As part of the scheme of work Mrs Jones saw that she was going to teach the Y7s (11 year olds) about Hanukah, about the festival, the stories associated with the festival and the impact of the festival on the Jewish community. She had done her PGCE in a university where Ninian Smart had had a major influence and so began with teaching the children the phenomena of the festival. She used a variety of resources including text books, artefacts (a Hanukiah, candles, oil, kippurs), some video materials looking at the festival celebrations in both a liberal and reform synagogue and some web resources including an animated text of the story.

She was then leant Michael Grimmit's book on RE and human development and realised that she had been focusing to much on 'learning about' so she planned some fresh lessons. Students were asked to reflect on the story and consider if it had any meaning for them? What were the key ideas in the story that challenged them to consider how they lived their lives? They were asked to consider when they were in a situation where hope triumphed over seemingly impossible odds or what they considered to be miraculous? Some excellent work emerged as the pupils related the idea of miracles to their own lives.

She was then sent details of Cooling's concept cracking and so planned a couple of lessons where the students were to examine the story of Hanukah critically and decide if this could have happened. What were the claims of the people at the time? Of Jews today? Were there differing accounts of the story and what were the literal or the metaphorical truths within the narrative.

Over the inter-term break she met up with an old friend from college who had been on a course with Sue Philips on the 'theatre of learning' as the friend described the experiential methods of Hammond and Hay Mrs Jones was inspired to get the children actively engaged in their learning. The first lesson back the students enacted the story from the points of view of a variety of the characters and then working with the art department created a piece of art work based on the theme of a miracle.

A course was offered and Mrs Jones discovered the interpretive method of Bob Jackson and so planned a couple of lessons where the students were to investigate how the festival was celebrated by the local community. They invited in the local Rabbis from the orthodox and reform congregations and the students used the internet to talk to students from jewish school in Manchester asking them about the festival and why it was important. The students put these into a vox pop and presented this to the class via the IWB.

As the term came to an end the RE advisor came into school and discussed the work of Erricker on deconstructionism with her. Mrs Jones was a little concerned she had been pushing a doctrinal view on her students and so the last lessons revolved around the idea of faith in the community and if you needed to believe in certain doctrines to below to a religious group? How much could you be 'in a club' if you didn't like all the beliefs of that club. The students finished off the term by starting to formulate their own concept of what a 'religious sect or group' would look like.

Mrs Jones finished the term tired but happy and wondered how she was going to explore next term's theme of the existence of God!