New
New
Year 1

The story of Christmas

I can explain why Jesus' birth stories are special to Christians.

New
New
Year 1

The story of Christmas

I can explain why Jesus' birth stories are special to Christians.

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These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The Christmas story is known as the Nativity and is a good news story.
  2. The angel Gabriel appeared to tell Mary she would give birth to a baby called Jesus. He would be God’s son.
  3. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Shepherds attended his birth and wise men from the east visited him some time later.
  4. The story of Christmas helps many Christians understand who Jesus is.

Keywords

  • Nativity - the birth stories of Jesus

  • Good news - someone or something that is positive, encouraging and uplifting

  • Jesus - seen by Christians as God's son and the person they follow as an example

  • Bethlehem - a small town in Palestine where Jesus was born

Common misconception

The wise men and shepherds all visited Jesus at the same time.

The wise men visited at a later time after the birth of Jesus.


To help you plan your year 1 religious education lesson on: The story of Christmas, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Invite some local Christians into your lesson to talk about what they learn about Jesus from the Nativity story.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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4 Questions

Q1.
What do celebrations often include?
Correct answer: gifts
crying
shopping
Q2.
Why do we tell stories?
to fall asleep
to play games
Correct answer: to teach lessons
Q3.
Most Christians believe that Jesus was God's ...
Correct answer: son.
uncle.
brother.
Q4.
When is Christmas celebrated?
May
August
Correct answer: December

5 Questions

Q1.
Who appeared to Mary to tell her the good news?
a shepherd
Correct answer: an angel
a king
Q2.
What was the name of the man Mary was going to marry?
Correct answer: Joseph
John
James
Q3.
What gifts did the clever people bring for Jesus?
toys, clothes and food
Correct answer: gold, frankincense and myrrh
flowers, candles and silver
Q4.
What special name was Mary told to give her baby?
Noah
David
Correct answer: Jesus
Q5.
When did the clever men visit Jesus?
when he was a baby
Correct answer: when he was a young boy
when he was a grown up

Additional material

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