1. Buttresses: a way of scaffolding learning
Lat Blaylock
This PowerPoint presentation links to the chapter on diversity in British Judaism angel images as expressions of spiritual meaning in
QRE: Jewish People, RE Today, 2011

2. Supporting opinions and points of view in RE
Use this PPT to show your pupils how to support their points of view more clearly.
Some pupils achieving well in RE at 14-16, still find it hard to see how to support their opinions.
This structure uses the metaphor of a buttress, a built support.
Ancient buildings used flying buttresses to support tall structures
Ask if pupils can:
express insight into their own and others’ views on questions of meaning and truth;
use reasoning and examples to express insights into the relationships between beliefs, authorities, teachings and world issues.
This strategy helps them do this.
From the next slide, use the PPT with students.

3. Buttresses: a way of scaffolding learning for Yr 9 and GCSE in RE
Lat Blaylock

4. Supporting your opinions and views: a key skill for high standards
In GCSE RS an opinion can be supported by four things:
A source of authority (e.g. Bible, Torah, a scholar)
A reason
A personal experience
An argument

5. First, identify a big question, and give an opinion about it.
Think about the authorities, experiences, reasons and arguments that support your opinions. Can you see what fits into the different paces on the ‘buttress’ diagram
Pair and share – can discussion improve the way you support your opinions?
Use this as a revision structure or exam writing method for evaluation questions.
Pick the best from the examples on the following slides

6. Some EGs of big questions in RE: Which one interest you the most?
Why do we think a human baby priceless and sacred, but a baby pig or lamb can be killed to eat?
Does God like men better than women? If not, why is it such a sexist world?
How can there be a great God full of love in a universe of genocide, selfishness, earthquakes and AIDS?
How can I find out if, when I die, my consciousness may survive?
Why should I care about other people? It’s my life.
Is love or death stronger?
Students: if you had to choose one of these, for an investigation, which would it be? What similar questions interest you?
Look at the example on the next slide to get the idea

7. My opinion is that life after death is possible, but unprovable
The Bible teaches that Jesus was resurrected in history, and it promises his followers their own resurrection if they trust him.
I think I once had a message from my dead gran. But perhaps it was a delusion. But it felt real to me.
The chemical composition of the body is identical just before and just after death. But something has gone – call it the soul. If this soul or ‘real person’ has “gone”, then it must be a real thing, and it could exist apart from the body. Therefore a soul could live out of the body.
I think that there is life after death because of the evidence of ‘near death experiences’ – some people go half way and come back.

8. I think that there is life after death because of the evidence of ‘near death experiences’ – some people go half way and come back.
I think I once had a message from my dead gran. But perhaps it was a delusion. But it felt real to me.
The chemical
composition of the body is identical just before and just after death. But something has gone – call it the soul. If this soul or ‘real person’ has ‘gone, then it must be a real thing, and it could exist apart from the body. Therefore a soul could live out of the body.
The Bible teaches that Jesus was resurrected in history, and promises his followers their own resurrection if they trust him

9. What do we mean by arguments, experiences, reasons, sources of authority?
A viewpoint can be buttressed by an experience: “I think divorce is wrong because of what happened to me when my parents split up.”
A viewpoint can be buttressed by a reason: “I am against capital punishment because there are many cases of killing the wrong person, and you can’t go back!”
A viewpoint can be buttressed by a source of authority: for Christians the Bible or the Pope, for Muslims the Qur’an or Hadith, for Atheists Bertrand Russell or Charles Darwin
A viewpoint can be buttressed by an argument, in which two or more steps of logic point to a conclusion with some force.

10. Next, look at some examples of other student’s work. Can you do better?

11. Death is greater than love

13. There is one God only

14. That there is something more after we die

16. Simple religion is peaceful, but modern religion does more harm than good

17. Points to note for the teacher
‘Buttresses’ uses a metaphor of building. Make sure pupils know the word.
Pupils often write less than their best answers in exams because they are not sure how to process or categorise their thinking. This structure or scaffold helps clarify four ways of supporting an argument.
Practice improves skills – don’t use this endlessly, but several times over a term will help with the skills.
Send them into the exam room with a reminder of the four kinds of support they should be giving to the points of view they write about.

18. Buttresses: a way of scaffolding learning for Yr9 and GCSE in RE
Lat Blaylock Copyright 
This PowerPoint presentation links to the chapter on diversity in British Judaism
QRE: Jewish People, RE Today, 2011