Christmas Journeys

#TheCompleteSeries5lessons

These informative and empathetic lessons take a fresh look at this familiar story as your class delve deeper into the emotions of the characters and find out why Bethlehem is still an important pilgrimage site for Christians today.

With a five detailed lesson plans, slides for each teaching input, differentiated activity ideas, printable resources (such as worksheets, picture cards and challenges) and an End of Unit Quiz, this Christmas Journeys KS2 planning pack is sure to make this a shining star of an RE scheme of work in your classroom!

This scheme is also part of a Topic Bundle. Perfect if you would like more Christmas-themed schemes of work!

#Lesson1BethlehemToday

The first lesson in this Christmas Journeys series starts in Bethlehem, the setting for this centuries-old story, and investigates what a pilgrimage is and why many Christians choose to make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem today. Your class will also think about some other religious sites that are pilgrimage destinations in other religions and think about what Israel is like as a country.

This Bethlehem Today lesson comes ready to deliver to your class with a lesson plan, a slideshow for the whole-class input, differentiated activity ideas, and a range of printable resources.

#Lesson2TheChristmasStory

This Christmas Story KS2 lesson for Year 4 looks at the first part of the nativity story. Your children will discover why Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem from Nazareth, and look at how far the journey would have been. The emphasis is on how Mary and Joseph would have felt at this time and encourages your class to think about what the journey would have been like.

This Christmas Story KS2 planning pack is ready to deliver to your class and offers a fresh look at this familiar story. It contains a detailed lesson plan, a whole-class slideshow for the teaching input, differentiated activity ideas, and a range of printable resources.

#Lesson3ShepherdsoftheNativity

Your Year 4 class will be introduced the shepherds of the nativity in this lesson as they continue to read the Christmas story from the point of view of different characters. In the last lesson, they explored how Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem, where baby Jesus was then born. In this lesson, your KS2 class will the read the next part of the story, finding out about the angels' visit to the shepherds. They will consider what the life of a shepherd is like, as well as considering why this is an important part of the nativity story.

This Shepherds of the Nativity lesson is completely ready for you to deliver to your Year 4 class. There is a lesson plan with differentiated activity ideas, a slideshow for the teaching input, and a range of printable resources to support your class as they carry out their independent learning activities.

#Lesson4ThreeWiseMen

This Three Wise Men lesson for Year 4 explores the role of the three wise men in the nativity story, and looks at how these characters have been represented in music and art across the centuries. Children will read the story of the visit of the wise men, find out what gifts they brought Jesus and consider how these visitors to the stable were different to the shepherds.

This fun Three Wise Men lesson contains everything you need to get your children to consider the role of the three kings in more detail...and enjoy themselves at the same time! And all the planning resources you need (lesson plan, slides and printable resources) are all included so you don't have to spend hours of your own time planning.

#Lesson5FleeingHerod

The final lesson in this Christmas Journeys series explores the role of King Herod in the nativity story and explores the emotions behind this hated character. It then looks at Jesus, Mary and Joseph's long journey into Egypt, and how this young family would have been feeling at this time. This is then linked to refugees today and encourages your KS2 class to think about people who have to flee their homes because of war or persecution.

During their independent learning activities, your class can then explore these ideas further for themselves, or use what they have learnt throughout the five lessons to retell the nativity story in their own words from start to finish.

Free Overview (Medium-Term Plan)

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Free Assessment Grid

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