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 7-11
BI 6: THE BIG PICTURE: AGE-RELATED BIG IDEA FOR AGES 7-11
People tell different stories to communicate important teachings and these stories often form part of longer narratives. Groups of religious and non-religious people tell different stories, which reflect the different ways in which they view the world
| Topic-related question | Pupils know and understand: |
| 1. How can the context of a story help us understand it better? | i. that some stories become famous because they have been handed down through the dominant religion(s) / worldview(s) in a community ii. that many of these stories say something important about human beings and things that go beyond this world iii. that there are different understandings of ‘truth’ that can be learnt from a story, poem or text iv. that stories are often understood better when the reader has some understanding of the bigger picture of what is going on and how they fit into the larger way of looking at the world v. that many religions / worldviews have a ‘Big Story’, which can be summarised to explain the origin and end of the universe; the place of human beings in the universe; good and evil; what is wrong with or lacking in human beings and how this can be put right. Most of their smaller stories illustrate part of this ‘Big Story’. |
| 2. What is the place of human beings within life’s journey? | i. the role of human beings in relation to the natural world in at least two ‘grand narratives’ the role of human beings in relation to God in at least two religions / worldviews ii. the teachings of at least two religions / worldviews about the origin of human beings iii. the teachings of at least two religions / worldviews about what happens after death. |
| 3. How did the world begin and how will it end? | i. two different scientific theories about the origin and end of the universe ii. two contrasting traditional stories about how our world came about, what it should be like and what will happen to it in the end. |
EXEMPLAR(S) OF THIS MEDIUM TERM PLAN
(Word Download)
Ages 7–9 EXEMPLAR 1: The Three Gifts
Ages 9–11 EXEMPLAR 1: The beginning, the middle and the end
TRANSFERABLE QUESTIONS
Does anything exist that cannot be experiences with our senses or proved by science?
Are scientific and religious beliefs about life and the universe compatible?