these with a concept web of a
school or Church feast or festival or
religious practice which recognizes
something significant in our faith
Formation of the Gospels
Students collaboratively develop a
retrieval chart outlining some contextual
information about each Gospel (e.g.
time of writing, audience, purpose,
depiction of Jesus, structure). Access
information through fact cards / NRSV
Youth Bible
Author’s Audience Activity Scripture: Historical,
The origins of the Christian church
Fact Cards from the previous Author’s
Audience Activity.
Create an annotated timeline (digital or
other) to sequence key events of the first
century of the Christian Church
Social and Cultural Contexts Module p 12-18
Useful Websites:
www.synaxis.org/cf/history/
www.christiantimelines.com/firstcentury.htm
Understanding Faith Stage 4 4.Early Christianity
The origins of the monotheistic
traditions
Working in groups to complete a retrieval
chart of the core beliefs of The three
Abrahamic religions - Christianity,
Judaism or Islam (e.g. How do they
describe God? What are some daily
practices they have? Are there rules that
they must follow? Is there a key figure
who they look to for guidance?)
Abrahamic Religions: Useful Websites:
See attached Resource List
Communicating Following are three options that could
be used as significant assessment
pieces:
1. Students undertake a depth study
focusing on the early Church.
Topics could include:
 women and the early Church
 key figures in the early Church
 persecutions of Christians
 organization and structure of
the early Church

Research Grid Pro-forma
Thinking Tools for the Enquiry Classroom
The ‘fish’ symbol in the early
Church
2. Students could undertake a depth
study on one of the three
Abrahamic religions.
In the study students generate
focus questions that shape their
research and access a range of
book and on-line sources.
Evaluating and
Reflecting
3 Create a three panel brochure that
identifies and details three
leadership positions in the early
church. On the flipside of the
brochure marry these three with
corresponding leadership positions
in the Church today. Information
detailed should highlight both the
change and continuity of the
positions over time and include the
roles and responsibilities of the
position; any distinctive dress or
symbols of office; any illustrations
that support the information. The
brochure can be electronically
generated and created or the given
template may be utilized.
Useful Resource:
As part of the depth study, students
respond to and evaluate:
 the availability of resources
 significant new learnings
 what they found surprising or
interesting in their research
 how they could improve on their
research techniques and
presentation of information
How Did I Go? Refection Activity
Understanding Faith Stage 4 4.Early Christianity
Brochure Template
Core Area Two: The Shoulders of Our Founders
Wks: 4-6
STCW8 Founders of religious communities
Religious Knowledge and Deep Understanding
The writings and key messages of the founders of religious orders influence the way of life of religious
communities (e.g. prayer life, apostolate, dress, spiritual practices, beliefs, symbols, daily life).
Skills
Analyse and explain how the way of life of religious communities has been influenced by the writings and
key messages of the founders.
Identify & explain change and continuity in the life of religious communities over time and place.
The knowledge and skills component of the this core area with be shaped and determined by the particular
charism and founding story of each individual school e.g. MacKillop or Mercy tradition
LEARNING AND TEACHING SEQUENCE
Core Area Three: Where did our story begin?
Week
No.s
7-10
Inquiry Phase
Tuning In
Finding Out &
Sorting Out
Activity/Experience/Differentiation
RESOURCES - ICLTs
Divide class into three groups & pose these scenerios:
1. I am a young person wanting to become a
Catholic.
2. I am a priest wanting to start Rosies in town
3. I am a Bishop part of an international
committee on social justice.
Answer questions in each scenario such as: Who would
I go to see? What is the role of this person? Where is
this person situated?
Brainstorm words related to the organization and
structure of the Church: diocese, parish, Bishop etc
Dioceses of Queensland
On a Map of Queensland, students mark the five
dioceses of Queensland.
Using a retrieval chart, students access information
about each diocese through Diocesan websites: name
of bishop, number of parishes, number of Catholic
Schools, names of centres in each Diocese, Diocesan
Crest.
Access the Toowoomba Diocesan website to identify
Catholic Services available in the Diocese. Brainstorm
other services connected to the Catholic Church
available in the region (e.g. St Vinnies). After discussing
the range of services provided, the students use the
retrieval chart to itemise the service offered to the
community.
Reaching Out Activity Church:
Unity & Diversity Module p 12-13
Leadership in the Catholic Church
Students name and investigate the variety of roles and
responsibilities within the leadership structure of the
Catholic Church in Australia (i.e. deacon, priest, bishop,
archbishop, cardinal).
Leadership Activity Church:
Unity & Diversity Module p 25
Using a selected graphic organiser (e.g. bubbl.us) to
create a symbolic representation of the variety of roles
and responsibilities within the leadership structure of
the Catholic Church in Australia .
Cultural Influences
Students explore cultural and historical influences
evident in church communities within the Australian
Catholic Church and across the Oceania region,
responding to questions such as “What does the
Church building look like?”; ‘What cultural influences
can be seen in the way some of the Sacraments are
celebrated?”
Church Design Activity Church:
Unity & Diversity Module p 27
Many Faces of the Church
Activity Church: Unity & Diversity
Module p 40
Communicating
Evaluating and
Reflecting
Students form learning teams of four and design and
create a “shoebox Church”, or part of a Church e.g.
altar, suitable for the Australian cultural lifestyle and
history. They may choose to design a Church suitable:
For the beach
For the rainforest regions
To reflect the indigenous people of our land
For our outback
For suburban life
For a particular cultural group
As part of their presentation of their shoebox church,
students respond to and evaluate:
 significant new learnings
 what they found surprising or interesting in
their design
 how they could improve on their design and
presentation
 Strengths & drawbacks in working in their
learning teams
Church Design Activity Church:
Unity & Diversity Module p 27
ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS CONCEPT WEB
Judaism
ABRAHAM
Islam
Christianity
Judaism
ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS T-JUNCTURE
Judaism
Islam
Christianity
Festivals of Ancient Israel
Israel
Why: the altar was rededicated
because the Gentiles had desecrated it
When: twenty fifth day of the
month of Kislev in the year 148
(164BC)
Rededication of the Altar
1 Maccabees 4: 52-59
Where: on the new altar in the
Temple in Jerusalem
Length of Festival: eight days
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Festival practices:
Hymns sung to harps, lutes & cymbals
People bowed down to worship & praise God
People brought burnt offerings & offered fellowship &
thanks offering
Festivals of Modern Catholicism
Israel
When:
Why: to remember and honour the
patron saint of our school and who we
are as a school community
19th
March each year (or as
close to that date)
Feast of St Joseph
Where: in the School hall & grounds
Length of Festival: one day
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Festival practices:
Celebration of Mass in the school hall
Sausage sizzle shared lunch
‘Running of the Brothers’ Stawell Gift
Rotational ‘fun activities afternoon’ in mentor groups
ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS WEBSITES
http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islam_judaism_christianity.htm
http://exhibitions.nypl.org/threefaiths/explore-themes/muhammad
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/themes/religion/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/abraham_1.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/
http://old.reonline.org.uk/ks3/topiclist.php?8-245
http://www.reonline.org.uk/knowing/what-re/
RESEARCH GRID
Focus
Questions
Sources
What I already
know
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Name: _________________________________
Date: _____________________
Topic: __________________________________
The three best things about my work are:
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The most important thing/s I learned was/were:
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One thing that surprised me:
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My work could have been better if:
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Teacher’s Comment:
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