It has been great to work with the team from Big Ideas for RE and develop one of the exemplar units that are now live on their website.

Big Ideas is a programs of study that “help prioritise subject knowledge, help make sense of a mass of information, are memorable, and transferable to events outside the classroom in both present and future.” Big Ideas is a cohesive program and there is lots more to read on their website.

The resource I wrote was for Big Idea 1: CONTINUITY, CHANGE AND DIVERSITY, ages 9-11. The unit is called Different paths, same journey? and it explores how a ‘religion’ is a collection of different peoples who practise their shared faith in different ways. We meet four Christian denominations (Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Quaker) and two Muslim traditions (Shia, Sunni). As there is a depth of subject knowledge to cover, videos have been used wherever possible with links given within the resource document.

This unit starts with Christianity and then, via a linking section, moves on to Islam. This unit could be taught in reverse order to better suit your students.

Let me know if you have used this resource in your lessons or have any thoughts or feedback.