Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

I love stories. I have used stories throughout all of my teaching. Even for NCT.

Today we looked at the Bible and finding our way around the Bible. Cindy asked if anyone would be happy to stand up and talk about the Bible. I should have done, but in that instant I feel like I forgot everything I'd ever known about it! Of course 3 seconds later, once the opportunity was gone, it all came back to me. So annoying. I hate opportunities passing me by.

We discussed the difference between AT (Attainment Target) 1 - learning ABOUT religion and AT2 - learning FROM religion. AT1 is EXPLICIT which means it is about facts and knowledge. AT2 is IMPLICIT which means drawing meaning from the religion and making it relevant to the children's everyday lives.

We looked at how the 'concept cracking' idea works in practice. It is broken down into 4 steps:

1. Unpack the beliefs

2. Select one belief

3. Engage with pupils experiences

4. Religion and relevance

For example - Giraffe's can't dance is about acceptance and you could link that belief with the story of Zaccheus the tax collector from the Bible.

It isn't just stories, but also images as well can be very evocative and powerful.

Concept Cracking is meant to be the bridge between personal experience and religious teaching.