The big picture
Calligraphy: a place of rest for the soul
REtoday interviewed Muslim artist Ali Caligraff, who works in France, about his dynamic and intriguing Islamic art, often infused with joy and vitality
‘Britain’s Pilgrim Places’: what can we learn in RE?
Christianity lies across the land of the UK in ancient places as well as in modern architecture. Can teachers of RE studying pilgrimage find local connections to the theme and to the ancient histories of religion in...
THE BIG PICTURE: Research Jewish culture with your pupils from the online British Library exhibit
Hebrew Manuscripts: Journeys of the Written Word, an exhibition at the British Library, provides a fantastic way to study Judaism for primary and secondary pupils, exploring the history, culture and traditions of...
THE BIG PICTURE: Walking to Karbala to find eternal light and the origin of all love
Saarah Bokharl and Ayaz Ali share their experiences and photographs of the Shi’ah Muslim Arbaeen pilgrimage to the city of Karbala, which since 680 CE has drawn huge numbers of pilgrims to remember the martyrdom of...
The Torah at the British Library:
The British Library recently launched its exhibition of Hebrew manuscripts – amazing online resources go with this. Have a look: www.bl.uk/events/hebrew-manuscripts. The big picture here shows the traditional silver...
THE BIG PICTURE The future of Miami – and our own cities
Show the picture to your pupils and ask them in pairs to discuss what it might show, and what the photo-artist might be thinking about. It is a ‘made up’ photo, by Nikolay Lamm, based on the prediction that global...
Prayer at Varanasi
Julie Grove, of the RE Today Editorial Team, provides learning ideas from the Big Picture.
What does the Calligraphic Galleon tell us about Islam?
This image is full of significant learning about Islam. Unpack it with your students and see how many connections they can make to the syllabus they study. Provide the information points one by one, but begin by...
THE BIG PICTURE Isaiah: Light of Redemption
Looking at four Sikh artefacts
This term’s visual learning idea is simple. The four artefacts in the pictures show four key aspects of Sikhism. These pictures are also available on a PowerPoint from the REtoday website (the password is always...
THE BIG PICTURE The Hajj
THE BIG PICTURE can you see Jesus in other people?
Theresa Borg works in a school with a Christian character, and describes here her use of the work of art Je Cherche Ton Visage to explore a spiritual idea from Christianity – that Jesus can be seen in others.
Carving Jesus
THE BIG PICTURE St Francis and the wolf of Gubbio
Show pupils the picture (you can download it from the RE Today members’ website for your whiteboard). Tell the story, perhaps while the picture is displayed. This account is based on the 21st chapter of the Fioretti...
THE BIG PICTURE: The realm of the hungry ghosts
THE BIG PICTURE: THE PRODIGAL SON
How is the Jewish faith defended?
‘And that is how the universe was made! Or maybe it wasn’t In fact, God alone knows. Or maybe not.’
The modern picturing of ancient narratives in this Hindu example is powerful because it suggests that the Hindu communities continue to find meaning and points of reflection through the new forms of expression in...
THE BIG PICTURE An interactive Muslim pilgrimage?
THE BIG PICTURE A Diwali story in the Ramayana from the British Library
The Ramayana is an epic Indian poem telling of the divine prince Rama and his struggle to rescue his wife Sita from a demon king, Ravana. Involving almost 24,000 verses, this ancient text is divided into seven books....