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RE has an important contribution to make to the development of literacy skills. There are a number of areas in which RE can make an important contribution:

RE is heavily engaged with text and this text should be explored in both its literacy as well as its RE sense. The sacred and philosophical texts that are engaged with in RE, as well as the vast store of narratives offer an important contribution to the literacy skills of young people. The

Skills from the Literacy and learning in RE: DfES (DCSF) [2004] - see the document store

Place and types of narrative - most sacred scriptures and narratives that are used in RE use a whole variety of text types that match across to the text types being studied in literacy, work with the English department to determine when your students are exploring these text types. The texts, from the English Curriculum should be:

• of high quality, among the best of their type, that will encourage pupils to appreciate their characteristics and how, in some cases, they have influenced culture and thinking
• interesting and engaging, allowing pupils to explore their present situation or move beyond it to experience different times, cultures, viewpoints and situations
• challenging, using language imaginatively to create new meanings and effects, and encouraging pupils to try such writing for themselves.

and the range of literature should be

• stories, poetry and drama drawn from different historical times
• texts that enable pupils to understand the appeal and importance over time of texts
• texts that enable pupils to appreciate the qualities and distinctiveness of texts from different cultures and traditions

the range of non-fiction texts should include

• journalism, travel writing, essays, reportage, literary non-fiction and multimodal texts

In writing pupils should

• develop ideas, themes, imagery, settings and/or characters when writing to imagine, explore and entertain
• analyse and evaluate subject matter, supporting views and opinions with evidence
• present ideas and views logically and persuasively
• explain or describe information and ideas relevantly and clearly

The forms of writing should include

• stories, poems, play scripts, autobiographies, screenplays, diaries, minutes, accounts, information leaflets, plans, summaries, brochures, advertisements, editorials, articles and letters conveying opinions, campaign literature, polemics, reviews, commentaries, articles, essays and reports

It’s not just text - Visual Literacy (film & images)

Film is very important in the teaching of RE. There are hundreds of films with a overt or covert theme which can be used in the teaching of RE. Just a very few of these are:

• Amistad - questions over slavery
• Anita and me - integration of culture and faith
• Bend it like Beckham - faith, action and prejudice
• Gandhi - the place of faith in life
• Bruce Almighty - the power of God, faith and responsibility
• The Colour Purple - prejudice and race
• East is East - culture, diversity and faith
• The Greatest Story Ever Told - the life of Jesus of Nazareth
• An Inconvenient Truth - Global warming and stewardship
• The Mahabharata - the story of the Bhagavad-Gita.

More information on the use of film in RE can be found at the following link

As well as RE students being consumers of film they can also be producers of film.

It’s not just text - Oracy / Questions / Opps for pupils to talk. - Dialogue and use of questions are very important in the teaching of RE.

Levels of Questioning

Working at the appropriate level for the pupils, the skilful use of questions about a given audio or visual stimulus can prompt ever deepening insights into a variety of possible meanings. As well as the teacher’s questions, it will be vital for the development of constructive imagination for the pupils to formulate and try to answer their own questions.

Whether it is a recording of Buddhist monks chanting, an image of the Shroud of Turin, a web-report on a current moral issue, or a clip from a podcast of the Hajj in Makkah, the following types of question can take pupils deeper into their investigation.

Asking for immediate reactions to the stimulus help set the scene for deeper levels of discussion, e.g:

• What do you recall?
• What is your initial emotional / intellectual response?
• What did you like / dislike? Or did you have no strong reaction?

Closed and technical questions can be used to prompt understanding of the information contained in the stimulus. If it is taken from an unfamiliar culture some simple questions can help distinguish important details, e.g:

• What different sounds / colours did you hear / see?
• How many women / men / children are taking part / shown?
• What shades of sound and light did you detect?
• What is there that might be interesting for religious people?
• What unusual things did you notice?

Opinion-based questions introduce pupils to the next level of meaning in the given stimulus. Such questions help pupils ‘hear what they think’ and are a first step towards deeper evaluation, e.g:

• What do you think the people are doing?
• What do you think the most / least exciting aspect is?
• Do you think this place is similar to the one we visited?
• What do you think is different about this place?
• Do you think any of the people could be called ‘spiritual’?

Creative and predictive questions encourage pupils to use their imagination and apply their thinking to a variety of situations, e.g:

• What might happen if this took place today / a long time ago?
• What do you think people would do next if they thought someone / no one was watching?
• What questions would you ask this character if you had the chance?
• What title or caption would best suit this stimulus?
• What would happen if these people were arrested by the police?
• Supposing you could intervene in this situation, what would you do?
• How would you change this picture to make it more effective?

Analytical and evaluative questions invite pupils to identify patterns and structures, to seek for hidden meanings and to make judgements based on evidence and ideas, e.g:

• What are the most important features of this stimulus?
• What ideas might justify the behaviour you hear / see here?
• What is different about this type of activity and everyday life?
• What evidence can you find here that might support belief in God?
• Do you agree with what is taking place here?
• What course of action would you recommend next?
• Based on what you know, how might you explain / defend what is happening here?
• How would you rate the effectiveness of this stimulus in getting over its apparent message?
• Which of these stimuli presents the most powerful message about the environment / religious belief / value of human life?

Types of Writing - RE should be using a variety of writing types including:

Some key links

• Staffordshire Learning Net: The Internet Storyboard - link
• Access and engagement: RE and EAL: (English as an additional language): A range of ideas and strategies for tackling EAL as part of the curriculum - download
• Literacy and learning in RE: Ideas for developing literacy in RE - download
• Learning styles and writing in RE - download
• Leicestershire CC: Language and Learning in RE - download
• University of Nebraska: Journal of religion and film - link
• Using popular films for RE: An Australian perspective - link
• NE Religious Learning Centre - link