Communities and Faith

Overview

In this first lesson of the 4-part unit, students explore what a “community” is and how religious believers form supportive communities through shared values and beliefs. They discuss the question: “Why do we need communities within religions?”

Learning intentions

Students will:

• learn what “community” means in everyday life and in religious settings
• recognise that religions include people who share beliefs, values, and practices
• describe how communities in religion help people (e.g. belonging, support, shared worship or service)
• explain their ideas using reasons and examples from their learning

Success criteria

Students can:

• explain what a community is and give one or two examples
• identify at least one way a religious community helps its members
• use respectful language when discussing religion and communities
• give a clear reason for their opinion about why religious communities matter

Curriculum links

• Religious education — community cohesion: developing understanding and appreciation of diversity and shared values
• Religious education — local community links: considering how faith groups relate to the wider community
• Religious education — discussion and respectful dialogue: exploring diversity of religion and belief
• Religious education — promoting shared values and challenging discrimination through respectful learning

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Settling hook. Teacher displays three pictures (family neighbourhood, a sports club, and a place of worship) and asks: “Which of these are communities, and why?” Students discuss with a partner and share one reason to the class.

2. 5–12 min · Build the idea of community. Teacher defines community as “a group of people who share something important and look out for one another,” and introduces “religious community” as people connected by shared beliefs or worship. Students complete a quick class word bank: “community = people + shared (belief/values/activities) + support/belonging.”

3. 12–20 min · Explore religion through stories (teacher input). Teacher uses two short age-appropriate examples (no deep doctrinal detail), such as:

• a faith group gathering for prayer/worship and celebrating together
• believers volunteering or caring for others as part of their faith values Teacher asks: “What do people do together? How does it help members?” Students record two “community jobs” in their books (e.g. “belonging,” “support,” “learning,” “helping”).

4. 20–30 min · Whole-class discussion: “Why do we need communities within religions?” Teacher models two sentence starters on the board:

• “I think communities are important because…”
• “For example, people might…” Students participate in a structured discussion (think–pair–share, then class share). Teacher prompts for reasons, not just answers.

5. 30–38 min · Small-group sorting task. Each group receives category cards: “Belonging,” “Shared values,” “Learning,” “Worship,” “Support/help,” and neutral prompt cards (e.g. “sharing,” “being kind,” “praying,” “celebrating”). Teacher asks groups to sort prompt cards under which community “job” they show, then choose one card to explain. Students justify their choices using “because” statements.

6. 38–43 min · Teacher-led debrief: linking to respectful community cohesion. Teacher draws out key learning: different religions may practise differently, but many offer similar community benefits (belonging, support, shared values). Students respond to a final prompt: “How should we speak about faith communities in school?” and agree a class rule for respectful discussion.

7. 43–45 min · Exit ticket. Students write:

• “A community in religion helps people by…” (one sentence)
• “One reason we need religious communities is…” (one sentence) Teacher checks for understanding and reasoning.

Resources

• Picture cards: neighbourhood, club, place of worship (generic images)
• Class word bank on board or printed sheet
• Short teacher stories/prompts about community worship and community care (age-appropriate)
• “Community job” sorting cards (Belonging, Shared values, Learning, Worship, Support/help)
• Sentence starters display
• Student books and exit ticket slips
• Grouping labels (four small groups)

Assessment

• Ongoing observation during partner talk and whole-class discussion: whether students give reasons and use respectful language
• Sorting task: whether students match examples to community “jobs” and can explain their thinking
• Exit ticket: checks understanding of community and at least one way religious communities support members, plus a reasoned statement

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters and an example sentence for students who need it; allow verbal responses before writing for some learners
• Support: offer a “word bank” (community, belong, support, share, values, worship, learn) for EAL/SEN pupils
• Extension: ask, “How might a religious community help someone who is new to the area?” or “What shared values could different religions have?”
• Inclusion: roles within groups (reader, sorter, explainer) to ensure all students contribute, not only the fastest writers