Easter is a really difficult subject to explain in Christian Religious Education.
So, I’ve tried to make ‘Easter simply explained’ easy by breaking it down into small steps.
Table of Contents:
1. Teacher’s background information.
The story of Easter is gruesome, but we look at the true events and why they happened, from Jesus knowing that he was going to die, an unlawful trial, standing before the powerful rulers of the day and ending at an empty cave…
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2. Lesson plans and resources for Easter, simply explained
[a] Easter Simply Explained. The lesson plan is a downloadable PDF document to present to the children. (Opens in a new tab.)
[b] The Easter Simply Explained Lesson Plan is a free PowerPoint presentation (Opens in a new tab on www.slideshare.net) viewable or downloadable for teachers who can use electronic equipment in the classroom. (Same material as the PDF above.)
[c] The Easter Simply Explained Lesson Plan, a video with different speakers presenting the lesson. Be prepared to pause the video when a question is being asked: (Same material as the PDF above).
[d] Free video and song:
Cartoon video of ‘Jesus has his Last Supper with his disciples, see below.
‘Colours of Easter Kids Song – Easter Explained’ see below.
3. A video and song for Easter:
[a] Jesus has his Last Supper with his disciples (4.55 minutes long)
[b] ‘Colours of Easter Kids Song – Easter Explained’ (3.02 minutes long)
4. How to fulfil the locally agreed syllabus on ‘Easter simply explained lesson plan’
Hopefully, you will be able to match your local agreed syllabus with what is here.
This lesson plan is based on the UK RE Attainment Targets.
Here is the Mapping Grid for the Attainment Target Categories:
- Sacred Texts – stories, scriptures, parables, teachings
- Beliefs – ideas about God, truth, meaning, purpose
- Practices – worship, prayer, festivals, rituals, lifestyle
- Identity – belonging, community, worldview, personal reflection
- Values – moral ideas, attitudes, virtues
- Living – how beliefs affect actions and everyday life
🎯 Why This Grid Works for UK Schools
✔ Matches Agreed Syllabus expectations
✔ Supports progression from KS1 to KS2
✔ Aligns with Ofsted language (knowledge, understanding, impact)
✔ Works for lesson planning, assessment, and inspection evidence
✔ Non-political, non-denominational, UK-appropriate
For many local syllabi, in KS1, Christianity plus at least one other major religion is studied.
Effective RE should combine:
- knowledge (stories, beliefs, practices)
- understanding (why people believe/do what they do)
- reflection (personal response, values, empathy).
Typical Key Questions for KS1
Here are common “core/enquiry” questions or themes that appear in most KS1 agreed syllabi:
- “Who am I?” (Identity).
- “What does it mean to belong?” (Belonging).
- “What makes some people so important?” (Important people).
- “Where did we come from / how did the world begin?” (Simple beliefs).
- “What makes some stories so important to different people?” (Sacred books).
- “Why are festivals, symbols or special stories important?” (Stories & moral values).
- “Why are some places so important?” (Important places).
These then required merging within the Assessment Aims, but as can be seen, there had to be some overlapping of the themes/core questions:
- ASSESSMENT AIM: 1. SACRED TEXTS (Stories, Scriptures, parables & teachings) – [SACRED TEXTS & WHO AM I?]
- ASSESSMENT AIMS: 2. BELIEFS (Ideas about God, truth, meaning & purpose) – CREATION & IMPORTANT PEOPLE]
- ASSESSMENT AIM: 3. PRACTICES (worship, prayer, festivals, rituals & lifestyle) – [FESTIVALS & PLACES]
- ASSESSMENT AIM: 4. IDENTITY (belonging, community, worldview & personal reflection) – [BELONGING & IDENTITY]
- ASSESSMENT AIMS: 5. VALUES (moral ideas, attitudes, virtues, right & wrong) – [FESTIVALS & BELONGING]
- ASSESSMENT AIMS: 6. LIVING (how beliefs affect actions and everyday life) – [IMPORTANT PEOPLE & FESTIVALS]
Each assessment had its own set of questions to answer. These are included in each lesson plan, which is suitable for that particular subject.