The purpose of families
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the different purposes of families and Christian teachings on the purposes of families.
Key learning points
- The purpose of families means the reason why they exist.
- People have different views on the purpose of family, including procreation, stability and raising children in a faith.
- Survey data shows that love, kindness and support is important for families.
- Christian teachings suggest that families are key for procreation, teaching Christianity and providing for children.
- Attitudes towards procreation and not having children have changed over time.
Keywords
Procreate (procreation) - having a child; seen as a duty in many religions
Purpose - the reason for which something is done or created or why something exists
Family - traditionally, a group of one or more parents and their children living together as a unit
Common misconception
Christians think that families are only important for procreation.
Some Christians emphasise that families are important for procreation, but this is not the only purpose of families.
Teacher tip
Use the results of the survey about parents' and children's views on families to create an activity. Students could sort them in order of importance according to their own views or choose which ones they think Christians (or followers of other religions) might prioritise and why.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.According to Exodus 20:12, children should honour their .
Q2.Which of these is not one of the five family types identified by sociologists?
Q3.What is a key sociological approach to studying families?
Q4.Why do some Christians believe the nuclear family is ideal?
Q5.How might an extended family provide support?
Q6.Many Christians believe that parents should educate their children about Christianity and teach them right from .
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.According to Genesis 1:28, God commanded people to “be fruitful and , fill the earth and subdue it”.
Q2.What does 1 Timothy 5:8 suggest about family responsibilities?
Q3.What do humanists believe about the purpose of family?
Q4.What does Ephesians 6:1-4 say about family relationships?
Q5.How have attitudes towards procreation changed over time?
Q6.Which of the following statements best describes the humanist view on raising children in faith?
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: The purpose of families, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: The purpose of families, 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 4 religious education lessons from the Relationships and families unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.