Exemplar Units of Learning
On this page you will find links to exemplars of short term planning for a complete term’s work that relates to the Big Ideas for each age-group.
You can SEARCH for particular religions / worldviews or titles / content / themes in our exemplars by pressing Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, or Linux system), or Command+F (on a Mac) on the keyboard. Or Click here to download a pdf overview of the units prepared so far: religions / worldviews, titles, content and themes.
They were written by a team of teachers and advisers and are being tested in the classroom.
Over time we will have at least one exemplar for each Big Idea in each age group.
See here for:
- Guidance on how to use the exemplars to write your own ‘Big Ideas for RE’ curriculum.
- Guidance on how to assess pupils’ learning when following a Big Ideas for RE programme.
If you would like to submit an idea for a new unit, or for supplementary resources, please let us know via the Contact Us button. We are also interested to hear about your experience of teaching the units. Please do let us have your feedback!
Click on the links below to access and / or download the units you are interested in.
Exemplars: The items below indicate religions / worldviews and content / themes used so far.
Click here to download a pdf overview of the units prepared so far: religions / worldviews, titles, content and themes. These could be useful for your Knowledge Organisers!
More units will be added shortly!
Could you fill a gap or provide an alternative unit? Contact us with your idea!
AGES 5-7: BI1: CONTINUITY, CHANGE AND DIVERSITY
Download EXEMPLAR 1: MINI-UNIT: Precious and Holy Things
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Nones, examples from other religions.
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Special places, objects and people. Lindisfarne. Saints Aidan, Aldhelm, Boniface, Nectan, Oswald, Piran.
AGES 5-7: BI1: CONTINUITY, CHANGE AND DIVERSITY
Download EXEMPLAR 2: MINI-UNIT: Religions / Worldviews in Our Neighbourhood
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Hindu Dharma, Islam.
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Belonging, Persona Dolls, Symbols, Special Places, Sacred, Progressive Synagogue, Mosque, Mandir, Church, Holy, River Ganges, Stonehenge, Makkah, Moses, Leicester, Worship, Artefacts, Jesus, Muhammad, Guru Nanak, Krishna, Charlie and Blue, God, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, Female Bishop.
AGES 5-7: BI2: WORDS AND BEYOND
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Hidden Meanings
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Hindu Dharma, Judaism.
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Symbols, Symbolic language, Signs, Metaphors, The Good Shepherd, Light, Nicknames, Psalm 23, Ancient Rome, Catacombs, Bishops, Festival of lights, Rishi Sunak, Diyas, Rama, Sita, Diwali, Ganesha, Lakshmi, Rangoli patterns, Hanukkah, Hanukkiah, Menorah, Mezuzah, Latkes, Silent Night, Icons, Gospels, Christmas, Bethlehem, Wise Men, Magi, Advent, The Light of the World.
AGES 5-7: BI3: A GOOD LIFE
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Humanism.
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Role models, Captain Tom Moore, Frank Mills, Disability, Courage, Aspiration, Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Swan, Jesus, Muhammad, ‘Most People’, Michael Leannah, Justice, the Golden Rule, The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, The Old Woman who threw Rubbish, Islamic Calligraphy, Bismillah.
AGES 5-7: BI4: MAKING SENSE OF LIFE'S EXPERIENCES
Download EXEMPLAR 1: How do we discover the world?
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Humanism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, others (depending on the backgrounds of the children themselves).
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: The senses. Wonder in the ordinary things of life. Stories about how wonderful the world is. Oyfn Pripetshik, by Mark M Warshawsky. Hebrew alphabet.
AGES 5-7: BI5: INFLUENCE AND POWER
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Religions / Worldviews Around Us
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: ‘Influencers’, especially in local area. Local religions / worldviews. Belonging and Believing. Church of England. Cross. Church. Stained glass windows. Crescent Moon and star. Mosque. Minaret. Dome. Hijab. Nishan Sahib. Khanda. Gurdwara. Patka. Turban. Christening. Baptism. Marriage. Wedding. Funeral. Synagogue. Community Centre. Cardiff Mandir. Advent. Christmas. Shrove Tuesday. Mothers’ Day. Mothering Sunday. Good Friday. Easter Sunday.
AGES 5-7: BI6: THE BIG PICTURE
Download EXEMPLAR 1: One Picture, Many Viewers
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Hindu, Dharmic
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Power & impact of story. Ganesha. Panchatantra. Six blind men and an elephant. Krishna. Mother Ganga. River Ganges. Bhagirath. Avatars.
AGES 7-9: BI1: CONTINUITY, CHANGE AND DIVERSITY
EXEMPLAR 1: Almost ready – coming soon!
Featured Religions / Worldviews: –
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: –
AGES 7-9: BI2: WORDS AND BEYOND
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Papa Haydn’s Musical Creatures
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Judaism
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Genesis. Creation. Classical music. Bible. Wonderful words. Forces of nature. Natural world. Animals. Environment. Josef Haydn. Keegan’s story. Roman Catholic.
AGES 7-9: BI3: A GOOD LIFE
Download EXEMPLAR 1 : Lessons from Lockdown
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism / Sikhi (dharmic religion) and Humanism (non-religious worldview)
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Golden rule. Ten Commandments. Moses. Karma. Reincarnation. Sewa. Rainbows. Noah. Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib. Baptism. Amrit. 5 Ks / K’s. Archbishop of Canterbury.
AGES 7-9: BI4: MAKING SENSE OF LIFE'S EXPERIENCES
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Why Do Some People Find Nature So Amazing?
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Buddhism, Pantheism, Christianity, others (depending on the backgrounds of the children themselves)
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Stories, poetry, art and music as ways of engaging with nature and the environment. Emotions. Forest school. Animals. Wordsworth. Caspar David Friedrich, Andy Goldsworthy, Beethoven, Zen Koan, John Cage.
AGES 7-9: BI5: INFLUENCE AND POWER
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity & Christian denominations. Islam
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: What would this country miss if all the organised religions / worldviews disappeared? Influences on beliefs and behaviour. Anglican. Church of England. Queen Elizabeth II. Census data. Protestant. Catholic. Orthodox. Christmas. Historical links, e.g., Tudors, Reformation. Art and portraiture. Kehinde Wiley. Charities. Islamic Relief. Christian Aid. Marcus Rashford. Nobody stands nowhere.
AGES 7-9: BI6: THE BIG PICTURE
Download EXEMPLAR 1: The Three Gifts
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Gold, frankincense, myrrh. The Journey of the Magi / wise men. We Three Kings. Epiphany. Christmas story. Christingle. Creation. Giving gifts. Gospels. Jesus. Son of God. Saviour. Christ. Salvation. Messiah. Roman Empire. Holy Land. Persian Lands. Church. Linda Sue Park. Josh Groban. Botticelli. Gossaert. Moses. Prophets. Ten Commandments. Orthodox.
AGES 9-11: BI1: CONTINUITY, CHANGE AND DIVERSITY
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Different paths, same journey?
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity: Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Quaker. Islam: Shia / Shi’a, Sunni
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Faith in action. Mapping local religions / worldviews. Denominations. Muslim traditions. Holy books. Torah, Tanakh, Bible, Qur’an. Prophets. Halal. Haram. Nobody stands nowhere.
AGES 9-11: BI2: WORDS AND BEYOND
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Resilience and Wisdom
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Expressing beliefs, feelings, emotions, religious experiences. Forms of language, non-verbal communication: art, architecture music, drama and dance. Similarities & differences between denominations / groups. Paralympics. King Solomon. Prince of Egypt. Moses. Queen Esther. Purim. Edward Armitage. Psalm 23. Oh Hanukkah by The Maccabeats. Konstanz Synagogue. Holocaust. Anne Frank. Etty Hillesum.
AGES 9-11: BI3: A GOOD LIFE
EXEMPLAR 1: How should we care for our World?
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Hindu Dharma, Humanism
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Why be good? Darwin Day. Charles Darwin. Environmental crisis. The natural world. Climate change. Greta Thunberg. Mahatma Gandhi. Hindu scriptures – Smriti, Shruti: Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, Manusmriti. Vishnu, Lord Rama, Krishna. ISKCON. Role models. Celebrities. Dharma. Ahimsa, Karuna. Karma. Moksha. Bhakti Yoga. Namaste. Diwali. Cow protection. Hindu Priest. Creation. AUM. Attiudes, laws and rules. The Golden Rule. Vegetarianism. Food laws. COP28. Diwali. Sustainability.
AGES 9-11: BI4: MAKING SENSE OF LIFE'S EXPERIENCES
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Encounters
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism), Islam
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Annunciation, pilgrim, pilgirmage, wonderful world, wow, prayer, happiness, love, angels, Mary, Mariam, Maryam, Angel Gabriel, Jibril, Jibreel, incarnation, Holy Trinity, Jesus, Walsingham, Lady Richeldis, Kumbh Mela, River Ganges, Ali-Imran
AGES 9-11: BI5: INFLUENCE AND POWER
Download EXEMPLAR 1: How much power and influence do religions have in Britain today?
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity. Hinduism / Hindu Dharma, Sikhism / Sikhi. Humanism
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Roles of religious and non-religious leaders and groups in public life. Britain. Memorial events. The Coronation of King Charles III. Community representatives. Armistice. Remembrance Day and Poppy Appeal. Church of England. Anglican. Diwali festival. Leicester. Politics. Parish priests. Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. Sewa. Ramayana. Rama & Sita. Jesus. Good Samaritan. Trussell Trust. Felix Help the Homeless Project.
AGES 9-11: BI6: THE BIG PICTURE
Download EXEMPLAR 1: The Beginning, the Middle and the End
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Scientific, Humanism
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Deep, meaningful questions. Past, present and future. Stories and journey narratives. Good Samaritan. Trolls World Tour. Truth. Bible, Tanakh, Creation. Genesis. Galileo. Psalms. Universe. Beliefs about human origins, purposes and the afterlife. Environment. Suffering. Death. Nirvana. Heaven. Hell.
AGES 11-14: BI1: CONTINUITY, CHANGE AND DIVERSITY
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Religion in 21st Century Britain
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Nones, Humanism, Islam
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Church of England. Census data. Religious affiliation. Secular. Atheist. Agnostic. Protestant. Catholic. Northern Ireland. Diversity. Nobody stands nowhere.
AGES 11-14: BI2: WORDS AND BEYOND
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Is there more to a book than its cover?
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Judaism, Sikhism / Sikhi
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: How the Torah is understood, used, valued and treated in Judaism. Synagogue. Aron HaKodesh. Bimah. Nevi’im. Ketuvi’im. Moses. Ten Commandments. Covenant. Shabbat. Ruth Esther. Shavuot. Prophet. Messiah. Mashiach. Guru Granth Sahib. Gurdwara. Rehat Maryada. Gurmukhi.
AGES 11-14: BI3: A GOOD LIFE
Download EXEMPLAR 1: The Goal of Living a Good Life
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Sikhism / Sikhi, Humanism
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Ideas of service, fairness. Wealth & poverty. Duke of Edinburgh. Marcus Rashford. Sewa. Langar. Bruderhof. New Testament. Ethical codes. Values. Sources of wisdom. Utilitarian theory. Peter Singer. Good Samaritan. Black Lives Matter. Edward Colston. Slavery. Servitude. Freedom. Love. Justice.
AGES 11-14: BI4: MAKING SENSE OF LIFE'S EXPERIENCES
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Nones, nature religion
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Religious & non-religious perspectives, philosophical approaches. Roger Penrose. Richard Dawkins. Duncan MacDougall. The Soul. God. Wordsworth. Healing. The Buddha. Siddhartha. Jesus. St Bernadette. Nichiren Daishonin. Bear Grills. Conversion. St Paul. Betty’s story. Navneet Singh. Dr Eben Alexander. Heaven.
AGES 11-14: BI5: INFLUENCE AND POWER
EXEMPLAR 1: Not yet ready- reworking in progress
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Judaism, Christianity Islam
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Relationships between countries and the religions / worldviews followed by sectors of their population. Interpreting data. Secular. Theocracy. Established religion. Atheist state. France. Laïcité. Les Hijabeuses. Notre Dame de Paris. President Macron. Israel. Palestine. Holy Land. Arab-Israeli conflict. Jewish schools of thought. Haredim. Zionism. Archaeology. Diaspora. Plural societies. England. Iran. North Korea. Turkey.
AGES 11-14: BI6: THE BIG PICTURE
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Grand narratives
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Mainly Islam and Humanism, plus an example from Buddhism and consideraton of Jainism
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Big questions of our world and how we come to exist in it. What is the universe like? Why is it as it is? Where’s it all going? Is there a life after death? Why do we suffer? Ship of Theseus. Optical illusions. Personal worldviews. Ultimate mysteries of life. Islamic Golden Age. Scientific method. Faith & belief. Muhammad. Sunnah & hadith. Sunni and Shi’a Islam. Heaven, Hell, Final Judgement. Imaan. Kufr. Spirited Arts, Poetry. Sandi Toksvig. Bertrand Russell. Humanist manifesto. Buddhist wheel of life – the bhavachakra. Definitions of religion and worldview.
AGES 14-18: BI1: CONTINUITY, CHANGE AND DIVERSITY
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Religion and Worldviews: Past Changes and Current Challenges
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, brief references to Sikhi and Jehovah’s Witnesses
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Definitions of religion, worldview, spiritual, secular. non-religious. Lalibela, Ethiopia. Buddha of Gandhara. Hinton St Mary mosaic. Abdul Malik / Abd al-Malik coins. Museum of Change. women. Feminism. Environmental crisis. Ecofeminism. Lynn White. Cornwall Alliance. Natural world. Liberalism. Fundamentalism. Interfaith. Mahayana. Theravada. Protestant. Catholic. Sunni. Shia / Shi’a. Malala Yousafzai. Taliban. Nobody stands nowhere.
AGES 14-18: BI2: WORDS AND BEYOND
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Depicting the Divine
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Hinduism / Sanatana Dharma, Buddhism, including Tibetan Buddhism, Islam, including Sufi Islam
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Forms and examples of expressing the Divine / Ultimate / God / Allah. Iconic images / art within architecture and calligraphy. Sacred texts and poetry. Sound: Music and the use of the voice. Movement: Dance and Prayer. Digital world: Video games. Love, light, journey, harmony, presence. Hip-hop, Qasidi poetry, Bharatanatyam dance, Mandagon, Bible X, murti, metaverse. Tawhid, Trinity, salvation, Brahman, Bodhisattva, mandala, atman, anatman, karma.
AGES 14-18: BI2: WORDS AND BEYOND
Download EXEMPLAR 2: Depicting the Dharma
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Hinduism / Sanatana Dharma, Buddhism, including Tibetan Buddhism
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Forms and examples of expressing the Divine / Ultimate. Iconic images / art. Sacred texts and poetry. Sound, music, voice. Movement, Dance, Prayer. Debate. Digital world, video games. Love, beauty, peace, harmony, reflection on meaning, transformation, beliefs, values. Insider, outsider. Tibetan Book of the Dead, Bhakti, chanting, meditation, yoga, Mandagon, Raji, Bharatanatyam dance, Brahman, Bodhisattva, mandala, atman, anatman, karma.
AGES 14-18: BI3: A GOOD LIFE
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Keeping People Out of Bad Lives
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, with some examples drawn from Hindu and Confucian traditions
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Keeping people out of bad lives. Golden Rule. Authority. Utilitarianism. Deontology. Virtue Ethics. Moral issues: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Abortion, Euthanasia, Vaccine distribution, Equalities.
AGES 14-18: BI4: MAKING SENSE OF LIFE'S EXPERIENCES
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Strange and Mysterious
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Buddhism, Christianity, Sufism, Nones
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Religious rituals and other practices, Experience of deep connections with God or gods, nature, their own consciousness or with other people. Sense of awareness and mystery. Spirituality. The prophet Isaiah. Rudolph Otto. The Buddha. Angulimala. St Paul. Davey Falcus. Teresa of Avila, Muhammad. Jesus. The Virgin Mary. St John of the Cross. Julian of Norwich. Revelation. Nature mysticism. God spot. Hay & Nye. Near-death experiences. Reincarnation. Richard Swinburne. Francis Spufford. John Hick.
AGES 14-18: BI5: INFLUENCE AND POWER
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Religion, Worldviews, Change and Conflict
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Islam, Christianity, Sikhism / Sikhi, Nones
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Factors that influence society: economic, political and ethical. Secular. Women in leadership. Britain. Church of England. Muslim council of Britain. Malala Yousafzi. Desmond Tutu. Dutch Reformed Church, South Africa. Apartheid. Trevor Huddleston. Muslim Hands. Pashtun. Taliban. Altruism. Libby Lane. Zara Mohammed. Poverty. Fundamentalism. Education. Solarity.
AGES 14-18: BI6: THE BIG PICTURE
Download EXEMPLAR 1: Life, the Universe and Everything – Revised 2024
Featured Religions / Worldviews: Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Nones
Content / Themes for Knowledge Organisers: Authority, truth and trust. Religion and science. Philosophy, theology, interpretation of literature, study of religions and sciences. Ultimate questions. Time. The End. Mahavira. Buddha statues. Bible. Qur’an. Same-sex marriage. Prosperity theology. God, Goddess, gods, goddesses. Creation & evolution. Non-binary.