GROW pathway · RE · Autumn 1 · Week 5

Christmas: belief and symbol

Cover lesson · 40 minutes

Thursday 09:30–10:10. Match the week to the school calendar before teaching.

Pupil sheets PDF Editable PowerPoint Teacher plan & answers PDF

Stage 1 of 8 · 3 minutes

Arrive

Explain how a Christmas symbol links to Christian belief.

Offer pointing, circling, drawing or scribed answers. Read cards aloud. No personal, family or faith disclosure is required.

Stage 2 of 8 · 5 minutes

Read the source

CLASSROOM FACT CARDS — paraphrases of Church of England teaching and worship. These are teaching summaries, not quotations or a complete nativity story.

C1. Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

C2. Church of England teaching describes Jesus’ birth as a gift from God.

C3. In Church of England Christmas worship, a candle may accompany the description of Jesus as the light of the world.

C4. A candle is the visible object. Its Christian meaning comes from the words and belief, not from wax alone.

Stage 3 of 8 · 5 minutes

Watch a model

C1 gives the belief being remembered: Jesus’ birth.
C3 links a visible candle with a Christian description of Jesus.

Point to the detail that supports the answer.

Stage 4 of 8 · 4 minutes

Choose

Which statement best separates object from meaning?A. Wax itself tells the whole belief.B. A candle may express belief about Jesus; the source explains this.C. Everyone who sees a candle is Christian.

Choose first. Give a reason before checking.

Stage 5 of 8 · 3 minutes

Check

Reveal the deciding clue

C3–C4 link the symbol to a source without assigning a belief to everyone.

Keep your first choice. If you change it, say what changed your mind.

Stage 6 of 8 · 12 minutes

Your evidence

Your tasks

Match birth / gift / light to C1, C2 or C3.
Write two linked sentences: what is celebrated, and what the candle can represent.
Explain why a shop-window candle alone cannot establish somebody’s belief.

Response 1Response 2Response 3

Writing stays in this open page only. It is not saved or sent. Copy what you want to keep before leaving.

Stage 7 of 8 · 5 minutes

Improve

Check your answer against the source. Show the detail you used.

Add evidence, improve a link, or mark a claim you cannot support.

One change or one question

Keep your first attempt visible.

Stage 8 of 8 · 3 minutes

Reflect

Name a Christmas belief and the line that supports it.

One thing I can explain, and one next step

Teacher guidance

Preparation, access and misconceptions

Print the four lines and response page. Use a paper candle diagram only; a nativity model, video or celebration activity is unnecessary.

Offer pointing, circling, drawing or scribed answers. Read cards aloud. No personal, family or faith disclosure is required.

Watch for: Do not treat all Christmas customs as religious, or ask pupils to describe their own celebrations. These cards are not four Gospel accounts.

Use the matching pupil sheets for any map, table or writing frame named in these tasks.

Teacher key · task answers

Birth C1; gift C2; light C3.
Christians celebrate Jesus’ birth; in this worship source a candle accompanies Jesus as light of the world.
The same object can be used in different settings; we need the context or an explanation.

School plan and source references

GROW Weekly Autumn SOW: RE C64

These cover activities use the reviewed source cards and tasks from David’s matching download pack. They are a teaching version of the existing slots, with no additional coverage or qualification credit claimed.

Full RE lesson

Optional original-source links need the internet; the labelled teaching cards above are available offline.