RS Free Stuff

Body image, cosmetic surgery and society

Every day we are bombarded by images of the ‘body beautiful’. In all sorts of media from adverts and magazines to television programmes offering extreme makeovers, we are told what we should aspire to look like. This issue is often close to the hearts of young people as they face growing pressures in a society which values appearance. 

Daily Mail columnist Samantha Brick recently made headlines around the world when she accused women of hating other, more attractive women. She used herself as an example, which resulted in her quickly becoming one of the most hated women in the world for a brief time. After receiving thousands of insults focusing on her looks, Samantha’s response was simply that this proved her theory. Whether it did or not is open for discussion, but this raises some important questions about the value we place on appearance, and how this can affect the way in which people are treated.

Students may also be aware of the issues involving PIP implants, which have recently been in the news. Cosmetic surgery was once something reserved for the rich and famous, but more recently it has become readily available to the public, and is something many young people aspire to. The recent problems with PIP implants raise ethical questions about the risks involved and what happens when things go wrong.

These lesson ideas focus on issues of prejudice and appearance, the role of the media, religious and ethical responses to cosmetic surgery and recent case studies that students can relate to.

Making links:

Through differentiation these tasks could be used for Key Stages 3 and 4, as well as having links with GCSE topics covering human relationships, prejudice and discrimination and medical issues. These tasks are also suitable for the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence within the values and issues sections for level 3 and 4. It may also be useful as a topic to consider for the added value unit.

Download the lesson ideas by clicking the button below.

We're currently looking for lesson plan authors! To find out more visit our authors page: www.boardworks.co.uk/authors

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Below is an archive of our most popular free RS resources. To download this content all you need to do is click on the links below and you will be prompted to register some additional details with us.

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During a long, information-packed lesson, it can be difficult to maintain student interest, especially in the final 10 minutes when trying to summarise a lesson for a group of increasingly restless students.

To help maintain student interest right up until the bell goes, Boardworks KS3 RS contains a variety of plenary activities, like this interactive quiz taken from our KS3 RS ‘Birth Ceremonies’ presentation.

In this interactive activity, students select an answer to each question, until all the answers have disappeared. Visually-engaging, this activity can be used to test students’ knowledge of the birth ceremonies, occupying them with a fun plenary activity whilst you assess their progress.

Click the 'Start' button to try out the activity.

As well as end-of-topic quizzes, Boardworks RS resources feature extended question slides and source-based plenaries, which can be used as the foundations for essays and debates, or to facilitate revision. To find out more, order your free sample disc today!

And to keep up-to-date with all our latest news, including free resources and lesson plans, follow us on Twitter @BoardworksLtd.

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‘Students often have a misconception that RS is about teachers persuading them to believe certain things. This lesson reassures students that their views will be heard and respected by the teacher and the class.’

Encouraging tolerance and respect of others’ views is one of the most important roles of Religious Studies. With this in mind, RS teacher Clare Truman has written a lesson plan that aims to help students’ understanding of why some people believe in a god and others do not.

Using interactive, all-inclusive techniques and fun voting activities, the lesson plan gives students the opportunity to share and compare their views with those of others in a respectful and thought-provoking way.

To download the lesson plan and the Boardworks slides, click the buttons below.

Respectful discussion of religious beliefs is central to the study of RS. With voting charts, true-or-false tasks and activities, Boardworks KS3+KS4 RS helps gauge students’ opinion and facilitate class discussion. To find out more, order your free sample disc today.

Keep up to speed with our free resources and lesson plans by following us on Twitter @BoardworksLtd.

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Ian Russell, RE teacher at Netherhall School in Cumbria, shares his business ethics teaching ideas

As I write, Greece’s economy is in turmoil, Europe’s fiscal union is faltering and austerity measures infiltrate every area of life in the UK. But one hope unites all people: that the bankers who created the current economic crisis will one day get their comeuppance.

Or so the press would have us believe. But is this shallow view of economics and business one that we as RS teachers should allow to stand unchallenged? What place does, or should, business ethics have in our curriculum?

“The love of money is the root of all evil” said Paul. What if we inverted this – “The hate of poverty is the root of all goodness” – and combined the two sayings? How do we reconcile these statements with the Parable of the Talents, and the line from 2 Timothy 2, “The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops”? Are these latter examples an excuse for bankers’ bonuses, or a call to a balanced approach to hard work and due reward? These are difficult questions to answer without further investigation – and that is where high quality RE teaching and lessons rise to the challenge.

According to a leading British ethicist, many MPs believed, when asked ten years ago, that the most important subject to teach young leaders of the future was business studies. A decade later, their answer has changed – now, the most important subject has become business ethics. More than ever, it would seem that these are the issues we need to raise with our students to help them make sense of a world in turmoil. Business ethics is an integral part of the OCR A-level Philosophy & Ethics syllabus, while ethical investments are mentioned in their GCSE specifications. How central is it in your schemes of learning?

Why not use a lesson or two to promote some deeper thinking about different ethical approaches to the world of business and investments?

To download Ian’s lesson ideas, click the button below.

Ian also uses Boardworks KS3+KS4 Religious Studies in his lessons. To try out activities, tasks and games from these products, order your free sample disc!

And to be the first to hear about free resources, lesson plans and subject news, follow us on Twitter @BoardworksLtd.

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This year, Lent runs from 22nd February to 7th April.

To help your KS3 students understand what Lent is, why Christians observe Lent and what Easter commemorates, we’ve created a free presentation for you to download.

The resources include:

- an interactive calendar of Holy Week, explaining the events preceding the crucifixion
- a research task where students interview (for real, or as a role-play) a Christian about how they observe Lent
- an accompanying worksheet which provides a framework for the interview.

To download the free resources, click the button below.

All Boardworks RS resources are accompanied by a wide range of support documents. Not only are there worksheets which allow students to work independently, there are also exam board mapping grids and speaker’s notes to give you advice on presenting slide information. To find out more, why not order your free sample disc today?