Celebrating Through Festivals

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⭐️ Overview

• Unit Title: Celebrating Community Together
• Lesson Title: Religious Festivals and Their Meanings
• Lesson: 3 of 6
• Subject: Religious Education
• Year Group: Year 4
• Lesson Duration: 60 minutes
• Class Size: 30 pupils
• Curriculum Reference:
  • Key Stage 2 - Religious Education (England)
  • Pupils should be taught to:
    • Describe and understand links between stories and other aspects of the communities they are investigating, including how celebration practices express communities’ beliefs and values.
    • Recognise and describe the similarities and differences between practices and festivals of key religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism).

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📚 Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils will be able to:

1. Identify key festivals from four world religions: Hinduism (Diwali), Islam (Eid), Christianity (Christmas), and Judaism (Hanukkah).
2. Understand the core values and messages behind these religious festivals.
3. Explain how each festival contributes to a sense of community and shared identity.
4. Create a collaborative class Festival Calendar showing key festivals from different faiths.

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🌟 Success Criteria

• I can match each festival with its corresponding religion.
• I can retell key parts of the stories or teachings behind each festival.
• I can explain one way that people celebrate each festival and why it's important to them.
• I can work with my classmates to create a respectful, colourful, and informative Festival Calendar.

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🧠 Prior Knowledge

Pupils may have a basic understanding of celebration from previous lessons (Lesson 1: Why We Celebrate; Lesson 2: Our Local Community and Celebrations). They may also have personal experience with festivals either at home or in school.

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⏰ Lesson Breakdown

Time	Activity	Resources	Grouping
0–10m	Starter: What Is a Festival?	Whiteboard, marker pens	Whole class
10–25m	Story Circle: Exploring Four Festivals	Story baskets (see below)	Whole class
25–35m	Values Sorting Game	Printed value cards, envelopes	Small groups
35–45m	Class Discussion: Celebrating Together	Flipchart paper, marker pens	Whole class
45–58m	Creative Task: Festival Calendar (Cooperative)	A3 sheets, stickers, glue, printed images	Table groups
58–60m	Quick Reflection: My Festival Wish	Sticky notes	Individual

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🔍 Detailed Activities

Starter (0–10 minutes) – What Is a Festival?

• Prompt children with the question: "What do we mean by a festival?"
• Write down key words from student suggestions (e.g. joy, celebration, food, family, light, stories).
• Use a think–pair–share routine: "Name a festival you or someone in your family celebrates."
• Clarify that today they will explore festivals from different religions and why they matter to communities.

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Activity 1 (10–25 minutes) – Story Circle: Exploring Four Festivals

Set up four story baskets, each representing one major festival and containing:

Festival	Items in Story Basket
Diwali	Diva lamp, Rangoli pattern, small sari fabric swatch
Eid	Prayer mat, crescent moon image, Eid card
Christmas	Mini nativity scene, bauble, toy donkey
Hanukkah	Small menorah, chocolate gelt, Star of David ornament

Method:

• Create a calm 'story circle' with pupils seated around each story basket (rotate every 3-4 mins).
• At each station, teacher or TA reads a short 2-minute story or explains meaning behind each festival in age-appropriate language.
• Pupils listen, ask one question per group, and pass around the objects gently.

Differentiation: Use simplified stories and visuals for EAL or supported learners. Challenge more able pupils by asking them how each story might make people feel a sense of belonging.

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Activity 2 (25–35 minutes) – Values Sorting Game

• Pupils work in small groups of 4. Each group receives a set of ‘Festival Value Cards’ such as:
  Giving, Forgiveness, Light Over Darkness, Family, Thankfulness, Welcoming Others, Charity, Joy, etc.

• Challenge: Using a sorting hoop or large piece of paper, groups match the value with the correct festival.

Discussion Prompt: "Why do you think that value is important during this festival?" Encourage examples, e.g. “During Eid, Muslims give zakat – they share with those in need. That’s charity!”

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Activity 3 (35–45 minutes) – Class Discussion: Celebrating Together

Pose this question on the board:

“What do all these festivals have in common?”

With teacher support, pupils create a shared list around key themes: coming together, sharing food, storytelling, helping others, celebrating beliefs.

Use flipchart paper to record responses.

Extension Question (in pairs):

“How do these festivals help communities feel stronger or closer?”
Prompt pupils to think about kindness, generosity, being with others, and shared joy.

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Activity 4 (45–58 minutes) – Creative Task: Festival Calendar

Objective: Create a class-wide "Festival Calendar" to be displayed in the classroom or corridor.
Split the class into 6 groups of 5. Each group contributes to one page of a calendar showing key world festivals.

Tasks for each group:

1. Choose one festival (some repetition across groups allowed).
2. Design a colourful page including:
   • Date and name of festival
   • One or two key symbols or images
   • Short description (1–2 sentences)
   • One value or teaching related to the festival

Resources:

• Pre-printed festival symbols
• Glue, scissors, A3 paper
• Felt tips, tissue paper, metallic pens

Display to be assembled in the next session or as an inter-lesson project.

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Plenary (58–60 minutes) – My Festival Wish

On a sticky note, each pupil writes either:

• One thing they learned that surprised them; OR
• A “festival wish” (e.g. “I wish everyone could share food together.”)

Stick the notes onto a class “Festival Wishes Tree” poster for ongoing reflection.

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🧩 Assessment Opportunities

Formative:

• Observations during story circle.
• Questioning in group discussions.
• Understanding demonstrated through sorting activity.

Summative (light-touch):

• Contribution to the calendar task assessed for ability to capture festival meaning and values.
• Quality of ideas shared in plenary.

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🔄 Differentiation & Inclusion

Need	Strategy
EAL Learners	Use visuals, allow verbal answers, pair with supportive peers
SEND pupils	Assistive materials, TA support in group work, simplified sentence stems
More Able Pupils	Encourage comparisons across festivals, deeper explanations of values
Pupils with no faith	Emphasise universal themes (e.g. kindness, family, light)

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🛠 Resources Required

• Whiteboard & markers
• 4 story baskets (with printed mini story texts and artefacts)
• Festival value cards (printed and laminated)
• Sorting hoops or large paper
• Flipchart or large paper for shared discussion
• Sticky notes, pens
• Visual festival prompt cards and craft supplies for Calendar activity

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📌 Teacher Reflection Prompt

After the lesson, reflect using the following:

• Did the students show understanding of the link between festival and values?
• Did all students participate actively in storytelling?
• How well did the students collaborate during the creative task?
• How might we extend this into next week’s lesson on “Welcoming Others: Belonging Through Celebration”?

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✨ Extension Ideas

• Invite a parent or community member to talk about their own festival experiences.
• Arrange a “Mini-Festival Week” where each day includes learning about a different festival.
• Link to PSHE by discussing how we respect different beliefs.

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📎 Curriculum Links

• RE: KS2 – Learning from religion, understanding diversity
• PSHE: Respect for others, community, shared values
• Art and Design: Calendar illustrations
• English: Story retelling, values comprehension

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This lesson fosters not only religious understanding but also empathy, artistic expression, and shared classroom culture. An inclusive and meaningful way to explore community celebration and remind learners that joy and togetherness are values we all cherish.