Inspiring Visual RE - Using and Making Art in Secondary RE

Edited by Joyce Mackley

Rating:

This book comes with a colour supplement containing 27 pictures, some of them used in the main book in black and white with an explanation by the student who created it. They are really interesting and clearly show the value of encouraging pupils to portray their ideas visually; I’m not entirely clear about how this is a useful classroom resource. However, the book itself is great!

Like others in this series, it offers lots of ideas and activities for students to explore the use of images to focus on the question of evil, and how to express belief in artistic ways and think about how art is a form of meditation. It offers useful websites to aid teacher planning and makes some ‘levelling’ suggestions to aid assessment. Many of the activities can be used with any religion or theme and there are several pages that usefully focus on Rangoli and Mandala art. The use of questions ensures that students are challenged to really explore their own thoughts as well as understanding those expressed visually by others. One or two of the activities could be adapted for KS4 learners, particularly the one that encourages responses to ‘Will the world ever be free of evil?’, but most are more appropriate for Years 7 and 8. There are also several ideas that would make for some excellent cross curricular work, and could even be used as a theme for some extra curricular or ‘activity week’ sessions.

Lots to make teachers and learners think, and enough for even the least artistic to be able to have a go!

Reviewer: Jocelyn Sumner, Partnership Director, University of Exeter, Devon (former Head of RE at Teign School, Devon)

Review posted on: 27 January 2010

Product information:

Media: Book
Category: Secondary
Published by: RE Today Services
Date published: 2009
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 24
Illustrations: Black and white photographs
RRP: £8.90
ISBN: 978 1 905893 25 6
Use: KS3 RE

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