Table of Contents:
1. Teacher’s background information.
The Bible is the world’s best-selling book – it does not appear in the ‘book charts’ because the other books do not stand a chance!
20 million Bibles are sold each year; that’s 54,945 Bibles sold every day (as at the time of writing).
Take a look at the figures for book sales since the first editions: estimated at:
- Bible: 5 billion, that is 5,000,000,000 copies sold and distributed.
- Qur’an: 800 million, that is 800,000,000
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: 200 million
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling: 120 million
Some people see the Bible just as a religious history book written by many different people over thousands of years.
But there is something powerful about the Bible’s words.
Many see the Bible as having lots of errors and contradictions, but this is not true. Teachers note: see ‘What Errors Are In The Bible? Scientific Inaccuracies‘
The children will be shown the difference between the two Covenants, and will see the teachings of right and wrong, and what their main theme is.
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2. Lesson plans and resources for: What is the Bible?
[a] What is the Bible in more detail? The lesson plan is a downloadable PDF document to present to the children. (Opens in a new tab.)
[b] What is the Bible in more detail lesson plan: a PowerPoint presentation viewable or downloadable for teachers to show the children. (Opens in a new tab on www.slideshare.net) (Same material as the PDF above).
[c] What is the Bible in more detail? A free lesson plan video based on a PowerPoint presentation. Created with 5-second slides, so pause the video to enable the children to study each slide (Same material as the PDF above).
3. A free children’s song about the Bible.
The Bible is no ordinary book. It’s all about God and how much he loves us.
Now, you might think the Bible is a big, long list of rules and names, but it’s not! You might also think it’s about a bunch of perfect people who always followed God’s rules.
The Bible is a bunch of stories, poems, letters, and even songs — that are all telling one big story.
‘God’s Story: The Bible’ by Crossroads Kids’ Club.
4. How to fulfil the locally agreed syllabus on ‘What is the Bible in more detail lesson plan.’
Hopefully, you will be able to match your locally agreed syllabus with what is here.
This lesson plan is based on the UK RE Attainment Targets.
Here is the Mapping Grid for the Attainment Target Categories:
- Sacred Texts – stories, scriptures, parables, teachings
- Beliefs – ideas about God, truth, meaning, purpose
- Practices – worship, prayer, festivals, rituals, lifestyle
- Identity – belonging, community, worldview, personal reflection
- Values – moral ideas, attitudes, virtues
- Living – how beliefs affect actions and everyday life
🎯 Why This Grid Works for UK Schools
✔ Matches Agreed Syllabus expectations
✔ Supports progression from KS1 to KS2
✔ Aligns with Ofsted language (knowledge, understanding, impact)
✔ Works for lesson planning, assessment, and inspection evidence
✔ Non-political, non-denominational, UK-appropriate
For many local syllabi, in KS1, Christianity plus at least one other major religion is studied.
Effective RE should combine:
- knowledge (stories, beliefs, practices)
- understanding (why people believe/do what they do)
- reflection (personal response, values, empathy).
Typical Key Questions for KS2
Here are common “core/enquiry” questions or themes that appear in most KS2 agreed syllabi:
- Beliefs & Worldviews
a) What do different people believe about God / the world / human life?
What are the origins of the religions, and why are the ‘founders’ so significant? How do devotees show their devotion to these figures?
How do the lives, teachings and examples of the key religious figures in the different religions influence individuals and faith communities today?
Are these figures good role models for us today? Why?
How important is it for us to have good role models to base our lives on?
b) What do sacred texts, teachings and stories say? Why are they important? Why are sacred texts and holy books so important? (Sacred Texts)
What is a sacred text? What sacred texts are important in religion? How did they come into existence?
What beliefs about God are expressed in the sacred texts?
What do different sacred texts say about what it means to be a person?
What rules for living are found in different sacred texts?
c) What do people believe about life after death, morality, purpose and meaning?
What do people believe about life after death — and how do these beliefs affect their actions? - Practices & Expression
a) How and why do people worship? (Worship)
What do religious people do in their worship? Why do they do this?
What do believers gain from worshipping on their own (privately) and with other people (in the home or place of worship)?
How does worship influence their lives?
Why don’t all members of a religious or non-religious community believe and live in the same ways? (Diversity).
Does it matter that people have views, beliefs and religions that differ from my own? Why?
How might differences enhance the life of a community?
b) What makes religious places, festivals, rituals, and symbols important? What do our celebrations show about what we think is important in life? (Festivals)
What are some of the main festivals in the religions?
How do festivals express important beliefs and events in each religion?
What value do religious festivals have in the lives of individuals and communities?
How do religions express their beliefs about God? (Symbolism)
How do they express these beliefs through art, language, rituals and symbols?
c) How do believers express and live out their beliefs — individually and as communities?
How can belonging to a religion influence the lives of the faith communities? How do religious communities live out their beliefs and actions in the wider world?
What does it mean to be a Christian, a Hindu or a Muslim? Is religion important in the community?
Are places of worship really needed? (Religious buildings)
How do the features of these buildings help them to fulfil their purpose? What are the differences between private and collective worship?
Why do religions and non-religious groups celebrate important moments in life? (Rites of Passage).
What rites of passage do people observe in religious and non-religious traditions? - Impact, Values & Ethics
a) What does it mean to live by certain values — and what can we learn from different religions/worldviews?
What do the religious and non-religious worldviews teach about ‘the good life’? (Ethics).
Who and what influences how I live my life? How important is my behaviour?
What is my personal code of conduct? What are my most important values in life?
What do the different religious and non-religious teachings say about how we should live our lives?
How do different religious and non-religious groups decide what is right and wrong?
b) How do religious ideas influence attitudes toward social justice, fairness, environment, community life and global issues?
Is there a purpose to life, and how can we find out? What helps give meaning and purpose to life?
How does what we believe influence the way we should treat the world? (Creation and environment).
What do I think caused the universe?
Does the universe have a purpose, or is it just there?
What do different religions, non-religious groups and scientific views say about how the universe and life came about?
Do people have a responsibility to care for the world? Why, and what is this?
How important is human life? Why? Is human life more important than all other life?
How do religions respond to global issues such as justice, environment and human rights?
These then required merging within the Assessment Aims, but as can be seen, there had to be some overlapping of the themes/core questions:
- ASSESSMENT AIM: 1. SACRED TEXTS (Stories, Scriptures, parables & teachings) – [SACRED TEXTS & WHO AM I?]
- ASSESSMENT AIMS: 2. BELIEFS (Ideas about God, truth, meaning & purpose) – CREATION & IMPORTANT PEOPLE]
- ASSESSMENT AIM: 3. PRACTICES (worship, prayer, festivals, rituals & lifestyle) – [FESTIVALS & PLACES]
- ASSESSMENT AIM: 4. IDENTITY (belonging, community, worldview & personal reflection) – [BELONGING & IDENTITY]
- ASSESSMENT AIMS: 5. VALUES (moral ideas, attitudes, virtues, right & wrong) – [FESTIVALS & BELONGING]
- ASSESSMENT AIMS: 6. LIVING (how beliefs affect actions and everyday life) – [IMPORTANT PEOPLE & FESTIVALS]
Each assessment had its own set of questions to answer. These are included in each lesson plan, which is suitable for that particular subject.