Hockerill Foundation Seminars for new RE Teachers 2009-2010 © Lat Blaylock / NATRE
Beyond Belief
A thinking skills game for young
people. Based on QCDA KS3 New
Secondary Curriculum RE themes
(and National RE Framework).
What to do:
Play in a group of 4 or 5 in size. You will have
a playing board, and an envelope full of cards.
Lay out the cards face down, and each person
take five. They can discard one or more they
don’t want to talk about, and take another.
Blanks stand for any belief statements not in
the game, but suggested by the player.
Play in turns, round the group.
 Put your card on the table face up and
read it out.
 Ask the person to your left what they
think.
 Ask for other comments.
 Explain your own response
 Ignore the others: Place the belief where
it belongs for you on the board.
When it’s someone else’s turn, ask what you
want to know about their card, and discuss
any views you want to.
When it’s your turn you can ‘move one, and
place one’, so if you want to, you can move
other people’s cards up or down the board, but
you should explain why you do this.
When you’ve used up your first five cards, pick
up one more in turn, and add to the board and
the discussion.
When the board is full, play a couple more
rounds, in which cards get moved. This game
isn’t about agreeing: you never will. It’s about
clarifying how all of us live by beliefs.
Afterwards.
 What is this game all about?
What did you notice?
 There are some blank cards.
What is missing, in terms of
your important beliefs?
 Make a note of the six +
statements in the game which
you accept most clearly. This is
a kind of ‘personal creed’.
 Consider the 6 you would put at
the bottom. Why do you reject
these so strongly?
 Speculate: how would a
Christian, a Muslim, an Atheist,
an Egotist, Baruch Obama,
Gandhi, Hitler, Britney, Pink or
Wayne Rooney play the game?
Metacognition questions:
 What did you notice as you
played?
 What did you learn about other
people’s beliefs?
 What did you learn / notice
about your own beliefs?
 How do you think beliefs are
formed? Influences?
 “We all have beliefs. The
alternative to one set of beliefs
is always another set of beliefs
– never no beliefs” Is this true?
 Beliefs make a difference to life:
What’s the impact of your
beliefs?
Challenge task:
Can you devise a game which
would enable young people three
years younger than you to explore
their beliefs? Have a go.
© REtoday, Lat Blaylock, 2010
Hockerill Foundation Seminars for new RE Teachers 2009-2010 © Lat Blaylock / NATRE
…in Jesus
…in Allah and the
Prophets
…that everyone
can make the world
a better place
…that God is real,
but hard to know
…in myself
…that ‘god’ is too
big an idea to talk
about properly
…that there is
another life when
we die
…that the soul can
live when the body
dies
…that we should
respect other
people, whatever
they believe
…that people
should say ‘she’ for
god, not ‘he’
…we should leave
religion behind,
and try to be
human instead
…we should visit
the sacred places
of all religions in
school RE
…in all God’s
religions
…that devils and
demons aren’t real
at all
…that I am the
greatest
…anyone can
change the world
…that money
doesn’t make you
happy
…that science has
disproved God
…that you have to
…that religion does
find your own way
more harm than
in life. No one else
good
can show you.
…that churches &
…that truth is
mosques should be
found is both
sold to give money
science and
to the poor
religion
…that the Buddha
was a great
teacher of the truth
…that the meaning
of life is love
…that Prophet
Muhammad taught
a true message of
God to humanity
…in the human
spirit
…that Guru Nanak
showed a good
way to live
…we should love
our parents no
matter what
…that the world is
getting worse
…that the universe
is an accident, not
a plan
…there’s only be
one true religion –
the others must be
wrong
…in telling the
truth, even when it
hurts
…in humanity, but
not in any gods
…that men and
women are equal
…that there is no
god
…in angels
…that some people
can hear the voice
of God in their
conscience
…that there is no
such thing as
spiritual healing
…that you can find
the truth by arguing
it out
…that everyone
must follow some
sort of leader
…in being spiritual,
but not religious
…that religion will
die out in the next
century
…that it’s important …that when you’re
to learn from other
dead, you’re
people
finished
Hockerill Foundation Seminars for new RE Teachers 2009-2010 © Lat Blaylock / NATRE
Following up the game: A level 5-6 writing frame
Can you give: reasons, experiences, examples, interpretations, insights?
My own top six
beliefs
1.
Reasons and explanations:
why these are important to me
What I do to put them into
action
This matters most because…
The impact of this in my life is…
2.
This is important because…
In my life, I…
3.
My reason for choosing this one…
To me, it’s important to…
4.
I believe this strongly because…
This makes a difference
because…
5.
My argument about this one is…
I think I should…
6.
I’m sure of this because…
I try to…
Hockerill Foundation Seminars for new RE Teachers 2009-2010 © Lat Blaylock / NATRE
Extension sheet: Jesus and the Buddha. (Levels 6 and 7)
Can you interpret the teachings of a major religious figure in relation to your own beliefs, with
insight?
I think Jesus’ top six beliefs I think the Buddha’s top six
The similarities and
would be… because...
beliefs would be…
differences between them
because...
are:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Hockerill Foundation Seminars for new RE Teachers 2009-2010 © Lat Blaylock / NATRE
Teacher guidance
The aims of the game and the following work are:
 To enable pupils to handle questions and answers in a group.
 To enable pupils to engage in controversy and express ideas with increasing depth and clarity
 To enable pupils to use reasons and explanations about religious and spiritual topics
An excellent homework:
Ask pupils to do the ‘top six beliefs’ page with an adult other than a teacher for homework.
Follow up questions for discussion and written work:
Describe the game ‘Beyond Belief’ in less than 100 words.
What did you notice about the differences in beliefs in your group?
What were the main arguments in your group?
What were the main agreements in your group?
Everyone has beliefs. Where have your main beliefs come from?
Some people follow their parents’ beliefs, others do the opposite. What beliefs of yours are similar
to your parents, and what are different?
7. ‘Respect matters as much as beliefs’ How did people in your group show respect?
8. ‘Belief is just superstition if you can’t give a reason’ Who was good at giving reasons for their
beliefs? What did you notice?
9. Is it better to be superstitious, or a believer with reasons? Why? Which are you?
10. What else did the game make you think about?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Level 6
Level 5
Level 4
Level 3
The game can produce outcome across levels 3-6, mostly with regard to attainment target 2, learning from
religion.
I can…
 Ask a religious or spiritual question about beliefs;
 Make a link between what I believe and a choice I’ve made;
 Describe simply the impact of one of my beliefs;
 Identify an influence on my beliefs;
 Use concepts like ‘belief’ and ‘opinion’ simply.
I can…
 describe some beliefs that influence me, including religious beliefs;
 apply some ideas from a religion to my own beliefs (e.g. faith, being sure, praying, meditating);
 show that I understand two beliefs I agree with from one religion I’ve studied;
 show that I understand two beliefs I disagree with from one religion I’ve studied;
 suggest some varied answers to ‘why’ questions about my beliefs.
 Use concepts like ‘influence’, ‘disagreement’, ‘argument’, ‘faith’ to understand beliefs.
I can…
 explain the impact of my beliefs on my behaviour, and do the same for some other people;
 suggest some thoughtful reasons for diversity in belief within and between religions: why don’t we
all agree?
 express and explain my views on some thoughtful questions about beliefs, referring to religions
I’ve studied (e.g. to religious beliefs or examples of ‘great lives’)
 use concepts like ‘hypocrite’, ‘evidence’, ‘sceptical’ or ‘justification’ in explaining beliefs.
I can…
 interpret the varied beliefs of others for myself
 make informed interpretations of diverse beliefs (e.g. of Jesus and the teaching of the Buddha)
 explain clearly the influences that have led me to my own beliefs, and influences on others;
 interpret the beliefs of someone from their way of life, using reasons and examples in my
arguments;
 express my own insights into the impact of beliefs upon life in religions and in other systems of
belief.
Discussion issue: This task and its scaffolding are intended to model aspects
of assessment for learning in RE through a ‘compelling learning activity’
What do you find here that challenges your practice? Would motivate pupils?
Models quality? Suggests new approaches? Can be used in practice?
Hockerill Foundation Seminars for new RE Teachers 2009-2010 © Lat Blaylock / NATRE