Content structure of GNFL

Strands

GNFL is organised into three interrelated strands:

1. Knowledge and Understanding

2. Skills for Learning (Inquiry and Communication)

3. Skills for Living (Discernment and Making Connections)

Knowledge and Understanding

The Knowledge and Understanding strand of GNFL focuses on the essentials of Catholic faith — Christian beliefs, practices and ethical values. The content of GNFL consists of eight core elements: God, Jesus Christ, Church, Scripture, Sacraments, Christian Prayer, Christian Life, and Religion, Culture & Society. Each element of GNFL contains a set of core doctrinal concepts that are referenced to the four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Profession of Faith (the Creed); the Sacraments of faith; the Life of Faith (the Commandments); Prayer in the Life of Faith (the Lord’s Prayer). Derived from the doctrinal concepts, the anticipated Understandings that students will acquire are identified in order to focus the learning and teaching at each year level. Moreover, they are sequenced from Foundation to Year 10 as knowledge and understanding increases and deepens at each successive stage. It is through meaningfully and coherently organised and sequenced units of learning and lessons, for the explicit teaching of the prescribed content and Understandings, that students develop their knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith.

Skills for Learning and Living 

Through GNFL students develop skills for:

• reading and interpretation of Scripture and Catholic Tradition as sources of Divine Revelation

• the integration of faith with reason and faith with life

• the maturation of an informed conscience

The skills are organised as two (2) complementary strands:

(i) Skills for Learning (Inquiry and Communication)

The Skills for Learning strand promotes the development of skills for acquiring knowledge and understanding.  Its substrands are:

• Questioning and Theorising

• Interpreting Terms and Texts

• Communication

Through their learning a student will:

• Plan, undertake and present findings from investigations into the Catholic Tradition using a range of sources and evidence [Questioning and Theorising]

• Identity, interpret, analyse and synthesise a range of Catholic Christian sources, such as Liturgy, Scripture, Church documents, writings of Saints, contemporary Christian authors, iconography, architecture and Sacred music [Interpreting Terms and Texts]

• Communicate religious understanding using doctrinal knowledge, religious concepts and terms, in appropriate and well-structured forms [Communication]

(ii) Skills for Living (Discernment and Making Connections)

GNFL develops students’ capacity to apply their knowledge, understanding and skills to their lives. Its substrands are:

• See & Reflect: Identifying and Reflecting

• Judge: Evaluating and Integrating

• Act: Responding and Participating

GNFL develops students’ capacity to apply their knowledge, understanding and skills to their lives. It promotes students’ growing capacity for personal responsibility grounded in reasoned thought, making connections to other learning areas. It affects and forms their personal faith commitments, the expression and application of their commitments in social action and their identity and relationships.

Through their learning a student will:

• Reflect on their prayerful reading and interpretation of Scripture as a "light for the path" of their daily living (Ps. 119:105) [See & Reflect]

• Reflect upon and examine their personal attitudes, values and behaviours, in the light of Catholic teaching [Judge]

• Integrate their reasoning and understanding of Catholic teaching and apply it to their daily living [Act]