Online educational resource, TrueTube is set to launch a new series of short films for the RE curriculum at Key Stage 3, entitled ‘What is Sacred?’ next month.

 

The not-for-profit website has created four entertaining, thought-provoking videos about how the sacred is expressed in the modern world. Where once sacredness was considered exclusive to religion, the same importance is now often placed on ideas of the nation, human rights, the protection of children and nature.

 

The Sacred Films project is based on the recent work of Gordon Lynch, the Michael Ramsey Professor of Modern Theology at the University of Kent. Lynch had been looking for ways to bring his academic work to a wider audience and spread his ideas beyond Further Education and into schools. He approached TrueTube because of its track record in delivering outstanding PSHE, RE & Citizenship videos and lesson plans for Key Stages 3 & 4.

 

Each of the films can be used by Religious Education teachers as a general introduction to the subject at Key Stage 3, as well as in lessons on birth ceremonies, human rights, nationalism, and the environment. Two detailed lesson plans will be available for free on the TrueTube site to get teachers started.

 

 

Commenting on his work with TrueTube, Gordon Lynch said:

 

“Finding ways to talk about what people take to be sacred in today's society is incredibly important. By doing this, we can understand more about deeply-held values and emotions that shape social life, both for good and for ill.

 

"Working with TrueTube has made it possible to communicate ideas being developed by leading scholars of religion and society in a way that students at school will find engaging and challenging. We know that the films are helping students to think about their lives – and what they see in the media – in new ways, and are excited to hear more about people's experience of using them in the classroom.”

 

Following the development of Sacred Films, TrueTube now offers its production and distribution services to all academic institutions, third sector organisations and professional bodies who could also benefit from using films and lesson plans to convey their ideas in schools. TrueTube is well-positioned to cover topics including Citizenship – for example politics, law, justice, human rights, freedom of speech, charities, the environment, immigration, diversity and community cohesion – RE, including anything explicitly to do with religion, but also ethical and moral issues or philosophy, and PSHE, such as personal values, SRE, first aid, healthy lifestyle, drugs/alcohol/tobacco education and bullying. The British Heart Foundation charity has already taken up this opportunity by commissioning resources for young people about heart health.

 

True Tube’s Sacred Films will be launched at a special event in February 2012, after which it will be available online at www.truetube.co.uk. bee-it will be attending the launch event so stay tuned for everything you need to know about Sacred Films, coming soon!

 

For more information about working with TrueTube to create video content for your institution or organisation, contact Louisa Bolch or Stuart Porter.

 

Launched in 2007, TrueTube is a website supporting discussion on topics at the heart of the PSHE, RE and Citizenship curriculums at Key Stages 3 and 4. Offering hundreds of insightful short films to encourage young people to explore and debate the world of morality, ethics, politics and religion, many of the TrueTube films are accompanied by lesson plans to support their use in the classroom and can also be used as source material to support exam preparation and coursework. To learn more, click here.