Christian celebrations: Holy Week and Easter
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the significance of Holy Week and Easter for Christians.
Key learning points
- Lent is a 40 day season, starting on Ash Wednesday, where Christians remember Jesus' time in the desert.
- Holy Week is the final week of Lent when Christians remember the events leading up to Jesus' death.
- Holy Week includes Good Friday, which remembers the day that Jesus was crucified.
- Easter begins on Easter Sunday, which is the day that many Christians celebrate Jesus' resurrection.
- The season of Easter lasts 50 days and ends on Pentecost.
Keywords
Easter - a Christian festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus
Festival - a day or period of celebration, typically for religious reasons
Holy Week - the week leading up to the important Christian festival of Easter
Lent - a 40 day period before Easter when many Christians focus on prayer, fasting and almsgiving (giving to charity)
Resurrection - the belief that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, conquering death
Common misconception
Easter lasts for one day.
The season of Easter lasts for 50 days.
Teacher tip
You may wish to remind students of the events of the Last Supper, Jesus' crucifixion and Jesus' resurrection prior to beginning this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of serious crime
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Many Christian Churches follow the cycle, which is a way of organising the year into seasons.
Q2.Which of these is a Christian festival?
Q3.What is the purpose of Advent?
Q4.Many Christians celebrate Christmas by attending church services, singing , and exchanging gifts.
Q5.Which is NOT a common Christmas tradition?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each keyword to its meaning:
a day or period of celebration, typically for religious reasons
the week leading up to the important Christian festival of Easter
the belief that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday
Q2.Lent lasts for days and begins on Ash Wednesday.
Q3.When does Holy Week take place?
Q4.How long does the season of Easter last?
Q5.Easter Sunday celebrates the of Jesus.
Q6.Good Friday commemorates the of Jesus.
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Christian celebrations: Holy Week and Easter, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Christian celebrations: Holy Week and Easter, 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 Living the Christian life unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.