We All Need Encouragement

Learning Objective

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to describe how some people provide special care inspired by their religious beliefs, make connections between their own experiences of caring and religious ideas, and reflect on how encouragement can inspire people to live more fairly.

(Linked to National Curriculum for England – Religious Education: Understanding beliefs and teachings, Expressing ideas and insights, and Making connections in Key Stage 2 (Year 4).)

Success Criteria

• I can explain why encouragement is important for helping people to care for others.
• I can describe how Mother Teresa or Doctor Barnardo showed exceptional care linked to their Christian beliefs.
• I can make connections between people's religious beliefs and their caring actions.
• I can think about how I can encourage others to live fairly and care for people around me.

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Introduction (10 minutes)

Starter Activity: “Encouragement Circle”

• Arrange pupils in a large circle.
• Each pupil says one encouraging word or phrase about helping others (e.g., “You can make a difference!”).
• Teacher briefly shares the chorus of the song “We all need encouragement” (sing or play a short clip if available).

Hook question to class:
“Why do you think everyone needs encouragement sometimes? What does it really mean to encourage someone?”
“Can encouragement help us to be fairer and kinder? Why might it be important for living fairly?”

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Main Teaching & Modelling (20 minutes)

Step 1: Story Time and Discussion (10 minutes)

• Tell the story of Mother Teresa (or Doctor Barnardo), focusing on how her Christian faith inspired her to care for people most others ignored (homeless, sick, poor children).
• Display pictures or a short video clip about her work.
• Pupils will then answer these questions in pairs and share ideas with the class:

Targeted Whole Class Questions:

• “How do you think Mother Teresa’s religious belief made her want to care for those people?” (Apply - asking for cause and effect)
• “Do you believe you could do similar caring work? What might make it easy or difficult?” (Evaluate - personal reflection)
• “What does this story teach us about ‘encouragement’? How do you think Mother Teresa helped others to care too?” (Analyze - linking ideas)

AfL strategy:

• Use think-pair-share to encourage all pupils to articulate their ideas.
• Teacher listens and notes pupils who use religious references and those who consider personal feelings about caring.

Step 2: Creative Reflection (10 minutes)

• Pupils choose one of these activities:
  • Act out a scene from the story showing a moment of caring or encouragement.
  • Create a simple collage or montage with pictures of people needing help (homeless, refugees, sick) and write one encouraging phrase about caring.
  • Write a few sentences explaining how they could encourage their family or friends to care more.

AfL strategy:

• Circulate and ask individuals or groups why they chose certain images and how encouragement is shown in their work.
• Use questioning to prompt deeper thinking (Why did you include that person? How does your encouraging phrase help them?).

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Plenary (10 minutes)

Listening and Reflecting on Music

• Play the song “We all need encouragement” again (either from Fischy Music or a teacher-recorded version).
• Ask pupils to close their eyes and think about these questions:

Questions of Wonder:

• “Who encourages you in your life and how does that make you feel?”

• “Can you think of times when someone else's encouragement helped you do something difficult?”

• “What can you do to encourage someone else to live more fairly or care more?”

• Invite 3-4 pupils to share their reflections.

Final Task:

• Pupils write or draw one personal goal on a note card about how they will encourage caring in their own lives.

AfL strategy:

• Collect note cards to gauge understanding of encouragement and caring concepts.
• Use pupil responses to inform next RE lessons about caring and community.

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Resources Needed

• Story of Mother Teresa (simple age-appropriate version) or Doctor Barnardo
• Visual aids: photos, pictures, or short video clip
• Paper, colouring materials, scissors, glue for collage
• Audio playback for the song “We all need encouragement” (Fischy Music)
• Note cards for plenary reflection

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Curriculum Links (National Curriculum for England - RE)

Key Stage 2: Year 4

• Pupils should be taught to:
  • Describe and understand links between beliefs and sources (e.g., Bible stories) and how these influence the ways people live (AT2 – investigation and interpretation).
  • Recognise the impact of beliefs on individuals and communities (AT2).
  • Express ideas about what encouragement means and how it helps people to care, using religious language and examples (AT1 – expressing ideas and insights).
  • Reflect on own ideas and feelings about caring and encouragement (AT1 – reflecting).

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Additional Notes & Differentiation

• Challenge higher-attaining pupils by asking them to write a short paragraph explaining how encouragement can change a community’s behaviour.
• Support pupils who find writing difficult by encouraging drawing, role play, or circle discussion.
• Encourage use of religious vocabulary such as “compassion”, “faith”, “service”, and “calling”.

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This lesson plan combines story-telling, music, art, and discussion to deeply engage Year 4 pupils with the concept of encouragement rooted in religious examples, fostering empathy and reflective thinking while meeting the aims of the National Curriculum for Religious Education in England.