Lesson video

Hello, my name is Miss Willow, and I'm going to be your teacher for today's lesson.

Today's lesson is called The Role of Faith Groups in a Community.

And it fits into the unit Communities: How Do We Respect People of Different Faiths? During this lesson, we are going to be talking about discrimination.

So for this lesson, we recommend that you have an adult with you.

If at any point, you do feel worried or uncomfortable, it's really important that you stop the lesson and that you speak to a trusted adult.

Okay, let's make a start.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain how faith contributes to a community and describe ways to respect different faiths.

Before we get started with today's lesson, we need to go over some ground rules.

These help to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable during today's lesson.

First of all, Laura says that we need to listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should always listen properly before we make any assumptions or before we decide how to respond.

When we disagree with someone else, it's important to challenge the statement and not the person themselves.

Andeep says that we need to respect each other's privacy.

It's okay to discuss examples, but we shouldn't use any names or descriptions that identify anyone, including ourselves.

If we want to share a story or an experience, we can refer to someone as my friend.

This means that we're not going to give away any identifying information.

Next, Jacob says no judgment.

We can explore any beliefs or misunderstandings that we have about a topic without fear of being judged by others.

And finally, Izzy says that we can choose our level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or to join in with discussion, and we should never put anyone on the spot as this can make people feel uncomfortable.

We're now going to take a look at the keywords for today's lesson.

Our first keyword is faith.

This is a person's religion or set of beliefs.

Next, we have respect.

This is being considerate of others in the world around you, treating people fairly and how you would like to be treated.

And finally, we have cohesion.

This is when things or people stick together to make a united group or a whole.

Today's lesson is split into three learning cycles.

Our first learning cycle is called how do faith groups contribute to a community? Our second learning cycle is called how do faith groups build cohesion in a community? And finally, our last learning cycle is called how can we respect faith groups in a community? Let's make a start on our first learning cycle, how do faith groups contribute to a community? A faith group is a group of people that have shared religious beliefs and traditions.

Aarya says that Britain is a multi-faith society.

That means that there are lots of different faith groups represented in our country.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Is this statement true or false? There is only one faith group in Britain.

What do you think? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that the answer is false.

But why? You might have said that Britain is a multi-faith society, which means that there are many different faith groups in the country.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Faith groups contribute to their communities in lots of different ways.

Charlie says that they can provide support, promote wellbeing, and bring people together in unity.

We're now going to talk about support and how faith groups contribute support to a community.

Faith groups can sometimes act as a safety net for society.

People may turn to faith groups when they're in need.

James says that they might run soup kitchens for people experiencing homelessness or food banks for families that are struggling financially.

Some may also run activities to support parents and carers, like toddler groups, youth groups, or holiday clubs.

Faith groups can also contribute wellbeing to a community.

So many faith groups help to promote both physical and mental wellbeing in their communities.

Marcus says, "After I retired, I felt like I lost my way a bit.

I joined an exercise class run by a local faith group, and it really helped me.

It gave me some routine, a sense of purpose, and it really boosted my confidence." Jeremiah says, "I'd been struggling with my mental health for some time and was feeling quite isolated.

I noticed some posters advertising drop-in counseling at my local faith center, so I decided to go.

It was really helpful to talk to someone, and a few members of the center have been checking up on me ever since.

I don't feel as lonely now, and I know I have people I can turn to." Faith groups also contribute unity to a community.

So faith groups can be a voice for positive change in their communities.

Iqbal says that, "I belong to a local faith group.

We noticed that litter was becoming an issue in our area, so we organized a litter-picking morning.

The event was a huge success and was attended by people of all backgrounds.

We were very proud of what we achieved together." Charlie says that faith groups often host fairs, festivals, and other events for the whole community.

These events can be great for learning about each other and having fun together too.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Can you finish this sentence? Faith groups may contribute to their community by a, running food banks, b, driving positive change, c, hosting events only for certain faith groups, or d, running activities like youth groups.

Can you finish the sentence? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that a, b, and d are correct.

Faith groups may contribute to their community by running food banks, driving positive change, and running activities like youth groups.

Faith groups can host events, but they're typically for the whole community, not only for certain faith groups.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Okay, we're now moving on to your first practice task, and well done for your hard work so far.

I'd like you to create a poster summarizing some of the ways in which faith groups contribute to a community.

I'd like you to include the headings support, wellbeing, and unity.

Pause the video and we'll go through what you might have said in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what your poster might have looked like.

You might have something like this.

At the top, it might say Faith groups in the community.

Britain is a multi-faith society, many of which support their communities by providing support, promoting wellbeing, and uniting people.

Faith groups can provide support, for example, by running soup kitchens, food banks, toddler groups, youth groups, and holiday club.

They can promote wellbeing by running exercise classes and drop-in counseling.

And they can help to unite people by hosting fairs, festivals, and events.

Well done if your poster looked anything like this or had some of the same ideas from this learning cycle.

It's now time to move on to our second learning cycle, how do faith groups build cohesion in a community? When there is cohesion in a community, people may feel a sense of belonging, identity, a sense of togetherness, mutual respect, trust, and harmony.

Aarya says that cohesion is like the glue that holds society together.

Cohesion in the community can help to make the community more resilient.

James says that when there is cohesion that's built on trust and respect, people are more likely to cooperate to overcome obstacles together.

This helps communities to stay strong during difficult times, such as if there's a natural disaster, a public health crisis, or economic decline.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Can you complete the list with the missing words? When there is cohesion in a community, people may feel a sense of blank, identity, togetherness, mutual respect, blank, and harmony.

Can you complete the list with the missing words? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that the missing words were belonging and trust.

When there is cohesion in a community, people may feel a sense of belonging, identity, togetherness, mutual respect, trust, and harmony.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Faith groups often help to build cohesion by forming relationships, giving their time, and encouraging inclusivity.

James says that when faith groups run community activities and invite others to join, they help people to form trusting relationships and feel like they belong.

Stacey says, "My teenager's been going to the youth group at our local faith center for over a year now.

Not only does it give him a place to go on Friday nights, it's also enabled him to have meaningful conversations and form trusting relationships with other teenagers and the group leaders.

I know that if he's struggling with anything, he can turn to those people for support." Charlie says, "Faith groups can also bring together volunteers quickly in time of need.

Many faiths teach values like compassion and helping others, which can inspire members to give up their time for good causes." Simone says, "Our local faith groups offered to help the elderly when we had some terrible weather recently.

Groups of volunteers would pick up shopping for vulnerable members of the community or go to their homes to have a cup of tea so that they were not left isolated.

It was really lovely to see people from all walks of life helping each other." Iqbal says that faith groups can also provide opportunities for people from different cultures and backgrounds to interact with one another, which helps to break down barriers and challenge stereotypes.

This can lead to a more cohesive and inclusive community.

Jared says that, "When a faith group opened a place of worship on my street, I was a bit unsure because I didn't know much about them.

But I went to a fair they hosted, had some great conversations, and it really challenged the stereotypes that I had before." Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Is this statement true or false? Faith groups build cohesion in a community through forming relationships, giving their time, and encouraging inclusivity.

What do you think? Is this true or false? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is true.

It is true that faith groups build cohesion in a community through forming trusting relationships, giving their time, and encouraging inclusivity.

Well done if you said the same thing.

We're now going to move on to your second practice task.

And well done for all your hard work so far.

With a partner, I'd like you to discuss the following questions.

One, what is cohesion in a community? Two, why is cohesion important for a community? And finally, number three, what are some of the ways in which faith groups build cohesion in a community? Pause the video and we'll go through some model answers in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

Number one, what is cohesion in a community? You might have said that cohesion is like the glue that holds a community together.

It creates a sense of belonging, identity, togetherness, mutual respect, trust, and harmony.

Number two, you might have said for why is cohesion important for a community, you might have said that cohesion can help to make a community more resilient.

When the cohesion is built on trust and respect, people are more likely to cooperate and overcome obstacles together.

This can help communities to recover from difficulties, such as natural disasters, a public health crisis, or economic decline.

And finally, for question three, what are some of the ways in which faith groups build cohesion in the community, you might have said something like: faith groups help build cohesion in the community through creating trusting relationships, giving their time to help others, and encouraging inclusivity through bringing people from different backgrounds together.

Well done if your answers were anything like this.

It's now time to move on to our final learning cycle, how can we respect faith groups in a community? Some people may believe that all faith groups are the same.

And Aarya tells us that this is not true.

While there are some similarities, each faith group has its own beliefs and practices that contribute to the diversity of a wider community.

There are lots of ways in which we can show respect for different faith groups in a community.

Aarya says, "By learning about a faith group, being sensitive to their practices, and treating everyone with kindness, we can help to make sure that all people feel valued and respected." One way that we can respect faith groups in a community is by learning about them.

It's natural to feel unsure about things that are new or different.

Some faith groups may have customs that are different to what we're used to, but that doesn't make them wrong.

By keeping an open mind, staying curious, and asking respectful questions, we can see other people's perspectives and learn things along the way.

We could ask respectful questions like, why is the celebration special to your faith? What's the significance of this clothing or food? What does that tradition represent? And could you tell me more about that custom? We can also show respect to faith groups in a community by being sensitive.

We can show respect for faith groups by being sensitive about the things that are important to them.

So this might occlude being aware of any dietary restrictions.

For example, not eating a particular type of meat, following rules when visiting a place of worship, such as removing shoes if this is the custom, and not making fun of traditions, clothing, or symbols that are important in someone's faith, even if they're different to ours.

Kindness is really important when showing respect to faith groups in a community.

Above all, it's important to be kind to everyone.

Iqbal says that when someone faces bullying or discrimination because of their faith, we can be active bystanders by helping them.

If it's safe to do so, we can stand up for them and always tell a trusted adult what's happening.

We can also bring people together by focusing on what we share in common rather than only on our differences.

It's also important to notice our own stereotypes and challenge them when they come up.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Can you complete the missing words in this paragraph? By blank about a faith group, being blank to their practices, and treating everyone with blank, we can ensure that everyone feels respected.

Where I said the word blank, can you decide which words are missing in the paragraph? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Okay, our first missing word was learning, our second missing word was sensitive, and kindness was our last missing word.

Our completed paragraph now says: By learning about a faith group, being sensitive to their practices, and treating everyone with kindness, we can ensure that everyone feels respected.

Well done if you got this right.

It's now time to move on to our final practice task.

Well done for your hard work.

For this practice task, I'd like you to write one paragraph to summarize the ways in which we can show respect to faith groups in a community.

Pause the video and we'll go through a model answer in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what your paragraph could have looked like.

You might have said something like: There are many ways that we can show respect for faith groups in a community.

We can learn more by keeping an open mind, staying curious, and asking respectful questions, such as why is this celebration special to your faith? It's also important to be sensitive about practices that matter to others, like dietary rules or clothing.

We should also treat all people, including those of different faith groups, with kindness.

For instance, if someone is being bullied for their faith, we should be active bystanders by standing up for them if it is safe to do so and telling a trusted adult.

Ultimately, we should try to understand others and treat everyone with respect.

Well done if your paragraph looked anything like this or had some of the ideas that we've learned about in this learning cycle.

It's now time to summarize the key learning from today's lesson.

In today's lesson, we've learned that Britain is a multi-faith society.

Each faith has its own beliefs which adds to our diversity.

Faith groups can help communities by providing support, promoting wellbeing, and encouraging unity.

Cohesion is like the glue that holds people together.

When there is belonging, trust, and respect, people are more likely to work together.

Faith groups build cohesion by forming trusting relationships, giving their time, and encouraging inclusivity.

And we can show respect to people of different faiths by learning about their practices, being sensitive to what matters to them, and treating everyone with kindness.

During this lesson, you might have found that you've got some worries or questions.

And if you do, it's really important that you share these with a trusted adult.

There's also a resource on the screen that's there to help you too.

Well done for your hard work today.

I hope to see you again soon.