Wiltshire RE Starter Stimulus

Starter ideas for the following key question from the 2011 Agreed Syllabus:

KS1.1 What do some people believe about God?

This resource aims to provide some stimulus texts, images and ideas to help children begin to address the above question.

It links to the following learning outcomes from p34 of the syllabus:

Pupils can:• Talk about some ways a Christian might describe God• Talk about different words and art that are used to describe God• Talk about their own ideas about God

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.

God

Christians say God can do lots of things. What do they think? What do you think?

Who?

Time starter

Space maker

Earth shaper

Mud modeller

Garden planter

Fruit grower

Stable sleeper

Miracle maker

Eye opener

Cross carrier

Devil crusher

Grave buster

Promise keeper

Hand holder

Heart warmer

Cheerer upper

Energy booster

Life giver

God is like...

Different people have different ideas about what God is like. What are your ideas?

You are going to discover five ideas about God from Christian people. Do you think they are

good ideas?

Is God like any of these things in any way? Think carefully!

Tree

Shadow

Puzzle

Torch

Parent

5 Christian comments about God:

‘I think God is big and strong’

‘I think God can light up your life’

‘I think God is puzzling and mysterious’

‘I believe God is like your mum or your dad, but even better’

‘My idea is that God is always really close to us, but hard to see sometimes’

Can you choose a picture to go with each of the 5 ideas?

5 Christian comments about God: which picture?

‘I think God is big and strong’

‘I think God can light up your life’

‘I think God is puzzling and mysterious’

‘I believe God is like your mum or your dad, but even better’

‘My idea is that God is always really close to us, but hard to see sometimes’

• Like a tree because...

• Like a torch because...

• Like mums or dads because...

• Like your shadow because...

• Like a jigsaw because...

Christians think God is...

The next four slides show art work from pupils who have been thinking about

God.

Look and learn, then make one of your own, using

your own ideas about God

God Is In Me andIn My BrotherAnna WalkerAge 5‘Where is God? God lives in my little brother. And God lives in me.’

God's FootprintsThomas Moore (5)‘In my picture I have painted the sky and the sun, then I added grass and flowers. Next I painted God’s footprints because although you can’t see God, I think you can see that He has been everywhere.’

Who Is God? Joao Age 7‘I think God is hope. Hope might look like a halo with lovely things around it.I have drawn the halo with the sun shining in the middle. There is rainbow light coming out around the edges. He is also Spirit and human at the same time.One of my friends said my picture looked a bit like a keyhole. That made me think that God is the key to heaven. So God is hope. He is the key to heaven.’

Amazing, Fabulous GodSamuel (6)

‘This is my picture of God. He is showing us that he is amazing and fabulous!’

My favourite picture is...

because...

Some suggestions for using this resource:

1. What’s the title?Give the four paintings out without the captions. Children could work together in pairs or small groups to talk about what ideas of God the artist may have had. Then give the caption out and discuss further.

2. Making connectionsAsk children to find an object that might make a person think of God. If appropriate, it might be something they bring from home, or you might take children outside to find something suitable. Children may refer to the wind, trees, leaves, stones, water, sun, sky etc. How might the object remind someone of God? What features are there that might link to ideas of God?

3. Expressing through artAsk your children to design their own art work entitled “Where is God?” A sentence of explanation helps to show what is being expressed.

The annual RE art competition, Spirited Arts, gets thousands of pupil entries each year. Have a look at the website to see some more children’s work. www.natre.org.uk/spiritedarts

Why not enter your children’s artworks?