Helping Others Matters

Overview

Time: 20 minutes
Class Size: 30 students
Stage: Key Stage 1 (Years 1–2), Key Stage 2 (Years 3–4)
Subject: Religious Education
Theme: The Good Samaritan - Understanding compassion, kindness, and making the right choices

Religious Education Curriculum Link:
According to the Religious Education (RE) Syllabus for the UK, this lesson addresses:

• KS1:

  • Recognise and respond sensitively to the ideas of others.
  • Retell and suggest meanings to religious stories.
  • Identify what is of value to themselves and others.

• KS2:

  • Describe and make connections between stories and beliefs.
  • Explore and challenge responses to moral questions.
  • Show understanding of the impact of beliefs and values.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the session, all pupils will:

• Understand the core message of the Good Samaritan story.
• Identify key values such as kindness, compassion, and empathy.
• Apply the ideas to real-world settings through role-play and collaborative discussion.

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Resources Required

• A large story scroll or illustrated book with images (printed or drawn)
• Character masks or badges (Priest, Levite, Samaritan, Traveller, Innkeeper)
• “Kindness Cards” – small cards with different scenarios
• A large cut-out heart for class pledges
• Mini whiteboards or clipboards with pens
• Floor space for movement and role-play

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Lesson Structure

🕒 0–2 Minutes: Warm Up – “Kindness Counts!”

Activity:

• Pupils sit in a circle.
• Ask: “Put your hand up if someone has ever helped you when you were hurt or sad.”
• Briefly share 2–3 stories from children, prompting them with: “How did it make you feel?”
• Link to today’s learning: “Today we’ll meet someone who helped a stranger… even when others walked away.”

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🕒 2–7 Minutes: Interactive Story — The Road to Jericho

Activity:

• Use a large story scroll/unfolding picture book to tell the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37).
• As the story unfolds, use volunteer pupils as actors:
  • Assign quick roles: Traveller, Priest, Levite, Samaritan, Innkeeper.
  • Use simple props or masks to help the class visualise.

Narration Tip:

• Pause to ask questions mid-story:
  • “Why do you think the Priest walked away?”
  • “What might the Traveller have felt when he was hurt and alone?”

Inclusive Strategy:

• KS2 pupils can be narration helpers and read aloud with support.
• KS1 pupils focus on actions and responses.

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🕒 7–13 Minutes: Kindness Freeze Frames

Activity:

• In small groups (5 pupils per group), children are given a Kindness Card — a short scenario (e.g., "You see someone drop their lunch", "A classmate is crying", "Someone new has no one to sit with").

• Groups create a freeze frame (a still ‘scene’ with their bodies showing a moment in time) showing:

  1. The unkind option (e.g. walking away)
  2. The kind or Samaritan option (e.g. offering help)

Extension for KS2: Add a caption or short sentence to describe what’s happening using whiteboards.

Teacher Role: Circulate, prompt with questions:
“Who is the 'Good Samaritan' in your scene? Why?”

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🕒 13–17 Minutes: Message in My Heart – Class Pledge

Activity:

• Show the large Cut-Out Heart at the front of the class.

• Ask: “What do you want to remember from today’s story?”

• KS1 Pupil Responses: Write their name on a heart sticker and place it, saying a kind sentence aloud:

  • "I will help others."
  • "I will be kind and brave."

• KS2 Pupils: Write a short personal pledge on a sticky note (1–2 sentences) about helping others or making the right choice, even when it's hard, and stick it on the heart.

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🕒 17–20 Minutes: Reflection Circle – ‘Who would you be?’

Activity:
Pupils sit in a circle. Teacher poses one question for quiet thinking then answers shared aloud:

• “Think about the different people in the story. Who do you think you would be today? Why?”
• “What does the story want us to do in real life?”

End with this powerful statement:
👉 “Sometimes, kindness is the bravest thing we can do.”

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Assessment for Learning (AfL)

• Observing responses during role-play and class discussion.
• Listening for empathy and understanding in pledges and freeze-frame explanations.
• Encouraging use of key vocabulary: kindness, Samaritan, help, choice, brave, neighbour.

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Differentiation

• KS1 Focus: Emphasis on feelings and visual storytelling. Actions over words.
• KS2 Enhancement: Deeper moral reasoning and writing element. More analytical discussion.

SEND:

• Visual support (masks, pictures of characters)
• Communication support e.g., choosing from sentence stems ("I want to help because…")

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Extension Suggestion (Post-Lesson)

• Set up a “Kindness Challenge Board” in class for a week.
• Children write or draw real examples of being a Samaritan in school.
• Celebrate during assembly or class circle time.

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Final Thought

This 20-minute immersive experience goes beyond the story — inviting students to reflect, act, and own the values of compassion and courage. By creatively engaging every pupil, we turn a parable into purposeful action – a moment they’ll take far beyond the classroom.