BRINGING BIG IDEAS TO LIFE: MEDIUM TERM PLANNING
The bridge between the Big Idea and the substantive knowledge is the topic-related question.
Schools should interpret the following ‘pupils know and understand’ sections in relation to the religions / worldviews they have chosen to teach for this age-group. These decisions will reflect the national legal requirement and any local or denominational requirements.
Topic-related Questions and Learning Objectives for Ages 11-14
BI 4: MAKING SENSE OF LIFE’S EXPERIENCES: AGE-RELATED BIG IDEA FOR AGES 11-14
Many people find profound meaning at some points in their lives in mystical, religious, spiritual or peak experiences. Some individuals and groups say experience of religious rituals and other practices help them make a connection with God or gods and with each other, or with what is most important to them. The experiences of a few key people are believed to have given them extraordinary insights into the nature of reality. Some believe these experiences are related to a spiritual dimension of human beings, which may or may not be associated with religion. Others deny humans have a spiritual nature, believing that a human being is no more than a complex, highly evolved animal.
| Topic-related question | Pupils know and understand: |
| 1. Do human beings have a spiritual dimension? | i. contrasting religious and non-religious theories and beliefs regarding whether human beings have a spirit or a spiritual dimension ii. contrasting theories and beliefs regarding what spirituality is iii. contrasting theories and beliefs regarding how spirituality can be developed iv. research claiming that spiritual experience is common to most people; and its critics. |
| 2. How can we best understand accounts of such experiences as: profound insights into the true nature of reality, unity with nature or an encounter with God or another spiritual being? | i. different explanations of stories about key people having profound insights into the true nature of reality (e.g. the Enlightenment of the Buddha) ii. different explanations of stories about individuals reporting profound feelings of unity with nature (e.g. William Wordsworth; contemporary Pagans) iii. different explanations of stories about key people having religious experiences in which they meet or talk with God, usually for a specific purpose (e.g. Moses/10 Commandments; Jesus/baptism; Muhammad/night journey; Guru Nanak/at the river; Krishna revealing his true form to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita) iv. different explanations of stories about revelations from supernatural beings such as angels, saints, deities, demons, jinn and spirits: (e.g. Gabriel/Jibreel with Daniel, Mary and Muhammad; the god Brahma persuading the Buddha to teach; appearances of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes; Mara and the Buddha; Satan and Eve in the Garden of Eden and Jesus in the Wilderness) |
| 3. How, according to some people, is it possible to see a religious message in an everyday event? | how a few people have claimed to understand truths by perceiving and interpreting an ordinary event (e.g. Old Testament Prophets: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah; the Buddha/the four sights)explanations of having a spiritual experience during religious worship and other rituals. |
EXEMPLAR(S) OF THIS MEDIUM TERM PLAN
(Word Download) EXEMPLAR 1: Is it possible to experience a sense of the divine or a feeling of spirituality?
TRANSFERABLE QUESTIONS
Do human beings and other animals have a soul?
Some people lay claim to experiences that have, e.g. taken them out of this world, or seen God. Are these experiences in their imagination or is it possible that a few people have particularly fine-tuned spiritual perception?