Download Year 2: Holy Books

Year 2: Holy Books (Torah, Bible, Qu’ran) [Syllabus strands 1a, 1c, 1e, 1i, 1j, 1m]
In this unit the children will reflect on how certain books may have special personal value. They will gain awareness of the authority of holy
books for those who practise Judaism, Christianity and Islam and of the links between the Torah, the Bible and the Qur’an.
Opportunities for spiritual development: reflecting on why certain books have special significance for us; understanding beliefs about the origins
of holy books and their authority for believers.
Opportunities for moral development: reflecting on the meaning and guidance contained in stories and ‘rules’ for living contained in the holy
books.
Opportunities for social development: understanding that the meaning and authority of holy books is shared by large groups of people who
follow the same faith.
Opportunities for cultural development: understanding that familiarity with the stories from a particular religious tradition and with the manner
in which the holy book is regarded and handled may be an important part of a person’s background (culture).
General concepts (relating to human experience and/or religious
experience)
Value and worth
Meaning
Specific religious concepts
Holy Books/Sacred texts (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
Belief
Symbolism
Prophets (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
Authority
Unity, difference, diversity
Commitment
Community
Worship and meditation
Origins
Purpose
Rules for living (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
Y2 Holy Books;
RE objectives
Focus
What makes certain
books precious to
us?
Children learn to….
identify books that have special
value for themselves and others,
giving reasons;
reflect on the history of books and
think about why there is still a
place for books today;
What is the Torah
and why is it a
‘holy’ book in
Judaism?
describe what the Torah scroll is like
and how it is kept and handled;
explain how Moses is believed to
have received the Torah;
identify some stories or guidance
contained in the Torah;
make links between the Torah and
the Christian Bible;
Possible activities
RE skills and attitudes
Show the children 2 or 3 books that are precious to you for
different reasons (e.g favourite story, given by a particular
person, a very old book, a personal record such as photo album)
Make a classroom display of precious books and the reasons for
different people. Talk about how, in this digital age, we still
value books that we can hold, turn the pages of, refer to easily
and repeatedly. Ask the children if they think that people have
always had books. Explain that people have only had wide
access to books since the invention of the printing press and that
earlier, there were only handwritten manuscripts or orally
transmitted stories.
Enquiry, Reflection,
Expression, Evaluation
Show the children a replica Torah scroll in its mantle. What do
they think this object is? (Should be a reminder from Y1). Take
the scroll out of the mantle, unroll it a little, and ask them again.
The cover shows that it is precious and to be treated with care.
Look at and talk about the Hebrew writing, written from right to
left and by hand. Explain the use of the yad or pointer to
prevent smudging or wearing of the ink by a finger. Explain
that the Torah is a ‘holy’ book in Judaism i.e. not just special,
but believed to contain words from God that those who practise
Judaism must follow as carefully as they can; Torah means
‘teaching’. Make the link between the Torah and the first five
books of the Christian Bible – the stories found in these books
are familiar to Jews, Christians and also to another group known
as Muslims. Show pictures of Torah scrolls in the ark in the
synagogue, of people reading from the Torah using a yad and of
a scribe (sofer) writing one. (See internet resources sheet for
suitable sites and for a virtual synagogue tour.) Tell the children
Enquiry
Appreciation and wonder
that although the Torah is also available in English, printed as a
book, Jewish people like to have handwritten scrolls in the
synagogue – ask why they think this is.
Look at examples of mantle designs for clues about the stories
contained in the Torah (e.g. tablets of stone, flames of the
burning bush, Noah’s ark and rainbow.) (see
http://judaicweaving.com/mantles2.html for examples of
mantles and silver ornaments placed over the mantle) Tell the
story of Moses, a great leader of the Jewish people a long time
ago, receiving the 2 tablets of stone containing the
commandments from God on Mount Sinai (Exodus chap. 34)
Children could make their own scrolls and add pictures and
writing to show significant events in a story or stories contained
in the Torah. Or discuss some of the rules for living contained
in the Torah (e.g. Leviticus chap 19: ‘Respect your mother and
father…do not lie…do not steal…show respect for the
elderly..look after newcomers..) and ask the children to write
their own ‘rules for living’ on their scrolls.
Reflection
Application
Critical interest,
openness, respect
You could invite a Jewish visitor to read from the Torah in
Hebrew and talk about what it means to him/her.
What is the Bible
and why is it a
‘holy’ book for
Christians?
make a link between the Torah and Show a number of different copies of the Bible (e.g. pocketsized, larger with gold leaf pages, paperback, children’s Bible).
Jesus’ background;
explain that the second part of the
Bible relates to the life and
teaching of Jesus and was written
after his death;
Look at some of the pictures that will enable children to see the
link with the Torah (e.g. Creation story, Noah, Moses, Joseph)
Look at other pictures relating to the life of Jesus and tell the
children that the second part of the Bible, called the New
Testament, is all about the life, teaching and influence of Jesus.
Show Torah and Bible side-by-side and ask the children which
of these holy books Jesus himself read? He was Jewish, so he
Enquiry
read the Torah and listened to it being read in the synagogue.
The stories about Jesus in the Bible were written down after
Jesus had died, so the whole Bible didn’t exist at the time of
Jesus. We know that Jesus knew and understood the Torah very
well. You could tell the story of Jesus as a boy in the temple,
teaching with authority (Luke chap 2 v.41-52).
recognise some stories told by
Jesus about the love of God and
reflect on their meaning;
Tell some of the stories of Jesus about God’s love for everyone
(e.g. The Lost Sheep, Luke 15, v1-7; The Lost Son, Luke 15,
v11-32; [See www.request.org.uk/infants/jesus/stories.htm]
Explain that Jesus believed and taught that it didn’t matter if
you were rich or poor, important or unimportant, young or old,
sick or healthy, sensible or foolish - you were precious to God.
Children could work in groups to create posters entitled ‘Jesus
said God cares like the shepherd (or father)..’, showing the
characters in the story and words/phrases to describe them.
You could invite a Christian visitor to talk about a favourite
story and what the Bible means for him/her.
What is the Qur’an
and why is it a
‘holy’ book for
Muslims?
describe what the Qur’an is like and
how it is kept and handled;
explain how Muhammad is believed
to have received the words of the
Qur’an;
Show the children a closed Qur’an stand and ask them if they
can work out what this object is for. What is it made of and
what patterns can you see in its design (e.g. floral designs
indicating Allah the creator of the natural world)? Tell the
children that this is a stand for the Holy Book of Muslims, those
who follow the religion of Islam. Show pictures of people
reading from the Qur’an on a stand and discuss how the Qur’an
is treated with respect e.g. is not placed on the floor, is handled
with clean hands. Look at the writing, noting that the Arabic
script, like Hebrew, is written from right to left. Tell the children
the story of the revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad, who
passed on to others the words spoken to him by the angel, which
Reflection, Expression
Critical interest,
openness, respect
Enquiry
were later written down. (See www.sln.org.uk/storyboard)
Show pictures of children learning to read the Qur’an and tell
the children that many Muslim children in the UK go to a
mosque class after school or on Saturdays in order to learn to
read the Qur’an in Arabic, as this is the language in which
Muhammad first heard the words of the Qur’an. Muslims
believe that the Qur’an is the word of Allah (God) and that it
tells them how they should live.
identify some stories contained in the
Qur’an;
make links between stories of the
Prophets of Islam in the Qur’an and
stories in the Torah and Christian
Bible;
Look at some collections of stories from the Qur’an for children
(see Resources Database) to find out the names of some of the
‘Prophets’ (great leaders) of Islam [e.g. Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim
(Abraham), Yaqub (Jacob), Yousef (Joseph), Musa (Moses), Isa
(Jesus)] prior to Muhammad.
Read and discus one or two of these stories. Look at the
illustrations to see whether any people are depicted (N.B. The
Prophets are rarely depicted in Islamic art). The children could
design an illustration for a Muslim story including the name of
the prophet, an Islamic border pattern and other relevant
features.
You could invite a Muslim visitor to read from the Qur’an in
Arabic and talk about what it means for him/her.
Reflection, Expression,
Application
Critical interest,
openness, respect
Plenary
What could you
write down that
you think would
still be true in
hundreds of years’
time?
reflect on the idea of general and
long-standing truths and express
their own ideas about this.
Re-cap the fact that although the Torah, Bible and Qur’an were
all written down hundreds of years ago, people still find that
these books help them to live their lives today. Are there any
‘rules’ for living or ‘truths’ about life that the children could
write down today that they think would still be true for people a
long time in the future? (e.g. how to be happy, how to get on
with other people, how to create a peaceful
class/school/community/world).
Reflection, Expression,
Application, Evaluation
Possible assessment statements
Some children talk about different ways in which books may have great value for us. They recognise and name the Torah scroll, Bible and
Qur’an as holy books for some people and can identify some of their external features. They talk about how they are kept and handled and can
refer to some stories that one or more of them contain. (L1)
Most children talk about different ways in which books may have great value for us and can explain what is meant by a ‘holy book’ for those
who follow a religion (e.g. people believe they contain messages from God). They can explain why the holy books are kept and handled in
particular ways (e.g. the Torah scrolls are kept safe in the synagogue under decorated covers in a special place called the ark) and can retell
stories found in the Torah, Bible and Qur’an, making some links between them (e.g. Jesus read the Torah; there are stories about Jesus in the
Qur’an). (L2)
Some children can talk about some of the different reasons why we might treasure special books and can explain what makes the Torah, Bible
and Qur’an ‘holy’ books for those who follow Judaism, Christianity and Islam, recognising similarities and differences in their outward
appearance and treatment as well as in their content (e.g. the Torah and Qur’an both have a preferred language; only the Bible and Qur’an
contain stories about Jesus). They respond thoughtfully to stories/teachings contained in these holy books. They identify the commitment that
might be required to follow a holy book (e.g. learning a language, regular reading/study, changing lifestyle and behaviour). (L3)