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Topic title: WJEC EDUQAS Religious Studies Route A syllabus

Year group: 10

When taught: September- July

What are we learning?

Teacher A

  • Year 10 – Christian Beliefs and Teachings (C2)
  • Year 10 -Issues of Life and Death (C1)

Teacher B

  • Year 10 – Issues of Human relationships (C1)
  • Year 10 – Islamic Beliefs and Teachings (C3)

Why is this important to know? 

The Eduqas GCSE in Religious Studies aims to:

  • Develops learners’ knowledge and understanding of religions and non-religious beliefs, such as atheism and humanism
  • Develops learners’ knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, teachings, practices, and sources of wisdom and authority.
  • Develops learners’ ability to construct well-argued, well-informed, balanced and structured written arguments, demonstrating their depth and breadth of understanding of the subject
  • Provides opportunities for learners to engage with questions of belief, value, meaning, purpose, truth, and their influence on human life.
  • Challenges learners to reflect on and develop their own values, beliefs and attitudes in the light of what they have learnt and contributes to their preparation for adult life in a pluralistic society and global community.

Following this specification will enable learners to:

  • Deepen their understanding of the relationship between people
  • Become informed about common and divergent views within traditions in the way beliefs and teachings are understood and expressed
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the fact that religious traditions of Great Britain are, in the main, Christian Understand that religious traditions in Great Britain are diverse and include the following religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, as well as non-religious beliefs, such as atheism and humanism.

Where does this link into our past and future learning? 

  • Modules studied at KS3 equip students to make progress within the subject. At GCSE level, students will build on prior knowledge and further develop their skills of critical evaluation.
  • The GCSE modules are taught in carefully considered specific sequence so that students have the foundational knowledge required to progress. To this end, we start with Christian Beliefs and Teachings as this contains foundational concepts/knowledge which is then later applied to ethical issues covered. Islam is not taught at the same time as Christianity to avoid confusion. Issues of Life and Death is taught alongside Islam (and after Christian beliefs and Teachings) – this enables two religious views on key areas such as the afterlife which can be included in 8 markers for ethics. Islam is taught before the Good and Evil module to enable a connection of concepts such as forgiveness with views on Allah (99 beautiful names – the merciful etc). Christian Practices is taught at the end as this is the impact of belief and links back to previous modules. Islam practices at start of year 11 for same reason and then Human Rights – draws on prior knowledge e.g. persecution of Christians in Christian Practice module.

How will we be assessed on this topic?

  • Ongoing assessment of knowledge and understanding of key terms and concepts through Satchel One quizzes/homework/retrieval tasks in lessons/past paper practice.
  • Mock examinations in Year 10 and in Year 11
  • GCSE external examinations in May/June of Year 11. Students will sit three papers in total:
  • Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World Written examination: 2 hours 50% of qualification
  • Component 2: Study of Christianity Written examination: 1 hour 25% of qualification
  • Component 3: Study of a World Faith (Islam) Written examination: 1 hour 25% of qualification

What makes a strong piece of work in this topic?  What are teachers hoping to see? 

In PBE longer answers we use codes to identify what makes a good answer. These include:

  • Use of key terms (KT)
  • Knowledge of key terms (K)
  • Use of sources of authority (SOA) to help explain different views. For example: quotes from the Bible, religious figures such as Aquinas, Fletcher.
  • Explanation of points in detail (EXPN)
  • Giving different views towards the topic studied (DV)
  • An understanding of how religious beliefs motivate people to act (I)
  • Evaluation of different views looked at (EV) using critical sentence starters e.g. ‘It could be argued….’, ‘on the other hand….’
  • Linking points back to the specific question asked (L)
  • In evaluation questions, concluding/reaching a judgement is important (RJ)

What key words are there in this topic?

What can I try if I want to stretch and challenge myself on this topic?

  • Use the Quizlet cards to continually remind yourself of key terms. Create your own flashcards for these to use for revision. Create your own key quotes flash cards.
  • Complete any challenge homework set.
  • Undertake some further research on the topics covered in lessons (use the webpages below or ask your teacher for extra reading material that can be found in P2)
  • Undertake independent past paper question practice (Sample past paper questions are in the My Drive area of Satchel One. You can also fine past papers here: GCSE Religious Studies | Eduqas)
  • Re write any answers to improve your mark.

What wider reading can be done on this topic? (link to accessit – if applicable)

Supporting document/links:

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