Why do Christians Make and Keep Promises Before God? Christianity
Name of Unit:Why Do Christians Make and Keep Promises Before God? / Faith:
Christianity
Key Stage in which this unit should be taught:
Key Stage 1 / Recommended Year Group (if specified:)
Previous Learning:
Salvation: How do Easter Symbols Help Us To Understand the True Meaning of Easter? (Depending on where unit is taught within the school’s RE Curriculum)
Any prior learning about what a church or Christian community is and what that means for Christians
AT1 Learning About Religion
Focus: Forms of expression. / AT2 Learning From Religion
Focus: Values and commitments.
What This Unit Teaches:
V Exploring the idea and meaning of belonging to a church or other religious community
V Jesus’ Baptism;
V Infant Baptism – Christian ceremony in which parents / carers and godparents promise to bring up a child in the Christian faith;
V Christian Wedding – an act of worship in which promises are made to God and each other, what marriage means for Christians;
V How promises are important in both Christian Baptism and Christian marriage
Key RE Vocabulary:
belonging, faith, community, belief, Christian, Church, symbol, Christening, Baptism, rite of passage*, member, artefact, white robe, vicar, shell, oil, cross, candle, font, God, Godparent, promises, vows, values, ceremony, prayer, thankful, welcome, light, Jesus, John the Baptist, forgiveness, wedding, marriage
*a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone's life, especially birth, the transition from childhood to adulthood, marriage, and death / Cross-Curricular Links:
English, Personal, Social and Health Education, Art and Design, Design and Technology, Drama, Computing, Numeracy,
History / Geography - find out about the key features of pupils’ own locality, and how it has changed over time focussing on community.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development:
Reflection, religious beliefs and being part of a faith community.
Inclusion, belonging, community, initiation (baptism)
Marriage, relationships and the making and keeping of promises / vows;
Initiation and joining ceremonies and rituals in Christianity and other faiths, / Sensitivities:
Be sensitive towards pupils who may have more complex family circumstances. Note that pupils’ parents/ carers may not be married or have had a different sort of marriage ceremony.
Be particularly aware of pupils whose parents have divorced or where the parents’ / carers’ relationships are going through difficulties.
Also be sensitive and inclusive towards the different relationships of commitment that the families of pupils may be in, ensuring that all pupils feel valued and included in the school community.
Possible Further Thinking and Extension Activities:
Find out how members of other faiths:
- Welcome babies into their community
- Celebrate marriage
Future Learning:
Salvation: - Holy Communion.
Salvation: How do Easter Symbols Help Us To Understand the True Meaning of Easter? (Depending on where unit is taught within the school’s RE Curriculum)
Learning Objectives / AT1 / AT2 / Suggested Teaching Activities / Points To Note /
Lesson 1
Pupils should:
understand how many people belong to a faith and that different people belong to different faiths;
Learn about what it means for Christians to belong to a church community;
recognise the importance of belonging to different groups for them and for other people. / ü
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ü / What Does It Mean To Belong to a Christian Community?
Introduction:
Display pictures of groups of people either pinned up round the room or on different tables (family, friendship, faith communities, clubs e.g. Beavers, Cub Scouts, Brownies, sports, music, etc.)
In talk partners pupils discuss the following - What about you? What groups do you belong to? Record different organisations, clubs and religious groups they belong to on a simple spider diagram.
Main Teaching:
Share the pupils’ responses and draw out the idea that some people belong to a faith, and for Christians, the most important thing they belong to is likely to be a church.
Today we will be learning:
What Does It Mean To Belong to a Christian Community?
Display images and talk about the church linked to our own school. Discuss experiences of visiting this church – what happens there when we visit? What else happens (eg on a Sunday, any groups they know of)?
Why do Christians go to a church?
Compare with any other experiences of places of worship in other faiths (eg Mosque, Synangogue, Temple).
Explain that to a Christian, the church is a group of people who all believe in Jesus and want to meet together to worship God and learn more about their faith.
How does a Christian become part of a church? Feedback and share responses.
What does belonging to a church give to a person? How does it benefit them? Ask children to share their own experiences of belonging to a church, or to their own faith community or to groups in their own lives.
Main Activity ideas:
- Pupils draw onto the windows of an image of a church (ideally the school’s own church) the different things that Christians do in a church, and talk about why they are all important. NB this will vary from church to church.
- Create a badge/ logo for the school church, which shows different ways in which people belong to the church
- Make a poster advertising the church, showing different ways in which people belong and different activities people do
- Create different ‘bricks’ showing ways people belong to a church, and use them to build up a whole class image or model (if 3D) of a church
Plenary / Reflection:
Discuss:
How do we feel when we belong to something?
What would it feel like to be left out / not belong?
Therefore what should we each do to help others to belong?
Think about different things that a church does to include ‘non-members’ eg food banks, homeless shelters, community events, street parties.
Why is it important to include/ invite everyone? / Choose pictures that reflect your school community, including the diversity of it, in and around it.
Resources:
Pictures showing different groups of people, (e.g. family, friendship, communities, playing sports together, etc;), images of the school’s church or local parish church, drawing of church with large empty windows, badge shapes, poster paper, either 3D bricks with paper fixed on one side, or brick shaped paper cut-outs
Sensitivities:
Be aware of the different faith communities that children belong to, and encourage them to share these with the class.
Learning Objectives / AT1 / AT2 / Suggested Teaching Activities / Points To Note /
Lesson 2
Pupils should:
Use religious vocabulary to explain the Christian symbols used in Baptism;
Show an understanding of why Baptism is important to Christians. / ü
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ü / How does Baptism help Christians to belong to a church?
Introduction:
Display the painting “A Royal Christening”.
Ask pupils to give responses to the 5 W’s – ‘Who, What When, Where and Why?’
Feedback their ideas.
Main Teaching:
Talk about Christening and Baptism, as different names, explaining that Christening or Baptism is the way that churches officially welcome people into the Christian family as full members. Baptism is a special time when people say publicly what they believe about Jesus – for babies, their parents say this for them.
It happens during an act of worship (a church ‘service’).
Discuss how there are different kinds of baptism in different types of churches, but they all mean the same. If possible, show images of infant baptism in a font, adult baptism in a baptistery and adult baptism outdoors.
Can any of the pupils remember their christening or baptism, if they have been christened / baptised? Or have they been to a christening / baptism, i.e. that of a younger brother or sister? What happened at it? What do they remember about it?
Watch a video clip showing an infant baptism ceremony*.
Discuss what the pupils saw, heard and learnt from the video clip.
Explain that people can be baptised at any age, but in the Church of England people are often baptised when they are a baby.
Unpack Christian artefacts linked to baptism, (white robe, shell, container with oil in, cross, candle, etc.)
Pupils also to discuss what they think the different artefacts are used for?
Share what the religious artefacts are used for as part of the Baptism ceremony. Which ones are used in all baptisms / which one(s) are not?
Main Activity ideas:
-Design a font for use in a new parish church / or a new font to be used in the school’s parish church.
-Explain to pupils that the font should be decorated with appropriate Christian symbols, emphasising that it is a place for Christians to make special promises to God.
-Invite in a parent whose baby has recently been baptised. Do they have any pictures/ artefacts from the baptism? Encourage the children to ask questions about the baptism.
-Make a baptism card for a child, showing what the purpose of the baptism is (eg ‘welcome to the church’, ‘congratulations on becoming a member of the church’ etc) and drawing an image of the baptism on the front.
Plenary / Reflection:
Explain that when a baby is baptised, it is the parents / carers and godparents that make promises on behalf of the baby.
Some people think babies should not be baptised because it should be left until they are old enough to make the choice for themselves.
What do pupils think – and why? / Prior to beginning this teaching unit, ask the pupils if they can bring in any artefacts from their baptism/ christening that they may have at home, if they have been baptised.
Explain that a symbol is a special kind of image carrying an important message.
Resources:
“A Royal Christening” painting by Charles Robert Leslie of Queen Victoria’s Christening, 1841;
Baptism artefacts;
*Video clip about baptism:
http://request.org.uk/restart/2014/04/08/infant-baptism-in-an-anglican-church/
Learning Objectives / AT1 / AT2 / Suggested Teaching Activities / Points To Note /
Lesson 3
Pupils should:
Know that Jesus was baptised and use religious vocabulary to describe the events that happened and why;
Understand that Christians follow Jesus’ example by being baptised;
Reflect on how knowing we belong affects how we feel and behave. / ü
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Introduction:
Play “Who am I?” Display visual clue and give pupils other clues as to who the person is that we are learning about in today’s lesson, start with least obvious things the children might know, e.g. He was born around six months before Jesus; his father was mute until he was born; he began preaching on the banks of the River Jordan, he wore camel skin and ate locusts and honey, etc.
Stop once the pupils have guessed or identify the character at the end, (John the Baptist.)
Main Teaching:
Read Mark 1: 1-11 or Matthew 3: 13-16 or watch a video clip about the Baptism of Jesus.
Jesus was baptised by John The Baptist.
Talk about Jesus’ Baptism with the pupils.
Ask them:
V How John the Baptist might have felt?
He thought he was not worthy to baptise Jesus.
V Why was it important for Jesus to be baptised?
V What might Jesus have felt as he was baptised?
V What did Jesus’ baptism mean to Him?
V What does the baptism of Jesus mean for Christians?
Main Activity Ideas:
-Act out the events of Jesus’ Baptism using freeze frames and thought-tracking to explore what the key characters and bystanders might have thought and said.
-Use the drama technique of hot seating with pupils taking on the role of John the Baptist and Jesus. Record in thought bubbles what they think John the Baptist and Jesus were thinking and also their own responses about the Baptism of Jesus.
-Create paper doves and write on them why someone might be proud of you. God spoke to Jesus and told him that he was ‘well pleased’ with him. He sent the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. These could be hung up and displayed in the class. Feeling like we are loved and valued is part of what helps us to belong.
Plenary / Reflection:
Pour out water in front of the pupils, and ask them to think how John the Baptist used water as a symbol of washing away all the bad things and starting again, all clean.
God’s forgiveness: washing away sins* and creating a fresh start.
Baptism is like starting all over again, a fresh start. Sometimes when adults are baptised, they actually go under water and come up again symbolising the washing away of their ‘sins’.
Discuss forgiveness. How is easy is it for us to forgive people? Is forgiveness important? Why?
The Bible teaches and Christians believe that God forgives everyone who is sorry when they do wrong. Jesus also taught that people should forgive others when they have had wrong done to them.
* Christians believe that sins are things things that we do that hurt ourselves and others, and separate us from God / The gospels use highly symbolic language to describe the events of Jesus’ baptism: Heaven opens, the Spirit of God like a dove alights on Jesus and a voice from Heaven speaks to him.
This might need to be explored further and explained to the pupils.
Resources: