Section 1 Believing in God

AREA 1: SECTION 1 – CHRISTIAN BELIEFS

LESSON 1:Introduction to studying Edexcel Specification B

Lesson objectives

To investigate the reasons for studying GCSE Religious Studies
To outline the course content and its timings
To achieve agreement on the need for serious study and keeping to deadlines.

Lesson outcomes

By the end of the lesson students should be able to:

explain why they are following a GCSE course in Religious Studies
outline what they will study in the course, and when they will study each topic
agree to study the course seriously and keep to deadlines.

Prior learning

Key Stage 3 Religious Studies

Resources

Starter Sheet 1
Fact Sheet 1
Fact Sheet 2
Fact Sheet 3A(for short course over two years)
Fact Sheet 3B (for full course – 2 lessons per week)
Fact Sheet 3C(for full course year – 1 lesson per week)

Starter activity

Put Starter Sheet 1 onto students’ desks before they come in.
As students settle ask them to put as many reasons as they can think of into each column.

[Timing] 10 mins

Main activity

Use Fact Sheet 1 (Why take GCSE Religious Studies?) to explain why the students are sitting in the RS lesson, allowing opportunities for comment and discussion from the students’ starter activity. The read-through and explanation should be used to dispel misconceptions and engender enthusiasm for the course.
Hand out copies of Fact Sheet2 (Specification Outline) and 3a, 3b or 3c as appropriate (see the Scheme of Work) and go over them with the class emphasising any points you wish (for example, the timing of tests and examinations).
Make sure that all the students understand the need for hard work, keeping to deadlines and respect for others’ opinions in discussion lessons.

[Timing] 35 mins

Plenary

Ask the students to re-visit their Starter Sheet and change any points in light of what they have learned.
Set the homework

[Timing]5 mins

Homework

Ask the students to ask anyone they know who goes to church (or failing that use the internet) whatthey think the Nicene Creed is.

Extension

Extra homework – find out why the Nicene Creed is important for Christians

Reinforcement

Make sure less able students do the starter activity in pairs with a more able student so they have help in writing down their ideas.

ICT

The starter activity could be done on the interactive whiteboard.
The various fact sheets could be displayed on the interactive whiteboard

Assessment

Observation of student participation and responses.

STARTER SHEET 1

Reasons for taking GCSE Religious Studies / Reasons for not taking GCSE Religious Studies

FACT SHEET 1

Why take GCSE Religious Studies?

It is an interesting course in which you look at topics such as:

sex and marriage
divorce and family life
attitudes to homosexuality
attitudes to contraception
the roles of men and women
whether there is life after death
abortion and euthanasia
Christian beliefs
Muslim or Jewish beliefs
the Christian way of life
the Jewish or Muslim way of life
justice, crime and punishment
treatment of criminals – including the death penalty and use of torture
religion and peace
religion and war including terrorism and holy war
religion and weapons of mass destruction

Many employers (especially the police, armed forces and caring professions) regard GCSE Religious Studies as a good qualification. It involves a lot of thinking and writing skills, and shows awareness of other beliefs and the nature of the society you live in.
It helps you to think through some of the big issues of life that adults contemplate regularly.
It helps to remove the ignorance that causes prejudice, hatred and violence (many wars are caused through misunderstandings about religion).
Religious Studies protects you from indoctrination (being made to accept a set of beliefs without questioning them). It gives you the opportunity to explore religious and moral beliefs in a safe and questioning environment so that you can become sure of your own beliefs and explain them clearly to others.
It is another GCSE qualification for you!

FACT SHEET 2

Specification outline, full course

Area 1 – Christianity

Section 1 Christian Beliefs

God as the Trinity; the creation of the universe and humanity; Jesus as the son of God; the last days of Jesus’ life; Christians and salvation; life after death, the problem of evil and suffering.

Section 2 Marriage and the Family

Christian attitudes to marriage and cohabitation; sexual relationships and homosexuality; Christian attitudes to the family including different types of family; church support for the family; different attitudes to contraception; different attitudes to divorce and re-marriage; equality of men and women; different attitudes to gender prejudice and discrimination.

Section 3 Living the Christian life

Christian worship; attitudes to sacraments like baptism and the eucharist; Christians and prayer; different attitudes to pilgrimage; celebrations like Advent, Christmas and Easter; attitudes to missionary work; the importance of the local church in the local community; the Church and the worldwide community.

Section 4 Matters of Life and Death

Christian and scientific attitudes to the origins of the universe; Christians and the sanctity of life; Christians and evolution; attitudes to abortion; Christians and life after death; arguments against life after death; attitudes to abortion; Christians and the environment; Christians and animal rights

Area 2 – Islam or Judaism

Section 1 Muslim or Jewish Beliefs

EITHER: Six Beliefs of Islam; Five Roots of Shi’ism; the nature of God; the nature of prophets; Muslim holy books; angels; predestination; life after death.

OR: the nature of God; attitudes to the divine presence; the Messiah; the covenant with Moses; the covenant with Abraham; sanctity of life; moral principles and the Mitzvot; life after death.

Section 2 Crime and Punishment

The nature of justice; causes and problems of crime; the nature of punishment; the aims of punishment; forgiveness and restorative justice; the treatment of criminals including torture; the death penalty.

Section 3 Living the Jewish or Muslim life

EITHER: Jewish worship; food laws; prayer at home; prayer in synagogue (must be compared with Christian worship); birth, coming of age, marriage and funeral rituals; celebrating Shabbat; Jewish festivals; the synagogue.

OR: the Ten Acts of Shi’a Islam; the pillar of Shahadah; the pillar of Salah (must be compared with Christian worship); the pillar of Sawm; the pillar of Zakah (plus Shi’a Khums); the pillar of Hajj; jihad; the celebration/commemoration of Id-ul-Adha, Id-ul-Fit’r, Id-ul-Ghadeer; al’Ashura

Section 4 Peace and conflict

Religious attitudes to peace; the role of Muslims or Jews in peacemaking; Muslim or Jewish attitudes to conflict; pacifism; the just war theory; holy war; weapons of mass destruction; issues surrounding conflict such as terrorism.

FACT SHEET 3A

Scheme of Work for Short Course

Term 1 (12 weeks) / Term 4 (12 weeks)
Introduction
Area 1 Section 1 (topics 1–5) / Area 2 Section 1 (topics 4–8)
Area 2 Section 2 (topics 1–3)
Term 2 (11 weeks) / Term 5 (10 weeks)
Area 1 Section 1 (topics 6–8)
Area 1 Section 2 (topics 1–4) / Area 2 Section 2 (Topics 4–8)
Revision
Term 3 (11 weeks) / Term 6
Area 1 Section 2 (topics 5–8)
Area 2 Section 1 (topics 1–3) / Revision and exam

Assessment dates

Area1 Sect1 test ______Area1 Sect2 test______

Year 10 exam ______

Area2 Sect 1 test______

Mock exam ______

Area 2 sect1 test ______Area 2 Sect 2 test ______

Course requirements

All students will be expected to:

attend regularly
take part sensibly in class discussions
be punctual to lessons
complete homework
listen to and respect class teachers and other students
revise for tests and exams.

I understand that I am working towards a GCSE in Religious Studies and agree to the course requirements.

Name of student ______

Signature ______

Parent/guardian signature ______

FACT SHEET 3B

Scheme of Work for the full course with 2 lessons a week

Term 1 (12 weeks) / Term 4 (12 weeks)
Introduction
Area 1 section 1 (topics 1–8)
Area 1 Section 2 (1–4) / Area 2 Section 1 (topics 7–8)
Area 2 Section 2 (topics 1–8)
Area 2 Section 3 (Topics 1–4)
Term 2 (11 weeks) / Term 5 (10 weeks)
Area 1 Section 2 (topics 5–8)
Area 1 Section 3 (topics 1–8) / Area 2 Section 3 (Topics 5–8)
Area 2 Section 4 (Topics 1–8)
Revision
Term 3 (11 weeks) / Term 6
Area 1 Section 4 (topics 1–8)
Area 2 Section 1 (topics 1–6) / Revision and exam

Assessment dates

Area 1 Sect 1 test ______Area 1 Sect 2 test ______

Area 1 Sect3 test ______Area 1 Sect4 test ______

Year 10 exam ______

Area 2 Sect 1 test ______Area 2 Sect 2 test ______

Mock exam ______Area 2 sect 3 test ______

Area 2 sect 4 test ______

Course requirements

All students will be expected to:

attend regularly
take part sensibly in class discussions
be punctual to lessons
complete homework
listen to and respect class teachers and other students
revise for tests and exams.

I understand that I am working towards a GCSE in Religious Studies and agree to the course requirements.

Name of student ______

Signature ______

Parent/guardian signature ______

FACT SHEET 3C

Scheme of Work for full course starting in Y9 (1 lesson a week)

Y9 Term 1 (12 weeks) / Y10 Term 2 (11 weeks)
Introduction (done at end of Y8)
Area 1 Sect 1 (topics 1–8) / Area 1 Sect 3 (topics 1–7)
Y9 Term 2 (11 weeks) / Y10 Term 3 (11 weeks)
Area 1 Sect 2 (topics 1–8) / Area 1 Sect 3 (Topic 8)
Area 1 Sect 4 (Topics 1–6)
Y9 Term 3 (11 weeks) / Y11 Term 1 (12 weeks)
Area 2 Sect 1 (topics 1–8) / Area 2 Sect 3 (topics 1–8)
Y10 Term 1 12 weeks) / Y11 Term 2 (11 weeks)
Area 2 Sect 2 (topics 1–8) / Area 2 Sect 4 (Topics 1–8)

Assessment dates

Area 1 Sect 1 test ______Area 1 Sect 2 test ______

Area 2 Sect 1 test ______Area 2 Sect 2 test ______

Year 10 exam ______Area 1 Sect 3test______

Area 1 Sect 4 test ______Area 2 Sect 3 test ______

Mock exam ______Area 2Sect 4 test ______

Course requirements

All students will be expected to:

attend regularly
take part sensibly in class discussions
be punctual to lessons
complete homework
listen to and respect class teachers and other students
revise for tests and exams.

I understand that I am working towards a GCSE in Religious Studies and agree to the course requirements.

Name of student ______

Signature ______

Parent/guardian signature ______

LESSON 2: Topic 1.1.1 The Trinity

Lesson objectives

To investigate the nature of God and significance of the Trinity as expressed in the Nicene Creed
To explore the nature and significance of the oneness of God
To explore the nature and significance of each of the Persons of the Trinity

Lesson outcomes

By the end of the lesson students should be able to:

explainChristian beliefs about the Trinity
evaluate the importance of belief in the Trinity

Prior learning

Area 1 Section 1, Lesson 1

Resources

Student’s Bookpages 4–7
Starter Sheet 2

Starter activity

PutStarter Sheet 2 onto students’ desks before they come in.
Students should be encouraged to start the task as soon as they sit down.
Discuss student responses,perhaps making a list of how many students believe in God, how many do not believe and how many are not sure. It would be a good idea to keep this and then take another survey at the end of the course to see whether attitudes have changed!

[Timing]15 mins

Main activity

Read through pages 4–7of the student book allowing discussion of any points they are unsure of …
Divide into pairs and divide these tasks among the pairs:
Look at the painting from the Mosol altarpiece on page 4 and explain how it illustrates Christian beliefs about the Trinity.
Explain why the persons of the Trinity are important for Christians.
Explain how belief in the Trinity is reflected in Christian worship today.
Have feedback on their answers

[Timing]30 mins

Plenary activity

Set and discuss the homework question

[Timing] 5 mins

Homework

Why you think many Christians call the Trinity ‘a divine mystery’?

Extension

More able students could be given the first exam practice question on page 7 as extra homework

Reinforcement

Students should be paired with a more able partner and given the homework aid sheet number 1

ICT

The results of the discussions could be done on the interactive whiteboard.

Assessment

Answers to the homework question marked according to the Edexcel mark scheme (Appendix 5)

STARTER SHEET 2

Choose the column that best fits what you believe and give your reasons

I believe in God because / I do not believe in God because / I am not sure whether or not God exists because
Reason 1 / Reason 1 / Reason 1
Reason 2 / Reason 2 / Reason 2
Reason 3 / Reason 3 / Reason 3
Reason 4 / Reason 4 / Reason 4

HOMEWORK AID SHEET NUMBER 1

The question is: ‘Why do many Christians describe the Trinity as ‘a divine mystery’?’

Firstlyyou need to sort out what Christians believe about the Trinity:

Christians believe there is only one God (God’s Unity) who is in the world in three persons (the Holy Trinity). Believing in one God is called monotheism. Christians believe that God is One because everything in the universe shows it was made by one God.

When Christians speak of God as one, they call this God’s substance. When Christians talk about God at work in the world they call it the three persons of God:

The Father who created everything.
The Son who showed what God is like and saved people from sin.
The Holy Spirit who brings the presence of God into people’s lives.

Then you need to sort out why this is a mystery:

Source: clip art

LESSON 3: Topic 1.1.2 The creation of the universe

Lesson objectives

To investigate the biblical account of creation
To explore how it can be understood in different ways
To explore the role of the Word and Spirit in creation

Lesson outcomes

By the end of lesson 4 students should be able to:

explaindifferent understandings of the biblical accounts of creation
explain what Christians believe was the role of the Word and the Spirit in creation
evaluate the importance of creation for Christians today

Prior learning

Area 1 Section 1, Lesson 2

Resources

Starter Sheet 3
Student’s Book pages 8–11

Starter activity

PutStarter Sheet 3 onto students’ desks before they come in.
Students should be encouraged to start the task as soon as they sit down
Collect in the sheets and collate the responses to present at the beginning of the next lesson.

[Timing] 10 mins

Main activity
Divide the students into groups to prepare a presentation on the following; using pages 8–11 of the Student’s Book:

Group 1on what the Bible says about creation
Group 2 on different ways Christians understand the Bible accounts
Group 3 on the role of the Word and Spirit in creation
Group 4 on the importance of creation for Christians today
Group 5 on sources of authority to use in answering questions on creation

[Timing]30 mins

Plenary activity
Make sure all the groups know what they have to do to have their presentations ready for the next lesson.

[Timing] 5 mins

Homework

Finish presentations for next lesson

Extension

You could reduce the presentations to 1–4 and more able students could prepare presentation 5 for homework

Reinforcement

Make sure the less able students do the group 1 presentation as this is easier.

ICT

PowerPoint or other software could be used for the presentations.

Assessment

In the next lesson.

STARTER SHEET 3

Using the scale of 0–5 where 0 equals definitely disagree and 5 equals definitely agree, put a circle round the number which best matches your opinion or circle don’t know:

1. God made the universe