New
New
Year 2

Humanist reflection

I can explain how non religious people use reflection and meditation.

New
New
Year 2

Humanist reflection

I can explain how non religious people use reflection and meditation.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Some people find quiet moments helpful, but do not pray.
  2. People who are not religious may value reflection and meditation.
  3. Reflection and meditation may take different forms, such as mindfulness, or a time of silence with some music.
  4. Humanists believe in treating others kindly and thinking carefully about life. They do not believe in God.
  5. Humanists have special ceremonies like a naming ceremony where people come together, share thoughts, and often reflect.

Keywords

  • Meditation - taking time to be quiet, still and thoughtful

  • Reflection - taking time out to think deeply and carefully about something important

  • Mindfulness - a routine that helps people be calm and reflect

Common misconception

Only religious people reflect and meditate.

Many people value time to reflect and meditate whether they are religious or not.


To help you plan your year 2 religious education lesson on: Humanist reflection, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

There are some simple mindfulness activites that you practice with your class to show what this means in practice.
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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Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
What is prayer?

a kind of dance
Correct answer: talking or listening to God
a type of food

Q2.
What is the Lord’s Prayer?

a song about kings
a poem about heaven
Correct answer: a special prayer Jesus taught his followers

Q3.
What does wudu help Muslims do?

Correct answer: get ready for prayer
make a meal
call their friends

Q4.
What is humanism?

a religion with many gods
a kind of science experiment
Correct answer: a way of thinking that does not include belief in God

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Humanists don’t pray, but may enjoy quiet ...

Correct Answer: time, Time

Q2.
What is reflection useful for?

Correct answer: helping someone think deeply and calmly
making someone fall asleep
teaching others to pray

Q3.
Only religious people reflect and meditate.

False – only Buddhists reflect and meditate.
Correct answer: False – anyone can reflect or meditate, religious or not.
True – only religious people do that.

Q4.
What might a humanist do during a naming ceremony?

say religious prayers
sing hymns
Correct answer: share thoughts and reflect together

Additional material

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