Year 7

Aims of Course
In Key Stage 3 students follow the Wiltshire Agreed Syllabus, ‘Thinking Together’. The principle focus will be Christianity, and the second major focus will be Hinduism. Students will also compare and contrast concepts chosen from Judaism and Islam, building on the topics covered in their Primary Schools.

The course is designed to stimulate curiosity, provoke puzzlement and to develop the student’s sense of exploration and discovery. It aims to provide a ‘toolkit’ to enable them to think critically as they explore other cultures and beliefs and develop their own opinions and ideas. Religious Education is about human beliefs and values, choices and decisions, principles and actions and the influence that shape our human being.

Equipment Required
Pen, pencil, ruler, eraser, a basic selection of coloured pencils. This equipment should be brought into every lesson so that it is available for use, along with a student planner.

Homework/Independent Study
The nature of homework/independent study in Religious Education varies. Some straightforward tasks are set to reinforce class work, other tasks may require research and preparation of information essential for the next lesson. Whatever task is set students are expected to complete the work to the best of their ability and bring it to the appropriate lesson. Homework/independent study must be recorded in the student planner to aid personal organisation and to help with the monitoring of homework/independent study.

Assessment
Students’ work and learning is assessed in two ways: first, by the general marking of classwork and homework/independent study. Secondly by special assessments where students will be given careful guidelines to reach their full potential – this will be marked according to the level indicators. The average Year 7 student should achieve Level 4, Level 5 indicates above average attainment.

How Parents/Carers can help

• Discuss the work that is done. Encourage students to explain what they have learnt
• Ask to see exercise books and/or homework/independent study on a regular basis
• Encourage students to take an interest in the wider world and the events that are happening around them by reading newspapers and watching news and current affairs programmes on television
• It is valuable to have home access to a computer and the internet. Alternatively the facilities available at school can be used for ICT based tasks

Contact: Subject Leader – Mrs V Hay

Course Content
In Year 7 students will cover the following topics (as time allows):

• Initiation within two religious communities i.e., Christianity and Islam
• They will learn how to look up a Bible reference and explore a theme from the Bible
• Students will look at the story of ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ as a literary way of expressing Jesus and his sacrifice
• What is God like in Hinduism
• Gandhi
• The teaching of Christianity about nature and the environment

Year 8

Course Content

• Human relationships, in particular forgiveness
• Are miracles evidence of God?
• Worship as expressed in Hinduism
• What Hindus believe about death
• Interpreting Christian symbols
• Prejudice

Year 9

Course Content

• Does God exist?
• What do Christians believe about death?
• Commitment within Hinduism
• Justice and injustice
• Designing their own religion so as to gain understanding of the ‘make-up’ of religions
• Basic facts and beliefs about the religion of Islam, to enhance understanding and knowledge necessary for the GCSE to be followed by all students in Key Stage 4.