It is so easy to get detached from the thought that we rely upon farmers to provide us with food, because many children, and some adults, think no further than their nearest supermarket.
Table of Contents:
1. Teacher’s background information.
Here the young children (keystage one) can discover what a Harvest Festival is all about.
Christians believe that God created the world and that we need to be thankful for all the world’s rich provision.
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2. Lesson plans and resources for The Harvest Festival.
[a] Harvest Festival. The lesson plan is a downloadable PDF document to present to the children. (Opens in a new tab.)
[b] Harvest Festival RE lesson plan is a PowerPoint slideshow, viewable or downloadable for teachers to show the children. (Opens in a new tab on www.slideshare.net) (Same material as the PDF above).
[c] Harvest Festival RE lesson plan video based on a PowerPoint presentation. Created with 5-second slides, so pause the video to enable the children to study each slide: (Same material as the PDF above).
[d] A 1930s black and white film showing how harvests were cut by hand, and then the making of a mechanical harvesting reaper.
- The film will begin by showing the cutting of the corn with hooks (sickles), then with a scythe, and finally with cradles.
- From 1:57 on the video, there is an explanation of how the reaper was designed and built (stop at any convenient point).
- To see the harvesting reaper in action, go to 16:01 in the video.
[e] Children’s songs are listed below.
3. Children’s songs about Harvest time.
These songs by John Hardwick can be used in R.E. lessons, assemblies, collective worship, church children’s talks, Sunday schools, etc.
[a] ‘Harvest song – the wonderful world we live in.’
[b] ‘Harvest song – Growing, Growing taller every day.’
[c] ‘Harvest song – A miracle is happening to you and me.’
4. How to fulfil the locally agreed syllabus on ‘The Harvest Festival 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.