Year 2
7 sessions of 1 hour
ABOUT THIS UNIT
This unit explores how religions express values and commitments in a variety of creative ways.
WHERE THE UNIT FITS IN
This unit is designed for Y2; to be covered over a long half-term. It connects with units 6 and 9 in dealing with
people’s values and commitments and with units 5 and 7 in dealing with ways of expressing religious ideas, beliefs
and feelings.
FEATURED FAITH(S)
FOCUS AREAS OF ENQUIRY
Buddhism
Christianity
Hinduism
Islam
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Judaism
Sikhism
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AT 1 Learning ABOUT Religions
A Beliefs about the spiritual
dimensions of life
B Religious practices &
lifestyles
C Expressing religious beliefs,
ideas and feelings
AT2 Learning FROM Religion
D Human identity, personality
and experience
E The world in which we live
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F People’s values and
commitments
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RESOURCES
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Collection of special books
BBC Video ‘Pathways of Belief’
Collection of Bibles
Cooling, T., (ed.) Cracking RE, Autumn 1999 edition, Stapleford Centre
CEM, Teaching RE – The Bible/Judaism
Bible Stories - “Moses, “David”, “The Prodigal Son”
Torah Scroll
Mezuzah
PROGRAMME OF STUDY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
a)
b)
c)
d)
Identify some books and stories that are special to them or that have special authority.
Listen to stories, poems, teachings etc that appear in key religious books and consider the ideas or beliefs that
might be expressed through them.
Share ideas about why particular stories or books may be special to themselves or others.
Learn about how religious books are used.
OBJECTIVES FOR LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT
C1 Recognise symbols used in Christianity and Judaism and recall elements of stories as conveyed
through forms of religious expression.
C2 Identify and give a possible meaning or message underlying a story from the Bible or the Torah.
F1 Identify why books are of value and concern to themselves and give a reason.
F2 Identify books that are of value and concern to Christians and Jewish people.
KS1 unit 3
Key Stage 1 Unit 3
K
Special Books
OBJECTIVES & KEY QUESTIONS
TEACHING ACTIVITIES (Learning Opportunities in brackets)
Identify a special book and to explain why it is
special to you.
1. Ask pupils to bring a book to school that is special to them.
Ask them to explain why it is special, who gave it to them, where they keep it, when they
look at/read it, what is their favourite part/story and why. Give pupils an opportunity to retell their favourite story/part to a friend.
Explain that Christians receive a special book when baptised called the Bible. Ask pupils
why they think this happens.
The pupils copy the front cover from their favourite books. Inside they write about why it is
special to them. (3a)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Watch a video about the Bible with the pupils (‘The Bible’ – ‘Pathways of Belief’).
Tell or read a story from the Old Testament eg Moses, David.
Ask pupils to think about the meaning of this story.
Share the different types of writings from the Bible with pupils (psalms, history, prophecy,
laws). (3b,c)
Pupils re-write Psalm 18 1-2 using pictures in the place of some words.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Invite local clergyman in to talk to the pupils about how the Bible is used in the Church
and at home. (3d)
Explain why Christians read from the Bible.
Listen to a story from the New Testament eg The Prodigal Son and discuss the meaning
underlying it with pupils. (3b,c)
Pupils choose a piece of writing from the Bible or a teaching eg ‘Love your neighbour’ and
write it on a banner to hang up for public display (link with displays in Church).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Watch a video about the Torah with pupils. (The Torah – Pathways of Belief).
Ask pupils to describe the Torah Scroll. How is it made? What do you notice about the
writing?
Discuss what makes it special to Jewish people.
Tell pupils about the teachings and sayings found in the Torah eg The Ten
Commandments. (3c)
Explain the symbolism of the Mezuzah (importance of Torah and Jews’ reliance on God)
and how they show respect for it by kissing it and repeating Shema on getting up and
going to bed. (3d)
Pupils make own Mezuzah holders, copy part of the Shema prayer and put it inside.
Reinforce idea of ‘specialness’.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Remind pupils about the contents of the previous week’s video about the Torah. Ask
key questions: How is the Torah read? – draw out that he/she was not touching it with
his/her fingers. What was being used? Did you notice the person’s head was covered?
Why do you think this is?
Show the yad and let pupils examine it carefully. (3d)
Explain the link between the Torah and the Bible. Read the story of Moses or Abraham
and Sarah.
Discuss the possible meaning/message underlying the story with pupils.
Pupils draw a picture from the story and write a caption underneath to explain meaning.
(Some pupils may complete picture only) (3b,c)
Extension activity could be to make a comparative list between Bible and Torah
individually, or in pairs.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6/7. Revisit the idea of specialness by discussing how special books are treated by groups
of people, what they tell us and how they affect the lives of people who read them.
Ask pupils to choose someone who they would like to make a special book for.
How will it be special?
Individually or in pairs make a special book for someone. (3a)
What books are special to you?
-------------------------------------------------------------Identify the Bible as being of value and
importance to Christians and suggest reasons
for this.
Why is the Bible special to Christians?
-------------------------------------------------------------Identify and give a possible meaning or
message underlying a story from the Bible.
To identify books that are of value and concern
to Christians.
How is the Bible used?
-------------------------------------------------------------Recognise the Torah as a book of value and
concern to Jewish people.
What is the Torah? Why do Jewish people
read it?
-------------------------------------------------------------Identify and give a possible meaning or
message underlying a story from the Torah.
What do Jewish people learn from the Torah?
-------------------------------------------------------------Identify why books are of value to themselves,
Christian and Jewish people and to give a
reason(s).
What makes books special to people?
KS1 unit 3 Special Books
ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Pupils identify why books are of value and concern to themselves and give a reason by
bringing a special book from home, talking about it and recording why it is special inside a
replica book cover (F1).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pupils identify Bible as being of value and concern to Christians by substituting words of
well-known psalm with relevant pictures/symbols (F2).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pupils identify Bible as being of value and concern to Christians by copying a piece of writing
(history, laws from the Bible) on to a banner (F2).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pupils identify Torah as being of value and concern to Jewish people by describing actions
eg repeating Shema on rising and explain to a partner why the Torah is important to Jewish
people (F2).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pupils identify and give a possible meaning or message underlying a story from the Bible or
the Torah by writing a caption for their picture and explaining the meaning underlying the
story of Moses or Abraham and Sarah (C2).
(C1 for those pupils recording with picture only)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pupils identify Bible as being of value and concern to Christians and the Torah as being of
value and concern to Jewish people through class discussion (F2). Idea of specialness is
reinforced by activity – make a special book for someone.
POINTS TO NOTE