How Christians use art to tell stories
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can give examples of how different Christian traditions use art to retell stories.
Key learning points
- Many churches used stained glass windows to tell stories from the Bible.
- Some churches use icons to worship and focus on God.
- Christian art often contains deeper symbolic meanings placed within images by artists.
- By examining different Christian attitudes to art we can better understand Christian worldviews.
Keywords
Icon - a picture or painting used as a focus for Christian worship
Chi Rho - the first two Greek letters of the word Christ used as an early Christian symbol
Stained glass window - a picture made from coloured glass often found in churches depicting scenes associated with Christianity
Venerate - to regard someone or something with great respect
Common misconception
All Christians view art in the same way.
There are differing Christian worldviews on the role of art. Some Christians use art as a form of devotion. Some, like many Orthodox Christians, venerate icons. Other Christians see art as distracting from a focus on God.
Teacher tip
You might like to look at churches local to you to see examples of different artwork. Do they have stained glass windows or statues? Draw out with pupils that you will see different kinds of art (or none at all), depending on the denominations that are local to you.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Calligraphy is ...
Q2.Most Muslims believe that it is forbidden to use __________ in mosques and books.
Q3.The Psalms are books of in the Bible.
Q4.Many Sikhs will listen to the poetry of the __________ being sung.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to the correct definition.
a picture or painting used for Christian worship
a symbol made up of the the first 2 Greek letters of the word Christ
a religious picture made from coloured glass often found in churches
to regard someone or something with great respect
Q2.Why were stained glass windows used in churches?
Q3.Why don’t all churches have stained glass windows or statues?
Q4.What does the Chi Rho symbol represent?
Q5.What type of art would you find in Greek Orthodox Churches?
To help you plan your 4 religious education lesson on: How Christians use art to tell stories, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 religious education lesson on: How Christians use art to tell stories, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 religious education lessons from the Spirituality: how is art used in religions and beliefs? unit, dive into the full primary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.