PDF lesson plan
KS2
Years 3-6
Religion is something we often think of in big terms – as a global phenomenon – but it is also a very local one.
On the doorstep of every school in the country there is religion happening every day.
It could be a local church celebrating a wedding, or food handed out in the town centre by Sikhs.
This regional study will help children understand both the physical evidence of religion by mapping out religious communities and places of worship.
It will also explore lived evidence of religion by looking at local celebrations and traditions.
RE curriculum KS2
Non-statutory guidance for maintained schools in England outlines the importance of RE for community cohesion: ‘RE makes an important contribution to a school’s duty to promote community cohesion.
It provides a key context to develop young people’s understanding and appreciation of diversity, to promote shared values and to challenge racism and discrimination.
Effective RE will promote community cohesion at each of the four levels outlined in DCSF guidance [school, local, UK and global].’
What they’ll learn
- Some religious communities are very spread out and some tend to live together in towns and cities.
- Our local areas are full of buildings which belong to different religions where worship, prayer and celebration happens.
- We can often see religious people expressing their faith in our local community at different events, or through charity.
Starter activity
Start your discussion of local religion with your school community, and then zoom out from there.
There is most likely a mixture of different religious backgrounds among the children at your school and in your class.
If your school is a faith school then it will have a clear religious identity of its own; if it isn’t, do you talk about religious festivals in assembly or RE?
Are there other parts of the school day that include religious elements?
Next, think about your street, or your neighbours.
Are there any places of worship that children walk past on their way to school, or even that you can see from your setting?
Can the pupils point them out, and identify them?
Adam Smith is Year 5 Lead and RE Lead at Charles Dickens Primary School in Southwark, London.
