Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
Teachers
Pupils
New
New
Year 3

Celebrating Holy Week: a case study

I can describe the main events of Holy Week and how these are remembered by some Christians.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 3

Celebrating Holy Week: a case study

I can describe the main events of Holy Week and how these are remembered by some Christians.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

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

View new resources

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday.
  2. During Holy Week, many Christians remember Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
  3. Many Christians hold special services in church to remember the events of Holy Week.

Keywords

  • Holy Week - the week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday

  • Palm Sunday - the Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week and the day of Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem

  • Last Supper - final meal that Jesus had with His disciples

  • Good Friday - the day when Christians remember Jesus' death on the cross

  • Easter Sunday - the day when Christians remember Jesus' resurrection

Common misconception

Christians only go to church on Easter Sunday to mark Easter.

Some Churches will hold services throughout Holy Week and Christians may go to a number of services.


To help you plan your year 3 religious education lesson on: Celebrating Holy Week: a case study, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

In advance you might want to organise a visit to a local church to compare and contrast different ways in which Easter is celebrated by Christians.
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

Skip lesson video

Loading...

Starter quiz

Download starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
Who uses the Bible as their holy scripture?
Correct answer: Christians
Hindus
Muslims
Q2.
At which festival do Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus?
Correct answer: Christmas
Easter
Pesach
Q3.
What is the festival of Pesach also known as?
Christmas
Easter
Correct answer: Passover
Q4.
What do many Christians do during Lent?
buy presents for each other to show kindness
decorate their homes with lights to represent Jesus as the light
Correct answer: give up something they enjoy as a way to prepare for Easter
send cards to friends and family to celebrate Jesus’ birth
Q5.
Jesus told a story called ‘The Good Samaritan’. Can you put the events of the story in order?
1 - A man was walking when robbers attacked him and left him badly hurt.
2 - Two religious people walked by but did not stop to help the man.
3 - Then, a Samaritan man came by and felt sorry for the hurt man.
4 - The Samaritan bandaged the man's wounds and put him on his donkey.
5 - He took him to an inn and paid for his care until he was better.
Q6.
In the story of Noah’s Ark, God makes a promise to never send a flood again and a rainbow appears in the sky as a sign of this promise. What is a special word that religious people use for promise?
bond
Correct answer: covenant
undertaking

Exit quiz

Download exit quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
Which animal did Jesus arrive on when he entered Jerusalem?
camel
Correct answer: donkey
lamb
ox
horse
Q2.
What is Holy Week?
Correct answer: the week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday
the time of Lent
the week before Christmas
Q3.
Which group of people were occupying Jerusalem when Jesus arrived?
Anglo-Saxons
Celts
Greeks
Correct answer: Romans
Vikings
Q4.
Can you order these Holy Week events correctly?
1 - Palm Sunday
2 - Maundy Thursday
3 - Good Friday
4 - Easter Sunday
Q5.
Which of these statements is not a reason why Holy Week is important to Christians?
Christians remember how Jesus shared a special meal with His friends.
Correct answer: Holy Week is when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
Christians remember that Jesus died on Good Friday.
Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected at the end of Holy Week.
Christians think about how Jesus was kind and forgiving.
Q6.
Can you match the keyword to the correct meaning?
Correct Answer:crucifixion,Jesus’ death on a cross

Jesus’ death on a cross

Correct Answer:Holy Week,the week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday

the week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday

Correct Answer:Palm Sunday,the Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week and the day of Jesus’ arrival

the Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week and the day of Jesus’ arrival

Additional material

Download additional material