Religion and Ethics SAS 2014
Sample unit of work
Ethics and morality
The sample unit of work provides teaching strategies and learning experiences that facilitate
students’ demonstration of the dimensions and objectives of Religion and Ethics SAS 2014.
This sample demonstrates:
 organisation and development of a unit that could be used within a course of study
 aspects of the underpinning factors particular to this unit
 learning experiences that support the achievement of the objectives described in the
dimensions of this syllabus
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 alignment between core subject matter, learning experiences and assessment.
Unit overview
Title of unit: Ethics and morality
The unit description includes a title and a
paragraph that outlines the intent of the unit.
Unit description:
The purpose of this unit is to explore the concept of right and wrong that underpins all human
communities. The process of ethical and moral decision making is influenced by personal, cultural,
historical and religious factors.
Time allocation:
Semester 1, 2, 3 or 4; 55 hours
A time requirement for the unit is indicated.
Dimensions and objectives
Knowing and understanding
By the conclusion of the course of study, students should:
 recognise and describe concepts, ideas and terminology about religion, beliefs and ethics
 identify and explain the ways religion, beliefs and ethics contribute to the personal, relational and
spiritual perspectives of life and society
 explain viewpoints and practices related to religion, beliefs and ethics.
Applying and examining
By the conclusion of the course of study, students should:
 organise information and material related to religion, beliefs and ethics
 analyse perspectives, viewpoints and practices related to religion, beliefs and ethics
 apply concepts and ideas to make decisions about inquiries
 use language conventions and features to communicate ideas and information, according to
purposes.
Producing and evaluating
By the conclusion of the course of study, students should:
 plan and undertake inquiries about religion, beliefs and ethics
 communicate the outcomes of inquiries, to suit different audiences
 appraise inquiry processes and the outcomes of inquiries.
Religion and Ethics SAS 2014
Sample unit of work — Ethics and morality
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
February 2015
Page 2 of 7
Content to be taught
Concepts and ideas
A person’s ethical and moral stance is formed and informed by factors and influences such as family
background, cultural context, personal opinions, feelings and religious beliefs.
Knowledge, understanding and skills
The knowledge, understanding and skills listed should be developed, showing integration of the core
areas.
Personal
Identified concepts and ideas, together with the
 factors contributing to a person’s moral stance
relevant knowledge, understanding and skills, are
 personal values
from the syllabus.
 the process of ethical and moral decision making
Relational
 factors and dynamics that shape the responses to ethical and moral situations in a community
 systematic approaches to addressing ethical and moral issues in religions
Spiritual
 morality based on religious teaching
 sources of guidance in ethical and moral decision making
 contributions of religious beliefs, secular values and philosophical systems to ethical and moral
reasoning
Religion and Ethics SAS 2014
Sample unit of work — Ethics and morality
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
February 2015
Page 3 of 7
Learning experiences
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Syllabus dimensions and objectives are delivered
recognising and describing concepts, ideas and
through learning experiences throughout the unit
terminology about the similarities and differences
of work.
between ethics and morality
explaining viewpoints, practices and theoretical frameworks related to ethical issues
organising and analysing perspectives, viewpoints and practices related to personal, relational and
spiritual perspectives of an ethical or moral issue
applying concepts and ideas to make decisions about ethical and moral dilemmas and issues
appraising inquiry processes and the outcomes of ethical inquiries
identifying a current ethical or moral dilemma or issue in the media, investigating a possible solution/s
to the dilemma or issue, and exploring avenues of help and support
inviting a guest speaker, e.g. an ethicist, religious or community leader, to discuss the challenges of
contemporary ethical or bioethical issues
planning and undertaking inquiries about ethical and/or moral issues within the school community
(e.g. litter, bullying etc.), analysing the causes and proposing solutions
exploring a current ethical or moral issue in the media and constructing a wiki or webpage exploring
the diverse responses
identifying an ethical or moral issue, creating a scenario that involves the issue, and role playing
different motives, behaviours and justifications of each character in the scenario
organising information and material related to ethical and moral questions
identifying and explaining the differences between secular and religious ethical frameworks
constructing a compendium of ethical and/or moral questions and asking class members to provide a
variety of solutions and justifications
identifying and explaining the moral developmental stages of human cognitive development
constructing a flowchart that illustrates the process of making an ethical or moral decision
debating the statement ‘Ethics classes without God are pointless’
viewing films about ethical and/or moral issues, e.g. Million Dollar Baby, 12 Angry Men, Thelma and
Louise, The Mission, A Few Good Men, My Sister’s Keeper, In Time, The Hunger Games’
reading novels on ethical and/or moral issues, e.g. Gulliver’s Travels, The Cider House Rules, The
Tenth Circle, Handle with Care and My Sister’s Keeper, The Hunger Games, to investigate the ethical
and moral responses of a character
viewing artworks that depict ethical and/or moral issues to identify and discuss how the artists have
addressed these issues in their work. Works might include:
 Jan Steen’s The Family Concert
 William Sidney Mount’s Bar-room Scene
 history (Istoria) paintings that deal with the exemplary deeds and struggles of moral figures such
as saints or other biblical figures
 works by artists who use abstract images and symbolism to depict ethical and moral issues such
as Mondrian, Rothko and Kandinsky
 works by Patricia Piccinini about bioengineering, e.g. The Young Family or Still Life, and Barbara
Kruger, e.g. Your Body is a Battleground.
reading a short story or novella and creating a graphic overview of the competing ethical and/or moral
positions of the various characters
constructing a personal code of ethics or a creed to live by
researching a current ethical or moral issue and investigating possible services/solutions a young
person can access to help them with the ethical or moral concern
constructing a chart containing wisdom literature that guides and informs people about ethical and
moral issues, e.g. the ‘Golden Rule’ across secular and religious living
using language conventions and features to communicate ideas and information about ethical and
moral issues, e.g. about an ethical or moral issue that confronts young people
communicating the outcomes of inquiries, e.g. an investigation into the life of a courageous
ethical/moral person
Learning experiences show coverage of the core
and elective and support the assessment
possibilities indicated.
Religion and Ethics SAS 2014
Sample unit of work — Ethics and morality
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
February 2015
Page 4 of 7
Assessment
The following assessment tasks are suggestions only. Teachers may choose from techniques and the
options that follow, or devise alternate instruments, to suit their students’ needs and school context.
Assessment instrument 1: Project (ethical or moral issue)
Dimensions assessed:
Knowing and understanding
Applying and examining
Producing and evaluating
Assessment technique:
Project
Assessment conditions:
Semester 1–2
Semester 3–4
Written component:
400–700 words
500–900 words
Spoken component:
1½ – 3½ minutes
2½ – 3½ minutes
Multimodal component:
2–4 minutes
3–6 minutes
Performance component:
Schools provide students with some continuous class time to develop the
performance components of the collection of work.
The length of this component will depend upon the nature of the task.
Product component:
Schools provide students with some continuous class time to develop the
product components of the collection of work.
The length of this component will depend upon the nature of the task.
The different components within a project can be
Option 1
delivered at different times throughout a unit of
Part A (product component)
work. However, one overall result is given for the
Students identify and analyse a community ethical or
completed project.
moral issue. They prepare an advertisement for web,
broadcast or print media, designed to change community
behaviour about this issue.
Part B (written component)
Students maintain a journal, detailing planning of the advertisement, analysis of community viewpoints
and attitudes, and an appraisal of the advertisement.
Option 2
Part A (written component)
Students produce a report which identifies and analyses a community ethical or moral issue.
Part B (performance component)
Students present a strategy to address the ethical or moral issue in the form of a dramatic performance.
Option 3
Part A (written component)
Students inquire into an ethical or moral issue that confronts young people and prepare a report of their
findings.
Part B (product component)
Students investigate the possible services and solutions a young person can access that will help them
with their ethical or moral concern and produce an interactive web page that promotes their findings.
Religion and Ethics SAS 2014
Sample unit of work — Ethics and morality
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
February 2015
Page 5 of 7
Assessment instrument 2: Investigation (choice of response mode)
Dimensions assessed:
Knowing and understanding
Applying and examining
Producing and evaluating
Assessment technique:
Investigation
Assessment conditions:
Semester 1–2
Semester 3–4
Written component:
500–800 words
600–1000 words
Spoken component:
2–4 minutes
3–4 minutes
Multimodal component:
3–5 minutes
4–7 minutes
The student response may be presented as a written, spoken or multimodal response.
Option 1
Students survey an individual or group to investigate their responses to an ethical or moral issue. They
analyse the results by drawing on their knowledge of ethical frameworks.
Option 2
Students investigate a current ethical or moral issue in the media and construct a wiki or webpage that
explores the dilemmas, choices and responses confronting individuals and/in their community.
Option 3
Students investigate the personal, relational and spiritual perspectives of a contemporary ethical or moral
issue and present a dramatic performance that depicts the various perspectives on this issue.
Option 4
Students investigate an ethical or moral issue that confronts young people. They write a report that
explores available avenues of help and support, provides possible solutions, evaluates their effectiveness
and provides recommendations.
Assessment instrument 3: Extended response to stimulus (choice of response mode)
Dimensions assessed:
Knowing and understanding
Applying and examining
Producing and evaluating
Assessment technique:
Extended response to stimulus
Assessment conditions:
Semester 1–2
Semester 3–4
Written component:
500–800 words
600–1000 words
Spoken component:
2–4 minutes
3–4 minutes
Multimodal component:
3–5 minutes
4–7 minutes
Option 1 — selected film or novel/novella
Students investigate the ethical and moral responses of a character within a film or novel/novella and
write or deliver a persuasive speech justifying motives and reasons for the character’s behaviour.
Option 2 — a variety of primary and secondary sources such as media articles, ABS statistics,
images and/or photos
Students collect a variety of primary and secondary sources that shape an ethical or moral issue and
write an opinion piece reflecting an individual or communal viewpoint.
Religion and Ethics SAS 2014
Sample unit of work — Ethics and morality
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
February 2015
Page 6 of 7
Assessment instrument 4: Examination — short responses
Dimensions assessed:
Knowing and understanding
Applying and examining
Assessment technique:
Examination
Assessment conditions:
Semester 1–2
Semester 3–4
Recommended duration:
60–90 minutes
60–90 minutes
Short response test:
50–150 words per item
(diagrams and workings not included
in word count)
50–250 words per item
(diagrams and workings not included
in word count)
The examination consists of a number of items that could require students to:
 recognise, describe and explain concepts, ideas, issues and viewpoints about ethics, morality and the
principles of ethical decision making
 analyse, interpret and apply ideas and information about ethical frameworks and influences on a
person’s ethical and moral stance
 respond to stimulus materials, e.g. artworks, cartoons, text extracts, representing a range of views
about ethical or moral issues, to identify and discuss the ethical or moral issue depicted.
Religion and Ethics SAS 2014
Sample unit of work — Ethics and morality
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
February 2015
Page 7 of 7