Mr Bigg's RPE blog

Year 8 Near Death Experience Homework

Mr Bigg — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:45:32 +0000

Hi 8s!

Your task is to write up your newspaper article on a Near Death Experience (NDE). Think about style and structure, so you might want pictures, a headline and subtitles. Ideally present it in columns too! Feel free to do it on the computer, or by hand, I don’t mind either way!

All the information about the NDEs we looked at in class are available here. There’s also a massive archive of NDEs at the Near Death Experience Research Foundation – you’re very welcome to look up information of your own!

Remember, the article needs to include:

A description of the Near Death Experience
Arguments people might give For and Against the NDE being real
Your opinion about whether the experience was real and is proof of an afterlife

Possible arguments in favour of NDEs being real are:

Lots of people experience similar things – they can’t all be lying, can they?
Often there are no drugs involved so there is no reason for people to hallucinate
Lives are changed for the better by an experience of the afterlife
Here is an article explaining an argument FOR (quite complex)

Possible arguments against NDEs being real are:

People experience similar things in normal dreams – are these any different?
It is comforting to people to feel that there will be an afterlife
The brain cannot function when a person is dead – how can anything happen?

Of course you might have arguments of your own! You might like to look at these questions about NDEs.

Levels:

Level 4: Description of the Near Death Experience
Level 5: Explanation of the arguments for and against NDEs being real
Level 6: Analysis of the arguments. You start to go into depth with the arguments. You think about whether the arguments are any good or not.
Level 7: Evaluation of the arguments. You analyse the arguments for and against to come to a balanced conclusion about which side of the story is stronger.

Good luck! Email me if you have any questions, or you could always leave a comment…

***STOP PRESS – 18th OCT***

Now we’ve done some analysis on whether Cameron’s “past-life experience” might be evidence of life after death I’d like you to add another section to your article. Remember from above the importance of exploring the arguments in favour of Cameron’s experience being real and those against. I’m particularly looking for those who discuss which reasons are the most convincing!

It’d also be great to develop the article you’ve already written based on the feedback you were given today…

Either add another page to the article you’ve got, or you can combine them together. Either way the finished piece of work needs to address the question of whether there is evidence of life after death.

The final, final piece of work needs to be handed in on Thursday 8th November!

Well done again for your work today… You were excellent!

Year 11 Revision Homework – Human Relationships

Mr Bigg — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 07:23:59 +0000

Dear Year 11s,

We’re starting to go back through Year 10 topics as revision homework. You need to dig out your Year 10 books to answer the following:

(a) What does contraception mean? [1]
(b) Name two forms of contraception that might be acceptable to some Christians. [2]
(c) Describe the attitudes towards sex before marriage of some Christians. [3]
(d) Explain Christian beliefs about the value of sexual relationships. [6]
(e) ‘It is the duty of religious people to encourage contraception to avoid overpopulation.’ [12]

Due dates:
11D – Tuesday 18th September

Please speak to me BEFORE it’s due if you don’t understand anything!

Year 9 Holocaust Memorial project

Mr Bigg — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:05:22 +0000

Dear 9I,

Your task is to design and evaluate a memorial for the Holocaust. Think about who the target audience is and what you’re trying to achieve. Also consider what the memorial might consist of. Remember: it could be something physical (like a statue or monument), something artistic (like a song or a painting), something educational (like a museum), something social (like an event) or something else!

The key thing is that you assess your own ideas. What are the strengths and weaknesses of remembering the holocaust in this way? Compare your ideas with those of others in the class or look at the links below to see how others have helped to remember the past!

The handout is here: Holocaust Memorial Task

Internet links

There is loads of good information on the internet in case you’re short of ideas. Try these:

If you find others then leave a comment!

Year 8 Assessment: Places of Worship

Mr Bigg — Sun, 27 May 2012 20:05:18 +0000

Your task is to write an essay looking at places of worship in different religions.

Places of Worship Project Handout

Suggested structure:

Introduction: You should have a paragraph explaining that “Places of Worship” tell us about the religions that worship in them. You should then introduce the Places of Worship that you are going to explore.
Section One: Choose a religion and explain what its place of worship tells us about the religion. Remember to consider all the “Think about” things below and EXPLAIN them. How do these things tell us something about the religion involved?
Sections Two and Three: Choose another two religions and repeat what you have done for section One.
Analysis: Are there similarities and differences between the places of worship? What are they? Do they tell us anything about the religions involved? Are there similarities between Christians, Jews and Muslims? Are there similarities between Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists?
Evaluation: “Which place of worship most fully reflects its religion?” Which place of worship tells us most about its religion? How do you know? What’s your evidence?

Think about:

What objects might be in the place of worship
What events might happen in the place of worship
How is the place of worship laid out?
Are there special rooms?

Below is a list of resources to help you out. There are also lots of books in the classroom.

General Help
REOnline – Places of Worship
BBC Religion – Places of Worship in pictures

Sikh Gurdwaras

Sikh temples are quite interesting because they have a “langar”, a food hall for everyone to use (Sikh and non-Sikh), which shows their belief in the equality of all human beings. They also have a special “bedroom” for their holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, which they treat as a person and so put to bed every night.

Sikhs.org – the Gurdwara
LearningLive
Gurdwara virtual tour

The Jewish Synagogue

Jews have met in the Synagogue for many centuries. It is not so much that the structure of the building tells us about Judaism, but they have lots of special things in there which tell us about them. You might talk about the idea that different Jews called their place of worship by different names and explain why.

Chabad.org – Interactive Tour
BBC Religion
JewFAQ.org

Christian Churches

There are lots of different kinds of churches – it would be excellent if your presentation showed some of the differences between them!

RE:Quest – Virtual Tours
h2g2 – Church Layout

Muslim Mosques

There’s loads of stuff to find out about mosques. There is meaning in both what the building looks like, and lots of stuff to say about what happens inside too!

Birmingham Council of Muslims – Virtual Mosque Tour
BBC Religion
Hitchams School Mosque website

If you find anything else that might help please leave a comment!

Year 10 Christian conservation charity research

Mr Bigg — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:49:06 +0000

Dear Year 10s,

ON your own pick one of these charities to do some research on:

You’ll need to find out a bit about them. Who they are, what they do and most importantly how what they believe affects their work.

Useful quotes on environmental issues

Your job is to produce a one page document that explains the group for the rest of the class!

Year 9 Assessment – What were the most important reasons for punishing the killers of James Bulger?

Mr Bigg — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 17:18:49 +0000

Hello 9I,

As you know, you’re supposed to be working on the above assessment. The is a James Bulger Essay Outline to help you if you need it. You could also look at the assessment I set to for last year’s Year 9 which is slightly different but the same basic idea.

Due on March 22nd please!

Year 8 Rites of Passage Project

Mr Bigg — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:34:34 +0000

By the time you read this you should have decided on your own Key Question for your project. Now your task is to write it!

Suggested Structure

If you’re comparing the same rite of passage in different religions…

Introduction: Explain which rite of passage you are looking at and which religions you will study.
Then spend a paragraph or two looking at the rite of passage in each separate religion. Remember to explain! Don’t just say what they do but try to find out why! For eg. in Jewish weddings the bride and groom are married under a canopy called a “Chuppah”, which symbolises the new home the couple will be starting together. Remember to link each paragraph back to the question you have asked!
Now compare and contrast. What are the similarities and differences between the rite of passage in the different religions? Good comparison will explain how what each religion done relates to what that religion believes. Remember to link each paragraph back to the question you have asked!
Conclude: Summarise what you have found out so the reader has a clear idea about what the point of your essay is.

If you’re comparing different rites of passage in the same religion…

Introduction: Explain which rites of passage you are looking at and which religion you will study them in.
Then spend a paragraph or two looking at each rite of passage within the religion. Remember to explain! Don’t just say what they do but try to find out why! For eg. in Muslim birth rites they shave the baby’s head and give the equivalent weight in gold to charity. This shows that they acknowledge the baby is a gift from God, so give a gift of appreciation in return. Remember to link each paragraph back to the question you have asked!
Now try to show how the rites of passage within the religion you have chosen tell us something about what the religion believes (because rites of passage are usually related to belief). Remember to link each paragraph back to the question you have asked!
Conclude: Summarise what you have found out so the reader has a clear idea about what the point of your essay is.