Exploring Jehovah's Witness belief: Part 1

Teacher notes

This is the first of two lessons exploring Natalie's faith at KS4 in the storyworld 'Preparing for Better', one of six from Denmark which explore faith, religion and worldviews. Natalie and her family are Jehovah's Witnesses. **Please note that it is worth highlighting the film's editorial choices of imagery, sounds and visuals when Natalie's ideas of 'a better life' are explored, e.g. the imagery around what would otherwise be called natural disasters.** The Edexcel RE GCSE exam board accept the views of Jehovah’s Witnesses as a Christian alternative if mentioned as a non-Trinitarian sect of Christianity, see: https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/GCSE/Religious%20Studies/2016/Specification%20and%20sample%20assessments/Specification-GCSE-L1-L2-Religious-Studies-B-June-2016-Draft-4.pdf Like all Lyfta lessons, this one is adaptable and can have activities removed, added, amended or reordered by duplicating and amending your copy. This lesson was created by an RE Head of Department and is developed with reference to 'A Curriculum Framework for Religious Education in England’ by the Religious Education Council of England and Wales October (2013), available here: https://www.natre.org.uk/uploads/RE_Review_Summary.pdf It could also be a useful lesson for KS5 General Studies, Philosophy and Ethics. Additional support for teaching can be found here: 1. Beyond the Big Six Religions: Expanding the Boundaries in the Teaching of Religion and Worldviews (2019) James Holt 2. The NATRE website https://www.natre.org.uk 3. RE Online: https://www.reonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Beyond-the-big-6.pdf **Lyfta core themes:** Community and Citizenship, Culture and Identity, Equality and Human Rights, Relationships. Lyfta core skills and values:** Coping Methods, Critical Thinking, Empathy & Understanding Others, Intercultural Competence, Perspective-Taking, Resilience & Perseverance, Respect. **SDGs:** 3. **Objectives:** KS4 RE Students should: - be able to appreciate and appraise the beliefs and practices of different religions and worldviews with an increasing level of discernment based on interpretation, evaluation and analysis, developing and articulating well-reasoned positions. pg. 25 - Use different disciplines and methods by which religions and worldviews are studied to analyse their influence on individuals and societies - account for varied interpretations of commitment to religions and worldviews and for responses to profound questions about the expression of identity, diversity, meaning and value, p.25. **Lesson learning objectives**: - To know and understand some of the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the reason for evangelism - To explore issues of inclusion and diversity in relation to different worldviews.