For the classroom

KarenTurnerteaches RE in Nottinghamshire. She wanted her pupils to explore values, rules and fairness through a unit of RE. Here is what happened.

‘Anti-racism’ seems to be the trendy phrase of the moment. For some, this is
all rooted in a well-meaning passion for change, and for others it’s a phrase
that brings division, politics and uproar....

God says: ‘I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth’ – Genesis 9:13 (NIV).

In this issue of REtoday, themed around identities, we are very glad to have some thoughtful reflections from transgender Christians, considering what it means to identify differently from your birth gender and to do...

Hannah Tomlinson is Head of RE at Hindley High School, Wigan. Her Year 8 pupils worked on the BBC resource ‘V is for Virtue’ during the lockdown. Evie, 13, one of her young thinkers, wrote this after considering...

In an article for Professional REflection in REtoday, Jenny Berglund and Bill Gent suggested using ‘three Bs’ to think of the interconnected, overlapping dimensions of religious identity: believing, belonging...

The growth of RS at the Winstanley School in Leicester has been an exciting journey that began nearly four years ago. I was recruited as Head of RS across the LiFE Multi- Academy Trust, which involved the brief of...

The New Room at Bristol, where John Welsey's anti-slavery preaching started a riot, is a great place to take pupils for an RE visit, but even if they can't make the trip, this activity opens up connections between...

As a teenager, Paul Cuffe (pronounced ‘Cuffee’) lived on his family’s farm in Massachusetts, USA, but he had a feeling that he wasn’t going to spend his whole life farming. The Atlantic Ocean was right on his...

Many teachers are finding it hard to maintain an engaging, provocative and active curriculum in RE under socially distanced classroom conditions. Here are ten ideas from the Editor to adapt for your classroom, hall or...

Cheshire East has few faith communities other than Christianity. Following the Manchester Arena bombings (2017), where pupils, parents and governors from Cheshire East schools were directly affected, teachers reported...

In 2006, I was lucky enough to travel to Japan. My hosts were keen to understand more about the UK and British culture. We talked about many things – Shakespeare, the Queen, the history of the Tower of London –...

Islamic identity and values are here interpreted by 9-year-olds from Riverside School, Bermondsey, with non-figurative art and help from the British Library’s amazing online collection of Muslim sacred texts in the...

Would you like to explore questions about community, values and respect with your 6–8s? Here are ideas for an RE day based upon the theme of this issue of REtoday: identities. Pupils often benefit from an intensive...

RE for Early Years pupils and infants needs active and thought-provoking ways of connecting learning about religions to experience. Here are ten suggestions that have questions of identity and belonging, our theme for...

This activity is simple, flexible and potentially profound. A part of good RE around green issues is to consider whether religions have a part to play in climate justice and responding to the climate crisis, and to...

Over 60 students representing half the secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent came together in the impressive surroundings of the council chamber to take part in three debates.

David G. Kibble, a retired RE teacher, suggests learning activities for your 11–16s. There is an extended version of this article on the RE Today members’ website.

The Revd Dr Dave Bookless is a former RE teacher. He has lived in multicultural Southall for nearly 30 years, writes and speaks widely, and loves running, Indian food, good wine and wild places.

REtoday is very glad to have this interview with Jonathan Bartley, Co-Leader of the UK Green Party. Read it with your students and consider the questions at the end of the article. If you send their responses to us...