Lesson Planning Session One SUG 1007 25/11/2014

During my time at the De La Salle Academy when I completed a number of months of voluntary work I was given a number of lesson plans to look over so I had an idea of what they looked like and how to lay them out. However there is a lot more planning and work that needs to go into writing these that I had realised and how important they are to a successful lesson and a well times lesson. According to the government guidelines there are three parts to a successful lesson, these are:

• Oral and mental starter (Whole class chance to remember and sharpen their skills)
• Main part of lesson (Direct teaching, follow up tasks individually and group tasks)
• Plenary (All students involved, reinforcing the key learning ideas)

Before starting any lesson plan we were told that we needed a key concept or idea for the lesson that all the pupils will be able to engage with and relate with. We created our own spider diagram with everything we would need for our own lesson plan. We created our own hook to bring the children’s interest into the lesson and the relation between RE and something they can relate themselves towards. For our lesson we decided to work on the impact Christianity has on modern day society, so it was something that could interest the students and also something that’s does affect their daily lives.

We also looked at other lesson plans from former students and compared them to each other which was really helpful because it gave us an idea as a student what is a good lesson plan and what is a perfect lesson plan

Syllabi and Frameworks for RE SUG 1007 18/11/2014

For the past couple of weeks we have been discussing the position Religious Education has had within the curriculum over the past 70 years, since the end of world war two. We have spoken about a number of issues ranging from the position of RE in the national curriculum presently and before the national curriculum was brought in by Margaret Thatcher in 1988 as part of her education reforms as a new way of testing children on a regular basis. For this weeks lesson we researched an agreed RE syllabi from the local council. This is because RE is not part of the national curriculum and each local SACRE will decide what is taught in the schools of its district.

I studies the syllabi for Sefton in Liverpool, this was quite easy to understand and followed alot of the other syllabi around the country. If I was a teacher in Sefton I believe it was a good syllabi because it described some of the tasks that it wanted the students to undertake as part of their learning, in contrast some syllabi did not mention the work they wanted them to do just what they wanted the children to learn. The Sefton syllabi also introduced the level system that alot of schools in the country use and make it very clear and easy to understand how the student can reach the required level and how you as the teacher can asses them.

Principles, Pedagogy and planning in RE (RE in the Curriculum) 06/11/2014

How do the ‘Big Picture’s’ aims match your ‘blue sky’ thinking?  What do you think the aims of the new National Curriculum?

To begin with the overall outcomes of the national curriculum I do agree with. For example be safe, stay healthy and enjoy and achieve are for me the three most important things that allow a young child to learn. Every child while they are in a school setting should feel safe and secure and more importantly should feel comfortable in their environment. The second one stay healthy is also vital to a child’s learning because if they do not keep themselves healthy then their own mental health could deteriorate. A child needs to feel comfortable and relaxed and water and healthy food can allow them to do this. Finally enjoy and achieve, this is for me the most important because to learn something you may not have to enjoy the subject in general but if the lesson is interesting then they will take a more active part within the lesson and enjoy the lesson far more. If a child enjoys the lesson then the chances of them achieving will increase dramatically. The final piece that I agree with is the lesson planning. All lessons must be varied and matched to the learning needs. This comes in well with the enjoy and achieve because if the lesson is varied from work documents to group tasks then it will become more interesting hence a better lesson and if it is linked to their learning needs of children then the lesson can be planned accordingly. I believe the aims of the new national curriculum are heading in the right direction in so much as wanting to make sure the young people leave school not just with their education but a desire to learn more in further education or training. On the other hand I do believe some of this teachers can’t achieve in the classroom all of the time with the amount of work they already have planned. To make sure that a child will follow a healthy lifestyle can be very difficult, the best the teacher can do is supply the pupils with the information they need and then it is down to their own choices.

Have a think for a moment whether ‘because it is the law’ is a good reason to do RE.  Why should pupils study RE at school?

Personally I have always enjoyed RE as a subject in school so I never questioned why we had to do it, however there were a number of pupils in each lesson would do so constantly. ‘Because it is the law’ for me is not a good reason to do RE, that just gives credence to the students who don’t want to do it because if there isn’t a valuable reason out there for doing it then they won’t do it. In my opinion RE isn’t just a lesson sitting reading the bible or the teachings of Jesus anymore they are now much more than that, it has become a lesson that teaches true everyday values to its students about the outside world. For example the teachings of other world Religions broadens their mind and makes them more comfortable when meeting these Religions outside of school or their social groups. RE is also a way of teaching people how to be better people, you can use the teachings of Jesus for this or a number of other stories and they can take this with them through life. Later on through GCSE’s they learn all about euthanasia, life after death and justice, these are all questions that they might find themselves facing later on in life and the teachings they received during the RE lessons may help them through this.

What do you think you want a pupil to achieve after say 10 years of RE?  What should a pupil, know, understand and be able to do because of their Religious Education?

A pupil should know after ten years of RE the difference between right and wrong foremost. If they have not achieved this then they will have learnt very little else in that time. They should have a clear understand of their own Religion whether and for arguments sake we shall say Christianity. They should know about God, Jesus, the Bible and the Ten Commandments as a basis. They should also be able to express their own point of views on the creation of the world, the crucifixion and current world affairs. A lot of the problems around the world are caused by Religious conflict, the pupils should be able to engage with this and put their own point of views across and be able to back them up with evidence. Because of their education in RE they should have a better understanding of constructing a debate or argument to back up what they believe and to also be able to hold a counter argument aswel to this.

 How do you feel as a beginning RE teacher after hearing what Rob and Stephen have to say?

“We can either cling to the wreckage of the present model of RE – a course which I believe will leave us drifting and dying on the open seas; or pick our direction carefully and set sail for new directions, undaunted” (Mark Chater, March 2011). I knew coming into this training program that RE was not the most popular subject in school. A lot of my friends have questioned why I want to be a RE teacher, for example one of my friends said, “RE is the most pointless subject, why do you want to do it?” I understand his thinking however I believe that it is the most important lesson away from Maths, English and Science because of the life lessons it can teach, how to live your life and why we should make certain decisions. I am worried about the state of RE at the moment. “The purpose of RE is to give the child the opportunity to gain religious knowledge and experience… In the later years it is to help him identify the fundamental questions on which a purposeful philosophy of life depends”. Religion is not just a 50 minute lesson in a classroom it is a way of life for people, importantly it might be for less children now however if we can improve one person’s life by the teachings in RE then we will have achieved something important. RE must be included in all faith and non faith schools even if it is just one lesson a week because it links in with English, History, Science and many more lessons and can help a young person think for themselves and create their own philosophical thought.

Challenges that lie ahead

As a future teacher I will face many different challenges some I am looking forward to more than others. However as an RE trainee teacher I believe I face a unique challenge that the other subjects may not face, this is to convince the students why they are doing RE. A lot of the time the students know why they have to do maths, English, Science and ICT however they do often question why they have to do RE. I believe I can tackle this by making the lessons very interactive, engrossing and more enjoyable. Teaching religion isn’t just about sitting them in front of the bible and questioning anyone who dares to question you. It’s exciting when I student challenges a certain belief or rule set by religion and that is what makes It a unique subject. For example Maths there is a set answer and question, religion however doesn’t have this issue, questions can vary and so can the answers, Religion faces the same problems as many other subjects but ultimately if it is dealt with correctly in the classroom then many of these can be changed for the better.