Lesson video

Hello there.

My name is Mr. Robertson, and I love RE.

I'm so excited to be learning you today.

We are looking at this really interesting and big question about the world.

How do different people explain how it started? Today's lesson is the final lesson in this unit, and it's all about stewardship and care for the world.

I can't wait to be learning with you today, and I know we are going to have an amazing and interesting time.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain how and why people care for the world.

We have four keywords in our learning today.

I'm going to say the word first and then I'd like you to repeat it back to me.

Let's begin.

Steward.

Amazing.

Khalifa.

Fantastic.

And psalm.

Yes.

Amazing.

And finally, holy book.

That's brilliant.

Well done.

So a steward is someone who looks after something carefully.

A khalifa is an Islamic word for a caretaker or steward.

A psalm is a sacred song or poem.

And a holy book is a sacred text such as the Bible or the Qur'an.

We are going to use all these words as we go through the lesson today.

In our lesson today on stewardship and care for the world, we have two questions to answer.

Our first question is this, what do religions say about the world? Are you ready? Do you have your RE thinking caps on? Let's go.

Aisha.

Hello, Aisha.

She's going to explain to us why stories are important in RE.

Aisha says, "We can better understand people's worldviews by listening to their important words and stories and thinking about their deeper meaning.

We can also look at the difference the words and stories make to people today." So stories are important to find out their deeper meaning, but also what difference they make.

This lesson looks at words from holy books and stories about creation and the difference they make to different people.

Ooh, what an interesting photograph.

We've got a scroll there.

It's been unwound and there's some writing on it.

That writing is not in English.

It's in Hebrew.

Hmm.

I wonder which religion or worldview that might be.

Jews and Christians share the creation story in Genesis.

They also share a book of sacred poems called psalms. Many of the psalms have something to say about creation and the world.

In that photograph, we can see some of the psalms on a Jewish scroll.

Let's meet Rafi.

Hello, Rafi.

Rafi has a Jewish worldview.

Rafi says, "Psalms are like songs or poems. There are 150 psalms in my holy book.

We say them at the synagogue and read them at home.

Psalms can be joyful, sad, or even angry.

I can usually find a psalm to fit my mood, however I might be feeling." That's interesting.

So we know that psalms are songs or poems. Rafi explains what the Book of Psalms teaches him about the world.

"Psalm 8 is a joyful poem, praising God for the world.

It says, 'I look up at the skies you made with your hands.

I see the moon and stars you created.

' This psalm fills me with awe and wonder about the world and my place in it." So when Rafi reads those psalms, he thinks that God made the world and it makes him think how wonderful and amazing it is.

Tia has a Christian worldview.

Hello, Tia.

She also reads the psalms. Let's hear what Tia says.

Tia looks at Psalm 19.

It says, "The heavens declare God's glory.

The skies announce what he created." "This psalm says that people can learn about God by looking at our beautiful world.

I can read my Bible or I can go outside and wonder at the stars." Isn't that interesting? So when Tia looks at stars, it reminds her what it says in the Bible and in the psalms about God's glory.

And it makes her think about how she believes that God created this amazing world.

I do love to go and look at the stars.

Do you? Let's check our understanding here.

What is a psalm? Time to put on those RE thinking hats.

Is it A, a type of tree; B, a sacred song or poem; or C, a place of worship? Hmm.

I'd like you to pause the video and have a think.

Good thinking.

It's B, a sacred song or poem, isn't it? Congratulations if you got that right.

Tia is going to explain a bit more about her beliefs.

Tia says, "Psalm 24 says, 'The whole Earth belongs to the Lord.

' This psalm reminds me that the Earth is God's precious creation.

In Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve to be good stewards by planting and making the world beautiful." So Tia believes that the Earth is created by God, and humans, such as Adam and Eve, have to look after the world.

Let's meet Ahmed.

Hello, Ahmed.

He has a Muslim worldview and he reads the Qur'an.

That's the sacred book for Muslims. Ahmed says, "Allah created the mountains, flowing rivers, and fruit of every kind.

When I see the beauty of creation, I agree with the Qur'an when it says that mountains, rivers, and delicious fruits are like signs pointing to Allah." So when Ahmed looks around and sees beautiful things like mountains and rivers, he thinks that they show that god Allah created the world.

That's really interesting.

Thank you for sharing that, Ahmed.

Ahmed explains what he learns from his holy book, the Qur'an.

"The Qur'an says that Muslims should reflect on creation because it teaches us about Allah.

I see the world as a precious gift.

It needs as much care as I take with my Qur'an when I handle it respectfully and keep it clean." So for Ahmed, the world is a precious gift created by Allah.

True or false? Christians, Jews, and Muslims only learn about God when they read their holy books.

Hmm.

Is that true or false? Think about what Ahmed and Rafi and Tia were saying.

Thinking hats on, pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

It's false, isn't it? Christians, Jews, and Muslims don't just learn about God when they read their holy books.

Why? Hmm.

It's because all of those people talked about learning about God from creation, from looking around at the beautiful world and as well as reading Torah, the Bible, or the Qur'an, they could also look at the world and that also helps them understand about God as well.

Well done if you got that right.

We are going to think about our first task now.

Jun and Aisha are thinking about what different religions say about the world.

Jun says, "Some people read about the world in holy books.

These holy books remind them that God is powerful and he created a wonderful world." And Aisha says, "Some people believe that the world teaches them about God.

They look at the stars in the sky and the beautiful trees, and it is a sign like God is there." Who do you think has the best answer and why? They both say interesting things there, aren't they? Jun is talking about holy books, and Aisha's talking about looking around at the world.

Think about what everyone's been telling us so far.

I'd like you to pause the video and have a think.

So you might have answered: Jun had the best answer because he explained that people might read about God and creation in a holy book such as the Qur'an or the Bible.

Or you might have thought Aisha has the best answer because she remembered that some people look at the world around them and it reminds them that God created it for people to enjoy.

Well done if you've come up with some reasons of your own as well.

Fantastic thinking.

For the second part of the lesson, we're going to be asking the question, how and why do people care for the world? Ooh, look at that beautiful photograph.

I wonder if your school has some outside space like that.

Aren't you lucky if it does? Maybe you are in the middle of a city and you don't have as much space as that.

But it is really amazing if you have a field or some space in your school, isn't it? Who looks after it? Do you have a caretaker who looks after your school so that it is all clean and ready to learn? Wow, look at this.

What sort of building do you think that this might be? I wonder if there are some clues there that could help us.

We might think about the writing we can see.

Can you see that? I wonder what language that's in.

Look at some of those beautiful designs.

What an amazing building.

What do you think this is? This is the mosque that Ahmed attends.

Ahmed explains what is special about his mosque.

"My mosque is built out of wood, which is kinder to the planet.

Rainwater is collected and used to water our beautiful gardens.

I love my mosques." Oh, look at that.

It's so beautiful, isn't it? You can see the amazing fountain at the front.

And so Ahmed's telling us that that fountain is powered by rainwater which comes from the drains.

So they're not using new water, but they're recycling the water.

You can also see the amazing wood which is used to build a lot of the mosque, and that's much kinder to the planet than building things out of concrete.

What a beautiful mosque, Ahmed.

I love your mosque too.

Ahmed explains how his Muslim worldview affects his actions.

Ahmed says, "Humans have been chosen as khalifa, so we have a duty to be good caretakers of everything Allah has given us.

That's why we make sure our eco mosque uses water and energy carefully." So a bit like the caretaker looks after the school, Muslims believe that humans have to be a khalifa, which means they need to take care of the world.

And one way they do that is at Ahmed's mosque where they reuse the water and energy really carefully.

Ahmed showing you another photograph of his mosque now.

Look at the beautiful gardens there.

Look at those lovely flowers.

What an amazing place.

Ahmed says, "One of my responsibilities as a khalifa is to help keep the Islamic garden at the mosque looking beautiful so that everyone can enjoy it." So how is Ahmed being a really good Khalifa? Yes, he's helping do that beautiful garden, isn't he? Helping those beautiful flowers so that everyone can enjoy them.

And not just the humans, but also the birds and the bees and the insects that need to help pollinate this world.

Let's think about this.

Which two words mean the same as khalifa? A, caretaker; B, teacher; C, steward.

Let's put our thinking caps on.

Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, RE experts.

It's caretaker, isn't it? Like at the school, and steward as well.

These are words about taking care and looking after, which is what the word khalifa means.

Well done if you got those right.

Oh my goodness.

Look at that beautiful photograph.

What can you see? I can see a fish.

And the fish looks like it's swimming in a little pond, doesn't it? Can you see just above the fish on the left, there's a fox, isn't there? And we've also got some corn and some beautiful flowers.

What do you think this is? What is it a photograph of? I wonder where we might find this sort of photograph.

This is a window in the church that Tia attends.

Aren't you lucky, Tia? Imagine spending every Sunday looking at that beautiful window.

Tia thinks about her Christian worldview.

She says, "The window at my church reminds me that God cares so much for his beautiful world and he wants us to be good stewards of it.

We sing about creation and say prayers to thank God for the world." So for Tia, that window helps her understand that she believes she has to be a good steward of the world.

In her church, they sing songs about creation and pray to thank God for the world.

Ooh, what an interesting photograph there.

Tia is going to help us.

She says, "I try to be a good steward by doing practical things like recycling and caring for wildlife in the church garden.

I made a bird feeder so that birds can keep fed in winter." Isn't that clever? So for Tia, being a good steward means doing really practical things like caring for the wildlife, a bit like Ahmed did.

Have you seen the bird feeder? Look, it's made from an old spoon and a plastic bottle, so it's recycling.

And then when it's cold, the birds have got something to eat.

So being a good steward for Tia as a Christian is about doing really practical things and looking after the world.

And this is Nell's school.

What can you spot? Wow, Nell, what a beautiful school you've got.

Can you see some enormous vegetables? I can see a watermelon and a green pepper.

I wonder what that is just beyond the gate.

Hmm.

What's going on there, Nell? "My school has beautiful grounds.

We have trees that birds nest in, and sometimes we see foxes." Lucky you, Nell.

"We grow vegetables and fruit in our school garden." Wow, Nell, you have a garden in your school and you grow vegetables and fruit.

How amazing.

Nell is a humanist.

She's going to explain how her humanist worldview affects her actions.

"I believe we only have one world, so human beings should try to look after it.

At my school, I helped to set up an eco council.

I think people my age should look after the environment by recycling and reducing waste." Hmm.

So what's Nell telling us there? She's a humanist.

She thinks we only have one world and that human beings should look after it.

Thank you for telling us about your worldview.

And so what's she done with that? So she's tried to set up an eco council to get people her age thinking about the environment.

Nell, you are being brilliant.

It's really interesting to see how your worldview affects what you do.

Thank you.

Got a question for you here, a true or false question.

Only people with religious worldviews take care of the world.

Is that true or false? Mm.

Well, let's think.

We've been talking to Nell, we've been talking to Tia, and we've been talking to Ahmed.

Do they all have religious worldviews? Put your thinking caps on.

Let's have a think.

And it's false, isn't it? Well done.

Why is it false? People with non-religious worldviews, such as humanists, also believe it's important to take care of the world.

Think about what Nell was saying.

She'd set up an eco council, hadn't she, in her school.

So people with religious and non-religious worldviews can take care of the world.

Well done if you got that right.

Okay, we're going to look at our final task for the day.

Jun and Aisha are talking about how different people care for the world.

I want you to choose one of the people below and explain how and why they might care for the world.

We've got Tia.

She has a Christian worldview.

Nell has a humanist worldview, and Ahmed has a Muslim worldview.

How do they take care of the world and why is it important? I wonder if we might be able to use some really important vocabulary like khalifa or steward or caretaker.

Can you think about why they said it was important to care for the world? And can you think about some of the things that they actually did? Think about Ahmed's beautiful mosque.

Think about Tia's amazing church window and garden.

And think about Nell and her school and her school grounds.

Thinking caps on, RE experts.

I can't wait to see what you've put.

Pause the video and off you go.

Ooh, some amazing work going on there.

I really enjoyed this.

So you might have said, at Tia's church, they recycle and care for wildlife because Christians believe they should be good stewards of God's world.

Tia made a bird feeder, didn't she? Did you have a different answer? Maybe you talked about Ahmed and his mosque and how he tries to be a good Khalifa and look after the gardens.

Maybe you talked about Nell and how she believed there was one world and we should really take care of it, and how she helped set up an eco council and helped in the school garden.

Really interesting if you gave an answer like that.

Well done.

Let's summarise what we've learned today.

We've learned that Christians, Jews, and Muslims believe that their holy books and the world around them teaches them about God.

We've learned that Christians and Jews use the term steward to mean that humans should care for creation.

We've learned that Muslims use the word khalifa to talk about caring for creation, and we've also learned that humanists and others with a non-religious worldview also share ideas about the importance of caring for the world.

I've really enjoyed this lesson.

It's been fascinating finding out about different worldviews and how different people care for the world.

I wonder what your worldview is, and I wonder how you think we should care for our beautiful world so we can leave it precious and beautiful for other generations.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to seeing you in a lesson soon.

Goodbye.