RE at Cotsford
At Cotsford Primary school we follow County Durham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. The children study a range of religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and the core religion of Christianity.
Summer 2
This term in Early Years we explored different places of worship and what they look like inside. We found out lots of interesting facts and created our own stained glass windows.
Year 1 have enjoyed continuing their learning about the peaceful Buddha. They have enjoyed short stories and have been able to discuss the hidden message of these stories.
Year 2/3 have looked at the question ‘What can we learn about our local faith communities?’ They talked about why it is important to respect people and their differences. The children learnt some facts about Jehovah Witness’s, including where and how they worship. As you can see in the pictures below, the children compared a Christian Church to Kingdom Hall.
Year 3 have developed tolerance and respect for other religions when investigating the rituals and beliefs of Hindu’s. They have learned about what Hindu’s believe about after life after death and have made comparisons with their own beliefs. They have enjoyed investigating the different elements of Hindu life and how everything they do it linked to their religion and beliefs.
Year 5 have been learning about rituals, both religious and non-religious. They have investigated rituals across different religions and are continuing to develop their tolerance for others. They have a better understanding of the role of rituals; from prayer in Islam to the Eucharist in Christianity.
The Year 6 children have worked hard this half term on what they know about Christianity. They have been able to identify the belief, the authority, expressions of belief and the impact of their belief within the Christian religion. This has enabled them to reflect on their own beliefs and values.
Summer 1
This term in Reception we explored the Muslim festival of Ramadan and talked about the different things that people do in such a special time. We have also created our own mehndi patterns.
Year 1 have enjoyed learning about the peaceful Buddha this half term! They have practised their meditation pose and have listened to lots of stories from Buddhism.
The children in Year 2 and 3 have been fascinated to learn about Buddhism and answer the question ‘How do Buddhists show their beliefs?’ As you can see in the pictures below, they have enjoyed making their own Dharma wheels with the 8 rules of the Buddhist faith and I was so impressed with their manadalas. The children explored some items that Buddhists use and created some very thoughtful prayer flags.
Year 3 have shown great enthusiasm when learning about the Hindu religion. They have learned all about what the Hindu’s believe and the different representations of God. They used their research skills to find information about the different representations of God.
This half term Year 4 our topic has been ‘How do people show care?’ We talked about the importance of good deeds and what it means to do a good deed. Then, we looked at examples of how people can show care, sometimes through a job they may do or a kind gesture to someone in their life. We also explored how Jesus told his followers the parable of the Goats and Sheep, and how it relates to Christian beliefs in doing good deeds.
In our Year 5 lessons, we have worked really hard to develop respect and tolerance towards other religions focusing on Judaism. The children were interested in finding out more about Jewish beliefs and practices e,g, daily prayer, Shabbat, key festivals and celebrations, kosher kitchen.
The big question for Year 6 in RE was what do we know about Christianity? We had some excellent discussions about what Christians do and how they help others. We investigated different stories and what Christian values were shown, we also gave our impressions of the Christian stories.
Spring 2 – Remote Learning and return to school
This term the children in EYFS have looked at the Easter story and the importance of this time of year for Christians. It’s a super interesting time of year! They have looked at pictures of the local church and constructed churches in their building and construction areas. Some great future architects in the making in Reception.
In Year 1, the children have looked the Easter Story. They learned about the Holy Week, and what happened to Jesus during this time. They developed an understanding about why we celebrate Easter and could also retell the Easter story. Super work Year 1!
Year 2 and 3 have been looking at the question, ‘How do Christians celebrate Easter?’ We had lots of interesting answers but came up with some wonderful ideas. They shared what they remembered about the Easter story and each important day and even, including; Good Friday and Easter Day. The children looked at the important objects and symbols associated with Easter and thought about what they can tell us about the story of Easter, including a cross, church colours, palm cross, bread and wine.
The children in Year 3 have explored the importance of Palm Sunday to Christians. The children explored the main events of Palm Sunday and the meaning behind Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The children at home during lockdown created palm leaves using their hands and folded card to create a palm cross. They had lots of fun making their own palm leaves. I wonder what it was like at the time of Jesus and waving all the palm leaves about?
Year 4 explored the question ‘Why is Lent such an important period for Christians?’ this half term. During home learning, children engaged in discussions about remembering what Lent represents, why it is important and why Christians observe it. They all had some lovely ideas and thoughts, well done Year 4!
Year 5 children have learnt about the Easter story and investigated the importance of the Last Supper. They have used their inference skills to find information from Leonardo DaVinci’s painting of the Last Supper and they discussed who each of the people depicted could be. Some fantastic detective work and a great way to look at the story differently.
Year 6 have looked at Christianity and the place it has in the world. They have developed an understanding of symbols in everyday life and symbols that are used in the religion. They have discussed the meaning of the symbols and why they are respected within religion of Christianity.
Spring 1 – Remote Learning
The children in Reception have reflected on Christmas time and thought about what they enjoyed and sharing a meal with family. They also talked about their favourite presents.
In Year 1 the children have looked at how important Jesus is to Christians. They first talked about who Jesus was and what they already know about Jesus. They then discussed why they thought Jesus was so special to Christians. They watched a video about Jesus healing a paralysed man, to help them think about his importance.
Year 2 and 3 have been considering the question, What does it mean to belong in Christianity? They started by looking at the word ‘belonging’ and what it means, how they show belonging and how it makes them feel. Then, they explored how Christians welcome people into the church by baptising them. Finally, they thought about how they can show that they care about people and how they can help other people.
This half term the children in Year 3 have explored the importance of Christian worship. They looked at several pictures of Christian’s worshipping and identified what they could see. The children explored a variety of Christian symbols found in a church and what they meant. This led to the children creating a poster of their own symbols which represent them. They explored the colours used inside churches and different times of the year and their significance. The children then created a flag using colours and symbols which represent them and their feelings. They finally explored the features of a church and wrote a short description of each one.
Year 4 explored the question ‘What do Christians believe about Jesus?’ this half term. To begin this topic, the children gathered information that they already knew about Jesus as part of their home learning.
Then, they explored the story of Jesus at 12 and children discussed at home what questions they would ask about the story.
Finally, the children thought about the story of Jesus’ Baptism and used artwork depicting the story to ask questions about why this was a turning point in Jesus’ life and why people get baptised.
In Year 5 children have focused on what Christians believe about God. They have identified different metaphors that are used in the bible to describe God and created some of their own. They have created calligrams using words that can be used to describe God; creator and maker. They have also investigated the stories that depict God, including Moses and the burning bush.
This half term Year 6 have also been looking at Christianity. They have compared different religions from around the world and can explain some of the differences in the prayer routines, Gods and other beliefs such as the creation story. They have identified some features of a church such as the alter and the lectern, and have used Purple Mash to investigate the meanings behind some of the stained glass windows.
Autumn 2
EYFS – This term the children have explored the celebration of Diwali and listened to the story of Rama and Sita. They have also listened to the story of the first Christmas and used some of the characters from both stories in their small world areas independently.
Year 1 – The RE focus has been all about giving and receiving gifts. The children started looking at the Nativity story and the importance of the gifts that the Three Kings brought for baby Jesus. They then moved on to talking about what gifts they would like to receive and give. The children realised that giving gifts to loved ones doesn’t always have to be physical presents.
In year 2 and 3 the children have found out about St Cuthbert, his life and why he became a monk. They found out what he did, why he was special and why he was linked to Lindisfarne and Durham Cathedral. They then thought about how their actions may be like him.
The children thought about light and identified symbols of light in the Christmas Story and how light overcomes the dark, like good overcomes bad. They then thought about how Christians use light and why Christingles are important.
In Year 3 the children the children explored the meaning of Advent. They discussed when Advent occurred and why it was important to Christians. The children watched a video clip of the annunciation story and discussed how Mary must have felt. Several children then became Mary in a hot seating activity. The children developed their knowledge of Jesus being the Messiah and how is birth is an important festival for Christians.
Year 4 explored why Christians call Jesus the Light of the World. They have thought about symbols of light and how this makes them feel compared to the dark. The children thought about light in the Christmas story and put Mary in the ‘hot seat’ to answer questions. They looked at Holm Hunt’s famous picture of Jesus and how this links to the belief Christians hold that Jesus is the Light of the World. They also looked at Advent and its link to light and thought of messages of hope we could pass to others.
Year 5 investigated the songs of Christmas – both traditional crols and pop songs to identify any similar themes. The class also looked at the gospel of Luke to identify the themes of Christmas – love, celebration, peace, joy, family and giving. They have also created stained glass window decorations based on the themes of Christmas.
Year 6 have been comparing the religions Islam and Christianity. They have discussed and written about the similarities and differences between both religions. They can discuss how places of worship and prayer are different and can explain that people have varied beliefs and that is to be respected.
Autumn 1
EYFS – This term we have explored the custom of Halloween looking at why some people celebrate and what they do. We have made some resources relating to this spooky time of year including pumpkins and hats.
Year 1 – In RE, we focused on Christianity and how important the church is to Christians. We looked at what churches and its symbols represent and also discussed how churches are used. We then discussed the importance of the Autumn Harvest. Finally, we talked about ways that we can care for God’s world.
Year 2/3 – This half term the children have looked at the question ‘Why is the Bible special to Christians?’ The children explored the Bible, shared some Bible stories and thought about how God, the Bible and its stories help Christians. They explored the idea of God as our father and as the creator of our world and discussed how he helps and cares for us. Then they looked at the work of St Francis of Assisi and how he also cared for others and thought about how we could care for others and our world. The children also looked at Harvest and why this celebration is important to Christians.
Year 3 – This half term we have been exploring ‘How do Hindus worship?’. We recapped on what we already knew about Hinduism and began to learn about different ways they celebrate and worship. We explored the 5 senses in worship and identified a range of objects needed for a puji. In class we created a Hindu shrine and added different features to help us learn. We had a good debate, whether good always defeats evil. It was decided that they did in the books and films that young people read and came to the conclusion that they should. From this we transferred that knowledge to explore the story of Rama and Sita. We enjoyed discussing other religions that have stories where good defeats evil.
Year 4 have explored how the Bible is important to Christians this term. We have looked at different genres of text within the Bible itself and discussed why studying the Bible in depth is just as important to Christians as reading the stories within it.
Year 5 have explored Judaism and the importance of Moses. They have investigated the Synagogue and why each element is important. They have learned the story of Passover and the role played by Moses. They have also discussed the Torah, why it is so important to Jewish people and the importance of the 10 commandments. They also created their own version of the 10 commandments – giving them a more modern feel.
Year 6 – This half term our topic has been ‘Islam’. Year 6 have been learning all aspects of the religion such as; what it is like inside a mosque, mosques around the world and the routines Muslims have before and during pray time. They can identify the main features of mosques and some of routines and beliefs Muslims have. They understand that Muslims can pray anywhere and know about special trips to Mecca that some Muslims do once in a lifetime.
Please click the link for Religious Education National Curriculum Information.
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