Transcript Wiltshire LA

Wiltshire RE Starter Stimulus
Starter ideas for the following key question from the 2011 Agreed Syllabus:
KS2 10 Why do some people believe in life after death
and what difference does it make?
This resource aims to provide some stimulus images and ideas to help pupils
begin to address the above question.
It links to the following learning outcomes from p58 of the syllabus:
Pupils can:
• Identify some mysterious and puzzling questions that religions help some
people to find answers to.
• Ask questions and suggest answers to the question, “What happens when we
die?”, in the context of religious and non-religious beliefs
• Explain how different beliefs about what happens when we die may cause
people to live their life in different ways
Many of the slides have notes to give suggestions for use. Look at the slide
show in Normal mode and look for the notes at the bottom of the page.
Look at the picture on the next slide.
Pause for a moment:
• How does it makes you feel?
• What does it make you think about?
Feelings
Thoughts
Questions, Questions…
Write down any questions you have,
following your thinking and talking.
Are they big questions or little
questions?
Which two questions are your class’s
BIGGEST big questions?
People don’t always like to face the idea of
death directly. They use euphemisms –
terms that make “death” sound slightly
better. Below are some euphemisms. See if
you can add any more ideas:
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Passed on
Popped his clogs
Gone to the other side
Kicked the bucket
Gone to the great ……… in the sky
Gone to meet her Maker
Breathed his last
Gone to heaven
Does anything happen after we die?
Is there “life after death”?
What do different people think about this?
RIP
Here are some beliefs about life after death. Can you match them to the
person?
Person A is a
Christian
Person B is
an atheist
Person C is a
Hindu
I believe nothing
happens after we
die.
I believe that we go
to be with God.
I believe that heaven
is real, although I am
not sure exactly what
it is like!
I believe that our
body dies but our
soul does not.
I believe that ideas
about heaven are
made up to make
people feel better.
I believe that
heaven is a good
place, where there
is no evil.
I believe we need
to face the reality
of death and not
waste time.
I believe that my
soul will return in
another body.
I believe it is better
if my soul is free to
return to God, not
return to earth.
Here are the answers, although some statements apply to more than
one person! Remember that not all Christians agree with each other,
nor do all atheists or all Hindus.
Person A is a
Christian
Person B is
an atheist
Person C is a
Hindu
I believe that we go
to be with God.
I believe nothing
happens after we
die.
I believe that our
body dies but our
soul does not.
I believe that heaven
is real, although I am
not sure exactly what
it is like!
I believe that ideas
about heaven are
made up to make
people feel better.
I believe that my
soul will return in
another body.
I believe that
heaven is a good
place, where there
is no evil.
I believe we need
to face the reality
of death and not
waste time.
I believe it is better
if my soul is free to
return to God, not
return to earth.
What difference does it make…?
How will someone behave if…
…they believe that there
is a God and that there is
a way to have eternal life
after they die?
…they believe that their
good and bad deeds are
weighed and will have
an impact on how they
are reincarnated on
earth after they die?
Think of three things these people might do.
Can you express some of your own
ideas in a poem?
Use your thoughts, feelings and questions
from this unit.
Try a haiku which
Has five and seven and five
Syllables per line
Or an acrostic.
Or read the next three poems to inspire
you. They are all from children who
entered the NATRE Spirited Poetry
competition.
I wonder …
I wonder how the world is made?
I wonder how the birds fly?
I wonder how we grow?
I wonder what the deepest sea is?
I wonder why teachers are the
boss?
I wonder why we die?
Madelaine Knowles, Age 6
© NATRE
The meaning of death
I wonder: what’s the meaning of
death?
Why do people pass away?
Gently fading into silence
They are silent to this day.
Why is there sound and silence?
The twins to death and life
Resonating through the ages
With the drop of a knife
Nobody remains here
In the midst of noise and life
But when they fall to silence
Do they suffer any strife?
Will we conquer death itself,
Or will we go on dying?
All across the world today
There are people crying.
Alex Tandy Age 10
© NATRE
Who am I?
I am my dreams,
My thoughts,
I am the crossfire of creation and evolution.
I am my knowledge, my wisdom, my grief,
Yet my tears turn to steam on my cheeks.
I am my lost soul
Which finds its way back,
I am my cracked heart
Which is whole once again.
I am my conscience, my will,
I am my own enemy.
I am the question,
Yet there is no answer:
“What is the meaning of life?”
Joe McNeil, Age 10
© NATRE
Other suggestions
1. Do a survey about beliefs in life after death. Compare the results.
See if popular beliefs about heaven reflect Christian beliefs or not.
For example, some young people who have Christian backgrounds
sometimes talk about believing in reincarnation.
2. Use the NATRE database to have a look at what thousands of
children have said on the question:
http://www.natre.org.uk/db/index.html
Note that these statements do not all reflect orthodox
religious beliefs, but they do reveal that questions
about death are important to children and young people.