General KS3 Y8Y9 Convention

Ethics: Right and Wrong -- How Do We Decide?

6 lessons

Download Markdown ← Back to planners
Subject
General
Key Stage
KS3
Year group
Y8, Y9
Source document
Art and Design (KS3) - National Curriculum Programme of Study
Estimated duration
6 lessons
Status
Convention
Source document: Art and Design (KS3) - National Curriculum Programme of Study

Session structure: Ethical Enquiry

Ethical Enquiry

A structured approach to exploring moral and ethical questions. Begins with a stimulus that raises a genuine ethical dilemma, gathers diverse perspectives including religious, philosophical, and secular viewpoints, develops reasoning using ethical frameworks, engages in structured discussion, and produces a considered written response.

stimulus → perspective_gathering → reasoning → discussion → written_response Assessment: Extended writing presenting a balanced exploration of the ethical question, demonstrating understanding of multiple perspectives and ethical frameworks, with a reasoned personal response. Teacher note: Use the ETHICAL ENQUIRY template: present a stimulus that raises a genuine ethical question — a dilemma, case study, or real-world scenario. Guide pupils to identify the ethical issues, gather perspectives from different ethical traditions or stakeholders, and develop their own reasoned position. Facilitate structured discussion and expect a written response that presents reasoning clearly. KS3 question stems:
  • What are the ethical issues at stake in this scenario?
  • What would different ethical traditions or stakeholders say about this?
  • What is your reasoned position, and what principles support it?
  • How would you respond to someone who holds the opposite view?

    • Why this study matters

    This unit introduces ethical frameworks (utilitarian, deontological, virtue ethics, situation ethics) at an accessible level and applies them to real-world moral dilemmas. Pupils learn that 'right and wrong' is not always obvious and that different frameworks produce different answers. Comparing religious moral codes (Ten Commandments, Five Pillars, Eightfold Path, Five Ks) with secular ethical theories develops the evaluative skills required at GCSE.

    Pitfalls to avoid

  • Teaching ethics as 'religion says this is wrong' -- religious ethics is more nuanced than rules
  • Moral relativism without challenge -- while respecting different views, some actions can be evaluated against shared principles
  • Dilemmas too extreme (trolley problem only) -- include everyday ethical decisions that pupils actually face

    • Cross-curricular opportunities

    LinkSubjectConnectionStrength

    Human Rights: What Are They and Why Do They Matter?GeneralHuman rights, justice, moral responsibilities in societyStrong
    Persuasive and Argumentative WritingEnglishPersuasive writing, constructing ethical arguments with evidenceModerate

    Vocabulary word mat

    TermMeaning

    ethics
    morality
    utilitarian
    deontological
    virtue ethics
    conscience
    golden rule
    absolute morality
    relative morality
    dilemma

    Scaffolding and inclusion (Y8)

    GuidelineDetail

    Reading levelEstablished Secondary Reader (Lexile 850–1100)
    Text-to-speechAvailable
    VocabularySpecialist vocabulary in each discipline. Metalanguage about text (e.g., 'the author's implicit bias') appropriate.
    Scaffolding levelMinimal
    Hint tiers3 tiers
    Session length30–45 minutes
    Feedback toneAcademic Critical
    Normalize struggleYes
    Example correct feedbackYour method is correct and your reasoning is sound. The extension question: does this generalise? Try with a different case.
    Example error feedbackYour approach identifies the right method but fails at step 3. The error is [specific]. A complete answer would [what is required].

    Knowledge organiser

    Key terms:
  • ethics
  • morality
  • utilitarian
  • deontological
  • virtue ethics
  • conscience
  • golden rule
  • absolute morality
  • relative morality
  • dilemma

    • Graph context

    Node type: TopicSuggestion | Study ID: TS-RS-KS3-003 Cypher query:

    ``cypher

    MATCH (ts:TopicSuggestion {suggestion_id: 'TS-RS-KS3-003'})

    -[:DELIVERS_VIA]->(c:Concept)

    -[:HAS_DIFFICULTY_LEVEL]->(dl)

    RETURN c.name, dl.label, dl.description

    ``

    Generated from the UK Curriculum Knowledge Graph — zero LLM generation.