How big is everything?

KS2–KS3 · Science · 75 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Describe the scale of Earth, the Milky Way and the Hubble Deep Field, and explain how Jewish and Christian scripture respond to the night sky with wonder rather than measurement. (NCS: meaning and purpose; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Appreciating Beauty.)

Before you play. How many stars do you think you can see on a clear night?

After.

1. Which moment in the clip changed your sense of size the most, and why?
2. The Psalm says the heavens 'declare the glory of God'. Is wonder a scientific feeling, a religious one, or both?
3. Does a huge universe make human beings seem less important or more remarkable?

Activity. Make a 'powers of ten' strip: ten cards from a football pitch to the observable universe, with one fact on each. Add one line of reflection from any tradition, or a non-religious response, to the last card.

Explore: Scale of the universe · Ladder of scale · Size of everything · Night and day

One word

KS3 · RE · 60 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Explain that 'Allah' is the Arabic word for God used by Muslims and by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews, and evaluate why a shared word does not mean shared beliefs. (NCS: contexts; dialogue/interpretation.)

Before you play. What word do you, or people you know, use for God?

After.

1. Why might people be surprised that Arabic-speaking Christians pray to Allah?
2. Saadia Gaon used the word in his Arabic Torah a thousand years ago. What does that tell us about language and faith?
3. If two people use the same word for God but believe different things about Him, are they talking about the same God?

Activity. Language map: in pairs, find the word for God in five languages spoken by pupils' families or neighbours, and mark them on a world map. Note which come from the same root.

Explore: Same word · Christianity · Saadia · Family tree · One word three faiths

One word (15 s cut)

KS2 · RE · 15 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Know that 'Allah' means God in Arabic and is used by people of more than one faith. (NCS: contexts.)

Before you play. Is 'God' a name or a title?

After.

1. What did you learn in fifteen seconds that you did not know before?
2. Why do you think the clip mentions three faiths?
3. What is the word for God in another language you know?

Activity. Starter card sort: match 'God', 'Allah', 'Dieu', 'Elohim' and 'Waheguru' to their language and tradition, then discuss what they share.

Explore: One word three faiths · Index · Who is allah

The Merciful

KS3 · RE · 60 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Explain the Muslim Name ar-Rahman (the Merciful), its root r-h-m and the link to the word for womb, and compare with mercy in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. (NCS: values, commitments and morality; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Being Merciful and Forgiving.)

Before you play. What is the difference between being fair and being merciful?

After.

1. Why might a root word linking mercy and the womb be powerful for believers?
2. Exodus, Luke and the Qur'an all describe God as merciful. What difference does that belief make to how a person lives?
3. Can you think of a time when mercy was harder than fairness?

Activity. Mercy in three scriptures: read Exodus 34:6, Luke 6:36 and the Qur'an's opening line (in an approved translation) and write one sentence on what each asks of people.

Explore: 01 ar rahman · 02 ar rahim · Root families · Index

The Merciful (15 s cut)

KS2 · RE · 15 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Know that Muslims call God by many Names and that 'the Merciful' is one of the most used. (NCS: nature/formation/expression.)

Before you play. If you described someone you love in one word, what would it be?

After.

1. Why might a religion give God many names?
2. What does 'mercy' mean in your own words?
3. Where might a Muslim say 'In the name of God, the Merciful' during the day?

Activity. Names wall: pupils choose three of the 99 Names from the flashcards and draw a scene from nature (not a person) that shows each quality.

Explore: Flashcards · 01 ar rahman · Phrase bismillah · What are the 99 names

Abrahamic

KS3 · RE · 60 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Explain why Judaism, Christianity and Islam are called Abrahamic, using each faith's own scripture about Abraham, and identify shared and different beliefs. (NCS: organised/individual; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Remembering Roots.)

Before you play. Who is the oldest ancestor anyone in your family talks about?

After.

1. Abraham is called 'the friend of God' in all three scriptures. What would it mean to be God's friend?
2. Why might 'Abrahamic' be a more inclusive word than 'Judeo-Christian'?
3. What do the three faiths share, and what do they understand differently?

Activity. Three-circle Venn: sort cards (prayer, fasting, giving, pilgrimage, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Torah, Gospel, Qur'an) and justify any card in the middle.

Explore: Abraham · Why so alike · One creator beyond abraham · Three faiths

Stranger than science fiction

KS3 · RE · 30 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Discuss the claim that the laws of nature are the same everywhere, and evaluate a believer's and a sceptic's response to why that is so. (NCS: ways of knowing; dialogue/interpretation.)

Before you play. What is your favourite piece of science fiction, and which law of nature does it break?

After.

1. Why do scientists expect the same laws in distant galaxies?
2. A believer asks 'why is there order?' A sceptic says 'that's just how nature is'. Which question seems more basic to you?
3. Is it fair to call God 'more sci-fi than science fiction'? What might the phrase mean?

Activity. Debate in pairs: one argues 'order in nature points beyond itself', the other 'order needs no explanation'. Swap sides after three minutes.

Explore: One order · Order of nature · Big ideas · Science

Count the gifts

KS2 · PSHE · 30 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Notice everyday things the body does without being asked and practise gratitude. (PSHE: mental wellbeing; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Being Thankful.)

Before you play. What is one thing your body did today that you did not have to think about?

After.

1. Could you count every gift in your life? Why or why not?
2. Why do many religions say giving thanks is good for us?
3. How could you say thank you for something that has no person behind it, such as the sun?

Activity. Take your pulse for 30 seconds and count your breaths. Then write a 'thank-you list' of ten things that keep you alive, and share one with the class.

Explore: Count the gifts · Why thank · The human body · Phrase alhamdulillah

Fasting, side by side

KS2–KS3 · RE · 60 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Compare fasting in Judaism (Yom Kippur), Christianity (Lent) and Islam (Ramadan), with Bahá'í, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh perspectives, and explain the purposes behind them. (NCS: lived experience; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Being Temperate, Self-Disciplined and Seeking Contentment.)

Before you play. Have you ever given something up on purpose? What was it like?

After.

1. Why do so many faiths fast, even though they explain it differently?
2. The Sikh Gurus said 'the truest fast is truth'. What could that mean?
3. Who is excused from fasting, and what does that show about the purpose of a fast?

Activity. Fast-and-feast calendar: on a class calendar, mark the next Yom Kippur, Lent, Ramadan and the Bahá'í fast, and the feast that ends each one.

Explore: Fasting · This month · Why so alike · Shared table

If there is a God, why…?

KS4 · RE · 60 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Explain the problem of evil and suffering and evaluate responses from Judaism, Christianity, Islam and non-religious worldviews, using Job as a case study. (NCS: meaning and purpose; dialogue/interpretation; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Responding to Suffering.)

Before you play. What is the hardest question you could ask about God?

After.

1. Is God's answer to Job ('Where wast thou…?') a satisfying answer? Why or why not?
2. How do the clip's three scriptures each offer hope without explaining suffering away?
3. Why do some people lose faith over suffering, while others find it there?

Activity. Response grid: for war, disease and earthquakes, record one religious and one non-religious response from the site's hard-question pages, then write a balanced paragraph. Check pupils' wellbeing first: some may have recent losses.

Explore: Suffering · Why war · Why disease · Why disasters · Job · Remembering

One order

KS3 · RE · 60 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Explain monotheism in the Shema, 1 Corinthians/Ephesians and Surah al-Ikhlas, and evaluate whether the unity of nature's laws suggests one Creator. (NCS: meaning and purpose; ways of knowing.)

Before you play. Why would it matter if the laws of physics were different on the other side of the universe?

After.

1. What do the Shema, Ephesians 4:6 and al-Ikhlas have in common?
2. Does a single order in nature fit better with one God, with many gods, or with no god?
3. Why does the clip include a sceptic's reply?

Activity. Read Surah al-Ikhlas (in a licensed translation) and the Shema side by side. Underline the words about God's oneness and discuss what each says God is not.

Explore: One order · One God · Order of nature · Who made God?

Thank you

KS2 · RE · 30 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Explain why many religious people see worship as giving thanks to the Creator, using Psalm 139 and the Qur'an. (NCS: lived experience; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Being Thankful.)

Before you play. When did someone last hold a door open for you? What did you say?

After.

1. We thank people for small kindnesses. Who, if anyone, should we thank for eyes, ears and a mind?
2. How do different religions say thank you to God?
3. Can a non-religious person be deeply thankful? Who or what would they thank?

Activity. Gratitude jar: each pupil writes one thing they are thankful for on a slip each day for a week, then the class sorts the slips into 'people', 'nature' and 'my body'.

Explore: Index · Why thank · Worship and thanks · Phrase alhamdulillah

The formula

KS3 · RE · 15 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Analyse a simple three-step argument (I exist; I recognise a Creator; I give thanks) and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. (NCS: ways of knowing; personal worldview reflexivity.)

Before you play. Can something come from nothing?

After.

1. Which step of the formula would a sceptic challenge first?
2. Does the formula need all three steps to work?
3. Write your own version of the formula. Would yours end in thanks?

Activity. Argument mapping: write each step on a card, then add a 'because' and an 'objection' card under each one. Finish with a vote: strongest step, weakest step.

Explore: The formula · Something · The instinct for God · Who made God?

What if gravity were a little stronger?

KS3 · Science · 15 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Explain how gravity affects how stars form and how long they last, and discuss the fine-tuning argument fairly. (Science: space physics; RE link, NCS: ways of knowing.)

Before you play. What would change in your day if gravity were twice as strong?

After.

1. Why would stronger gravity leave less time for planets and life?
2. Does fine-tuning point to a designer, a multiverse or luck? What is each side's best argument?
3. Why is it important not to overstate what science shows?

Activity. Play the What If? game in pairs, then pick one card and write a 'what if' of your own with a fact checked from a reliable source.

Explore: What if · Fine tuning · Fine tuning · Gravity and orbits

What if there were no Moon?

KS2–KS3 · Science · 30 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Describe what the Moon does for Earth (tides, steadying the tilt) and recognise where scientists are uncertain. (Science: Earth and space; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Being Curious and Valuing Knowledge.)

Before you play. What would be different if there were no Moon?

After.

1. Why does the clip say 'some scientists think' instead of stating a fact?
2. How have different faiths used the Moon to keep time?
3. Does knowing how the Moon works make it more or less wonderful?

Activity. Moon diary: record the Moon's shape for two weeks and compare it with a Jewish, Muslim or Hindu calendar date that follows the Moon.

Explore: What if · Moon · Order of nature · This month

What if there were no trees?

KS2 · Science · 30 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Explain where oxygen comes from (ocean plankton and land plants) and why forests matter for wildlife; link to faith teaching on caring for creation. (Science: living things and habitats; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Caring for Others, Animals and the Environment.)

Before you play. Where does the air you breathe come from?

After.

1. Were you surprised that about half our oxygen comes from the ocean?
2. Why do many religions describe trees as God's planting or as a gift?
3. What could our school do to care for trees?

Activity. Tree survey: count and identify the trees around the school, then plant or adopt one and write it a 'thank-you label'.

Explore: What if · Photosynthesis · Atmosphere · Fig and olive

Who is Allah? in 15 seconds

KS2 · RE · 15 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Know that Allah is the Arabic word for God and that Arabic-speaking Christians use it too. (NCS: contexts.)

Before you play. Who do you think says the word 'Allah'?

After.

1. What surprised you in the clip?
2. Why might it help neighbours to know this?
3. What question would you ask a Muslim or an Arab Christian friend about the word?

Activity. Question wall: each pupil writes one question about God or the word Allah on a sticky note; the class sorts them into 'we can find out' and 'big questions'.

Explore: Who is allah · One word three faiths · Index · Index

Why worship?

KS3 · RE · 30 seconds · captioned · free to show in class

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Objective. Explain why religious people worship, comparing Psalm 100, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and the opening of the Qur'an, and evaluate the claim that worship is a form of thanks. (NCS: lived experience; nature/formation/expression; Birmingham Agreed Syllabus disposition: Being Thankful.)

Before you play. Why do people bow, sing or kneel?

After.

1. Is 'thank you' the heart of worship, or only part of it?
2. Why do humans seem to need to thank someone?
3. How do non-religious people express gratitude or awe?

Activity. Compare three acts of worship (a Jewish blessing before food, a Christian grace, a Muslim 'Bismillah' and 'Alhamdulillah') and find the thank-you in each.

Explore: Worship and thanks · Why so alike · How we pray · Why worship