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Topic title: What was so radical about Jesus?

Year group: 8

When taught: January-April

What are we learning?

  • In this module we will explore the reasons why Christians believe Jesus was radical. We will do this through an exploration of Jesus’ key teachings in the Bible: The Beatitudes (blessings) and his parables.
  • We will use examples to explain how Jesus’ teachings were seen as radical at the time and how they have been used to bring about social change.

Why is this important to know? 

  • This module enables students to consider Jesus as a social reformer and the impact of this on Christians today.
  • This module is the second part of three step module. Jesus as God incarnate (why Jesus is important to Christians?), Jesus radical (how he was seen as a revolutionary), Jesus inspire (how belief in Jesus motivates). It is therefore important to look at why Jesus is important to Christians (as God incarnate) before looking at how and why Christians are inspired by him in our second and third parts.

Where does this link into our past and future learning? 

  • The prior module leads directly into this module. Jesus as a historical figure is explored; his teachings and his actions towards people – Jesus as a social reformer. Key teachings such as parables, the upside-down kingdom and the Euangelion are all explored. This is foundational for next module on Christians who were inspired by the teachings of Jesus.
  • Knowledge of religious teachings are fundamental to understanding different approaches to ethical/social issues which are explored in our year 9 ethics topics.

How will we be assessed on this topic?

  • Ongoing assessment of knowledge and understanding of key terms through Satchel One quizzes/homework/retrieval tasks in lessons.
  • An end of year assessment in the Summer Term comprising of Section A: Short Q and A to test knowledge and Section B: longer written answers to test application.

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?

Quizlet: Click here

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

  • Use key terms in your written work but also when you are contributing to class discussions.
  • 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.
  • Use key terms that you have studied in previous modules in year 7 and 8 and try to apply these to this module.
  • Do some further research on Jesus using the webpages below.
  • Attend Philosophy Club to engage in further debate with students from a different year group.

What wider reading can be done on this topic?

Supporting document/links:

  • Knowledge organiser

 

Why do Christians believe that Jesus was God on Earth

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