1. Wiltshire RE Starter Stimulus
Starter ideas for the following key question from the 2011 Agreed Syllabus:
KS2 13 Keeping the five pillars: what difference does it make for Muslims?
This resource aims to provide some stimulus images and ideas to help pupils begin to address the above question.
It links to the following learning outcomes from p61 of the syllabus:
Pupils can:
reflect on the beliefs, values and practices that are important in their own lives and in the school community and how these values are expressed;
ii. explain the key beliefs of Muslims and how these affect the way Muslims choose to behave;
Many of the slides have notes to give suggestions for use. Look at the slide show in Normal mode and look for the notes at the bottom of the page.
© Wiltshire Council
Images © RE Today Services; permission given for their use in Wiltshire schools
Appendix V in the Wiltshire Agreed Syllabus 2011 gives a careful outline of classroom activities to support this unit.
This starter resource complements the activities found there.
Some possible learning outcomes from this resource: L3
Suggest some examples of spiritual, moral and physical support that a person might need on the journey of life L4
Raise questions and suggest answers to questions raised by reflecting on the journey of life

2. Print out this slide onto A3 paper and give one to each pair of pupils
Ask them to draw a series of roads onto the paper showing different routes to get from the hospital to the door.
Ask the pupils to think about the different things that a person might encounter through life, some joyous and some hard e.g. passing exams, falling off a climbing frame, being burgled, learning to ride a bike etc. Ask the pupils to draw something by the roadside to represent the experience e.g. a man with a swag bag.
Each pair could represent 10 experiences.
Each pair then needs to show their journey to another pair and then discuss what physical strength, e.g. health, and moral/spiritual strength, e.g. love, they will need to weather their imagined life journey.

3. What 5 things might you need to support you on the journey of life?
A rule to stick to?
A belief live by?
A value to demonstrate?
Actions to perform?
Ask pupils to work in their newly formed group of four and choose the five most important things they will need to support them through life. Share these as a class.
Print out the next slide onto A4 and pupils could write each one on a pillar, responding to the sentence starter...
Through the journey of life I will need....because...
Ask pupils to reflect on the idea of life as a journey and to think of questions that this idea raises, such as where they will get the things they need, what happens afterwards, how they know which way to go etc.

4. Print out this slide for pupils to write on

5. Five pillars of Muslim religion
Introduce the five pillars of Islam as essentials of the life of Muslims.
The five pillars of Islam provide a structure for Islamic daily spiritual life. Islam is like a house held up by five strong pillars with central themes of purification and sharing with others. Muslims must not only believe in the five pillars, but also act on their beliefs.
The five pillars of Islam are shahadah - a belief in one God; salah - prayer, five times a day; zakah – the giving of alms; sawm – fasting in the month of Ramadan; and hajj - pilgrimage.

6. Five Pillars give strength to the Muslim religion
Muslims try to follow their faith in five ways:
Every moment, they believe in Allah and his prophet [Belief]
Every day they pray five times [Salah, Prayer]
They give £1 for every £40 they have, to help those less fortunate [Zakat, ‘Charity’]
They fast for the month of Ramadan [Fasting]
They visit the holy city of Makkah on pilgrimage once in their lives if they can [Hajj, Pilgrimage]

7. The Five Pillars of Islam
Believing in Allah
Praying every day
Giving to those less fortunate
Fasting during Ramadan
Visiting the holy city of Makkah
‘My Dad has been to Makkah. He says it’s important because all Muslims around the world come together, not interested in their colour, language or wealth, but united as brothers and sisters in their religion.’
‘When worshipping, think about who you are worshipping. Have faith in what you have been taught. Nobody is worthy of worship except Allah.’
‘This pillar makes me feel strength in my faith, and develops a united community.’
‘Insh'Allah I have been keeping the fast for seven years now. Ramadan is a month in which you and your Lord are very close.’
‘Prayer should help us to stop doing evil. It is something solemn, not a joke. It should make us feel close to Allah, just as if He is right there in front of us.’
‘Each year in Ramadan, I learn a new thing about myself, and I also get rid of at least one bad trait in myself. It teaches self control, which is very badly needed among us humans.’
‘The most important thing to me about pilgrimage is that the Holy Prophet has stood on the soil of Makkah.’
‘This pillar is a training programme in which I feel for the poor, plus I can try and help.’
‘We believe in only one God, who is Allah. And Muhammad [pbuh] is the last prophet. Being Muslims, we follow Muhammad [pbuh] and worship Allah.’
‘Giving is good.’
Give each pair a cut up version of this slide.
Ask them to sort the young peoples’ quotes. There are 2 quotes that match to each of the five pillars.
What have they learned about the five pillars from these comments?
List five ways in which the five pillars have an impact on the lives of these young Muslims.

8. Show the children this slide
Show the children this slide. Ask them to think about some of the different names that Muslims might have for god. The list of all 99 names can be found at
This piece of work will need to be completed further into the children’s learning about Islam. They might choose to pick up on a word such as one, peace, charity etc.
‘Allah is the Islamic word for “God”. In the Muslim religion, Allah cannot be pictured. This picture shows how Muslims use the name of Allah lots. They have 99 names for God. I have used a repeater pattern.’ Jade, 8.
Can you make a work of art to show something Muslims believe, following Muslim rules (no pictures of Allah or of people)?

9. Next steps:
Start an enquiry
Organise the class into 5 groups. Ask each group to enquire into one of the 5 pillars. They need to set an enquiry question about their pillar, spend time researching using books and the internet. They must then create an interactive presentation for the rest of the class. You might like to use the enquiry process from the Wiltshire syllabus, p
Tweet a question...
Many primary schools are using twitter to connect to religious believers. Ask the pupils to devise a question about each of the five pillars and put it out on twitter. Alternatively you could use the RE Online “ a believer”.
See: