Critique of session plans
Critique of the session plans
Religious Education can be at times a subject that is marginalised (Revell, 2005) as it may not seem as important as teaching the core subjects such as maths, science and English which help children achieve better in further education. In the Non Statutory Framework for RE, Charles Clarke (the former Education Secretary states that, ‘Good –quality religious education can transform pupils’ assessment of themselves and others, and their understanding of the wider position of the world in which we live’. (QCA, 2004:3) The main purpose of RE is to ensure that children have the opportunity to consider who they are, what they believe and how they want to live.
The regional I chose explore and teach to children is Hinduism. I chose this religion as I think it is a religion full of variety and gaiety. It is one of the oldest religions and has great cultural stories and epics woven into the religion. There are many festivals which are celebrated in Hinduism but I chose to focus on one festival to teach a Reception class. The festival I chose is Diwali because it is a festival of lights which celebrates the ‘triumph of good over evil’. (Voice for the voiceless, Online) ‘In some parts of India Diwali is celebrated as a New Year festival. The festival gets its name from the little oil lamps called Diva or Diyas.’ (Bramhall,1997) Diwali is about realizing and understanding the inner light that reside within all of us. It is celebrated by decorating homes, temples and buildings with sources of light such as using Diyas. It is similar to celebrations of other religions in terms of food, gifts, wearing new clothes. As Diwali is celebrated in November I decided to plan my sessions around that period of time. It is an interesting festival to teach to children as they are fascinated by the stories and lights. Below I will describe my session plans and how and why I chose the activities to teach to children.
Session 1:
Children have already
Religious Education can be at times a subject that is marginalised (Revell, 2005) as it may not seem as important as teaching the core subjects such as maths, science and English which help children achieve better in further education. In the Non Statutory Framework for RE, Charles Clarke (the former Education Secretary states that, ‘Good –quality religious education can transform pupils’ assessment of themselves and others, and their understanding of the wider position of the world in which we live’. (QCA, 2004:3) The main purpose of RE is to ensure that children have the opportunity to consider who they are, what they believe and how they want to live.
The regional I chose explore and teach to children is Hinduism. I chose this religion as I think it is a religion full of variety and gaiety. It is one of the oldest religions and has great cultural stories and epics woven into the religion. There are many festivals which are celebrated in Hinduism but I chose to focus on one festival to teach a Reception class. The festival I chose is Diwali because it is a festival of lights which celebrates the ‘triumph of good over evil’. (Voice for the voiceless, Online) ‘In some parts of India Diwali is celebrated as a New Year festival. The festival gets its name from the little oil lamps called Diva or Diyas.’ (Bramhall,1997) Diwali is about realizing and understanding the inner light that reside within all of us. It is celebrated by decorating homes, temples and buildings with sources of light such as using Diyas. It is similar to celebrations of other religions in terms of food, gifts, wearing new clothes. As Diwali is celebrated in November I decided to plan my sessions around that period of time. It is an interesting festival to teach to children as they are fascinated by the stories and lights. Below I will describe my session plans and how and why I chose the activities to teach to children.
Session 1:
Children have already
Bibliography: Revell, L., 2005 ‘Student Primary teachers and their experience of religious education in schools’, British Journal of Religious Education 27:3, 215-26 (accessed on 28/04/12) Non Statutory framework for RE: http://www.mmiweb.org.uk/publications/re/NSNF.pdf (accessed on 28/04/12) Voice for the voiceless: http://www.voiceforthevoiceless.org.za/diwali.htm (accessed on 28/04/12) Bramphall. A 1997 ‘Hinduism in Evidence’ Technology Teaching Systems Ltd, Derbyshire. p.g. 22 (accessed on 28/04/12) Effective Practice: Observation, Assessment and Planning: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:uaTsefk2YO8J:www.scotlandscolleges.ac.uk/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,78/gid,1111/task,doc_download/+types+of+assessment+in+early+years+foundation+stage&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESghWTycKjfBAeWnfr3EB8kju8wHCwhjabrjaOs8qScDe6LKu8UZVXp9Yj0qWnwmfGSi3H_-15oQ4726v0FqW-lWxM7iIKhQtl8ufjWjL78A2r_Nha1ER00Kgc3ZDJ8J0A22K7D4&sig=AHIEtbRaKLNihJ2O1wlVn5nnKg6e4VLxcw (accessed on 28/04/12) Early Years Matters: http://earlyyearsmatters.co.uk/index.php/planning/ (accessed on 28/04/12) Assessment for learning: http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/9941/1/GlazzardAssessmentpdf.pdf (accessed on 28/04/12) Activity Village: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/diwali.htm (accessed on 28/04/12) I love India: http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/diwali-recipes.html (accessed on 28/04/12)