The nativity and Jesus as the son of God
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain Christian teachings about the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, and how these influence Christians.
Key learning points
- The nativity refers to the story of Jesus' birth, found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
- The Gospels of Matthew and Luke state that Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Many Christians consider the virgin birth to be a miracle, showing Jesus as the Son of God.
- There are references to Jesus as the Son of God in all four Gospels.
- The belief that Jesus is the Son of God influences Christian practices, such as the celebration of Christmas.
Keywords
Jesus - believed by Christians to be the Son of God, he was a first-century Jewish teacher living and travelling in Palestine/Israel
Son of God - a title used for Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, which shows the special relationship between Jesus and God
Trinity - the belief that God as One includes God also being manifest in three Persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Common misconception
The story of Jesus' birth appears in all four of the Gospels.
The story of Jesus' birth is only in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Teacher tip
You may wish to print the accounts of Mary's pregnancy and Jesus' birth from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew to support the comparison.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which Christian denomination officially supports the idea of purgatory?
Q2.Why do some Christians reject the idea of hell as a place of fire and suffering?
Q3.What might a Christian do if they believe in heaven and want to prepare for it?
Q4.Why do many Christians find comfort in the belief in heaven?
Q5.Which Christian belief suggests that all religions can lead to heaven?
Q6.John 3:16 teaches that those who believe in Jesus will have life.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which Gospels contain the nativity story?
Q2.How did Mary conceive Jesus, according to the Gospels?
Q3.Why is Jesus referred to as the ‘Son of God’?
Q4.How might belief in the nativity influence Christians today?
Q5.In the Gospel of Luke, the angel announced Jesus’ birth to in the fields.
Q6.The four-week period of preparation before Christmas is called .
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: The nativity and Jesus as the son of God, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: The nativity and Jesus as the son of God, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Christianity: Beliefs unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.