RE network meeting Autumn term 2018 Aim of the session: To be able to help children to analyse Biblical texts in order to understand how Christians interpret and apply texts and beliefs to their daily lives.

Being religiously literate Discuss What might a religiously/illiterate pupil look like? Devise a ‘before/after’ portrait of a religiously/theologically illiterate and then literate pupil.

One definition of what is meant by religious literacy “Just as we teach children literacy – the skills of reading, writing, communication – through the medium of the English Language and English Literature, we should teach Religious Literacy through the medium of a particular Religious Language and Faith Tradition, whether that is Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Hinduism.  In doing so we are not telling them what to think or do (any more than the Literacy teacher tells students how to communicate with their parents at home), we are just providing them with the skills they need to start to understand one religion, which is the gateway to understanding any number of others and, when taught well, an inspiration to do so as well.” (Charlotte Vardy.)

How interpreting texts supports personal development Promoting British values and handling diversity Developing the concept of values Developing character education and virtues Developing virtuous readers

What do we mean by developing ‘virtuous readers?’ Paying careful attentions to text Coming to the text with an open mind Having intellectual curiosity and humility A desire to seek to find out what the text is saying Being aware of different readings, as well as becoming aware of one’s own context and perspective

Interpreting texts Giving the opportunity to encounter texts for themselves. Considering questions of interpretation: Eg: What kind of text is this? What did the writer or editor intend? Why was the text included in the Bible? What can we learn about the community for whom the text was written? What might its meaning be for people in the 21st century? What effect might it have on readers? Children should be encouraged to consider ways in which Christians interpret texts and begin to make sense of why these interpretations vary. What should Christians actually do as a result of what the text says? What is the child’s personal response to the text and whether the Christian’s interpretation of the text have any values in helping them to make sense of the world, and whether the moral demands are universally or personally valuable?

The value of using texts in the classroom Behind the text: These are matters around authorship, sources, context, the community for whom the text is written and the reliability of the text. Within the text: These are matters around understanding the words themselves in context – what do these text mean? In front of the text: This concerns the relationship between the text and the reader, whether teacher, pupil, Christian, Hindu or atheist, and how our modern (or post-modern) context affects how we interpret the text.

The role of the child as reader What analysing texts well does, is it takes seriously the role of the pupil as reader, bringing their own world to the text whilst giving them the opportunity to allow the text to enlarge their understanding of the world.

The virtue of reading Reading in this way encourages reading and re-reading of texts. This helps pupils to recognise the impact texts can have on believers’ lives. A preliminary reading of a text may result in a particular response, but a re-reading might change that. Reading to the end of a text changes a reader’s perspective when going back through for a second time or a third. The impact of this kind of reading and re-reading can be seen in the way religious believers linger in their sacred texts.

How does using text support the spiritual development of a child? Pupils will have the opportunity to recognise, appreciate and appraise the impact the biblical text can have on the lives of individuals, within and outside the Christian community. As they explore the challenge the text has for believers, they will have opportunities to consider their own views and reflect on how the Bible presents a way of understanding the world and human nature. Of course, the texts themselves deal with ideas of God, creation, worship, wonder, human desires, intentions and questions; exploring these ideas offers opportunities for reflection, wonder, puzzlement, confusion, and consideration of the dark and light side of being human — all of which can contribute to pupils’ spiritual development.

Moral development: Alongside the moral and ethical issues that are dealt with in the texts studied, and their own responses to matters of right and wrong, this approach encourages pupils to develop their ability to interpret texts. Interpretation has a moral element — balancing the rights of the texts to be handled fairly, the believing community (in all its diversity) to be listened to, and the pupils to be allowed to ask searching and perhaps awkward questions. The relationship between the text and the reader has a moral element too; there are occasions when the pupil is encouraged to see the text as an object for critical evaluation, and times when the text is more of a presence, a voice offering a challenge or a perspective that the pupil is invited to consider. In a world where misinterpretation and misapplication of texts can lead to division and conflict, encouraging pupils to become ‘virtuous readers’ is a significant contribution to their moral development, and can be applied beyond the study of biblical texts.

Social development: Recognising that all readers come to texts from different perspectives, and that texts can be read for a range of purposes — not all benign — is an important element of social development arising from these materials. Learning that people interpret texts differently is also important, so that pupils recognise that this applies to biblical interpretation within and outside the Christian community and to other texts, religious or otherwise. Being able to accommodate and handle this diversity is key to social development in this resource

Cultural development: As pupils explore texts and their cultural contexts, they develop understanding of the core Christian concepts and their impact within and beyond the diverse Christian community. This begins to enable pupils to recognise the contribution of Christianity to Western culture, and perhaps particularly the contribution of the Bible to the arts. This plays a part in a wider cultural development promoted in RE, such as appreciating the diversity of religious and non-religious beliefs in local, national and global contexts.

Different ways of getting into the Bible Interpreting texts Different ways of getting into the Bible

Sitz im Leben ("setting in life") Form criticism Sitz im Leben ("setting in life") © RE Today Services

Why is it good to listen and remember the stories Jesus told? The Prodigal Son Luke 15: 11 - 32

First reading: Key questions to ask following the first reading: What type of text is this? Where would we find it in the Bible? Why was it written/what is the context?

Why was it written? (Behind the text) What must have been going on for Jesus to tell this story? What kind of changes might have been expected from his audience?

Within the text/in front of the text How do you think the younger son felt when he first saw his father? Do you think the father did the right thing to welcome his son home? How do you think the older son felt when the father held a feast to celebrate the return of his younger son? If you were the younger son, how would you feel? If you were the older son, how would you feel?

Bubbling speech, bubbling thoughts Three speech bubbles for the father: What do you think the father wants to say to his older son at the celebration? What do you think the father wants to say to his younger son at the celebration? What do you think the father might be thinking? What are you thinking about this parable?

What do the miracles of Jesus teach? The healing of the paralysed man Mark 2: 1-12 and Matthew 9: 1-8.

First reading: Key questions to ask following the first reading: What type of text is this? Where would we find it in the Bible? Why was it written/what is the context?

Why was it written? (Behind the text) What must have been going on for Jesus to perform this miracle? What kind of changes might have been expected from his audience?

Double-entry journal Ideas from the text: To include: Interesting language/a quotation/a key event, a critical fact/a problem or conflict Ideas from the mind: To include: A reaction, a theory or hypothesis, a comparison, a question they have, an explanation, a discussion of significance, a discussion of reactions to the text/significance the text has on the believer