A revision summary of the topic ‘Buddhist Practices’ following the new ‘AQA Religious Studies A’ syllabus, which had its first exam during Summer 2017. The pack contains core content, condensed into student friendly bullet-points, along with reference to ‘sacred writing’ in the form of quotes. This is excellent revision material for students of all abilities. The content is presented in managable chunks of three key ideas for each sub-topic, supported by quotes, which allow the more able to go into more depth interpreting Christian beliefs and perspectives. The content can be applied to past exam papers, or students can create their own flashcards, quizzes, or graphic organisers in support of their revision.

NEW 2016 KS3 Religious Studies curriculum lesson on the topic of 'Belonging' using the 1-9 grading criteria. There is specific focus on Hindu Samskaras and in particular the Sacred Thread Ceremony. The first task allows students to gain a general understanding of the nature of Samskaras followed by an in-depth examination of the Sacred Thread Ceremony and how it links to Hindus starting a 'new' religious and spiritual life. There is analysis of a source of wisdom and authority through the Gayatri Mantra and students get an opportunity to write a diary entry from the perspective of someone who has just undergone the Sacred Thread Ceremony, with a specific emphasis on how it shows belonging. All tasks are differentiated and suitable for all abilities.

NEW KS3 History curriculum on British Reforms following the NEW 1-9 grading criteria. This lesson focuses on four key voting Reforms from 1850 to 1900 and asks students to compare these to the People's Charter. The Reforms Acts covered are from 1867, 1872, 1884, 1885 and students get a chance to analyse and evaluate how far each Reform made an impact on gaining more equality for men and how they link to the campaign for universal suffrage outlined in the People's Charter of 1938. The plenary is designed to stretch and challenge students of all abilities, by asking them to create 5 quiz questions about Reforms and then swap with a partner and take someone else's quiz. All tasks are clearly differentiated and this lesson is suitable for all abilities.

NEW 2018 Edexcel GCSE in Religious Studies, following Religion and Ethics through Christianity and using the new 1-9 grading criteria. Students have to respond to a number of sources of wisdom and authority to investigate the history, nature and purpose of evangelism. Students then suggest ways in which Christians could evangelise through a number of different situations, e.g. education. Anglican and Catholic attitudes to evangelism are explored through case studies including the ALPHA course and students are asked to make links to why Christians would engage in evangelism today.

NEW 2016 KS3 Religious Studies curriculum lesson on the topic of 'Belonging' using the 1-9 grading criteria. There is specific focus on the Baptism of Jesus. Students are introduced to the topic of baptism and belonging to the Christian faith through a YouTube video. The next task allows students to be creative by asking them to convert information about the Christian understanding of the nature and history of baptism into pictures. This always goes down really well with visual learners and those of lower ability. It can also really challenge those of higher ability to explore the concept of symbolism. Students then use Luke Chapter 3 as a source of wisdom and authority to explain the story of Jesus' Baptism by John. Finally, students consider the importance of baptism for Christians today by using the quote from Matthew 28:19 as a source of wisdom and authority, All tasks are differentiated and suitable for all abilities.

GCSE lesson on the attitude to divorce in the UK, including the legality of divorce as well as viewpoints from Protestant and Catholic Christians. Should be used with the worksheet and information PPT. Follows the 'NEW' Edexcel GCSE specification.

A lesson suitable for GCSE or A-level to introduce Jeremy Bentham's Act Utilitarianism. The main focus is on Bentham's 'Principle or Utility' and how it can be applied to moral decision making. The lesson gives a comprehensive introduction to action based Utilitarianism and includes several moral dilemmas for students to apply to the theory. The main task gives students a range of essay based questions to choose from to argue either in favour or against the 'Principle of Utility'.

A GCSE or A-level lesson introducing Situation Ethics and Joseph Fletcher's core principle of Agape. Introduces the Working and Fundamental principles which govern moral decision making in Situation Ethics. Each task is designed and differentiated to work either as written work or class based discussion. The attached work sheet gives a summary of Situation Ethics which students have found very helpful for revision.

A GCSE or A-level lesson investigating the benefits of palliative care and how it compares to euthanasia as an end of life decision. Three case studies allow students to apply palliative care and compare it effectively to euthanasia. The main task is an extended piece of writing, which is differentiated by both task and ability and is aimed at stretching students in their critical analysis.

NEW 2016 Religious Studies KS3 curriculum lesson on the Bible as a source of authority for Christians. A visual starter asks students to identify the content of the Bible through the interpretation of pictures to each represent certain elements, e.g. the life of Jesus. Sources of wisdom and authority are used through quotes from the Bible to suggest why it has such authority within Christianity, focusing on the elements of worship, the conscience, the nature of God and the creation story. Students are then asked to complete a diamond 9 activity in pairs, to evaluate a number of reasons why Christians consider the Bible as a source of authority. The plenary asks students to reflect on their learning through the PLTS (Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills).

NEW 2016 Religious Studies KS3 curriculum lesson on the symbols and artefacts used by Christians during worship. The lesson focuses on symbols and artefacts linked to Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Church services. Quotes from the 'Last Supper' in the Bible are used as sources of wisdom and authority to get students to explore why religious symbols have survived thousands of years and are important to Christians today. The plenary asks students to use scrabble tiles to create between 2 and 5 words linked to the lesson and compete to get the highest scoring words.

NEW 2016 Edexcel Religious Studies lesson on the role of the prophets in Islam following the 'Religion, Peace and Conflict through Islam'. Students start off exploring the nature of prophet-hood and the importance of prophets in religion. Students investigate the history and importance of all the prophets in Islam including; Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma'il (Ishmael), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad. Students then get the opportunity to create a Facebook profile for one of the prophets. Finally, students evaluate reasons why the prophets are still important and relevant to Muslims today. The plenary involves students reflecting on their learning and progress through the PLTS (Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills).

GCSE Edexcel Religious Studies lesson on the role of women in society for the topic Community Cohesion. The idea of gender stereotypes is introduced through a variety of posters and videos to engage the students and then followed by discussion of gender roles in society. A team work task with information about the legal and historical changes of the role of women in society is delivered through peer-to-peer 'experts' from each team sharing specific knowledge for students to fill in a worksheet. Finally, students can consider gender equality in the 21st century through their own experiences.

NEW 2018 AQA Religious Studies Specification ‘A’ lesson on ‘Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings’ following the 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson includes differentiated tasks for every activity, designed to stretch and challenge all students. The initial task recounts the birth of the Buddha and students are asked to re-tell it in a creative way. Students then respond to 'sacred writing' from the Anguttara Nikaya, to highlight the luxurious upbringing the Buddha had. Students then consider the Four Sights and what impression these might have left on the Buddha and how they informed his decision to leave the palace. Students self-reflect on their learning through De-Bono's hats.

NEW 2018 AQA Religious Studies Specification ‘A’ lesson on ‘Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings’ following the 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson includes differentiated tasks for every activity, designed to stretch and challenge all students. The first task gets students to explore the definitions of the three marks of existence, before completing a specific task on each mark of existence; dukkha, anicca and anatta. For dukkha, students investigate different causes of suffering. For anicca, students consider ways in which humans change over time in different ways. This is extended during the anatta task, to include specific elements of a person and what makes someone who they are. Students then respond to 'sacred writing' through the story of Kisa Gotami and link it to all three marks of existence. As a plenary, students complete a 'why-tree' based on the key question: why does suffering happen?

NEW 2018 AQA Religious Studies Specification ‘A’ lesson on ‘Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings’ following the 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson includes differentiated tasks for every activity, designed to stretch and challenge all students. Students are asked to interpret the meaning of sacred writing from Jataka vol. 1, p.71 and consider how the Buddha used meditation to reach enlightenment. They then explore the significance of the 'three watches' before applying their learning to a GCSE type exam question, with scaffolding provided, as well as a student friendly mark scheme, which can be used for self- or peer-assessment.

NEW 2018 AQA Religious Studies Specification ‘A’ lesson on ‘Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings’ following the 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson includes differentiated tasks for every activity, designed to stretch and challenge all students. Students are hooked into the lesson by considering if it is possible for humans to overcome suffering. Students then have the opportunity to consider how the life of the Buddha could link to him considering suffering to be a major problem that needs to be overcome. Students then listen to the Rolling Stones song 'satisfaction' and link the message of the lyrics to Buddhism and suffering in particular. Students then summarise the Four Noble Truths by responding to a definition of each and respond by giving an example of suffering that can be applied to the Four Noble Truths (model answer provided). Students then consider evidence for Buddhist beliefs about the Four Noble Truths by analysing sacred writing, before summarising their learning as the plenary.

NEW 2018 AQA Religious Studies Specification ‘A’ lesson on ‘Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings’ following the 1-9 grading criteria. The lesson includes differentiated tasks for every activity, designed to stretch and challenge all students. Students investigate and compare some of the main features of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism including differences regarding; sunyata, Buddhahood, the five aggregates, kamma and nibbana. This can be done through a carousel task, or peer teaching, with students being asked to take notes from the information sheet. Students then use their knowledge to create a poster outlining the key differences between the two types of Buddhism, with particular emphasis on the concept of 'self' and 'enlightenment'. The spinning plenary wheel, allows for a random plenary from a selection of 8.