Learning objective
- To compare Jesus’ resurrection and beliefs about eternal life by exploring Bible passages.
Success criteria
- I can discuss the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the Easter story.
- I can identify some Christian beliefs about life after death.
- I can describe how these beliefs can influence Christian life.
Religious Education Council Curriculum Framework for RE in England (non-statutory guidance):
- A1: Describe and make connections between different features of the religions and worldviews they study, discovering more about celebrations, worship, pilgrimages and the rituals which mark important points in life, in order to reflect on their significance.
- A2: Describe and understand links between stories and other aspects of the communities they are investigating, responding thoughtfully to a range of sources of wisdom and to beliefs and teachings that arise from them in different communities.
- A3: Explore and describe a range of beliefs, symbols and actions so that they can understand different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.
- B3: Observe and consider different dimensions of religion, so that they can explore and show understanding of similarities and differences within and between different religions and worldviews.
- C1: Discuss and present thoughtfully their own and others’ views on challenging questions about belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, applying ideas of their own in different forms including (e.g.) reasoning, music, art and poetry.
See REC Curriculum Framework for RE in England (non-statutory guidance) – Religious Education Council of England & Wales.
Cross-curricular links
English
Reading – comprehension
Pupils should be taught to:
- Understand what they read by checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of words in context.
- Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction.
Spoken language
Pupils should be taught to:
- Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates.
See National curriculum - English - Key stages 1 and 2.
RSE
Respectful relationships
Pupils should know:
- The importance of respecting others, even when they are very different from them (for example, physically, in character, personality or backgrounds), or make different choices or have different preferences or beliefs.
See RSE Statutory guidance – contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
British values
- Tolerance of those with different beliefs.
- Mutual respect.
See Promoting fundamental British values as part of SMSC in schools (non-statutory advice) – contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v2.0.
Before the lesson
- Presentation: Easter quiz.
- Presentation: Reconnecting with God.
- Presentation: Eternal life.
- Presentation: Wrapping up words.
- Highlighters (two per group of four).
- A flipchart.
- Sticky tack (see Main event).
- Christian Bibles (optional – see Adaptive teaching).
The Knowledge organiser provides a visual summary of the key facts and vocabulary for the unit. The children can use it throughout the unit to check keyword meanings or spellings and to help them remember important information when completing an activity.
Find further ideas for using the Knowledge organiser to support adaptive teaching here.
The pages have relevant information for each of the Key stages. As knowledge builds from year to year, it is recommended that the Knowledge organiser for the previous key stage be printed on the reverse for Key stage 2.
Subject knowledge
Easter
- Jesus died on the cross on a day called Good Friday and was resurrected (came back to life) on Easter Sunday as part of God’s plan to save humanity from sin (salvation).
- The Easter story is a crucial part of this belief.
- The resurrection of Jesus is remembered at Easter, and it celebrates victory over sin and death, offering believers hope of eternal life.
Prophecies and the ‘divine voice’
- In biblical prophecy, it is common for the prophets to speak in the first person present tense as it conveys the authority and certainty of the message.
- This is often called the ‘divine voice’.
- The use of tense implies that the events have already happened rather than saying they will happen in the future.
The Last Supper
- In English translations of the Bible, it explains how Jesus shared bread with his disciples at the Passover meal.
- According to Jewish law, leavened food (food made with a raising agent such as yeast) would not have been eaten at Passover so it is likely that this was an unleavened bread similar to flatbread or crackers.
- In the Pupil video: Holy week just the word bread is used reflecting the language used in English translations of the Bible.
Misconceptions
The children may believe that:
- ‘Easter is about chocolate eggs and bunnies’ – it is important to explain that while Easter is celebrated in different ways across cultures, its religious significance for many Christians focuses on the death and resurrection of Jesus. The symbols of eggs and new life are often used to represent the Christian message of hope.
- ‘Easter is only celebrated by Christians’ – it is helpful to explain that while Easter is an important religious festival for many Christians, some people with different worldviews also participate in cultural or family traditions during this season, such as egg hunts or spring-themed celebrations.
- ‘Jesus stayed on Earth after coming back to life’ – explain that many Christians believe Jesus returned to Heaven to be with God.
- ‘If you are Christian, you will be resurrected and come back to life’ – explain that many Christians believe Jesus is special because he is God’s son and most believe that after death, rather than the physical body, a person’s soul will be reunited with God, therefore having eternal life.
Lesson organisation
External visitors
- Members of a local Christian community could be invited to share their thoughts on how Easter relates to the concept of death and what it means for them.
- For further guidance, see the link: Teacher guidance: External visitors.
If you know a child has specific issues, consider discussing the lesson with them in advance and adapting it as needed. They might benefit from adult support.
If problems emerge during the lesson, consult your Senior Leadership Team.
It is the teacher’s responsibility to check all resources and lesson content to ensure it is suitable for their class setting.
Sensitivities
Death
- This lesson explores Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection.
- When teaching these themes, present them sensitively and age-appropriately, avoiding graphic details about death and punishment. Focus instead on the broader message of hope and new life.
- Death can be a sensitive topic that may personally affect some children. It is important to approach this topic with compassion and consideration for everyone’s experiences and emotions.
- Remind the children that these are Christian beliefs held by some people and that different cultures and religions have their own interpretations of death and the afterlife.
- Explain the importance of respecting all views, even those that differ from their own or that they do not agree with.
The wonder box
- Remind children that they can use the wonder box if they have questions or concerns they would rather not share in front of the class.
- The wonder box gives the children the opportunity to share questions they may not feel comfortable asking in class. More challenging questions can be researched and additional time can be given to consider them. Children who may find writing questions challenging could either use a recording device or ask an adult to scribe for them.
- See: Teacher video: The wonder box for information on how to create and use this resource.
Lesson plan
1: Recap and recall
Display the Presentation: Easter quiz.
Read the questions aloud and ask the children to answer the questions on their mini whiteboards.
Presentation: Easter quiz
Optional: Play the Pupil video: Holy week if children are not familiar with or cannot remember the events.
Pupil video: Holy week
2: Attention grabber
Stick or pin the words from the Resource: Concept words in different areas around the classroom.
Ask children to move to the word around the room that best represents their ideas of death. Invite some children to share why they chose it.
Then ask the children to move to the word around the room that best represents what they think a Christian’s ideas of death might be.
As a class, discuss the following question:
- How might parts of the Easter story influence some Christians’ ideas about death? (The children may suggest: Jesus died and returned to God like some Christians believe will happen when they die; Jesus forgave everyone before he died and many Christians believe in forgiveness and judgement.)
Display the Presentation: Reconnecting with God and read out the quote from a member of a Christian community.
Presentation: Reconnecting with God
Question
- What do you think ‘eternal life’ might mean?
Explain that many Christians believe ‘eternal life’ means that after someone dies, their soul will live with God in heaven forever. Ensure the children understand that this does not mean they will never die or that their body will come back to life after death.
3: Main event
Display the Presentation: Eternal life showing images of Jesus’ resurrection and later ascension.
Remind the children that because there are no known descriptions of Jesus from his time, all images of Jesus are based on later artists’ ideas and interpretations of how they believe events may have looked at the time.
Presentation: Eternal life
Ask the children to discuss what is happening at this point in the Easter story.
Take feedback and explain that the images show artists’ interpretations of Jesus’ crucifixion and his resurrection. Ensure the children understand that ‘crucifixion’ refers to being nailed or tied to a cross as a form of execution and ‘resurrection’ refers to the act of coming back to life.
Question
- What do you think this might suggest about the way some Christians view death?
Take feedback and explain that many Christians believe Jesus’ death and resurrection are proof of eternal life after death.
Divide the children into groups of four and hand out a copy of the Activity: Eternal life and a couple of highlighters to each group.
Explain that in their groups, they will read through different Bible passages and quotes to find out what eternal life might mean to some Christians and what the Easter story might suggest about life after death.
Take feedback using the following questions to guide the discussion:
Questions
- How might the idea of eternal life be comforting to some Christians? (The children may suggest: they may feel comforted knowing they will be safe and with God when they die or knowing they will be reunited with loved ones one day.)
- How could the events of Holy Week influence how some Christians live their life? (Answers include: it might help them to be forgiving, kind and show mercy to others as Jesus did; it may help them to be positive and know things will all be okay in the end through hope; they may want to be part of a community and make others feel welcome and safe.)
Explain to the children that at Easter time, Christians celebrate the day Jesus died on Good Friday. Ask them to discuss in pairs why they think a day about the death of someone is named ‘good’ and take feedback.
Use slides 2–6 of the Presentation: Eternal life to explain that many Christians believe Jesus’ death and the events of Holy Week fulfilled ancient prophecies.
Question
- Why might many Christians believe these prophecies support the idea that Jesus’ death was ‘good’? (The children might suggest: it showed them that he was God and his death was part of God’s plan; it showed them God’s power; they understood that Jesus had to die to save them.)
Explain that for many Christians, Jesus’ death on Good Friday symbolises sacrifice, restoring humanity’s relationship with God, hope and forgiveness.
Remind the children that for forty days after his resurrection, Christians believe Jesus spent time on Earth with his disciples before returning to God in heaven. Ask them to discuss what he might have said to them in pairs and take feedback.
Hand out the Activity: Messages (one each) and ask the children to write down a message Jesus may have shared with his disciples.
Encourage the children to think about different parts of Holy Week, the symbolism of different events and what might be comforting for them to know.
Display the Resource: Jesus’ messages on the flipchart and invite some children to share their ideas and stick them around the image.
4: Wrapping up
Display the Presentation: Wrapping up words.
Presentation: Wrapping up words
Ask the children to discuss in pairs:
- Based on the Easter story, what might some Christians think about life after death? (Answers may include: some Christians may believe they will also live forever with God after they die; knowing Jesus returned to God may help some Christians to not be afraid of dying; the Easter story may suggest that souls live on with God; some Christians may feel comfort knowing they will be reunited with loved ones again in heaven.)
Extended-mode explainer videos
How to extend your display to view the lesson page and preseantion mode simultaneously. Choose your operating system below to watch the video
If you need further support with extending your display,
please contact [email protected].
Extended-mode explainer video: For Mac
Extended-mode explainer video: For Windows
Adaptive teaching
Pupils needing support:
Could use the Resource: Knowledge organiser to recap the Easter story for the Recap and recall; could use Activity: Eternal life (support) to find examples of forgiveness and eternal life; could talk through the Resource: Concept words (support) or review them before the lesson.
Pupils working at greater depth:
Should consider any additional values, meanings or messages that could be uncovered from the Easter story (e.g. friendship, trust, etc) and think about what these might suggest about death; should explore alternative accounts of the passages from the Gospels or read the full passages in the Bible.
Assessing progress and understanding
Pupils with secure understanding indicated by: discussing why Jesus’ death and resurrection are significant to many Christians; listing some Christian beliefs about life after death; explaining why Good Friday is named as such.
Pupils working at greater depth indicated by: comparing different accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection; exploring further passages from the Bible.
Vocabulary definitions
-
ascension
The event in which Christians believe Jesus rose into heaven.
-
crucifixion
Killing someone by nailing or tying them to a cross.
-
interpretation
Explaining or understanding the meaning of something.
-
resurrection
The act of coming back to life.
In this unit
Assessment - R&W Y5: What happens when we die? (Part 2)
Lesson 1: If there is a soul, where does it go?
Lesson 2: What is samsara?
Lesson 3: How might someone reach moksha?
Lesson 4: How can people find comfort after death?
Lesson 5: What is nirvana?
Lesson 6: What does enlightenment look like?
Optional Easter lesson: What might the Easter story suggest about life after death?
