RE possibilities linking with BIG Crib exhibition 2011

Making the ‘BIG Cribs’ can become an RE project which involves not only art and DT but many other areas of the curriculum. Music can be taught through Christmas songs and carols. Literacy can use retellings of the Christmas narrative in the Bible, storybooks and poetry as well as prose. Children can create drama scripts, poems, try hot-seating, mime and dance – all based on the various elements of the nativity stories. Elements of history, geography, maths and science can also all be tackled.

The RE work could be done before or alongside the creation of the cribs but it could also easily be done as a result of making them - either just afterwards or even into the spring term. The RE could be done by the children making the cribs or by another year group looking at crib figures other pupils had made.

Below are some specific elements of the Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education which could utilise work on a crib and some resources which may prove useful:

Possible Learning Themes / Areas of Study Norfolk Agreed Syllabus / Possible Areas of Study Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Agreed Syllabuses / Published resources to purchase
and useful websites
Foundation / ·  Special People
·  Special Times / o  People
o  Festivals & Fasts
o  / Firm Foundations: Exploring Christianity at Foundation Level: Book 1 – Margaret Cooling &Penny Kite (RMEP – 1-85715 -333-8) 2 approaches to Christmas – Gifts and Welcome OR Celebrating the Good News. Many useful activities in this book / CDrom which also covers Harvest.
Festivals 2 - DVD from www.childseyemedia.com/ An award-winning look at 4 different festivals, including Christmas, through the eyes of very young children.
Follow the Star – Alan and Linda Parry (Hunt and Thorpe) Like ‘The Jolly Postman’ – would enable you to do a series on the stories behind the Crib in a fun way.
Key Stage 1 / ·  Leaders and Teachers
·  Believing
·  Celebration / o  People
o  Writings
o  Festivals & Fasts
o  Self & Community / Introducing Sarah and Paul - DVD / book (RMEP – 1-85175-168-8) This resource shows Christianity through the eyes of two Suffolk children. Christmas is one of 4 episodes; it includes a look at a crib and classroom work based around it.
www.request.org.uk This website has a KS1 section with several areas, some interactive, to help children explore the Christmas story and how Christians celebrate this festival. KS2 section includes more detail.
Lion Storyteller Christmas Book (Bob Hartman, Lion 0-7459 4684 4) A super set of short tellings of the individual stories that make up the Christmas story, plus traditional t ales and legends
Key Stage 2 / ·  Beliefs and Questions
·  Inspirational People
·  Religion, Family and Community
·  Symbols and Religious Expression / o  People
o  Writings
o  Festivals & Fasts
Self & Community / Pathways of Belief: Christianity (BBC dvd package) Not a new resource but this continues to provide value for money and includes an episode and work based around the birth of Jesus and his early life.
Born among us (USPG – www.uspg.org.uk) Beautiful pictures of nativity cribs / scenes plus songs and activity sheets reflecting a world-wide Christian community.
The Christmas Activity Pack (www.stapleford-centre.org) A pack of 16 A6 colour cards plus teacher’s book with stimulating RE ideas for thinking skills, drama, art and display activities. £10
http://www.rejesus.co.uk/ Brighter KS2 pupils may enjoy the nativity Icon, nativity puzzle, faces of Jesus, karaoke carols etc – a quirky and useful site which teachers may also enjoy and find helpful.

Three particular resources offer a year-by-year developmental approach to teaching about Christmas and could enable you to take the whole school off timetable for a day to do RE together. This could be a really exciting way to approach the work. If you do this and have Jehovah’s Witness pupils in school, do inform parents as their children may need separate provision on this day.

Developing Primary RE: Christmas – a year by year approach – Joyce Mackley (buy from Stapleford Centre shop – see web address above) A useful resource in which every year group is taught a different aspect of the Christmas story so pupils feel engaged with new insights and learning can move forward each year.

Festival Matters (Teaching to promote progressions in understanding key Christian festivals) written by SW Diocesan RE advisers to provide materials for each year group on all the major Christmas festivals. Available from www. saled.org – suggest you ring their office and ask.

On-line resources from Ely Diocese http://www.ely.anglican.org/education/schools/collective_worship/christian_festivals.html

A general and helpful art resource for everyone ….

http://www.joyfulheart.com/christmas/christmas_artwork.htm one of the best ‘gateways’ to Christmas artwork– links to all major artworks through history covering various parts of the story.