Celebrating cultural diversity how can this

be done in the classroom?

Teachers
Standards:
Objectives

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate

and challenge pupils;
Promote good progress and outcomes by
pupils;
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum
knowledge ;
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths
and needs of all pupils;
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a
good and safe learning environment.

What is the purpose of RE?

Religious education is about developing and supporting ones own

beliefs and values and enquiring into those of others
In doing this we gain a greater understanding of ourselves and
the world we live in
As a result we make more rational choices and cone to recognise
how and why others choose to live in ways different from our own
Therefore the subject makes a significant contribution to
negotiating our collective futures and dispelling ignorance
Finally, therefore, democratic forms of education should value
the subject as a way of critically reflecting on our own and
others worldviews in relation to the development of mankind

Erricker and Bellchambers (2011)

To be able to achieve the above it can be argued

that teachers need to be creative in their approach
to teaching of RE
Creative activities, the decline of which concerned
many witnesses to the Review, raise the quality and
capacity of childrens thinking, perseverance and
problem-solving abilities, as well as fuelling their
imaginations. Children are very competent and
capable
learners given the right linguistic and social
environment. We are now better informed than
ever as to what that environment should contain.
Cambridge Primary Review (2009)

What are we aiming for?

What Are We Aiming For?

High quality lessons that are

appropriately challenging, achieve the
main aims and purposes and are
FUN!

Active learning

An old Chinese proverb states:

Tell me and Ill forget.
Show me and I may not
remember.
Involve me and Ill
understand.

Some claim this is of native American origin.

Our society today needs young people who are flexible,

creative, and proactive young people who can solve
problems, make decisions, think critically, communicate
ideas effectively and work efficiently within teams and
groups.
The knowing of knowledge is no longer enough to succeed
in the increasingly complex, fluid, and rapidly evolving
world in which we live. In order to optimise life-long
learning and potential success it is
now widely accepted that young people need to have
opportunities to develop personal capabilities and effective
thinking skills as part of their well-rounded education.

It is important to remember that with

RE in particular that children will need
to find out answers to their own
questions themselves and you as a
teacher will facilitate this. Some of
those answers may only be through good
subject knowledge as teachers and
pupils.

What else needs to be considered?

Differentiation;
By task
By outcome
By scaffolding and sequencing
By adult support
By recording
By modelling
REMEMBER Differentiation is not just about lower
ability children but also;
More able
EAL
Dyslexia
Dyspraxia

Name as many religious festivals and

celebrations as you can?

The more well known

celebrations are;
Christmas
Easter
Lent
Holi
Diwali
Ramadan
Eid-ul-adha
Hanukkah
Passover
Yom Kippur
Nirvana
Wesak
Vaisakhi
Birthday of Guru Nanak

Good subject knowledge is really important for children to handle

complex issues in a meaningful way and to make it relevant to children.
This can be very effective when learning about religions through
celebrations;
Religious events and cultural celebrations form an important part of
societies throughout the world. They are key to social development
and understanding, for celebrating diversity, as well as finding
common ground.
Davies (2014)

Festivals give;
Sense of ownership
Something to believe in and share
Helps make sense of the world
Lets us experience other cultures
Broaden knowledge
Learn to empathise and form relationships
This is key to good SMCS and then relates to
the British values and modern Britain agenda at
present.

Remember
That all lessons we plan for RE must be designed with
the needs of our children in mind. Our lessons must be
inclusive and reflect the diversity of the children we
teach.

You are now going to plan some lessons to help

celebrate different religious festivals. This is going to
be done on a carousel basis so at the end of this
session you will have 5 different lesson plans to feed
back to the rest of the group.

On each table you have a series of resources that will

help in your lesson planning. Remember that all learning
needs to be relevant.
Remember
SMSC
Differentiation
Engaging the learners

Table 1 Nativity
Nativity puppets
Ideas book on Christmas
Story book

Table 2 Diwali
Rama and Sita Diwali set
Story book
Information sheet

Table 3 Hanukkah
Story book
Soft synagogue
Hanukkah set
Dreidel Game sheets
Hanukkah fact sheet

Table 4 Easter
Soft puppet Jesus
Story book
Fact sheet

Table 5 Vaisakhi
Books
5 ks box
Work sheets

Table 6 Hajj
Books
Worksheets
Remember you Muslims do
not draw Allah/God or the
Holy people.

Essential Reading
Webster, M. (2010) Creative

Approaches to Teaching Primary R.

London: Person Education Limited
Chapters 5,9&10

Davies, A. (2014) Using Festivals to

Inspire and Engage Young Children.

Abingdon: Routledge
Chapters; introduction and 13

Directed Tasks
Choose one learning strategy
and devise an activity to try
out in the classroom.
Upload your plan to your
Blogfolio.
Reflect on your learning and
complete your Blogfolio