PeaceWiseKids

what you need to know about the primary school courses

primary school course structure

First year of school

Ages 4-6 | Course 1

Lizzie and the gang from Spotted Gum school learn peacemaking together

Years 1-2

Ages 6-8 | Course 2

Join the QuizWorx team as Michael tries to teach Scruff the dog to be a peacemaker

Years 3-4

Ages 8-10 | Course 3

Isabel and Lucas are joined by Aah, Eee and Mee as they explore how to become peacemakers for life

Years 5-6

Ages 10-12 | Course 4

Join Erin and Anson camping as they learn peacemaking together

Illustrated e-books with in-built questions. Theme: Australian bush characters

Live videos featuring the QuizWorx puppetry. Theme: Scruff and Super Rover

Live videos plus animated infographics. Theme: Aah, Eee, Mee + Sport/games

Live videos plus animated infographics. Theme: Camping. You and your tribe

ps. wanting to teach high school students?

find out more about PeaceWiseYouth

about our primary school courses

the basics

• There are 15 lessons (topics) in each course
• Each lesson includes 20-55 minutes of content (less for the younger years)
• All courses are designed to be teacher or parent-directed (the “Group Leader”)
• All courses begin with a 3-5 minute key teaching video, and have extensive lesson plans and in class learning activities.
• When teaching using the online premium course, allow around 10-15 minutes to complete the online part
• All courses have additional teaching resources available for purchase, including posters -plus there are summary cards and workbooks for Years 1-6.
• All courses are purchased as a 12 month subscription you CAN teach a course over two school years for a single fee per user, but you still need to complete all teaching within 12 months of purchase. (eg; Terms 3 and 4 of Year 5, Terms 1 and 2 of Year 6 etc.)

your students will learn

understanding conflict

MODULE 1 | 5 LESSONS

This is the WHAT part
Children learn what conflict is, where it came from, and a basic framework they can use in any conflict situation

responding to conflict

MODULE 2 | 5 LESSONS

This is the HOW part
Children learn the principles, skills and tools needed to be peacemakers

peacemakers for life

MODULE 3 | 5 LESSONS

This is the INSPIRATIONAL part
Children learn that as they apply these principles, they can be bringing peace both into their own relationships and into the communities to which they belong

course delivery format

• Course 1 (First Year of School) and Course 2 (for Years 1-2) are not available as online courses, as the children are too young.
• Courses 3 and 4 for Years 3-4 and 5-6 respectively are available EITHER
  • as the full Premium Online Version with supporting live learning activities to do in class OR
  • the Group Presentation Version which has the key teaching video plus live learning activities, but no online content.

for Years 3-6, should I choose the premium online or group presentation version?

The Premium Online Version provides the additional features of extensive online content, quizzes, puzzles and activities, as well as substantial additional in class learning activities. In addition, the Premium Online Courses have complete “double sets” of content (Foundation then Consolidation) to support teaching the same group of students over two years.

Therefore we recommend that where students have their own devices, the Premium Online Version is best suited for

• Schools
• Home schools
• Families

And the Group Presentation Version is best suited for

• Scripture in school (note that primary school courses are not SRE approved as yet, but our courses for Years 7-10 are SRE approved in NSW only)
• Youth/church groups
• Schools where not every child has access to a device, or where students do not have access to their own email address (which is needed for online access.)

• Online
• Presentation

Fun and varied interactive online course content

Our courses are all web-based and include interactive activities accessible on any device or browser. Courses include age-appropriate videos, animations, quizzes and more!

Personalised group forums

Teachers and students can interact directly in a private online forum designed to spark discussion and encourage each other in what you’re all learning.

Download lesson plans and activity worksheets

When you purchase any PeaceWiseKids or PeaceWiseYouth Course, you also gain access to offline activities and downloadable material to bring the discussion to life in group context away from the screens.

Collaborate with other group leaders

As a group leader, you also gain access to the exclusive Group Leaders’ forum so you can discuss and share ideas and learn from other teachers, parents and leaders and benefit from their experience!

Content is broken into three modules to allow flexible teaching options

All courses can be taught as part of Christian Studies, but have also been designed to map to Australian Curriculum descriptors spanning a wide range of subjects including Health and Physical Education, English, The Arts, HASS and Science/Maths.

Short, engaging stimulus videos

Each Course is supplied with 15 different age-appropriate videos to target the key learning for each topic.

Easy to follow lesson plans

These are only a few pages in length so teachers can prepare their lessons quickly. Videos are linked to the lesson plans. The Bible is referred to in each Topic. Numerous and varied in-class activities are provided.

Student worksheets

The Courses contain downloadable and printable worksheets for use in class or groups

Support materials for teachers/group leaders

Teachers and group leaders will be supplied with a document containing the rationale, overall framework, sensitive issues and more.

SRE approved course content + scope and sequence

Courses 5 and 6 (for Yrs 7-8 and Yrs 9-10) are SRE authorised by the Baptist Union of NSW and approved for use in State high schools in NSW by Generate. (Note that no courses are “accredited” for Christian Religious Instruction in State schools in Queensland.)

SRE scope and sequence

PeaceWise has tried incredibly hard to keep the pricing really cheap for either version, as we want these resources to be as broadly accessible and used as possible. Pricing and more information about the features of the different delivery formats is available here.

course content – hit the buttons for all the detail you could want!

All courses are mapped to Australian Curriculum outcomes, and have the same core underlying framework and topics.

This means those teaching the principles can share the same core concepts and tools across multiple age groups, and there is consistency of learning at all age levels.

For example, a school could run the program in both primary and high school, or across multiple year groups in either, and the children and staff will all be “on the same page” with what is being learned.

This brings the chance to help build a healthy relational “culture” with a community, and facilitates a “whole of school” approach.

scope and sequence

This section provides scope and sequence information to help plan how to run PeaceWiseKids within a school context.

Here are all the scope and sequence documents for you to access!

• because we know this is important, we’ve included a full scope and sequence for every course – you can click them below
• note that you need to allow enough time to get through the course – most teach it over a minimum two terms
• in primary, the Premium Online Courses for Years 3-6 have special extra content to support teaching over two years – see below

what are the options for teaching a particular course over two years?

• there has been strong demand for extra content, particularly in upper primary
• therefore, for the online premium courses only, for Years 3-6 (Courses 3 and 4), there are TWO sets of lesson plans – Foundation and Consolidation.
  • Foundation and Consolidation lesson plans are two separate sets of in-class content which are available with purchase of the premium online course.
  • this means you can teach one year (eg. Year 3/Year 5) using the Foundation content, and then the same students can go deeper with the content by doing the Consolidation content in Year 4/Year 6).
  • if you do this within 12 months, this is still just a single fee per student – if over more than 12 months, a second fee is payable.
  • The video stimuli and online activities will be the same and available to explore with the deeper Consolidation plans.

Australian curriculum outcomes for schools

All courses can be taught by classroom teachers as part of Christian Studies, but have also been designed to map to Australian Curriculum descriptors spanning a wide range of subjects including Health and Physical Education, English, The Arts, HASS and Science/Maths.

The documents below show the Course outcomes mapped to the Australian Curriculum.

teaching scripture/SRE/religious instruction – special provisions apply

teaching in a church

The content of the primary school courses is highly suitable for teaching within a church Sunday School context as Christian content that will help children learn to have better relationships and grow to be peacemakers for life. All courses from Years 1-6 include workbooks that can also be used, which are well suited for this context.

Churches should, however, always consider and be comfortable that the content and the way the content is taught meets local legislative requirements in presenting the courses to children, as these requirements change on an ongoing basis.

teaching in a State-based primary school

There are very strict legislative requirements which apply to the teaching of Scripture/SRE/Religious Instruction within State-based schools. The approval processes vary enormously, and what is permitted in one State may or may not be in another.

PeaceWise has partnered with GodSpace to create a special 4-topic peacemaking unit which will form part of the GodSpace Purple curriculum for all courses from Kindergarten through to end of Primary School from 2023. The GodSpace Purple curriculum is subject to careful review by the relevant bodies in the States in which it is taught. It is our expectation that, assuming the 2023 GodSpace Purple curriculum meets the relevant requirements, this will be the most viable way for biblical peacemaking principles to be taught in at least NSW and Qld.

For other States, you should check the relevant legislative requirements which apply in order to consider this further.

Please reach out to us further if you’d like to discuss this – it’s a really important area and we would be delighted to hear from you.

get started

Hit one of the buttons below to get started – and please feel free to reach out to us if you need help.

For larger groups like schools, we highly recommend you contact us before you buy so we can help you pick the right courses and resources for your students.

We also have package pricing for whole of school purchases.

purchase here

FAQs

• Which courses are SRE approved in NSW?

  Courses 5 and 6 (for Yrs 7 and 8 and Yrs 9 and 10) are SRE authorised by the Baptist Union of NSW and approved for use in State high schools in NSW by Generate.

  Note that no courses are “accredited” for Christian Religious Instruction in State schools in Queensland.  However, PeaceWise has partnered with GodSpace so that a 4 part peacemaking unit will be included within the GodSpace Purple curriculum from 2023.

• Do I need to have done the adult PeaceWise training to teach PeaceWiseKids or PeaceWiseYouth?

  This is not required – but it will help a lot!

  As you know, it’s not just a case of being familiar with the concepts – it’s also a case of applying them personally in your own life that makes a huge difference when teaching them to others – in this case, the students.

• Can I have a PeaceWise training day at my school?

  YES!

  Many schools choose to run our “Everyday Peacemaking for Schools” training day for the whole school to ensure all staff (including admin and other departments) are familiar with the principles and have seen their relevance and power in their own lives first, before teaching and modelling them to students.

  Training includes a dedicated section on running Peace WiseKids/PeaceWiseYouth within a school.

• The Young Peacemaker and PeaceWiseKids

  PeaceWise gratefully acknowledges the wonderful support of Corlette Sande, author of The Young Peacemaker for permission to use and adapt various concepts from this superb work as part of PeaceWiseKids.

  The Young Peacemaker is a powerful system that parents and teachers can use to teach children how to prevent and resolve conflict in a constructive and biblically faithful manner. The system emphasises principles of confession, forgiveness, communication, and character development, and uses realistic stories, practical applications, role plays, and stimulating activities.

  Corlette was a true groundbreaker in the 1990’s in producing this comprehensive curriculum for teaching biblical peacemaking to children in Years 4 to 7 and we are deeply grateful for her incredible generosity and support.