Hindus Home and Mandir

Lesson 1: The Aum Symbol

This first lesson explains what the Hindu aum symbol is and how it symbolises central Hindu beliefs about God, using a story to help illustrate the ideas.

The children are challenged to compare a Hindu's belief about God to that of another religion. They are then given the opportunity to retell or develop their own analogy for describing Hindu beliefs about God.

Lesson 2: Hindu Gods KS2

In this Hindu Gods KS2 lesson the children are introduced to the concept of Brahman being the one supreme God and how he is represented through other Gods and Goddesses. The children focus in particular on the Hindu deities Brahma, Saraswati, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shiva and Ganesha.

In their independent activities, the children are encouraged to research a chosen deity in order to create a quick presentation on them and what they represent. Alternatively, the children are given the opportunity to reflect on how they, like Brahman, are represented differently to different people.

Lesson 3: Hindu Shrines at Home KS2

This lesson focuses on the shrines that Hindus have in their homes and how they are used in Hindu worship.

The included PDF lesson slides show your class the different ways shrines can be set up in a home and how they are a special place for the people who live there. The lesson looks at the different ways that these special places can be used in worship, including making offerings, washing and taking care of the shrine.

The independent activities challenge the children to create their own Hindu shrines and label the different objects that could be used.

Lesson 4: Puja Tray KS2

This Hindu Worship KS2 lesson focuses particularly on the daily use of a puja tray to show devotion to a deity. It examines the items on the puja tray and gives your class the chance to discuss why each item is an important part of worship.

Your class are then challenged to recreate a puja tray in their independent work, describing each item and why it has a place in the daily ritual.

Lesson 5: At The Mandir

As well as praying at home, where do Hindus worship? Use this Mandir KS2 lesson pack to step into the mandir with your class and explore how Hindus worship in these Hindu temples.

This lesson introduces your class to some technical terms relating to Hindu worship at the mandir. You will look at the different features of a mandir and ask the children to compare Hindu worship at home and at a mandir.

Lesson 6: A Summary

This final lesson gives your class the chance to reflect on everything they have learnt throughout these Hinduism worship lessons, and to find out the answers to any questions they still have about prayer, shrines and worship.