Can We Imagine Life after Death?
(8-12 years)
People
of Faith:
insights from inside
the religion and
belief traditions
Questions
Subject
Knowledge
and links to further
information
for pupils and
questions pupils ask
Wee Wise Words:
What happens When
We Die?
www.youtube.com/watch?
v=IVm6LbEb5AM Focus for
Learning &
Assessment:
pedagogies and areas
of enquiry
© RE:ONLINE 2013 Learning
Activities:
supporting pupils’
progress
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Can We Imagine Life after Death? (8-12)
Subject Knowledge
Here is some key vocabulary to help you prepare for using this resource:
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Heaven – Christian beliefs about the afterlife vary between denominations and
individual Christians, but the vast majority of Christians believe in some kind of heaven,
in which believers enjoy the presence of God and other believers and freedom from
suffering and sin. www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/afterlife.htm
Hell – There are different understandings about the nature of hell, but many Christians
regard hell as the absence of God www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/hell.htm
Jesus – Christians believe that God became human through the person of Jesus
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/history/jesus_1.shtml
Humanist views on life after death www.humanismforschools.org.uk/teachingtoolkits/index.php
Here are some key concepts to help you prepare for the teaching and learning activities:
• Incarnation – Christians believe that God became human through the person of Jesus
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/history/jesus_1.shtml
• Death and Afterlife – Christians believe that after death there is an afterlife in which an
individual’s soul lives on and experiences new life with God.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/death/chbeliefrev2.shtml
• Resurrection – Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/death/chbeliefrev2.shtml
• Salvation – ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16
‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved.’
• Judgement - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Judgment
We think the following links related to this resource should prove useful if you would like to
explore the subject further:
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Beliefs and concepts in Christianity: [ http://subknow.reonline.org.uk/node/4]
BBC basic introduction to Christianity: [ www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/]
People of Faith [pof.reonline.org.uk/ ]
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Can We Imagine Life after Death? (8-12)
Focus for Learning and Assessment Approaches to learning in the aims of the Learning Activities for this Resource
1. Broadly phenomenological:
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helping pupils know and understand some beliefs, including Christian, about
heaven and hell from the perspectives of adherents;
developing pupils’ ability to give accounts of the reasons why people have beliefs
about heaven and hell
2. Elements of concept cracking:
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encouraging pupils to explore ideas about Christian ideas about incarnation;
providing opportunities for pupils to ask their own questions about heaven and hell,
relating the ideas to their own experiences.
The sample learning activities provide an introduction to some key ideas from a clip
showing what young people in Northern Ireland think about heaven and hell to help pupils
learn about religion and belief. The activities also contain ideas for pupils to ask their own
questions and to learn from the concepts as they think about the implications for their own
lives.
The example makes potential cross-curricular connections with the following:
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Literacy, e.g., in using new words, creating a story and speculating about ideas;
SEAL, e.g., in expressing their own views about what a good life might mean;
Art e.g., in creating their own responses to what they have researched.
The lessons could be used in discrete RE time or as part of a ‘creative curriculum’
approach where RE links with other curriculum subjects around a theme or key question,
such as ‘Big Ideas’ ‘Our version of Wee Wise Words’.
In terms of assessing pupils’ progress in RE, the focus for this example is on the following
Areas of Enquiry:
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Area A (Beliefs, teachings and sources) and
Area E (Meaning Purpose and Truth).
Pupils participating in the investigation of this resource might be expected to make
progress within the following range of expectations:
© RE:ONLINE 2013 3 Expectations: A & E refer here to the focus areas of enquiry identified above.
By the end of this sequence of learning:
All pupils can:
Most pupils (majority
class expectation) can:
Some pupils can:
A2
tell a story from a
religious tradition and say
some things that people
believe, e.g., in the Easter
story say that the cross
reminds Christians that
Jesus died on a cross.
A3
describe what a
believer might learn from a
religious story.
A4
make links between
the beliefs (teachings,
sources, etc.) of different
religious groups and show
how they are connected to
believers’ lives.
E2
talk about some
things that make people ask
questions.
E3
ask important
questions about life and
compare their ideas with
those of other people, e.g.
ask why many people
believe in life after death,
give their view and compare
with a particular religious
view.
© RE:ONLINE 2013 E4
ask questions about
the meaning and purpose of
life and suggest a range of
answers that might be given
by themselves as well as
members of different
religious groups or
individuals, e.g. write some
questions about life after
death and provide answers
that refer to resurrection and
reincarnation.
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Can We Imagine Life after Death? (8-12)
Questions
As well as the key question, this example can be built around questions that pupils ask
about the resource.
How to develop students’ question-making powers, e.g.,
http://p4c.com/articles/community-enquiry-framework
How to build students’ enquiries into the assessment scheme, e.g.,
http://amv.somerset.gov.uk/syllabus/standards-and-assessment/assessment-guide/
Here are some examples of questions pupils might ask, based on this Resource:
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What is heaven and what is hell?
What are the things which the children said in the film which we agreed with?
What would it be like if the world was heaven?
Why aren’t things perfect?
Here are some more questions to ask pupils, some that may provoke learning about
religion and belief, and some that may inspire learning from religion and belief:
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What is the most interesting part of the clip?
What is the most puzzling?
What questions would you ask if you could meet those children talking in the film?
What sort of ideas does the clip show?
Why might it be important to think about whether there is heaven or hell?
What are some ideas which religions have about heaven and hell?
If there is no heaven or hell, would people behave more selfishly? Why / Why not?
Why might it be important to think about how to live?
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Can We Imagine Life after Death? (8-12)
People of Faith
Here are some links to what Christians say related to this resource:
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Children Talking >> [pof.reonline.org.uk/]
Or, you can search for Christian answers to your questions at:
pof.reonline.org.uk/ or email a Christian or an RE Expert to find out an answer to your
own question(s).
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Can We Imagine Life after Death? (8-12)
Learning Activities
Here are some ideas to use in (and out of) the classroom to make the most of the
Resource. Assessment opportunities are given to show where you need to watch for
pupils’ participation and contribution to the lesson. At key points you may wish to make a
record of individual responses.
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Set the learning activities in the context of a key question, e.g., ‘Can we imagine life
after death?’ or ‘What happens when we die?’
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In this example we want to introduce pupils to ideas about heaven and hell, and what
some people believe about whether it matters what sort of life we have lived.
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Engage pupils in thinking about these big ideas by showing them what young children
in Northern Ireland have to say about heaven and hell. Show the clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVm6LbEb5AM from the Wee Wise Words project
from the BBC.
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Using different coloured sticky notes ask pupils to make a note of the things they
agreed with, disagreed with or found interesting in the clip. These can be put onto A3
sheets of paper on the wall. Ask pupils to compare their ideas with others and to pick
one or two they like best. Get some feedback from the class as a whole.
[Assessment opportunity: E2 talk about some things in stories that make people
ask questions.]
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Using fresh sticky notes, ask pupils to work in pairs to complete the sentence, ‘We
were wondering….’ This could go on a www board (short for ‘we were wondering’).
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Ask, ‘I’m wondering if you know what some religious people would say about
reincarnation….’
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Ask, ‘I wonder if everyone believes in life after death?’
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Prompt further discussion with questions such as:
‘What do some people say about trying to live a good life?’
‘Do you think that God would understand what it is like to be us? What might
Christians say?’
‘What do you think about the children in ‘Wee Wise Words’ talking about guns being
in heaven?’
‘What about when they say that heaven could be made of chocolate?’
[Assessment opportunity: E2 talk about some things in stories that make people
ask questions.]
© RE:ONLINE 2013 7 •
Explain that Christians believe that God became a human being in the person of Jesus
in order to give hope that there is a better life with God after death. Pupils could look at
the African pictures of Jesus’ birth www.jesusmafa.com/anglais/pageposter2.htm and
Jesus’ crucifixion www.jesusmafa.com/anglais/pageposter2.htm and ask their own
questions about why Jesus was born and died. What do they think Christians might
learn from the idea that God took human form? Encourage them to compare their
questions with one other and to talk about which questions are the most important and
why.
[Assessment opportunity: A3 describe what a believer might learn from a
religious story and E3 ask important questions about life and compare their
ideas with those of other people.]
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Provide pupils with quotes about Jesus’ resurrection, e.g., from:
www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Jesus+resurrection&qs_version=NI
V
e.g. John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who
believes in me will live, even though they die”. What do they think that Christians think
when they hear this?
[Assessment opportunity: A2 retell an account from the bible and say some
things that Christians believe about life after death.]
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Explain that many people wonder what happens when we die. Show pupil’s examples
of sculpture, e.g., Antony Gormley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_the_North and
Henry Moore images www.henrymoore.com from the web. Using modelling clay such
as Play-Doh, ask the pupils to create a shape which represents something they don’t
know the answer to. Ask them to think about what they are creating, talk to a partner
about them and then share with the wider group.
[Assessment opportunity: E2 talk about some things that make people ask
questions.]
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Show pupils the clip ‘Becoming Me’, by Martin Boroson: http://becomingme.com/ and
ask pupils to describe what a believer might learn from this story. Explain that the story
has been recommended by many people of different faiths – why do they think this is?
What difference might it make to anyone’s life if they believed what is in this film? They
can compare their own ideas with others in the class, with those who have commented
on the ‘Becoming Me’ website and with ‘Ask a Believer’: pof.reonline.org.uk/.
Encourage pupils to ask their own questions about ‘Becoming Me’ and to suggest
some answers (a) of their own and (b) that might be given by a follower of a different
religion / set of beliefs from their own.
[Assessment opportunity: A4 make links between the beliefs (teachings,
sources, etc.) of different religious groups and show how they are connected to
believers’ lives and E4 ask questions about the meaning and purpose of life, and
suggest a range of answers which might be given by me as well as members of
different religious groups or individuals.]
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