Year 2: What can light mean at Christmas?

• Presentation: Making connections.
• Presentation: Christmas lights.
• Presentation: Christingles.
• Presentation: Wrapping up words.

• A pre-made Christingle (optional - see Main event).

• Sticky tape.

• Colouring pencils (one set between two).

• Scissors (one between two).

• Glue sticks (one between two).

• A4 paper (one each).

• Items to make a Christingle (optional - see Main event):

  • large oranges (one between two);

  • toothpicks (four between two);

  • red ribbon (enough to go around the orange, one between two);

  • 8 small sweets or dried fruit (one set between two);

  • small candles (one between two);

  • glow sticks (one between two as an alternative to the candle);

  • sticky tape;

  • a small square of foil (optional).

• Link: Assessment – Religion and worldviews: Why and how do people celebrate Christmas? (optional – see Wrapping up).

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 for Key stage 2 that the Knowledge organiser for the previous Key stage is printed on the reverse.

Misconceptions

The children may believe that:

• 'Only Christians celebrate Christmas' - it is important to explain that while Christmas is a significant holiday for Christians, many people from different worldviews celebrate it in various ways (e.g. spending time with family, exchanging gifts and enjoying the festive season) even if they do not celebrate it as a religious event.

Lesson organisation

• Work with one small group of children at a time to make their Christingles to allow for better supervision, especially when using sharp toothpicks and candles or glow sticks.

• While one group is making Christingles, the rest of the class can work on the Activity: Christingle.

Optional: invite local community members who follow the Christian worldview to discuss how they celebrate Christmas. 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

• This lesson discusses the Christmas story and how many Christians believe Jesus is the son of God and God on Earth.

• Some religious groups may discourage or even prohibit using religious images and depictions of the human form.

• The use of such images in teaching materials might make some children uncomfortable.

• If appropriate, explain that the images are intended for educational purposes and not for worship.

Health and safety

• When making the Christingles, demonstrate safe handling of sharp items, such as toothpicks, ensuring children are careful not to poke themselves or others.

• If using candles, only adults should light the candles and supervise the flame carefully.

• Glow sticks can be used as a safer alternative to candles. They still represent light and children can activate them by bending the sticks to make them glow.

• Explain to children they must use the glow sticks safely and not put them in their mouths or chew on them.